Pacific Crest Trail (North and Central Oregon)
WHERE: I started at Wapanitia Pass on highway 26 about 6 miles past Government Camp and ended near Willamette pass at a place called Shelter Cove on Lake Odell.
THE HIKE: 10.5 days and 200 miles (counting a couple of unintended detours) starting with a viewpoint of Mount Hood before passing Mt. Jefferson, Three Fingered Jack, Mt. Washington, The Three Sisters their husband and the Bachelor and subsequently finishing in sub-alpine lake country just before Diamond Peak Wilderness.
PREPARATION: I did a backpacking trip and several hikes with new hiking boots to toughen my feet up, loosen the shoes, and get a few blisters out of the way so my feet can accommodate their new home. My original intention was to go all the way to Crater Lake so I packed 6 days worth of food while mailing myself another 6 days of rations to be picked up at a summer youth camp. I will include my packing list here just for kicks.
Clothes: one pair of cloth gloves, two short sleeve shirts (one for hiking and one for camp), long underwear top, hooded fleece pullover, army surplus fatigue bottoms, shorts and light fishing pants that convert to shorts and a poncho (can double as a tarp).
Socks: One pair of thin liner socks and a pair of thin wool socks to be used together while hiking. Two extra pairs of regular cotton socks (with hindsight I should have brought two pair of liner socks and wool socks as your feet will probably require more care than any other part of your body.
Day pack, Compass, first aid kit, 50' of rope (maybe excessive), pocket knife, extra zip lock bags and two large plastic garbage bags (can be used to waterproof gear when hiking in the rain), northern and central Oregon PCT maps, the Pacific Crest Trail Data Book, notepad, two boxes of water proof matches, lighter, 1.5 litre water bottle with a few feet of duct tape rapped around it (easy way to bring duct tape without having to carry a whole roll), wide sleeping mat, mesh tent with a rain fly, 20 degree Slumberjack Thermolite Extreme sleeping bag (was a pretty good deal for $80), Maglight with extra bulb and batteries, Sweetwater water filter.
Mess Kit: silverware (1 fork, 1 spoon, 1 knife), a 2 litre pot, 1.5 litre bowl and a pan/pot cover and a pot handle that can be used with all three. My stove was a tiny Camping Gaz stove that sits on a CV270 Butane/Propane mix canister and folds up to take almost no space in my backpack.
Hygiene: I brought a wash cloth and a 9" by 20" towel, biodegradable soap, toothpaste, toothbrush and plenty of alcohol wipes.
Reading: I brought two books, "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer and a collection of stories from outside magazine. I read a lot of the second book but none of the first.
Food: I am going to be general here since I never made an exact list. Many packets of Ramon noodles and about 4 packages of Lipton dinners. I brought dried milk and squeezable butter to use with the dinners (the milk will be used with cereal that I am sending myself on the second shipment). About 4 one pound bags of dried fruits and nuts, bagels, a block of cheese (it won't go bad in one week, it just gets oily) and some granola bars. My resupply package contained similar stuff but without the cheese and bagels.
JOURNAL:
Day 1: I started the hike with a graduate of the Appalachian trail and friend who had foot problems right off the bat and had to retire on the second day. Starting at an elevation of about 4100 feet the trail begins on a ridge over the Salmon River Meadows (feeds into the Salmon-Huckleberry wilderness). The first day was a very slight and constant downhill going past Little Crater Lake, Timothy Lake and finally to Clackamas lake. It was an easy 16 mile day. Little Crater Lake was cool. It was very clear and you could see 40 feet to the bottom almost like there was no water. The lake water also stays close to 34 degrees. It was rumored that a drunk high school kid jumped in and died of hypothermia before getting across the 30 foot lake (a bit unbelievable). Being a Saturday, the Lake Timothy area was packed with Portland area weekend campers and many bikes were on the trail. Nonetheless this lake made for a perfect afternoon swim spot on a hot sunny summer day. It should also be noted that their was a fire still smoldering at 2pm just ten feet from the lake while fire danger alerts where on high. f@#&in A, if you have to have a fire in the dry Oregon summer, do it near a water source and don't be so lazy as to not take advantage of the water source ensuring the fire is doused. After reaching Clackamas Lake we found a spot up the hill from the developed sites. My feet felt pretty good but it was a hot day and I realized I would need more water carrying capacity than I usually need during my weekend trips that often pass abundant supplies of water. When Russ said he wouldn't be able to continue with the trip I scavenged a 1 litre all-sport bottle which brought me up to a 2.5 litre capacity. Most of the hikers I ran into brought 6-8 litres usually in the form of a bladder and a couple plastic bottles.
Day 2: I left at 7:30 and spent a majority of the day walking through Warm Springs Indian Reservation. This was the only part of the trail that stays on the east side of the Cascade crest and there were plenty of views down Oregon's desert side of the Cascades. This portion of the trail is not very heavily forested either. The Pinhead Buttes area had the best views toward the east as well as the north. When I started off I met a guy coming back from Jefferson Park on a three day round trip. I then ran into a couple of middle aged gentlemen coming from Crater Lake who informed me that there is another solo traveler going south toward the Sisters. I also passed a younger couple coming from Ashland who touted their reception at Big Lake Youth Camp (my resupply point). They said $4.50 will get you all you can eat, a shower and they will even wash your clothes.
Day two started with a 860 foot elevation gain over 4 miles to Red Wolf Pass followed by a 900 foot drop to Warm Springs River over the next 4.5 miles: The Warm Springs River was actually very cold and tasty on a day that may have reached 90 degrees even on the crest. It is also one of only two bodies of water that is labeled a "River" which I crossed on my trip. There is a spring two miles up the trail which is the last chance for a water fill up before eight miles of mostly uphill. I failed to take advantage of this. From Warm Springs River the trail climbs another 1700 feet to 4980 feet in 7 miles before dropping into Lemiti meadows. There was a nice campsite right on Lemiti Creek which is part of the Clackamas River headwaters. Eventually I fell asleep to the sounds of trumpeter swans and man were they loud. I thought somebody brought a stereo system or something. After falling asleep I was awaken to the sound of Coyote howling which stopped after about half an hour but left my mental sensories on active duty for most of the nights remainder.
Day 3: Left at 7:30 after taking about 15 minutes to tear down camp and pack up. Five minutes later I had one of my most thrilling wildlife experiences, albeit very brief. After rounding a corner I surprised a bear that was 10 metres in front of me just to the right of the trail. It was a large male with a red patch of fur on its derriere and probably weighed 300-400 pounds. When he saw me it darted and man was it impressive watching that huge beast scramble off into the woods at 30+ mph while crossing fallen logs and branches all over. I could still hear it scampering about ten seconds after I could no longer see it. After witnessing that I was mortified at the thought of a bear coming right at me with such thunder. