Day 132

Warm springs river to campsite - 29.9 miles

Total - 2097.7 miles

I decided since I was so miserable yesterday to sleep in till 6 which I tried but Ben from Boston had other ideas for me. He had an alarm at 5 and 5:30 which he silenced both times. The man knew he wasn’t gonna get up so why even set the alarms. I KNEW he wasn’t going to get up. So I was in and out of sleep for that hour. I was still feeling awful this morning and knowing that I popped ibeprofen to counteract the pain in my throat. One of the tonsils had stopped hurting but my left was still very prominent. It helped a ton and the pain mostly went away for the rest of the day and I could just cruise. I didn’t see Marc until lunch but I had a good morning of hiking. We passed by a big lake which I stopped at and had a snack overlooking it. Fish were jumping on the calm lake and people were just starting to get on boats across the water. Eventually I got moving and made my way along the lake to the outlet where I met Marc. Up until then, it was just a green tunnel which I wasn’t mad at. He was in pain. His quad is bothering him and he decided in 8 miles he was going to hitch to cascade locks or somewhere to try and heal up before we enter Washington next Monday after our zero at my house. We ate lunch and he described the pain which must have come from an overuse injury. So strange for it to happen now all of a sudden. I then got moving as I decided I was going to push three more miles to make my day into cascade locks even shorter to have as much time at home as possible. I came across a group of older ladies and one was on the ground. She had apparently taken a tumble but she was okay besides the cut on her head. I asked if I could do anything but they had it handled so I moved on. I got to the next water source and met two guys, one of which had done the 24 hour challenge and got 62 miles. But we were at the same place at the same time and I feel great so whos really winning lol. I pressed on and got service so I called emily for like two hours I swear to god. It made the miles go by so quickly along with all the uphill. I came across some trail magic which provided me with a cold Gatorade, a chocolate pie, candy, and nutter butter all providing glorious calories. I chit chatted with some of the other hikers as well there. It’s crazy now that I’m not with the guys I feel kinda like the new kid at a new school. I have to make friends again which I’m not used to. I’ve always had someone else there to do all the talking at first or initiate the conversation and now that I am on my own, I don’t have the confidence like I did with a group. Marc ended up getting a hitch quickly into portland and then my dad went to go pick him up from the bus stop to bring him to our house. Cant believe he’s there before me but I rather have him for the rest of trail so he needs to heal up quick. After trail magic, I headed out for the next five miles. I called emily for a bit and then I called Emma and camille. I cannot wait to see everyone in the flesh. I miss all those girls so much. I love them so much and they are so supportive. I also cannot wait to be around more women. Love the guys but no one can replace a woman’s love and friendship. Again, the uphill and miles went by quick as I was gossiping away to them. I got to camp and got a prime spot. Did my chores and sat down for dinner. So strange to eat dinner and not have anyone to talk to. First time not camping with one of the OGs and first time camping basically alone. Another pct hiker showed up as I was getting in my tent so technically I’m not alone but basically I am. Just gonna get a good nights sleep, kick ass tomorrow and get into town as quickly as I can on Saturday to get home.