With our ride secure, we knew we had plenty of free time this morning. We slept in until 7:50 having agreed to meet for breakfast at 8. At 5 ‘till 8, I pounded on the wall we shared with Bear and Sassy, but got no answer. I figured they were still asleep, but Bear showed up at our door at 7:59. They had just been doing a little grocery shopping.
Our waitress this morning was Brandy. She had been working last night and enjoyed waiting us watch all the fools in the storm. We started talking to her and found out she really lives in Mississippi and has been working summer jobs in various places so she can have an excuse to see more of the world. She’s worked at Glacier NP, Crater Lake NP, Elk Lake where we were at about 10 days ago, and now at Diamond Lake. She had planned to work in Alaska this year, but plans changed because of Covid.
Reggie didn’t get off until 2, so we asked the front desk person for a late check out. Since the front desk person was Reggie, we were pretty sure that would be ok. We napped and packed until 12 and then went back into the restaurant where Brandy was, once again, our waitress. We found out more about her and were really surprised to find out she was in her mid 30s and not the mid 20s we thought she was. She likes discovering other places and challenging herself by pushing her comfort zones. Not so much so, that she’s willing to spend a winter in a snowy area.
Reggie got off a few minutes after 2 and told us to wait out front while he got his vehicle. On the ride to the trailhead, we found out we had a Missouri connection with him even though he is originally from Arizona. A few years ago, a friend of Reggies had to go to a high school graduation in Missouri and Reggie agreed to drive if they could swing through the Dakotas. The location of the graduation? Sikeston, MO; Bunny’s hometown. Reggie decided there was more of the country that he wanted to see than a corporate job would give him time to see. He quit his administrative job and looked at Coolworks.com to find seasonal jobs in resorts around the country. He had wanted to work in Alaska this year, but Covid changed that.
A few days ago, we heard about a couple that were hiking the Oregon section of the PCT for their 40th anniversary. Today, we met Don and Tammy. They originally decided to hike the PCT in 1980 to see if they were compatible enough to marry. They made it as far as Diamond Lake Resort before Mt St Helens erupted ending their hike. 10 months later, they had their first child. Now, 40 years, 7 kids, and 17 grandkids later, the answer to the compatibility question is a resounding “yes.” They both quit their jobs this year (thanks to Covid and lousy bosses) and decided this was the year.
The hike today was an easy, short one. We just wanted to get ourselves in position to hike the Rim Trail along Crater Lake. Just before we got to the trail junction, we dropped our packs to run forward to a water cache to fill up for tomorrow. It was at the PCT trailhead that we ran into Lindsey Ulrich who is trying to set a new record for the PCT Oregon section. Her goal: 8 days. Today, she is over 150 miles in and it’s only her second day. We talked with her coach for a bit.
I’ve made myself clear about trail running in past blog entries. I respect the physical stamina involved, but I abhor the whole FKT (Fastest Known Time) concept. It’s my opinion that the record setter runners don’t give a flying f#$& about the trail they are on for anything other than a tool for marketing endorsements. They show little to no interest in hikers of said trails. Lindsey’s team was no exception to the rule. They had a van load of food and supplies to support one runner. Only one, her coach, would lower himself to talk to hikers, and then he was condescending to us. We told him we were going to Walker Pass in Southern California, almost 1400 total miles for us this year. “Oh. How long will that take? A month?”
We don’t have a couple vans of people carrying everything we need. We don’t have people that run down the trail ahead of us to protect us and clear the trail. Our non-existent support team doesn’t set up in parking lots cooking food and patting themselves on the back for a job well done. Our “team” isn’t condescending to hikers and passersby. In fact, our team is us. We carry everything we need on our own backs. Every 4-6 days, we come off the trail to shower, do laundry, resupply, eat a couple of hot meals that don’t involve boiling water, and sleep in a bed.
I’ve ran across several “elite” runners going for FKTs and they’ve all been the same. They don’t care about the trail or people on it. They are arrogant and are trying to make money off of the trail. They don’t enjoy the experience or see anything along the way. They could do the same thing on a track and have the same experience all the while staying out of hikers’ and other trail users way. What I like to see are the runners out training on the trail that aren’t asses to hikers. Those runners will often stop and talk, and maybe even notice some of the beauty around them. Those not trying to gain fame but are out for love of the sport have my respect. Enough of rant.
When we got to Grouse Hill Camp, it seemed as though all the camping areas were full. We passed 3 camping spots that had people in it already but the people invited us to camp with them. One couple even said “come be our neighbor.” Contrast this to the bee-atch the other night at Thielsen Creek that wanted a 20 spot campsite to herself. The people we met here are the type of people that represent the vast majority of thru-hikers and hikers in general. People who are out here for the love of the experience and who are willing to meet new people to share that experience with. This is how we’ve met most of our now closest friends.
We thanked people for the offer but kept looking because we didn’t want to impose. Most people had already been in camp for a while which meant we would probably keep them awake while we set up camp and ate. We saw another trail leading up to an unoccupied site and decided to camp there. We set up our tents and then we’re able to sit outside, once again, while we ate supper as a tramily.
We are nearing 1,000 miles of hiking together as a tramily. By that, I mean actually hiking together all day and camping together at night. Lots of tramilies only camp together at night and hike separately during the day. We have gotten very lucky to find a couple that hikes close enough to our pace that they are willing to slow down so we can hike with them. The most amazing thing about Bear and Sassy is that after almost 4 months of being with us 24/7, they still can tolerate me. They are part of a very select small group of people that can make that boast—not that they don’t send me to the back of the line in the hopes that I might get lost or fall off a cliff. They are human.
EFG