Tuesday 9/25/12
Miles 2257-2265 (7 miles)
Oh my gosh this place is incredible. I could go on and on about how cool this place is. It is, by far, the most incredible place I've stayed this whole trip. Not only that but Trout Lake is so incredibly hiker friendly it's amazing. The monastery is run by 2 main people, Kozen who is a Buddhist monk and Kirk who is a Druid priest. There is a Buddhist temple on on side of the property and a large Henge on the otherside, along with a druid meditation hut that looks like a hobbit house. I took pics of the whole place, it's so freakin cool!! And Kozen and Kirk are so incredibly awesome and funny people. Kozen also speaks about 8 languages and has been all over the world. He is also a registered nurse. Check out the place: www.mtadamszen.org and I think www.troutlakeabbey.com
I knew this place would be epic. When we first got here we were greeted by Greta the German shepherd puppy. She is sooooo sweet. She came trotting up to us and did her puppy sniffing thing and hung around for a bit. Most epic greeting ever! Lol! One of the funniest things about this place is that there are dog toys *everywhere*. In the Buddhist temple, there was a dog chew toy and a leash hanging by the entrance. And there are dog toys all over the house and property. Lol!! I love dogs. :). Oh! So this morning we found another dog on the property. It was a super chubby golden retriever mix. She was so cute! But so fat! Lol!! Kyle and I ended up petting her for about 1.5 hours. When one of us would stop petting her she would go to the next person. And back and forth, etc. lol. Smart dog.
Oh! So, last night they made us dinner. Kirk cooked Kyle and I some organic ground beef patties from grass fed free range cows. It was so awesome! It's from a local ranch in Yakima Valley called Holy Cow. Lol! Check it out www.holycowgrassfed.com. When they kill the animal, they take it away from the rest of the herd and do it in the middle of the night while it is sleeping. That is so cool.
Kirk drove us into town to help us with our errands. And by "town" I mean a small grocery store, a post office, and gas station with an attached diner. Lol, I don't know that I'd call Trout Lake a "town", it's more like a small community full of awesome people. :)
So, the bummer thing is that our resupply box that we sent ourselves did not get there. Wtf. I sent it from cascade locks on Thursday, we're not that far away. Grrrr! >:( So we have no food. We had to buy food from the store, which sucked because I have really good food in my missing resupply box. Bleh.
A trail angel in town Doug Anderson drove us all the way up the road walk to where the PCT is open again. Thanks Doug!! This was a 22 mile drive down dirt roads, not counting the 13 miles from trout lake to the PCT. Doug is so incredibly awesome. The story of how he unintentionally became a trail angel is one of those lovely serendipitous stories that make you warm and fuzz inside. Lol! Anyhow, we got back on trail and hiked a few miles. What an awesome time. I wish I could have spent more time at the monastery. If any of you live in Washington I highly recommend this place. Even if you are not Buddhist or practice Druidry, it is an absolute wonderful place to visit. They also sell their organic eggs and produce. They have a non commercial B&B there, so you can even stay overnight. :). From the Portland/Vancouver WA area you'd go east along the Columbia river and the north on the 141 at Hood River/white Salmon. From the Seattle area you'd go down the 5, then east on the 12 toward white pass, then south on forest road 23. Gosh, I could go on forever about how cool this place is! But it's zzz time :) Goodnight!
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