[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

[pct-l] echo lake

I do agree that a few folks at Echo Lake were a bit crusty.  There was a
girl behind the counter who, *luckily* for us, was new and didn't yet know
to be rude to PCT hikers.  Alyssa and I made it there early in the season,
so maybe she caught on to the chalet operator's attitude later?

HOWEVER, neither Alyssa and I will ever forget beautiful little Echo Lake
b/c we ran into two of the finest people that we met along the length of
the trail--Bob and Jo, an older couple who not only were excited just to
talk to us about our PCT trek, but who took us for a boat ride/tour of the
lake(s), brought us home to their little cabin, made us lunch (that Jo, she
likes to feed you!), let us shower using their small supply of solar heated
water, and invited us to the Echo Lake Fourth of July Worker/Cabin-owner
party (you should have seen the look on some of those people's faces!  We
even got comments like "and WHO are you and WHY are you here?" to which
we'd reply, "We're guests of Bob and Jo (so take that!)").  We ended up
spending the entire day and evening with them, talking about life, the
future, their lives (they were so grateful for their families, and their
living the 'American Dream'--being a middle class American and yet able to
own a cabin on Echo Lake), and the hikes that they had taken in the
surrounding wildernesses (Bob had been coming to Echo Lake since he was a
boy--he had the dirt on the whole area!).  Alyssa and I came away from Echo
Lake absolutely REINVENTED.  We also felt as though we had surrogate
*grand*parents.  We ended up calling them along the trail to relate how we
were doing, and Jo kept up a steady stream of post cards to us from both
her home in wine country and Echo Lake--which she sent to us at our home in
a welcome back package b/c she didn't know where to send them while we were
on trail!

So while I'm not sure I would send a box there if I were to need to
resupply in the area again, I most definitely wouldn't miss it for a lunch
stop, a bit of a rest on the lake, and hopefully, another encounter with
Bob and Jo--or anyone like them!

btw, sorry this was so long--i KNOW everyone out there has some great
stories of their own--thanks for reading one of my most memorable!
Jean

* From the Pacific Crest Trail Email List | For info http://www.hack.net/lists *

==============================================================================