Easy day and easy miles. We just hiked around 15 to Bear Lake today. Compared to yesterday, the climbs were a breeze. We slept okay but the cold and wind kept our faces quite cold throughout the night. Still, it wasn’t too terrible to be woken up as the stars were a welcomed sight. Just a sliver of a moon shown early in the morning.

Once moving, we stopped at a couple lakes along the way to enjoy some rest and water. Dreamland from New Zealand and Brandaid from Connecticut have joined our group for the time being. We’re enjoying their company and share lots of laughs when stopped for lunch or snacks.

The hike itself wasn’t too spectacular in terms of views but the rolling hills treat our bodies much better than the climbs we did the previous two days. When we get to camp, Sidequest breaks out his tankara fly fishing rod, as he always does at most rivers, streams, and lakes, and asks us if we’d like to have fish for dinner. After about 30 minutes, he comes back with two brook trout and we clean and gut the fish while others start a fire. Fresh fish… it’s been a while.

We enjoy the fire and have a great meal before heading to bed. The people really make this journey.

Happy trails…

Just a ten mile walk to the road that takes us into Trout Lake. It’s a pleasant walk with only a couple climbs. We’re at the road by 11:20 and are in a car on our way to Trout Lake by noon.

When we get into town, we grab some burgers, sodas, shakes, and coffee. Afterwards, we grab our resupply packages that we shipped ourselves in Portland and supplement the lot with whatever odds and ends we care for. Butter has been a new addition. It’s cold enough now that it keeps quite well and makes all the difference in ramen, mac and cheese, or any other instant or near instant meal. We get a ride from Gary, a local logger and forest ranger that now lives in Trout Lake. He’s a legend and such a gentle spirit. We hear stories of elk and bears from his childhood and eat our fair share of snacks in town. After a quick shower (the water was freezing… but we’re clean now), we head back into Gary’s truck and take a ride to trail. No need to pay for a motel in town when our things still smell fine enough.

Wild to think this hike has an end soon. The Mexican border feels equally distant as it does feel recent in our minds. We’ll navigate another reroute around fires tomorrow. Some road walks ahead.

Happy trails…