Memories from July 3
I’d intended to go to church today since it was the first Sunday I’ve been in civilization and been aware of the day of the week. Instead, I got up and wrote blog posts to get caught up then went to Lake of the Sky outfitters to use their computer to arrange resupply packages. I’d intended to use Sonora Pass Resupply since the owner gave me a water bottle after I lost mine on a glissade coming down from Sonora Pass. I found the website frustrating (ex: it unexpectedly dumped my cart) and so sent a bunch of feedback (gotta keep my software engineering skills fresh somehow, though I didn’t provide great repro steps since I was on a shared computer and didn’t have time to narrow them down) and used Zero Day resupply instead. I’ll revisit Sonora Pass Resupply the next time I’ll send resupply boxes which will probably be Ashland. I bought earphones which I’ve been lacking for a while and set up a bunch of music to download on Spotify. At this point it was lunch time. On my way out, I ran Butterfly who was arranging a ride out to Echo Summit and got me a seat. Just before the ride, I weighed my backpack in a fruit scale in Raley’s with four days of food, a little more than a liter of water, and two trekking poles, and a hip belt I’ve detached but couldn’t ship out, it was about 24.5 lbs. My lack of caring has paid off. Then the ride showed up and a man who paints murals for a living gave me and Timo a ride to Echo Summit while his wife drove Turbo and Butterfly.
With music for the first time ever on the trail I took off at a pretty good clip. I think music is a hiking drug. Then I discovered that Spotify had only downloaded 10ish songs. Also, I’d forgotten that Kindle audiobooks have to be downloaded separately from the text. Oh well. By three miles in, I’d put my new headphones away.
Red and blue flowers with white deadwood. Even nature is prepping for Independence Day.
Looking down Echo Lake from the water taxi launch. I took the high road on this time.
If only every lake were so close to its signpost.
I’d bought a camp stove at Lake of the Sky Outfitters yesterday and since I wasn’t quite sure where everyone wanted to camp for the night, I decided to try it out by making my first warm dinner of the trail. After almost 1100 miles, some experimentation is warranted. I was pretty ambivalent about warm vs cold ramen. The instant rice packer I made was certainly had a wider set of flavors than most of what I’ve been eating and I don’t know cold water will rehydrate it properly. On the whole the experience was mildly positive since I had water and a bandana on hand for cleaning and there wasn’t much mess.
Aloha Lake
Heather Lake. We camped shortly after this but not in view.
Isaac Takes A Hike 