Day 78
Miles: 21
Aloha lake to Richardson lake

I don’t want to get up yet, but today it is just a case of laziness. I know I’m feeling better because I’m happy to be a thru-hiker again. I just wasn’t that keen on it yesterday… but sixteen hours of sleep cures many ills.

We start off leaving Aloha lake behind, just as bright and beautiful as yesterday.We also take some water there – it’s warm as bathwater. After that it’s nothing but lakes for a while. I’m not wobbly anymore, and uphill isn’t a herculean task, but it’s still stony, hard walking.

Aloha lake in the morning

Lakes, lakes, lakes, then over Dick’s pass, Dick’s lake lying below. I wonder who Dick is. There are clouds building again today, but maybe not enough for rain.

View from Dick’s pass, of Dick’s lake.

Past Fontanillis lake we pass a couple of hikers going the other way and stop to chat – it’s two PCT hikers, Treehugger and Petunia, doing a flip of this section, starting from Crater Lake and heading south. “What highlights do we have to look forward to from here?” asks J. Treehugger tells us to check out Burney Falls, and to watch our water on Hat Creek Rim – it’s brutally hot and dry.

“Do we go through Joshua Tree?” asks Petunia.
  “Nope – you see Joshua trees, but you don’t go through the national park,” replies J.
  “See, I told you that didn’t make no geological sense!” exclaims Treehugger. He’s from Georgia, he informs us, and his accent is a real beauty. I could listen to him all day.

Fontanillis Lake

Once we move on, the lakes turn into trees. Some uphill, some downhill, I turn on my autopilot and walk the miles, with my mind elsewhere. It’s nice to be here, to just walk, let the miles drift by through the forest.

Twenty-one miles for the day gets us to Richardson lake, the first lake all afternoon, and first good water in nearly as long. We’re footsore and ready to quit. We’ll do a bigger day tomorrow.

Tarp with net-tent. Mosquitoes aren’t too bad, but still nice to have a refuge.