This post is just meant to document the towns I stopped in, whether to resupply, just go get food, or the right timing just happened so I went to town. For me, as much as the seclusion and wilderness aspect of the PCT pulled to me, a huge part of the experience I knew would be in the towns.  It is where I get a whole different kind of experience and can meet and interact with people who help make the trail what it is. Getting to spend time with locals and trail angels was one of the most beautiful parts of the trail. I do have to say that I cannot put into words how helpful and amazing people were in these towns. Whether it is giving rides, buying meals, or just encouragement. The towns allowed me to see that there is so much beauty and kindness in the world.

As far as for information on the towns themselves I would recommend checking out As the Crow Flies. Her blog was like the Bible for me on the trail. It has the best info out there on towns and what they have to offer.

List of towns stopped at in order from South to North:

Julian @ mile 77 – definitely don’t skip! The apple pie is sooooo good. Unfortunately Carmen sold her place so I am not sure what is going on with it, but if the new owner makes it anything like Carmen did, it is a highlight of the trail.

Warner Springs @ mile 109 – great place and the people at the community center are extremely helpful and kind! Be sure to clean yourself and your clothes with the bucket set up in the back!

Paradise Valley Cafe @ mile 151- A MUST GO! Killer food for vegetarians! Nothing was bad here!

Idyllwild @ mile 178- Super cute town and great because everything is so close together. The campsites are the cheapest option and nice. It has a bathroom and showers. Seemed to be more of a party crowd here though! Also, if you’re there on a Tuesday go to the $1.25 tacos down the street at La Casita! The vegetarian tacos were so legit!

Big Bear Lake @ mile 265 – Too big in my opinion. On 0 days we were still walking 5+ miles to resupply. But a cool town.

Cajon Pass @ mile 342- MOST EXPENSIVE MCDONALDS EVER!

Wrightwood @ mile 369 – We got there during a storm and all the trail angels were packed up and all the hotels booked so finding a place to stay was hell. But great town, do yourself a favor and go to the bakery. If you get there on a weekend get a Sticky Bun. The mexican restaurant also has an amazing Vegan Burrito. It has french fries in it!

Agua Dulce @ mile 454- Hiker Heaven is a key part of the trail! Take time to talk to the hosts, the Saufley’s. It is such a fun place, especially if you love animals. If you go to the local grocery store, take a look at the discounted baked goods. We found apple pies for $2.50!

Casa De Luna @ mile 478- aka the Andersons! You get to camp in a majestic fairy land. Had an absolute blast here! All you can eat mexican nachos for dinner and all you can eat pancakes for breakfast! If you help cook, you get first dibs! And be ready to dance your ass off!

Tehachapi @ mile 558- I loved this town. A bit tough to get around, but locals offer hitches. Local farmers market during the week that is super cute. And the movie theatre offers some good deals online sometimes!

Ridgecrest @ mile 652- Stay with the trail angel Erica if you can. She is super rad and just lets hikers hang around her house all day. She also has multiple dogs, chickens, turkeys, and the  best of all baby goats!

Kennedy Meadows @ mile 702- Obviously you know what you get here. Fun place to hang out. Just be aware although they have wifi it’s total shit. So all the research needing to be done before heading into the Sierras is super rough. Best option is to go early to Grumpy’s. If you get there before everyone else the wifi isn’t too bad. Also, eat as many pancakes as you can! And Grumpy’s has the best breakfast potatoes I have ever tasted.

Bishop @ mile 790- Easily one of my favorite towns. I want to go back and work at Hostel California. Super rad place, they have bikes and skateboards to go around on. And the brewery has the worlds best sweet potato fries! Erick Schat’s is also really good, if you go to the back they have all their almost expired stuff heavily discounted. I got massive bags of goodies for less than $1.

VVR @ mile 877- Be ready to get a hefty bill here. A plain grilled cheese with an extremely small portion of fries was $12. Not a terrible resupply place, but just more of a cool hang out.

Mammoth Lakes @ mile 906- Highly recommend Mammoth. A great place to reset after a tough section and it is just a cool ass town. The local trolley takes you around for free, which is nice because the town is pretty spread out.

Lee Vining @ mile 942- Less known town that I highly recommend. You can stay for free at the local church, and there is a shower and a kitchen. Also, make sure you head to the Mobil as it is some of the most delicious food on trail. They also have live music some nights.

South Lake @ mile 1090- Cool town, good food, plenty of resupply options.

