Date: September 4, 2017
Miles: 9.4 miles (15.1km), from mile 2,186 to trailhead at mile 2,195.5.
Health: Feeling frustrated not being able to concentrate on the hiking and having to get off trail all the time. The smoke hurts my eyes.

We wake up early with Indigo and while it's still dark, we can see everything around us is covered in smoke. Despite the smoke, this was one of the most scenic camp spots so far. Instead of hitting the trail immediately we eat breakfast and watch as the first rays of light illuminate the forest and hills down below us.

As the sun rises we see a new, smaller fire has started overnight down in the forest below. The number of fires constantly popping up around the trail is getting ridiculous.

We pack our gear and Indigo heads out first. I stay in camp a little longer so she can do some solo hiking.

We're not hiking far today as the trail is closed ahead of us due to a new fire. We have to get off the trail at mile 2,195.5 and somehow get down to the town of Trout Lake. That means we have less than 10 miles (16km) to do today.

An epic trail note for Cannonball and Storyteller.

As I get on the trail, I still have some climbing to do before reaching the top. I switch my phone off the airplane mode to check if there's reception and immediately get three bars. As it's early evening back in Finland I call my youngest brother to ask how their wedding went and to inform them about our progress here.

The reception goes on and off as I hike along the ridgeline and finally disappears as I drop down to the forest below. It feels great to speak Finnish for even a short while.

I catch up to Dandy, Fireant, and Roadrunner at the next water source and we hike out together towards the trailhead. The trail is easy and fast to hike and we soon reach the parking lot and the trailhead from where the trail onward is closed.

Siting at the trail head and wondering how to get down.

The trailhead is next to a forest road but with nothing close by. We sit down at the picnic tables to figure out what to do next. As we're sitting there, Indigo arrives. After about ten minutes a US Forest Service worker drops by and gives us more information about the closure. He also informs us that there are about 15 hikers walking down the road towards the town. He has radioed the people in town to let them know that there are hikers up here looking for rides.

Instead of a long road walk, we decide to wait.

We don't have to wait for long as two cars arrive and give us a ride to town. It's a long drive and we're happy we didn't have to walk all the way down.

As we reach the town I see a familiar figure hanging by the grocery store, Blü! We knew he was coming south towards us but now he’s in the same town at the same time as us!

As soon as we get dropped off at the gas station slash restaurant, we rush over to see Blü. It's so good to see him! We hug and go through all the trail stories from the time we've been separated.

The town is full of hikers as everyone is having to get off the trail here. Kendall is also here. The last time I saw her was the day after Sierra City, the day when Sam and I started hiking together. That's so long ago, way back in Northern California.

We head back to the restaurant to get some food and catch up on more trail gossip. The town of Trout Lake is very small, only few buildings and two businesses, the general store and the restaurant. But there are people everywhere as it's Labor Day weekend.

What most of my photos of these two look like…

We eat and drink sodas at the restaurant and hang out with all the people we haven't seen in ages. Eventually, Cannonball and Storyteller also show up and it's like one big get-together.

We were supposed to get back on the trail but no one seems to want to leave yet. Indigo wants to hike solo still so she heads back out as everyone else gets back to the general store. We sit on the soft grass by the side of the store, tell stories and have fun.

These are the best parts of the trail!

After hours of just laying on the grass, everyone starts to get hungry and we head back to the restaurant. We start debating whether to get back on the trail or to stay for the night. As this might be the last time we see Blü on the trail, as he's heading southbound, we feel like we should stay. Kendall goes to the road to try to hitch but as she soon comes back without any luck, I make an executive decision that we're all staying. As I don’t want to have to discuss the decision I just start running towards the general store to get beer for everyone as the store is closing in ten minutes.

As I'm in the store my phone rings and it's Sam. He's still on the trail and wondering where we are. He has road walked through the entire fire closure. I tell him everyone’s in town. As I doubt there won’t be any cars going up this late in the night I go outside to look for a trail angel who could still give him a ride back to town. I immediately find one who’s going up to take a group of hikers and ask him to give Sam a ride back down.

I take the beers and meet back with everyone. We finally get Sam to town as well and the rest of the night is spent drinking beer and hanging out on the grass beside the general store. Eventually, we all fall asleep right there on the grass.

Epic day!