August 12th, 2018
Horseshoe Lake mm 1943 to Ski Shelter mm 1914.5
Distance: 28.5 miles
0640-1800
It got pretty cold overnight and I had the hardest time getting moving in the morning. For the first time in awhile, my tent had condensation. No wonder, the way the lakes were all steaming.
Once I was hiking, I concluded that it was perfect weather. Since mid-morning the day before, the haze was gone and the nice clear views were back. Too bad it was mostly in the trees today. I went through one burn section, which was quite pleasant for a change.
I had stopped early for lunch, taking an hour to cook an extra meal and dry my tent. Then around 1 pm, I ran into another Trail Magic set-up. Lisa, Kimmy, Tracy, Maya, and Bilbo were serving as trail angels. They were offering tuna salad sandwiches, watermelon, chips, and candy. They also came prepared with wet wipes and lawn chairs. It was so great to be spoiled once again. Thanks gang!
I hiked on eventually. By then I was pretty sure about only going as far as the ski shelter. But I would need to carry water for 3 miles. I stopped at a pond, which was uphill of a bigger lake. The pond was very shallow and looked gross but it was right off trail, as opposed to the other lake. So I went for the lazy pond water. It was pretty gross, so I wished I hadn’t.
As I was walking past the trail junction to the lake, I thought I heard someone calling from behind. It was Suvi, who I met 3 days ago. She had just been getting water and was planning to stay at the ski shelter, same as me. We walked the last 3 miles together and were pleased to find a pretty nice little structure, shaped like a yurt. No one else came to stay so we got the place to ourselves. It was a great night in a hut with my fellow TA walker!