Truckee/ Tahoe City @ mile 1153- I had a good set up here and stayed with a friend so I didn’t really experience it as a hiker too much. Most people seemed to skip Truckee, but I love the town.

Sierra City @ mile 1195- Just the convenient store, but they offer pretty good milkshakes and semi decent food. The church allows campers to sleep out back.

Belden @ mile 1284- Just stopped for a quick lunch. The food was great and really big quantities which is a plus for any hiker. I don’t eat meat, but the BLT sandwich looked sooooooo good!

Chester @ mile 1328- You just passed the half way point, so go into town and get a massively delicious milkshake!

Drakesbad Guest Ranch @ mile 1347- Hated this place. They were super rude and not helpful. Do NOT pay for a dinner, unless it’s the bbq night. About 8 of us ordered dinner and all had to go back to camp and cook food, they just give you left overs from what their guests didn’t eat.

Old Station @ mile 1371- Cool place to stop by, the milkshakes from the quick shop are great. J.J.’s Cafe is a great place to hang, charge your phone, and eat a good meal.

Burney Guest Ranch @ mile 1407- The owner is so kind and greets you with fresh ice cream right when you arrive. Hikers are allowed to use the pool, showers, and laundry. If you sign up for meals they are all you can eat.

Castella/ Dunsmuir @ mile 1498- Neither were too great. Definitely simple, if a hiker is looking for anything more like an actual town get a hitch to Mt. Shasta. I want to note that the owner of the gas station in Castella is super helpful and kind. He gave me free donuts and chocolate milk since my package didn’t arrive.

Etna @ mile 1597- Go to Dotty’s, get a milkshake, get sweet potato fries, and repeat.  Loved this town for sure! Good vibes all around.

Seiad Valley @ mile 1653- Winner of best Milkshake on the trail! The breakfast was pretty delicious too. Brave enough to take on the pancake challenge? Definitely want to be sure if you are hiking to make it to town before the cafe closes. And unless you pay for a site at the local RV Park you are not even allowed to hang out there on the lawn.

Ashland @ mile 1716- Already knew I loved this town before the PCT. I spent 5 days here. Super cute small town. The all you can eat Indian restaurant is worth checking out.

Crater Lake @ mile 1819. The shop actually offers some decent stuff, and the restaurant isn’t too pricey and pretty good.

Elk Lake @ mile 1950- Just stopped for breakfast before hitching to Bend. Good food!

Bend @ mile 1950- Great town. There is an REI and tons of breweries and restaurants around. Auntie Sunshine wins best hosting trail angel of the PCT!

* Unfortunately due to fire closures I had to miss Big Lake Youth Camp. I am still determined to get there sometime!

Timberline Lodge @ mile 2094- The breakfast buffet is worth the hype! Tip, if you go back into the buffet as they’re cleaning up they let you take as many extra pastries as you want!

Cascade Locks @ mile 2144- Not much here, but a decent town. I was spoiled so had a blast!

Trout Lake @ mile 2226- Just hit the road as a man came to give rides. Definitely worth the food which was great, but have to talk about their Huckleberry Milkshake…OMG so good!!!

White Pass @ mile 2292- the Kracker Barrel is just a gas station…..not the delicious restaurant. But it is a funny place, their tater tots are good!

Snoqualmie Pass @ mile 2390- The truck right outside of the Chevron offers amazing food!

Stevens Pass @ mile 2461- Another place I would go work for anytime. Beautiful spot and everyone was super cool.

Leavenworth- I think it is worth checking out. Resupply isn’t hard and it is just a fun random place to hang out.

Steheiken @ mile 2569- The bakery lives up to the hype! It is also just a cool place to hang out at. I would recommend walking there. It is a beautiful view and you pass the local farm that offers cheese and such. I didn’t go, but my friends did and it was some of the best cheese I have ever tasted.

 

 

