The 4th I was up early and hiking at 330 in the morning. Enjoying the cool night air and the light of the nearly full moon. I passed by Hobart Bluff and Keene creek reservoir. Deer played in the twilight and a huge owl flew in and landed on the top of a pine tree directly to my front. It stared eerily as though judging my worth as I stopped to take its picture. The glow of its eyes reflected the moonglow and I watched as it silently spread its huge wings and drifted away. I could see other eye shine in the dark forest around me as I wondered what else was watching. I was felt comfortable and at home there in the darkened wood walking under the stars adjust another creature of the wild. Soon the first rays of dawn slit the sky and mists rose from cold mountain lakes. A promise of another day lit the distant horizon on fire. The deer frolicked and I hiked on. I passed the Hyatt Reservoir spillway outlet where the water was well spilling out over the outlet and crossed over under a bridge. I climbed up to the turnoff for Hyatt Lake where there was a resort a ways off trail but I didn’t hike over to it and continued on. I walked down for a while through the woods on soft dirt trails taking in the wildflowers and birdsong. I reached the Grizzly creek aqueduct which was actually a small concrete aqueduct brimming with water flowing along beside a dirt road. Where it originated or went I had no clue but there was a nice bridge to cross on so I was happy. I passed over and immediately on the other side of the road was another bridge over Grizzly creek so I crossed that one as well and then another 100 yards further on someone had gone all out with the bridge building and I send them my thanks. I crossed Keno road and climbed up Old Baldy which really was the name of the mountain and it was weird cause it was covered in trees or at least the part I climbed maybe it had bald spots elsewhere? I stopped at the peak for a much needed lunch break at the days 25 mile mark a little after noon. I ate string cheese and trailmix and snickers bars and then continued on my way. I mt was another 6 plus miles to where I was stopping for the night. I got there really early at around 3 pm but it was the last water source for miles and it was where I had agreed to meet uphill for camp. He was actually behind me for once. Besides it was a cool camp spot. The south brown mountain shelter. A ramshackle mostly enclosed (no real door just plastic sheeting) dirt floor cabin. It was slightly off trail but worth the walk as there was also a hand pump water faucet there to get water from. A local keeps having to fix it cause apparently the Forest service keeps taking the handle off cause they don’t want hikers to use it for some reason I guess they’d rather us die of thirst than drink their water? Luckily the guy had put a new handle on it just the week before and though it was a bit of work I soon had all the water I’d ever need. The shelter was cool but sadly other hikers had left piles of trash everywhere. However there was a rally fat chill rat sitting on the counter just beside the door living it’s best life eating hiker trash. I love that it wasn’t afraid of humans at all which meant that all the hikers this year saw this rat and respected its domain and right to live there and just left it to chill. That restored me a bit of my hope in humanity. Also I had seen a super spook owl and a really fat rat on the same day I’m not sure how to read omens and signs but that had to mean something right???
I left the rat to it’s happy life and went back outside. Two teens and their mom hiked in and settled in for lunch after figuring out how to work the water pump. I had heard of them before but never met them. They were Thing 1, Thing 2, and The mon was Thing Maker, sometimes the mom switched with their dad and he was called Thing Chaser. The younger 2 things had started at Mexico and were hiking the whole trail accompanied alternately by one parent or the other. It was pretty cool they had already finished the Camino in Spain and traveled extensively. Good life. We chatted while they ate then I went ahead and set up my tent and took a nap. Uphill showed up about 4 and oh I forgot the best part there was a picnic table. Ok so you have no idea how nice it is to sit at a table and eat instead of sitting flat on the gorund all the time. Smooth elevated Flat surfaces are a luxury people and benches! appreciate what you have people! So we cooked and ate at the table above the dirt like semi civilized cavemen coming out of the stone age. I introduced Uphill to the rat and he was suitably impressed then we just relaxed I worked on my blog and read a book and had a great evening. Another lady came in later and camped nearby and a guy camped in the woods behind the cabin. And everyone slept, well I don’t know about the rat she may have partied all night. Mile 1763.4 a31.3 mile day.
