PCT 111 – Trout Lake

Daily Miles: 14
Total Miles: 2226

The fog was starting to break, even as we got up in the dark.  We were very hopeful that we would see some blue skies today. We got a late start today, not starting to hike until 7:00.

We knew that we had a short day of hiking, and that we would meet up with our friend, Qball, in the early afternoon.  We figured out a rough schedule for taking breaks and still meeting up with Qball at 2:00, as we had planned.

The trail was quite easy this morning, and we quickly hiked the five miles to our first break spot.  Shortly after starting back up, we saw Qball coming up the trail towards us.  He had run in on the trail to see us.  We were surprised to see him in just shorts and a t-shirt, since we were wearing our down coats, rain coats, gloves and hats.

It was fun to hike the remaining miles with Qball and chat about random things.  When we got close to the road where Qball had parked, we came across trail magic of chips and Starbucks bottled mochas.  Then we just walked a few hundred feet and Qball had brought a bunch of snacks for us to eat.  It all tasted so good!

We drove into Trout Lake and were able to get laundry done and to dry out our gear on the lawn next to the grocery store. It felt better to have our gear fully dried out, since the air has been so damp in the woods.

We had a late lunch at the local cafe. The service was poor and food was over-priced, but we did enjoy the huckleberry treats they had, like shakes, pies and frosted rolls. 

We headed back to the trail in the early evening and found a campsite right next to the road. Qball headed home and we set up camp in the cold.  It was a great day hanging out with Qball and getting some comforts of town.