July 22nd, 2020
Mile 178.7 to Mile 188.3
I woke up a little early this morning to ensure I made it on time to meet my mom. I was out hiking by 6:30ish.
The hike was pretty low key. I met a handful of short term backpackers around Lake Valhalla. Saw some pretty cute dogs.
I got to Lake Valhalla and was pretty turned around. I’ve day hiked to that lake 2-3 times but got confused about where the trail came in so I couldn’t orientate myself. I did find a great pit toilet to use though. It was chilly so I didnt bother to go down to the lake. I had about 5 miles to go until Highway 2.
I honestly thought the morning would be a breeze, but lol it was still a 10 mile hike. I got a little tired and had to sit for a few breaks. The last stretch is a flat walkway that parallels the highway.
I finally made it towards the end and saw MILO!! (Milo is my parents’ grumpy dog.) And then I saw my mom AND dad!!! My dad had taken off the morning to come and pick me up. It was also my mom’s birthday. My mom tried to hug me but I was way too gross so I told her to stay away. We chatted for a bit, they brought me coffee, iced chai, salad, onigiri, and mochi. I ate a snack and filled them in on some highlights of my trek. My mom wants to be a trail angel so she packed a bunch of bananas and cookies but there were no other thru hikers which was kinda sad.
My parents brought my car lol so I wouldn’t stink up their new one. I sat on a blanket/tarp in the back. We drove back to Kirkland and I had service for the first time in 12 days! It was exciting to message my friends and Matt.
At home I hopped right in the shower and stayed in there for 20 minutes. My hair was in knots and 12 days worth of it fell out which was a little alarming. It was super hard to get all the dirt off my feet and toes. I felt like I had a lot of dead skin to rub off so I never felt completely clean. But I put on some comfy pants and went to do some other chores. I did laundry and hung up all my gear to air out. I made some eggs which I had been craving.
I spent some time in my bed but couldn’t fall asleep for a nap. At dinner time, we went out to a vegan Thai restaurant for my mom’s birthday and afterwards I finally crashed. Soooooo good to be home in a bed.