August the 5th. I guess dawn came early but I was out and hiking even earlier. In Oregon there are loads of resorts close to the trail that serve coffee and breakfast and we had decided to try to make it to the Fish Lake resort when it opened at 9. The road crossing, Highway 140, was almost exactly 10 miles from where we had camped at the shelter and we smoked the trail in the dark. 5 miles easily passed by Sunup and by 8 we were at the road. We hopefully stuck out our thumbs but the Oregonians (I googled it 🙂 weren’t having any of it. They were actually putting on their masks in their cars and swerving into the other lane at the sight of us. As though somehow COVID cooties would leap on their car and crawl in thought the air vents just from looking at the hikers on the roadside. I had faith in the trail though and about 15 till 9 a truck with Colorado plate pulled over and told us to hop in the back. We happily did so and took us down to the turn off and let us out. From there it was a short walk to the resort where we were soon happily chilling on the deck still 5 minutes before the cafe opened. As soon as the opportunity presented itself I preferred coffee and burritos they were out of pancakes and I didn’t know you could order lunch already. My burritos were good but Uphill figures it out and I was completely jealous if the cheeseburger he was eating at 9 Am. We ate and bought snacks at the tiny store and used the actual real toilets (again don’t take it for granted, sitting on a throne to poop is a luxury)then Uphill who likes talking to people (I don’t 😉 made a friend and got us a ride back to the trail and by 11 we on our way again. The goal was to do another 26. Some odd miles for the day but it was late and 24ish of the miles were up and I’m slow so I knew I probably wouldn’t make it but I didn’t want to hold Uphill back who well got his name cause he basically floats uphill at 4 miles an hour so I told him I’d try my best and if I didn’t make it I’d catch him the next day and he was off like a bottle rocket out of a coke bottle. All I saw was was a cloud of smoke from where he’d been a moment before. I chuckled and sighed and set off at the speed of a hurried turtle. I made it up to summit lake and was running out of water but decided to hike on a bit and fill up at Cristi’s Spring. It was slightly off trail but I walked downtown to it for water and a snack break and found the Things, 1,2, and Maker, they said they were expecting me as Uphill had run in and out a while ago. I stopped for a snack and we discussed how the water was scarce and the next source was 14 miles away Uphill. They were all planning on taking an alternative trail that had loads of water because Oregon’s full of lakes and creeks and streams it’s just whoever built the PCT felt it was way more important to maximize every inch of climbing possible rather than go to the water sources apparently.. So they were doing a different trail that went by several lakes and rejoined the PCT later on. Thing maker showed it to me on the actual paper map she was carrying and It looked great but I had to follow the trail. I left them their and hoped to see them again (I’d love to pick their brains about the Camino as it a on my list of someday things) I hiked on It was after 3 and I wasn’t going to make it to the planned camp till way after dark and I had signal so I texted Uphill to let him know figuring he’d have signal too since he was somewhere miles above me. I had gotten enough water to camp for the nigh from the creek but I still wanted to do another’s 8 ish miles so I would have completed a 30 mile day so I headed on up towards Lucifers (Devils) Peak. I climbed on thru forests and burned area meeting a couple of Sobos and fighting horrendous hordes of mosquitos. Finally I reached a ridge line where the mosquitos thinned and there was a nice campsite with large evergreen trees a huge flat spot to tent. I set up camp and cooked and ate my potatoes and ramen. I enjoyed the solitude of the evening and slept. Mile 1793.7 a 30.4 mile day.
The 6th I had miles to do and it was to be an exciting day. I was going to Crater Lake National Park. Another park to check on the list. I’m working on getting to them all. I was hiking at 3 up, up, up, to Devils Peak(ok Lucifer) it was living up to its name as I passed thru burned areas, crawling over blowdown trees every few feet hiking on ankle breaking rocks. The moon hid behind the clouds and a cold mist set in. It felt like I was climbing thru purgatory. I’d taken my contacts out and was hiking in glasses which soon fogged over and I could barely see in my tiny beam of light. Eerie skeletons of trees were on all sides with skeletal branches reaching out across the trail. I felt eyes in the gloom and corpses of burned evergreens littered the trail. A fog rolled in and soon I was encased; it was eerie and dark and lonely and I realized I needed to eat. If the trail gets weird and your mind takes ahold eat, break it up. So I pulled out my emergency snickers bar and ate it as it walked it didn’t clear up the cold mist or the fog or light my way but it did give my brain something else to think about and I finally reached the top. From there I got to go down and at 4 I passed Uphill’s tent, I started to yell but wasn’t sure if anybody else was camped nearby so I didn’t. His headlamp was on so I figured he’d be on his way soon and would catch up quickly.
It was a long way down to honeymoon creek through more huge burned areas. Our forests are dying and we desperately need to find ways to save them between burned zones, beetle kills, and greedy loggers there’s so little left. 🙁 I hiked on down to honeymoon creek and then back up a while to beautiful ridge line views of distant peaks. In a burn zone I crossed into Crater Lake National Park. I made my way to highway 62 and walked the road down to the National Park tourist are where there was a store and campground and a restaurant. I found a empty patio and plugged in my stuff to charge and ordered some food. Another hiker named lamb chop was there. Her box was supposed to have been there days before and it hadn’t yet arrived. I felt her pain. Uphill showed up and I went over to the store and luckily my box was there. I was so happy cause it had my shoes in to. Yup the ones I had bought less than a month before already had over 600 miles on them and had to be replaced. We ate and paid to sleep in the Pct camp which we didn’t give our names or get a receipt for so there was no way to prove we paid but no one asked. The pct area had picnic tables that were really short too which was weird like inches off the ground short. I pitched my tent and worked on my blog. 5 or 6 other hikers came in. A girl, 35, whom I’d met before ,Terminator and his friend, a couple just doing the Oregon Section and several more. At 5 I went back to the restaurant and ate a 20 dollar frozen pizza. I sat outside and typed and talked to some hikers that came in. The other hikers all had a big table inside but I was happy on the patio. Then it was time to sleep. I was happy camping in Crater Lake, and hopefully the next day I’d actually get to see the lake. The tour boat wasn’t running cause of COVID but hey I’m already living a dream you can’t have everything! 🙂 mile 1820.9 a 27.2 mile day.
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You are doing great ! Enjoying following you on your grand adventure.How is your gear holding up?
Pretty good my circuit has like 4000 plus miles on now in less than 2 years so it’s doing great. My tents working well tho as As u’ll discover if I ever catch up on the blog it got attacked by a chipmunk. Clothes and shoes keep falling apart but that’s to be expected ha d to change my tracking pole tips the Jet boil I bought before the AT is still going strong overall I can’t complain 🙂 I think I may be falling apart but gears mostly ok