August 24th, 2022
We woke in our bed, not really ready to wake up yet, so we didn’t. We went back to bed. How amazing is that? We slept in until 7:30, which for us is very late these days. We lounged around in the morning and, after getting ready, headed over for the continental breakfast at 8:30. It was fairly basic but tasted good, and we had as much fresh food as we could. Afterward, we headed back to our room and did absolutely nothing on our phones for a few hours until we had to check out at 11:00. The air conditioning was amazing, and I never wanted to leave.
When we finally did leave, we began walking the mile back over to the main part of town and had our thumb out whenever a car went by. After a quarter mile or so, a car pulled over and asked us if we were headed to the trail or town, he would have given us a ride to either! A few minutes later, we were dropped off right in front of the post office. We thanked the kind man and headed inside. We sent off the old tent, which we plan to return due to the faulty zipper, after picking up our new one yesterday. Now, Singsong and I won’t have to share doors anymore. We got it sent off and then headed next door to the taco truck, where we met up with all our friends! Wilco got in the day before us, but everyone else came in this morning.
Hugs all around, and then we ordered food and hung out there for a few hours. They all had a campsite in the park reserved for tonight, but we plan to meet my family at White Pass on Saturday, so we need to leave today in order to make it in time. Wilco, Missile, and Biscuit plan to leave in the morning, and we think they will catch us tomorrow or the day after, though. After a while, we moved over to the grassy area near the store, where we reorganized our resupply from yesterday and found a nice shady spot to hang out for 2 hours until the 3:30 shuttle back to the trail. We got some Gatorade to drink while hanging out, then just kinda chilled on our phones, doing some last-minute errands and talking with each other.
Soon, 3:30 rolled around, so we said goodbye to our friends for now and told them to catch up with us soon. We hopped into a shuttle driver’s truck and enjoyed a quick 20-minute ride up the road to get back to the trail. We gave our driver some gas money and thanked him for his time before heading out. We climbed through old pine trees as the trail rose steeply away from the road. We passed several cut blowdowns and sawdust all over the trail, indicating that some of these trees had recently been blocking the trail. We climbed, switchbacked, and wound our way up the mountain.
Soon we entered a burn area, one that stretches on for 7 or 8 miles. We walked past a number of huckleberry bushes and ate a few before continuing. After about 3 miles of hiking, we came to a small spring that was just off the trail. We took our packs off and followed a steep, loose sandy trail down to where water was flowing out of the ground. We collected a couple of liters each and filtered back near our packs. Once that was done, we hiked another 3.5 miles through burnt trees, gaining elevation. We had pretty amazing views of Mt. Adams; it towered over us. Some dark clouds rolled in, and we both swore we felt a drop or two before they passed us and collected at the mountain peak. It was strange to see dark clouds on the mountain ahead and blue skies behind.
At one rest point, we could make out Mt. Hood hazily in the distance and Mt. St. Helens nearby. We came to a patch of unburnt trees just off the trail and noticed some flat spots in the dirt. We went to check it out and found the perfect little tent site. We set up there, had dinner, and then went and watched the sunset from a small nearby hill. Singsong said it was one of the best days on the trail, and we’re both glad we got to see it today in honor of her birthday. We got back to our tent site and enjoyed some Milano cookies and tea for dessert, and retired to our tent, ready for sleep.
Awesome post and photos!