July 8.
Zeke and I decided to leave most of our stuff at camp and slack pack to the Terminus. 22 miles to and from would be easier with lighter packs and this way we wouldn’t have to make camp again when we got back. Seemed a more balanced way to split up the miles as well.
Zeke left earlier than I did and I hiked alone mostly. Went down to Hopkins lake and saw Tian coming back from the Terminus. She had nothing but a water bottle and jacket and had already done 12 miles and planned to to another 12. Passed tian on the way back. She had made it all the way to Hopkins lake by herself and slack packed to the monument and back 12 miles with just a water bottle. What a beast. She raced ahead. Hoping I can see her again at some point.
I saw Zeke not long after that. He tagged the monument and was heading back to camp. He said there was no one ahead. I was a little bummed that he’d already tagged the monument and that there was no one else on the way. Tagging the monument seems like one of those moments that is best shared with someone but oh well.
I made it to the monument, gave it a little boop, and stuck around there for a bit, waiting to see if anyone else showed up. Ended up having lunch there and taking a lot of awkward selfies. There were also a surprising amount of mosquitoes there. It was pretty warm and there was a lot of rain the past few days so makes sense they’re out. Hopefully they won’t be too bad heading south.
Such a surreal moment to actually be standing at the northern terminus of the Pacific Crest Trail. I’ve been dreaming of this for so long but part of me thought I’d never be actually able to do it. Even just getting here feels so unbelievable. I actually quit my job, packed up all my stuff, flew to Seattle, drove to Washington, hiked 30 miles to get here and now I’m about to make my way to Mexico. Holy shit.
In my awestruck phase, I completely forgot to sign the register. It was apparently hidden behind one of the logs I was sitting on and didn’t think to look around for it. Oops.
After sitting around for too long, I took off, taking my first official steps southbound on the Pacific Crest Trail. Saw mountain goats on the trail on the way back but didn’t manage to get any good pictures of them.
Ran into some other hikers on my way back, a couple of women I think we were camped near the night before. Talked to them for a bit and one of them compliment my shirt saying it was the most fashionable one she’d seen so far. I told her it was my camp dad shirt and she said that should be my trail name. Ehhhh not super into that as my trail name so we’ll see if it sticks.
On my way back I also ran into Marten, the German I started off with, and Flicker, the other vegan. They had both camped a few miles before where I camped and we’re taking it easy on the way to the monument. Hopefully I’ll get to see them again too. I might not. I guess that’s the story of the trail. hi hello how’s your hike going how far are you going okay have a good hike see you later or maybe not.
Plants Outside 