Refreshed and refueled, I got back on the trail at Echo Lake with a spring in my step and smile on my face. This was familiar ground: not only had I hiked this section of the PCT with my friends Jason and Carly during their own thru-hike in 2016, I had also done the day hike up to Lake Aloha many times over my years living in Tahoe. Blazing past several groups of weekend backpackers, I arrived at the lake in the late morning and found a good spot on the rocky shoreline for a break.
Normally Lake Aloha is dotted with hundreds of granite islands and blanched tree trunks jutting out of the water, but with so much snow this year many of the islands remained submerged even in the first days of August. Still, I couldn’t resist taking a dip in the frigid but crystal clear waters and freestyled my way out to the nearest rock island. Swimming in Aloha brought back memories of my first solo hike there on a late September day, the lake much shallower and warm as I spent a timeless afternoon hopping from island to island in a state of blissful wonder. Today, however, the icy temperatures soon brought me back to the shore and I lay on a rock in the sun to dry off, my mind slipping for a moment into the euphoria of yesteryear.
Russell on the Road 