Day 155- The Last Day of the PCT: it was another cold night but I definitely slept better than the night before it. Maybe because I was so tired from not sleeping or because I was in between people, where those on the outside seemed to get the worst of it. We got up slowly not really wanting the day to blow by. We had hoped to all be together and eat lunch and everything together today. It was another day of chilly weather, but epic views. We had a small uphill to the peak of Woody Pass. By this time we were spread out a bit, which is super typical on uphills. So I stopped at the top with Dash while we waited for the rest of the crew before heading on. It’s crazy to be looking out from points and know that it’s Canada that I’m looking at. We don’t all stay together long it’s a challenge today for some reason. We did meet up with the Pacific Northwest Trail for a bit which was cool! Not knowing where the others were Dash, L-Train and I stop for lunch at the top of a hill. There was a handful of other hikers there who are walking back down to The Pass because they weren’t going into Canada. I think that would be really hard. To be done with the hike then still have 30 miles back to walk. Does it make the finish less celebratory I wondered? We chatted for a bit, tried eating in kind of a lowered part sort of like a ditch to block wind. But it was just too cold so we gave up waiting and packed up. I don’t remember when it was but they caught us. There was a storm coming which is why we’re trying to finish today. I definitely don’t want to be stuck in the North Cascades if a gnarly snow storm comes. As we were finishing up the last few miles it started to drizzle. I was walking back with Tim and Freckles when I decided to run to the end. We still had 8 miles to walk into Manning Park. I arrived shortly after L-TrAin, Dash, and Hefty. We took photos of each other on and near the monument when Tim and Freckles arrived. We took group photos, ones I will cherish the rest of my life. And then no crying, it actually all felt super anticlimactic until we started hugging each other. And when I gave Meg a hug, she said “we did it” and that did me in. I just started crying. I couldn’t really stop. But now The big moment! The proposal was about to happen!!!we chat for a min then tell them we need pics of them at the finish. I take their GoPro and Dash I think was shooting on one of their phones. They took some goofy ones. Then Tim, with an audience now As 4-5 other hikers have arrived. He told her how much he loved doing the hike with her, and lots of mushy stuff then he just hugged her. And we were all like WTF? Did he chicken out?!? She was starting to walk away, the GoPro had died now, and he grabbed her hand and said an inside joke the 2 of them had about him proposing in a grocery store while resupply. And then dropped to his knee. It was so cute I was basically just continuously crying from before. It was such a good day. We signed the log book then headed on. Tim and Freckles were camping at a campsite shortly up and planned to walk in tomorrow so the rest of us went off. We just chatted as we hiked on some not too well maintained trail, dirt roads, then asphalt. We arrive to Manning Park and immediately go to the restaurant to eat a bunch of food. It was super good, but omg so hard to walk standing up from that chair.Us, and all other hikers we saw had an insane hiker hobble going on after getting up from dinner. We saw Squarepants too! Then we headed to shower and sleep in the room downstairs they leave for hikers to hang in. We also get free access to the pool and got tub! So this is it. The trail is done, for now it just feels like another town. Another 0 day and in a day we will be back on trail. But we won’t. So now what?! Stay tuned for tomorrow where I am going to write my “farewell” letter that I journaled as a goodbye to the trail and my family.

Day 154- last full day of just the trail today. I’m getting sad even re-writing this knowing it’s all over. Waking up in the morning wasn’t fun. Well I can’t say I woke up since I didn’t really ever fall asleep. But the actual act of getting up out of the bag was horrible. So we didn’t for awhile. We hung out and made coffee. And breakfast. There was frost all over our sleeping bags. L-Train told me her journal said that Dash and I were grumpy from not sleeping 😂. I remember Dash staying in his sleeping bag and hopping over to freckles and Tim to snuggle and get food. The entire day was cold. I don’t recall ever taking my puffy jacket off. I loooooved the views today. Lots of big long switch backs along the side of the mountains that left us with beautiful views. We hiked near each other the whole day since it was our last full day we wanted to spend it together. We passed Windy Pass and Foggy Pass which were both pretty good descriptions of the weather that day. Actually it wasn’t too windy just really cold when the breeze came by. One of the small uphills that was supposed to be nothing was actually pretty tough. Our bodies I think know that were almost done and are deciding to already start shutting down. So lots of little aches and pains have been popping up. My Achilles are all tight again all of the time. And my legs just fatigued and always slightly achey. At the top of one of the hills we stopped for an epic lunch. The view was unreal, the mountain peaks in WA along with the greenery just set for amazing views. And our trail fam was joined by more of our fam for lunch today. Javalou and Sante! Which was so nice. It was nice to see them again before the end. On the trail we played What are The odds quite a bit. Tim once lost and had to wear And1 sandals we found on trail hiking. Dash has to go see IT with us, and he hates scary movies. And there were others, it was always so fun when someone lost! And today Dash lost again. He was asked what are the odds you would shot some mayo. And he lost, so he lifted the bottle up over his mouth as he squeezed and…well there’s a video to show it. Gross hahaha. So freaking funny. It gave us all a really good laugh. As we continued walking for the afternoon we would sometimes drift slightly apart, then wait for each other at a point. Or just walk with others in the fam and chat. It was a good day for sure. All of us, I think, unable to really believe that it’s all ending. We hit Hart’s Pass together, which is the point where if you don’t have an entry permit into Canada you hike back here to get a hitch. Luckily, none of us will be having to do it. But a lot of hikers do. We came across a small creek and campsite hidden in trees around dinner so we stopped to eat but planned to keep hiking a bit. We were trying to block the wind within the trees and it semi helped. But dinner was pretty short because it was just too cold to keep sitting. So back on the trail we went. Heading uphill a little bit towards camp. I think we ended up camping at Rock Pass? It was getting dark and we found a nice large campsite to our left. We all laid really close to each other this night praying for more warmth. I remember actually being nervous before bed wondering if I’d be having another sleepless night. But i fell asleep looking at the constellations 🌌 above me. That has always brought me so much peace.

