This was about as easy as 26 miles of hiking gets. The trail was mostly through the pines and very soft under foot with a few minor climbs. The mosquitos weren’t terrible but just bad enough to force a decent pace. I got to the lonely road crossing about 20 miles up trail at 1:15 and had a ride 5 minutes later for the 14 mile down the mountain to town. Holly and Todd from Hood River had spent the weekend in the mountains and were headed home (sorry, no pic).

Deer Lake where I broke camp in the morning.

An old school PCT marker.

Now, these signs never get old !

No one was there when I stopped for a mid morning break but there was a help yourself taco bar and cold drinks in the cooler.

Just as I reached the road crossing 10 miles later there was more trail magic…compliments of the local Monastery (love the monks !)

I’m bummed I didn’t take more pics from town and my hitches. The truth is you just can’t capture in a picture how sublime a huckleberry milkshake is on a 96 degree day!

I had originally planned to stay overnight in this tiny little town of Trout Lake (FYI, no lake that i saw ?) but it was just too hot at these lower elevations. After spending several hours relaxing and drinking cold sodas I caught a ride back up the mountain to the trail where it was 2000′ higher and much more comfortable.

After 5.5mi of easy evening hiking there was a fantastic campsite right below Mt Adams.

I had to climb a small bluff above camp to get this shot. I should have lots of views of Adams tomorrow.

This is the view of camp from the bluff… three
little tents.

The sunset was a bit obscured by the trees but still enjoyable.

I definitely made the right decision not staying in town. It was way more comfortable temp-wise on the trail. It could actually get a little chilly tonight !

Lastly, a big milestone today…finally, I’m at less than 1000 miles to finish (meaning I’ve hiked over 1660 miles)!