(original date June 23, 2026. Almost caught up. I am moving this series over to Hive and since I was only a week and a half behind to begin with, my OCD told me I needed this to all be over here in chronological order. A few weeks ago I put my whole life in a storage unit and am just figuring out life alone on the road. Follow me for my plan-less adventures if you so feel!)
Despite it having been a rather boring day consisting mainly of resetting and taking care of responsibilities, I promised myself I would write every day just to get back in the practice. Even if it’s meaningless journaling pumping into a cell phone touchscreen.
I headed back up to the mountain to charge my devices, poach a shower, and do some health insurance and job searching nonsense. Did I have to take my 1994 van up the six mile access road for these things? Absolutely not. And even though it is a little sad being up here while being injured and therefore not able to enjoy the mountain, it’s a nostalgic place for me and I am comfortable up here. Plus, you never know what old friends I might run into up here in the summer. An experience I definitely need right now; loneliness has been setting in heavily. Despite being quite an introvert, I am still a very social person in the sense of i like being around friendly faces. Even if I’m not necessarily being outwardly social. I think this is going to be one of the most difficult parts of van life for me. However, after spending the last three years living in a city where I knew virtually no one, on the other side of the country from most of my family and friends, I think I will survive.
Anyways, as I sat in the lodge, patiently waiting for my power banks to crawl to 100%, I desperately needed a break from job applications and returning emails, I decided to watch The Shining.
This sounds super random right? Well, it was, but not entirely. The hotel up here where campers occasionally poach showers and cook burgers was featured in the film, the exterior shots specifically. Despite the Timberline Lodge only appearing very briefly in the film, it grasps onto this claim for fame heavily. The gift shop sells many Shining-related merch, for instance. I remember when I worked here years ago they had a trivia fact about it in our orientation. It was about the amount of actual screen time the lodge had. If I remember correctly it was somewhere around the 40-second range.
Anyways, I absolutely love The Shining and I have a weird affinity for watching films(specifically horror) in locations meaningful to the respective story or film. So that was my random side quest for the day to keep me entertained 😂
The lodge is absolutely spectacular by the way. It has an extremely unique interior, and is a wedding destination/conference center, among other things. I have never spent a night there, but I hope to one day. It is rather pricey.
I made some parking lot friends and hung out with them for most of the evening. They were camping down by Lake Trillium, a popular scenic destination near the bottom of the access road. I tried to join them but the gate was patrolled and I didn’t feel like paying the overnight fee. Trillium is kind of hit or miss as to when they charge. Essentially, it’s free until it becomes popular enough that space becomes an issue, and then they start enforcing it. I’m not sure if it’s the heat or what, but it’s been heavily crowded the last few days according to my new friends, and so anyways we parted ways. They are unfortunately leaving tomorrow but hey, maybe our paths will cross again in the future.
So I rattled back on down the road hoping to get the same campsite that I managed to secure yesterday. Unfortunately, someone else had claimed it, so I camped nearby in a slightly less-than-desirable spot. But that’s life, she got there first, and it looks like she’s there to stay for a bit. Good get girl!
I picked at the perishables I have that need to be eaten before they go bad. An avocado, some pickles, cheese, tomato and cottage cheese was dinner. I tried pretty much every combination of those items and none of them failed. Next trip down the hill I’m really gonna focus on trying to find a camp stove.
My ribs are healing. I think by the weekend I can start doing some light physical activity again. Hoping I can get out there and share some cool sights and sites with you all. Stay golden, friends 🖤