Day 153- In the morning we all woke up slowly as usual. I oil pulled while packing up, my favorite thing to have on trail is coconut oil. While we were there a ranger approached. He was cool and all was fine since we had camping permits. That morning we also talked that we were like the show Friends. And we laughed figuring out who would be who, while singing the theme song. Then off we went. I started out solo, passing some stock camps and seeing the ranger again. A little uphill happened then the cruise went on. Crossed many creeks today one that had a cool suspension bridge going over it. Loves of open Mountain View’s today. The most epic memory of the day was around lunch time. We were approaching the trailhead where Julia left the ring this morning. Tim was trying to push ahead to get a look before Freckles got there but she was killing it so he didn’t have much time. I hiked the last bit to lunch with Meg and Freckles where we met some maintenance workers. One offered us some beer he had in his truck that we could grab once we got to the trailhead. We crossed the highway and approached the trailhead, and got some drinks on the way. We were chatting and I looked at Tim to see if he got the ring and he shook his head no. Once we were all seated for lunch I got Meg and Dash to come over with me to tell them he couldn’t find the ring. So Dash grabbed Tim to go help him look for it. They had made very specific detailed rules on how the drop was going to happen. And Julia just almost did it too good. She left a small remark on a tree to mark the ring was there. She also left beers nearby to help find it. They were taking forever. Freckles ended up coming up to Meg and I at one point asking where Tim and Dash have been. I don’t remember what we said, something about needing brotime. And then just tried to distract her. Hefty did a better job of distracting. When another man was up talking to us all of the sudden we hear a very loud burp coming out of the ladies restroom, soon to see Hefty. He is legit the loudest burper I’ve ever heard. We were cracking up, but the guy didn’t look very amused. Finally Tim and Dash return. And since they had beer they said they got trail magic. It was a good lie. But they found the ring! Thank goodness! Off we went. And we camped at a really nice beautiful open spot. We were joined by other hikers, most of whom we talked into cowboy camping with us. One was actually from my hometown Wichita, KS. And he knows my old cross country coach. How weird is that? The world is so small. But I don’t like him as we were chatting he said My high school was more like “white trash”. So basically he called me white trash. We joke about this the rest of the trail, but I really disliked him after he said that. This ended up being one of the coldest nights on the trail. I didn’t really sleep at all due to just shivering all night. My sleeping pad is too flat now to help with anything and I’ve never washed/dried my sleeping bag so all the down is consolidated and it’s not really keeping me warm. I had every layer of clothing I was carrying on and still couldn’t manage to feel warm ever.

Day 152- Nice day in Steheiken got up and showered and headed to the famous bakery. It did not disappoint! I had a massive cinnamon roll and a sticky bun and an egg sandwich. The place had such a cool vibe. So much good food and people. It was a great place to chill for a bit and we did. Before leaving I bought a veggie pizza for lunch. I have been able to have so many good conversations with Meg and Freckles lately. They’re so wise and it’s great to be surrounded by such strong like minded women. We left the bakery, Dash and Hefty stayed to play a like 5 hour chess match. Tim and Freckles rented bikes and ended up going to a local farm and got some of the best cheese I’ve ever eaten in my life! We all hung out by the water watching supplies get unloaded from a boat, waiting for our clothes to dry and the late afternoon bus to take us back to the trail. Since you have to get permits for specific campsites we knew we were only walking 5 miles so there was no need to rush out of town. I have asked everyone around if they’ve seen my phone. Nobody has. I even made a sign and left it at the store as I’m hoping someone sees it and contacts me. Tim had worked out all the engagement ring details with Julia. So that was done! And then before I knew it we were saying goodbye to our favorite town and going back to the trail. For our last few days. 😢The 5 miles weren’t anything crazy. It was a small uphill then steadied out. It was getting darker and darker as we walked though. Soon I had to be really careful to watch and not trip over rocks. As we approached camp the sun was barely still peaking through. We ate our dinners, Tim and Freckles was the best. They ate on a stump that was their table, they had their bread and cheese from the farm, pasta, and wine. Super fancy!!! I can’t help but be pretty sad right now. As of this moment we have less than 80 miles of trail left. So crazy for it to be ending. What will happen to me?…to all of us after?… I don’t even like thinking about it. I’ve never been happier in my life than I have been on this trip. So my goal the next couple days is to remain as present as possible and not let my fears of what may be coming keep me from truly experiencing these last moments.

