Day 6 - Trout Lake Creek

It might seem obvious but it's much easier to walk flattish to downhill than it is to walk uphill. That is, I'm able to maintain a good pace (for me) even over a lot of miles. As an example I left camp at 5:45 am and rolled into my lunch spot just before noon - 11.5 miles done! This makes me cheerful. I may hike another 5 before the day is over. 

Another thing that should have been obvious is that camping on a lake is guarenteed to gather a lot of condensation in the tent, and everything else. 

Forethought would let me know I should have packed my tent on the outside of my pack this morning but no - I wasn't thinking clearly at 5:30 when I was loading my pack. At lunch I decided to haul out the tent to dry, and it's a good thing I did because it had leaked onto my clothes bag and had soaked one part of my sleeping bag. Fortunately was a bright, sunny day with not too much humidity so an hour in the sun did the trick. Must remember, must remember...

Met three thru hikers just before camp tonight. Warrior, who is walking in support of the Wounded Warriors project, Raven (who I think I met way back in early April) and Rags who has a contagious laugh. I'll probably see them tomorrow in Trout Lake. 

The couple I've been leap frogging with every day have trail names. They are Trinity and Plague, apparently characters in a movie. The last time I saw them today they had dropped their packs and were in a field next to the trail gathering and eating wild strawberries. Yummy. I had just put my pack back on from lunch and wanted to make tracks so I didn't join them, though I did bend over and snag one. Sweet!

Speaking of wild food I'm now in Huckleberry territory and had my first taste today. They aren't quite ripe yet but will be soon. They look like a bit like blueberries but are more tart. 

When I arrived at my intended campsite at 3:45 pm, after a 16.5 mile day, I was disappointed to see it full, or apparently full. Turns out there is a Boy Scout troop from Oregon City who does 100 miles of the PCT every year and they are on day 3 of a 10 day trip. There are 6 boys and 3 adults, all with their own tents. They were gracious and invited me to come in and search for a spot, which I did. I ended up eating dinner with them and Stan, the leader, gave me a fork. Easier to eat spaghetti with a fork than ones hands. One of the young men, Sam, asked if he could do a good deed  (yes, he said that) by filling up my water carrier for me, which was funny as well as sweet. Of course I said yes. I have a hunch I'll see them again before they finish as they are only hiking 10 miles a day. All the leader guys were interested in my gear so I showed them my pack and tent. Gear heads know how to find one another. 

One more thing. I saw this beautiful flower for the first time today, in areas where snow had recently melted. Anybody know what the name is of this beauty? Snowdrop perhaps?