he next day she ran into Tom and Doug again. She hadn’t seen them since her and Greg bypassed the snow. They also bypassed later on in trail because the snow became so dangerous. They stayed together that night, and compared experiences on the trail, since they hadn’t seen each other in a long time. After the boys went to sleep she started burning her last book she read on the trail, and she thought of Eddie. Eddie taught her how to build a fire, and she said without him she wouldn’t have been able to complete the PCT. She tried to burn her very last book called, Dream of a Common Language, but couldn’t get herself to do it. The next couple days, she walked with Doug and Tom, and a few girls they ran into. Those days were full of good times, and to Cheryl it felt like a summer camp. Later on she decided to hike alone, because that’s how she wanted to finish her hike. Once she reached Mount Hood she pictured her mouth on the other side, and she finally felt like she was letting her mother go. Finally, she made it to the bridge of gods. She touched the bridge and was so happy that she finally made it. Her trip has finally come to an end. She then got ice cream at a place right next to the bridge. She spent the last bit of her money. While she was eating her ice cream, a man came up to her, and she talked to him about her trip. He gave her his business card, so when she got to Portland they could talk more. That same man ended up becoming her husband and they had 2 kids. The trail taught her that life has challenges, but you can overcome them and better yourself.The next couple days hiking her raining and chilly. She arrived at Olallie Lake. The ranger there already knew she was coming due to the people on the trail earlier telling her she was coming. Cheryl picked up her supply box, and there were 3 letters 1 being from Ed, the trail angel from Kennedy Meadows. She also noticed there was 2 letters with 20$ and not just 1. She ate dinner with the rangers, and also ran into the 3 young bucks again. She hung out with the 3 bucks, and found herself attracted to Rick. She knew she was too old for him though. The next day they told Cheryl that they came up with a nickname for her, and it was “queen of the PCT”. They called her this because everywhere she went people helped. No one ever helped them or other hikers the way they did with her. After getting settled in the cabin, Cheryl went back outside, and saw her friend Lisa. Lisa told her she came to see if she made
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She offered to let them use her water filter, which they clogged, and use her iodine pills, which she knew she would later need. They were so rude to her, and didn’t care about her belongings. They left and she stayed at her campsite. The one guy came back later telling her he knew her instinct and that she was changing. The other hunter joined, and they left again. Cheryl was scared and took off running down the trail. As Cheryl continued hiking, all she thought about was Crater Lake. It used to be a volcano called Mount Mazama, which erupted thousands of years ago. It formed a lake after the eruption. Later in the day she reached a busy part of the trail. There were hikers everywhere, but they were mostly weekend hikers, and not people hiking the whole trail. On August 18th she noticed it was her mom’s birthday. Normally she would be very upset, but not this year. She was angry this year, and thinking about all the wrong things her mother did as she was growing up. She thought her mom failed her, but kept hiking on. She then forgave her mom for everything considering she did also do so much for as a child
She offered to let them use her water filter, which they clogged, and use her iodine pills, which she knew she would later need. They were so rude to her, and didn’t care about her belongings. They left and she stayed at her campsite. The one guy came back later telling her he knew her instinct and that she was changing. The other hunter joined, and they left again. Cheryl was scared and took off running down the trail. As Cheryl continued hiking, all she thought about was Crater Lake. It used to be a volcano called Mount Mazama, which erupted thousands of years ago. It formed a lake after the eruption. Later in the day she reached a busy part of the trail. There were hikers everywhere, but they were mostly weekend hikers, and not people hiking the whole trail. On August 18th she noticed it was her mom’s birthday. Normally she would be very upset, but not this year. She was angry this year, and thinking about all the wrong things her mother did as she was growing up. She thought her mom failed her, but kept hiking on. She then forgave her mom for everything considering she did also do so much for as a child