Day 151- Steheiken is today! It’s a small well spoken of town that sits on Lake Chelan and is known for their amazing bakery. We woke up in the morning and before heading out, Tim asked me to run into Steheiken, catch the bus and call his friend Julia who will be bringing an engagement ring for him to use at the northern terminus. I took a picture of her contact info. I like a challenge so I agreed and took off. I didn’t have too long so I booked it, and decided I wanted to try and make the 3pm bus so literally ran, I left at about 7:45am. There was a decent uphill to begin the day that opened up to beautiful views of a mountain with a cloud hanging over the top. But no time to stop and look, I had to go. The trail was nice around here though. Lush and green. I couldn’t help but think as I ran though that I should try and memorize Julia’s number just in case something happens. But I don’t I just keep running. I run past other hikers between tall grass on the trail, as they tell me it won’t be possible to make the 3pm bus. But I just smiled and kept running. My pack bouncing up and down on my back. I didn’t even think of stopping to eat. I only had a couple of bars left that were in my hip pockets. But the adrenaline and rush from running kept me from getting hungry. The trail remained really mellow after the initial uphill, with some good bits of downhill which helped me move faster. The last I checked my phone I had 13.2 miles left and just 3 hours to get there. It wasn’t going to be easy but I felt I could do it. Soon I passed a guy out doing trail maintenance. We chatted for a second before I started running again. Always important to me to be able to thank anyone who is helping the trail. Because of them I’m able to do what I’m doing. So running I was now into more of a forest setting. Staying under trees, running near creeks, some log hopping from downed trees. I passed one of the hikers from Korea who hiked with Crocs. I said hi as I ran by and he giggled at me. Not too many miles later I realized I had lost my phone somewhere. I dropped my pack and jogged slowly back tracking the trail. Assuming I dropped it as I was hopping up and over a log, which had happened before. But I didn’t see it anywhere. So I kept running back. Almost a mile about. And nothing. I knew now I wouldn’t make it to the bus if I kept looking. So I ran back to my pack picked it up, a bit pissed and stressed and kept going. I passed a number of other hikers, including Monarch. I explained what happened and told them if they find my phone to hand it to my trail fam as they passed. So I kept going not knowing if it would be found. And not knowing how I was going to contact Julia. I soon asked someone how much further I had to go, about 8 miles. And I knew I was no longer going to make it. So I slowed down. I was tired anyways. The trail was going up and down and around which was fun to run, but it was nice to walk. As I walked I kept thinking of ways to contact Julia. Like borrow a cell phone, hope she’s on FB and look at Tim and Freckles friend list to message her. Or contact Glen, who we stayed with in Ashland, who knows Julia and see if he can get me her number. The trail was amazing during this time though. Passing along water and lots of plant life. And finally I hit the road, that led about .3 miles or so down to where I can get the shuttle. I get there at 3:30. So I would have made it if it weren’t for losing my phone. So now I have to wait until the 6:30 bus. While I waited I ate what food I had left. I met a really awesome couple who worked at the local bakery and they gave me a beer. Offering a ride if they had more than a motorcycle. They were so kind and generous. I was doing my best not to get down. My phone had every pic I had taken on the PCT and none were backed up. I’m praying someone finds it. Not only that now I have to just sit and wait, and everyone in my group ends up making it anyways so it made it totally pointless to even run and lose my phone. Karma you were supposed to be kind to me! So we all loaded on the bus then went and ate dinner. Tim took off to call Julia, and told Freckles he went to run and watch the sunset. Haha. We enjoyed boxed wine on the lawn before bed that night and looked very much forward to enjoying the famous Steheiken bakery in the morning.

