July 29
Miles: 13.5
Mile Markers: 1942 – Elk Lake Resort (Off Trail)
Miles to Canada: 700.3
I didn’t get on the trail until almost 9:00 this morning which is extremely late for me, but I wanted to sleep in a little. It was only 13 miles to Elk Lake now, which I had been debating about stopping at, but I decided to go there today to camp, then maybe spend part of the day there tomorrow, and then head out back to the trail.
Bloom and Bessie were ahead and they got to a point on their trail where there was phone service and they told me that the fire was now 20 acres and was actually not contained after all. They were heading on and weren’t going to stop at Elk Lake so I probably wouldn’t catch up to them again until PCT Days.
As I was walking, I kept seeing a number of SOBO people. I warned one of them about the fire and he asked if it was the Piper Lake fire. He said that he had seen the fire from up on a ridge the day before and that it was the first fire he had encountered on the trail so far. I had felt a little foolish that maybe I had overreacted and I didn’t need to hike overnight, but after talking to this hiker, I felt like I made the right decision.
It felt a lot hotter today than previous days, partially because this section has been a lot more open – going through some burn areas and sections of the forest where the trees haven’t been so dense. So there’s a lot more sunlight getting through. I walked with my sun umbrella for part of the day, just trying to get as much shade in the middle of the day as I could.
Thankfully, the clouds came out and it started raining again. I put my poncho back on and continued on down the side trail to Elk Lake. A woman coming up the trail told me I looked strong and beautiful, and didn’t really say much else as she continued on. I don’t know why she said that to me, but I appreciated the kind words. I did feel very strong after the events of last night, and I did feel quite beautiful in my $2 poncho.
When I got to Elk Lake, I sat on the porch for a while charging my phone. The restaurant was closed due to renovations, which was disappointing because I had wanted real food. There were some other hikers who offered me some of their shitty hiker food, as they put it, but I said no thank you, I already have my own shitty hiker food that I also don’t want to eat. I was hoping for some human food.
I sat and talked to DJ squirrel, a German guy, and another girl from Russia. They were moving really fast. The girl had started May 10th – more than a whole month after me, and she hadn’t skipped any sections except this last section from Shelter Cove to Elk Lake because of the fire. We talked about the trail culture and how toxic some of the attitudes can be, and DJ squirrel thanked me for having such an authentic conversation. He said that he never really talked about those things with anyone. He had some plantar fasciitis issues and I gave him some stretches that I had been given in PT for plantar fasciitis when I had been running a lot and developed it in my right foot. I tried to encourage him to get some new shoes because his were extremely floppy, and needed to be replaced. A lot of hikers like to see how long they can go without replacing their shoes. Most shoes really need to be replaced after about 400 miles though because the foam starts to condense, the tread wears off and the shoe no longer supports the feet as well and can cause injuries or overcompensations, which can lead to injuries, even though it may not seem obvious. Anyway, a lot of hikers like to keep their shoes for 700/800 miles which isn’t that great especially when you use the same pair every day. It never gives the shoe a rest, or ability to re-expand. Garmin, and apps like Strava have features that let you keep track of the miles on your shoes so that you can replace them before they can cause an injury.
We talked a lot about what it meant to be a thru hiker, and I told them how I had had imposter syndrome about skipping the NorCal section, and the Russian girl started going on a rant about Wild and Cheryl Strayed and how she had only hiked about 700 miles of the trail, and I thought she was basically going to say that Cheryl Strayed wasn’t really a thru hiker, but she started talking about how back then, there was no FarOut app. There was no up to date information available about water sources, so you had to carry 6 to 10 liters of water at a time in the desert. All the gear was heavier. There was no support in the towns for thru hikers because nobody even really knew what the PCT was back then. So Cheryl Strayed was really badass in her own way, and nobody should tell you if you’re a thru hiker or not. Then she apologized and ended her rant.
But it made sense to me. Maybe I didn’t hike the entire trail, but if I hike over half of it, and I’ve had as many problems on the trail as I’ve had, who’s to tell me that I’m not a thru hiker?
The Russian girl went on to say that we were thru hikers when we got to Campo. We were thru hikers at mile 100. We were thru hikers at mile 500. She told me that I was still a thru hiker on the blue blaze trail at Mazama Village in Crater Lake, and I was a thru hiker here at Elk Lake.
I bought a Rainier beer and some snacks from the store, in addition to a giant bottle of bug spray, which normally I wouldn’t want to carry something that heavy. But the bugs have been so bad, so this giant spray bottle will definitely go to use. When I started the trail, I had bought some all natural citronella bug spray with essential oils. I laugh that I ever thought that was going to be enough. Now I opt for covering myself in poison.
I sat with a couple for awhile – Sally and Craig – talking about the trail, and about life. They were from Oregon and were staying at the resort for a night. They had traded in an RV for a tent that attached to their Subaru Outback so that they could camp inside the car. They gave me some wine, cheese and crackers and it was honestly the best meal I had had in quite a while. They didn’t have any kids and just traveled and enjoyed the world. It’s always Subaru people.
I saw the two Germans that I had met at Shelter Cove and then had seen on the trail a few times. I found out that their names were Charlotte and Dirk. I told them about the fire, and they said that they had also skipped that section just to be safe. I sat with them for a while and chatted. They were doing a section hike just for a month and were ending at Big Lake Youth Camp. They were planning on climbing one of the sisters mountains in the next few days, but were trying to figure out a good weather window. They didn’t want to climb up there and have bad conditions or for it to be so cloudy that they couldn’t even see anything.
By then, I had already had a beer and a bunch of wine, and at this point, I don’t even drink that much anymore and when I do drink anything in town I feel like a complete lightweight, so I decided to get a campsite and stay the night. Maybe I’d stay in the morning and then head back to the trail in the afternoon.
I walked back to my tent site and I had just put my backpack down and was kind of looking around trying to figure out where to set up my tent, and a woman came by walking her dog. She asked if I was a thru hiker. After my conversation with DJ Squirrel and the Russian, I confidently said yes I am.
She asked if I was hungry, and invited me to go back to her cabin where her family was making steak tri tips, corn, coleslaw, brownies and all kinds of food. I was really exhausted at that point and I thanked her for the offer and said I was just exhausted and told her how I had hiked last night because of the fire and she offered to bring a plate to me which was just so unbelievably kind.
I set up my tent and was sitting in my tent getting my bed together when she came back with her mother and two nieces who she wanted to meet me. They asked me questions about the trail and they were just really a sweet family. I was so grateful. I told her how I had been laid off for my job and decided to do this and she just thought that was incredible.
I ended up having a really great day, despite the stresses of yesterday. There is something very magical about the trail, and as much as I’ve tried to escape the human world by coming out here and being alone in the wilderness, there really is a type of magic in the people that you meet along the PCT and I have really felt that since I’ve been back on trail.
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