Red Gap
At Poia Lake, I camped next to a CDT hiker who had announced, “I snore a lot, hope that’s not too much of a problem!” as he entered the campsite. So I had a pretty restless night and left the campground late in the morning.
I filled up water at the lake with a CDT hiker, one of the only ones I met who was heading in the same direction as me (north). This was the first time I experienced a true swarm of Pacific Northwest mosquitos, a barrage of electric stings that sent my body into a kind of panic. I broke out the DEET for the first time and shared it with the other hiker before quickly packing up and moving on.
That CDT hiker and I leapfrogged each other all morning, and occasionally stopped together and chatted on the way up to Red Gap Pass. At the top, we took a long break together and watched a herd of mountain goats, initially white specks in the distance, slowly make their way across a nearly-vertical cliff face to cross the pass directly in front of us.
I passed that CDT hiker on the way down from the gap and never saw him again.
I camped alone at Elizabeth Lake that night. The next day, I only had about 6 miles to hike, so I sat at a waterfall and read there for most of the day before heading to Gable Creek Campground. I spent some time talking to a ranger at the nearby ranger station. He seemed pretty lonely, and I was too, so I think we were both glad to have someone to talk to.
I had finally officially reached part of the PNT, but I had 6 miles to hike out to the trailhead to meet Peter the next day. At Gable Creek Campground, I met my first fellow PNT hikers, an older couple named Robert and Mina. It was so good to chat with them. We took shelter from the rain under a big pine tree, and I helped them with their bear hang.
I went to sleep that night excited to finally meet up with Peter the next day.
