Day 30 - Into the scenic wild

After spending a leisurely morning at the Springhill campground, the Swiss Fits, Gangles and I decided to take the alternate up the Storm Lake Creek road up to Storm Lake. The road was nicely graded, and after a few hours, we climbed up to the lake, which was lovely. J. Ley marks the road as 'well-travelled' and a 'popular trailhead'. We saw 6 cars on the walk up, and people couldn't have been more friendly.

One pick-up truck stopped and asked where we were headed. After replying 'Storm Lake', he said 'hop in!'. We declined, to maintain the purity of our continuous footpath from Canada. We later saw him at the lake, with his grandchildren, enjoying a picnic.

After the lake, we climbed up to Storm Lake Pass, which had stunning 360 degree views. We could see Goat Flats to the South, and the CDT continuing. (See photo). This is supposed to be a beautiful section of trail, and we are very much looking forward to the rest of the journey.

Just after we pitched tents and started cooking dinner, the clouds came rolling in from all directions. We ate hurriedly and dove in to our tents. As the drizzle intensified, Barrel Roll comically (and quite practically) enveloped himself in his poncho as a mini-personal tent. He drew into himself, like a turtle in a shell, and was somehow able to finish cooking and eating while hiding under his poncho. It was a remarkable display of ingenuity and economy of motion.

Since then, Gangles and I have been napping and reading all evening. I'm glad everyone is in, warm and dry. We've all been socked away in our sleeping bags, chatting from tent to tent. The camaraderie of the group is a huge positive, even in light of terrible weather.

Oh, and we are wrapping up our first month on the trail! Good times.

Mileage: ~15mi from Springhill campground to Flower Lake