TRT day 7
6/8/15
19 miles to Echo Lake Store
What a day!
I re-fell in love with my backyard today. Lakes, peaks, slab granite and huge views. And lots of great hiker encounters.
Fontanilles Lake
Dick’s Pass didn’t have nearly as much snow as we had been hearing about for days. It must be melting fast. We sat on top for about an hour. Cell service makes one do that. Plus more PCT thruhikers walked by.
Dicks Lake
Lioking back at Dicks and Fontanilles Lakes
Almost at Dicks Pass with Dicks Peak to the right
2 of them were Leapyear and Alien March who I met in 2009 on the PCT. They remember me laying on a rock at Bull Frog Lake after skinny dipping. What a thing to be remembered for! Hey, it was hike naked day. I just made it swim naked day also.
Descending the pass with Lake Aloha and Pyramid Peak in the distance.
Lake Aloha. I have been to the tops of all these peaks: Pyramid, Agasiz, Price
Later in the day while dripping wet from taking a dip in Lake Aloha, Milkjug walked up. I met him last year on the PCT and he is hiking the whole trail again this year. That trail is addicting. We met 12 pct thruhikers in all and had fun talking to each one.
No skinny dipping today.
MILKJUG!
Wired had arranged to meet a couple friends at the Echo Lake Store so she raced ahead. While walking the last few miles, Rockin’ and I discussed how nice it would be to stay right at Echo Lake and wondered if we could talk Wired into it. There is a no camping zone around the lake but there are rooms at the store.
When we walked up to the store we were greeted with “we are staying at the Echo Summit Lodge and dinner is being prepared by an award winning chef!” What?! OK!
Yay! We get showers and dinner!
Free Range and Wired had met in 2011 while both were thru hiking the PCT. I met Free Range last year near Seiad Valley. The hiker world is so small…. I love it. Free Range is a member of the Echo Summit Lodge and is spending a week up here as part of a 60th birthday celebration for her aunt, Cindy, who is a chef in St Helena.
What a place we landed! Interesting and friendly people, great conversations, amazing food including lasagne dinner with wild porcini, awesome wine, showers, beds, views. It is surprising that we ever left.
nancyhikes 