Day 85 | mile 1847.7 - 1884.1 | 36.4 miles

Up at 5:30. Breakfast 6. We got 4 blueberry pancakes, loaded hashbrown, 2 eggs, and 2 sausages. It was good.

Forrest checked on the fires and I tried to get the water report. It wasn’t loading. I wrote Crater Lake postcards and Forrest hassled me to get going.



Picked up Extra Mile by the campground nearby. She was going to backtrack to do the 8 miles she skipped. But when she saw all the smoke from the north Crater Lake Fire, she decided to just skip that section and hike with me.





We hiked up to Mt. Thielsen together. Chatting made the 4 mile uphill pass by so quickly. Turns out we are like the same person: engineering, ballet, running, boyfriend at home. She is 32, which I found surprising. Her sister is about to go into labor, so she tried to get reception to get news. I sat with her for 30 minutes. We were above the smoke and I was enjoying the views. She had just reached her sister when I left.

Thielsen Creek was very photogenic. And tasted amazing. I filled up both of my bottles and kept hiking. The next water source is a mud puddle in 26 miles. But I was hoping for the water cache at Windigo Pass in 21 miles.



Passed the highest PCT point of Oregon and Washington. Got a bit of reception. Selby texted saying she was driving home and could chat. We did. It was fun to catch up!

Took a late lunch break at 3. Forrest made me a bagel prosciutto sandwich. It was delicious. And I’m very spoiled right now.

Got to a ridge with reception again. Called Alex. He said he needed a picture of my driver’s license to apply for the Canada entry permit. I stopped to take a picture and send it over. We chatted for 30 minutes while I hiked. After the usual “fuuuck”s were exchanged when I lost reception, a louder and more exasperated “FUCK” could be heard on the PCT. I left my trekking poles where I took a picture of my license. Aghhhh.

Had to backtrack up a hill to get them. I was so mad at myself for making 2 miles into 6.



At least the water cache was filled. Yay! And there was some deet trail magic - double yay!



Hiked another 6 miles up a hill to my camp spot. It has beautiful lake views. Mosquitoes tried to drain my blood while I set up the tent.



Once I got in I realized I had reception. Alex and I FaceTimed while I made dinner and caught straggling mosquitoes. It was sooooo nice to just chat.

Japanese ramen for dinner! With a meat stick. All the food is courtesy of Forrest.

Going to bed waaaay too late. Once I got off the phone with Alex I could hear all the creepy woods noises. I think there are bats flying over my tent.