Today was very enjoyable and was a nice change from the last few days. Overall, the terain, on the trail itself, was a lot less of the rough volcanic rock we had been walking on and more on gravel and dirt. The surrounding area however had all the markings of a land once riddled with volcanic activity.
We were also excited because our day was split up by the promise of lunch at JJ’s Diner. We started out early, getting up at 6 a.m. to make sure we were there before it closed, though our fears turned out to be unfounded. The morning hiking was pleasant and we had about 8 miles to the next water source, Lost Creek. Lost Creek was supposedly a beautiful and cold stream but only accessible by walking 7 minutes down a steep ridge and much longer back up.
I promised Sherpa I would hike it for her so we wouldn’t have to carry water for 16 miles. When we arrived I walked down the steep ravine wall and reached the bottom. The stream was unbelievably cold and clear. After grabbing 6 litres of water for the both of us I dipped myself into the stream and almost passed out. The water was so cold it took my breath away. Needless to say it felt amazing in the heat and my wet clothes were an asset on the hot and difficult assent back to the trail.
On the way up my arms were freezing from carrying the cold 2 litre bladders. I reached the top after a few minutes and Sherpa was in tears, wracked with guilt for letting me get the water without helping. I thought it was both hilarious and terribly sweet. I really didn’t mind going down and I enjoyed the stream. I also knew how much she didn’t want to go so I was happy to do it for the both of us. We are so different.
She quickly recovered and soon we were on our way and chatting. The rest of the miles to JJ’s went smoothly and we arrived in a well groomed park just off the trail. Sherpa used the bathroom while I datum in the soft green grass. Then we both sauntered passed a gas station and then to JJ’s. There we ordered lunch, Sherpa a Soda and me a beer.
After lunch we made our way back to the bass station for more snacks and to sit below a pine tree out back. When checking out I looked at Sherpa and said “want to buy a scratcher?” She excitedly said yes and so I gave the cashier $2 for a lottery ticket. I had a good feeling about this moment and, sure enough, we won the lottery!
A $2 dollar investment turned into a $5 windfall. Big day for us! Of course we reinvested $2 more dollars of our return to see if we could go bigger. We weren’t so lucky on the second round, or so we thought. As I was leaving the gas station, the 3 hikers we had seen the last couple of days said that the restaurant had made a mistake on our bill and voided the check! Double jeopardy! What a day.
After we snacked our last snack and packed our Pringles in our bags we took off to get the last 9 miles of the day out of the way.
In the first mile, we came across some amazing lava tube caves and sink holes that I would love to come back to explore. We took a few photos and continued on. The hike continued to be relatively flat, wooded and enjoyable. I am going to miss this section when we get back in the business of all day climbs.
Three hours later we were pitching our tent on the edge of an old burned out forest turned prairie, in a beautifully recovering forest with a thick bed of pine needles. We ate dinner and reclined in our tent, and before long we were asleep like little hiker babies.
What a winning!!!
love u big