Day 25: Happy Birthday Sydney!

PCT Mile 2222 – 2230

Miles Hiked = 8

Sydney and I were up at our usual time this morning. We only had eight miles to Forest Service Road 23 which has access to the small town of Trout Lake. Our hike this morning was once again through the forest.

Trout Lake is a very hiker friendly town and there is a group of local Trail Angels that operate a shuttle service four times per day to and from the trail and the town (thirteen miles). Sydney and I wanted to catch the 10:30 shuttle so we arrived at the road about 10am. A few minutes later a mini-van was driving by and we were able to hitch a ride into town!

We were enjoying burgers, fries and a beer by 11am!

Today is Sydney’s thirty-first birthday. Happy Birthday Sydney!!! I knew it was her birthday but it had skipped my mind this morning☹️. As we ate our burgers, Sydney reminded me. My bad!

After our meal, we walked fifty yards down the street to the General Store and picked up our resupply boxes and bought a few supplies. As we were checking out we inquired about a ride to our hotel which was about a mile down the road and one of the locals (Chris) offered to give us a ride. What a great town!

General Store

We arrived at the Trout Lake Valley Inn around Noon. I wasn’t expecting our room to be ready but luckily it was! This town just keeps getting better and better! Our room was called The End Room – it was very cute.

The End Room

We did our laundry, took showers, opened our resupply boxes and organized our food for the next segment. There are always a few things that we need to buy at the local store – things like tortillas, snickers, Fritos, etc. The hotel had bikes for the use of their guests, so Sydney and I took a bike ride back to the General Store to pick up a few more items.

Trout Lake is just south of Mt. Adams and we had a great view as we rode back into town.

It was a hot day in Trout Lake and the forecast was for a few more days of hot weather. Sydney and I were returning to the trail tomorrow morning – we would be at a higher elevation but were still expecting it to be quite warm for at least a few days.

Chris, the local who gave us a ride from the General Store to the hotel, had told us about a pizza place just 100 yards down the road from our hotel. At dinner time, Sydney and I walked over and ordered pizza, a salad and a couple beers. As we were waiting for our pizza, Chris walked up to pick up his own order. We bought him a beer and chatted for a few minutes.

Earlier today when we were at the General Store, we had arranged for a 7am ride back to the trail for the next morning. It was great to get off the trail for a few hours and take care of our town chores. It was great that Sydney enjoyed a little town time on her special day!

But, we’re back on the trail tomorrow. If you’re not moving forward, you’re not making progress!

Thanks for following!