Day 150- The next morning while eating breakfast Freckles started a game for us about what the mountain peaks look like. A man with a big nose, or boobs, or whatever ridiculous things each of us threw out. It was really fun. Like looking up at the clouds as kids. I didn’t want to leave our spot. It was so pretty and it was cold so my sleeping bag just felt kind of like heaven. Hefty was always my favorite to see in the morning because his hood to his bag was always up and pulled tight and he was all the way in his bag curled up. It just looked funny. Today we all hiked together. As much as I like hiking solo, it’s always fun to switch it up and go with my fam. First stop of the day was at Mica Lake, an insanely beautiful glacial lake surrounded by rock covered mountains. A man and daughter had told me about it a few nights ago and it was spectacular. We all decided to go skinny dipping. I went before everyone got there it was just me, Tim, and Freckles. And we did it jokingly as a show, stripping down right in front of each other and jumping into the ice cold lake. It was so funny to watch everyone get out of the rock to jump but not want to for a bit. Plus it wasn’t super warm out so getting warm after getting in wasn’t easy. Thanks to a little wind. Dash didn’t jump in though. He is having a hard time dealing with the trail ending. It’s really sad, all of it. Him and Tim took off together to chat it off I think while the girls did some fun chit chat if our own. We headed down some switch backs. Across some Milky Creeks , Then we hiked up the big uphill that we all expected to be crazy hard, but ended up being chill. It was about 2600ft I think in about 4.5 miles. We all hiked this part alone. Just tuning into podcasts or music making the work easier for ourselves. We had lunch on a great outcroping looking far out into the distance. I am so going to miss all of these moments! We siestad for a bit while everyone trickled in and ate lunch. Then we headed to the junction to take the old PCT. Dash had told us that Carrot Quinn, from the book, had done it and said it was one of her favorite parts of the trail. Not sure why though….it was cool but nothing amazing Just under trees the whole time with lots of downed trees on the trail. Which is actually kind of fun to crawl up and over sometimes. But we all just chatted while we went keeping it mellow. Then we hit the big creek we had to cross that was raging. We had to search for a log of a bit. Walking through a weird mix of big rocks and thick sand. We found some logs but it was kind of sketchy. There were multiple, like 3 separate sections, you had to cross to get to the other side. Some of the logs were thing, some were at angles. It just wasn’t the easiest crossing….plus when you got to the other side you had to get up to a flat spot by walking along a narrow ridge then up a steep slippery slope. But as usual we all made it safely. Thank goodness. Poor Freckles got freaked though, totally understandable. I’m over this kind of stuff too. Then we basically had to Bush wack up a big hill to get to the trail. I kept getting my hair caught in tree branches. But it was an adventure. Then the trail was there and we had just about a .5 mile walk to our campsite. There were some others there, but it was a nice spot near flowing water. The only bad part was is the lack of places to go to the restroom. But once again, night after night, here I lay. Snuggled between my best friends!

Day 149: Hiked 26.5 miles today that consisted of lots of uphill. My legs were super fatigued and I’m pretty sure it’s because I drank little to no water yesterday. So even though it’s not too warm I really tried to make sure I drank plenty today. The morning began with a slight uphill and passing Lake Sally Ann. A small but pretty lake. The trail was AMAZINg today. Getting into Glacier Peak Wilderness brought us into a beautiful canyon with so many colors. And so much of today was again just open. And not under trees with no views. I loooove being back to the mountain ridge lines. Later in the day I saw Crocs! Then as I kept walking I saw Sante! I love knowing that I’ll get to see them again before the trail is over. I walked with Sante for a bit as we hopped and walked over multiple creeks. And went up and over lots of downed trees. Sante does shit like a pro and looks like he’s having so much fun with it. Got into camp at about 5 and just relaxed and stretched and listened to Nahko. We are camping at a dope site in between 2 streams out on a ledge of a small jump above the trail that looks out at the beautiful mountains. I know I’ve said it many times, but this is one of my favorite campsites. The sunset was so stinking beautiful. It was funny to see everyone get in after me too, as I felt the exact same way. But the camp had a pretty small but very steep uphill to it and once everyone walked up it…they just looked tired and over it. Same! We laughed all night chatting while watching the sunset. It was so pink and the mountains went dark, just becoming shadows along the sky. I am so grateful to not be camping in the forest! It kind of depressed me. In 2 days we reach Steheiken. The last town on the trail. I don’t know what to think….can’t believe I have under a week left of being on the trail. 💤