Day 129, August 24: Mile 2211 to 2230/Trout Lake

• Start: Mile 2211.2

• End: Trout Lake - Mile 2229.9

• Miles: 18.7

• Ascent: 2129 | Descent: 3314

We had 18 miles to cover before getting into the tiny town of Trout Lake, and they were pretty uneventful. I missed the 2pm shuttle into town and decided to stick out my thumb. I got lucky with the second car that passed- a nice local lady in a truck with some dogs. She was hesitant at first to pick me up, but decided to let me and another hiker ride in the bed of the truck.

Trout Lake turned out to be one of the most welcoming and well resourced towns on trail. There was everything we needed and nothing more, all within a 5 minute walk of each other- showers, laundry, two restaurants and a general store stocked with PCT hiker-specific items like individual packets of olive oil, SPAM packets (my favorite!), and backpacking meals. One of the restaurants was actually a taco truck, and I got a huge carnitas burrito in a homemade tortilla that was absolutely delicious.

I took care of the usual chores and hung out with my friends and the other hikers in the designated PCT hiker area on the lawn behind the store. I pitched my tent and we all camped together on the nice, soft grass.