On Friday Morning, I woke up at about 8AM which I thought to be very late. Much to my surprise, Theresa, Omer, and Chloe woke up at about 10:30 AM. I spent the two hours walking around camp, using my phone, and just sitting around. Waking up late wasn’t much of a concern because we only had to hike 5 miles today to reach Heather’s Park. As far I was concerned, Lake Angeles was an ideal, scenic spot to spend a few hours at. When everyone woke up, we walked over the edge of Lake Angeles and prepared breakfast while sitting on some logs at the edge of the lake. It was an ideal breakfast spot with a few of the most wonderful people I’ve ever met. In short, Theresa, Omer and Chloe were inspiring for the following reasons:
- Love
- One can’t be a couchsurfer without being a loving person who strives to see good in everyone. One can’t not be a loving person when they agree to a 2 night camping trip with people they don’t know.
- Free Spiritedness/Adventurousness
- Each of them were hungry for experiences, open-minded, and seeking adventure. It was inspiring to be around people who put their lives on hold for 3 months-2 years, taking a huge risk by traveling (or moving) internationally. Spending time with them really made me want to take a year off and just travel the world. It really set the tone for the rest of my trip
From Lake Angeles, we continued the ascent up to the ridge. The climate/terrain slowly transformed to a more barren, less vegetated, more snowy, and more foggy terrain/climate. We took our time on the hike, stopping multiple times to climb peaks and take numerous side-trips. On one of these side trips, we left our packs on the trail and spent a total of an hour climbing to the viewpoint, relaxing at the viewpoint, and eventually descending back to the trail.
After hiking at a sub-1 MPH speed, we arrived at Heather Park at about 6PM. Near a creek, we came across an ideal developed campsite which included a stone fireplace, rock enclosure, and a graded area large enough for two tents.
At the campground, we had a 4 hour dinner surrounding the fire which included Tuna/Avocado/Pepperoni Bagels, Smores, warmed beans, Hot Chocolate, Coffee, diluted Honey Whiskey, and cookie butter. It was such an amazing night, where I was continually amazed by the group’s resourcefulness and patience in preparing the food and enjoying it.
Late at night, we went to sleep with the intention of waking up at 6AM so that we would be able to return the rental car before noon on Saturday.
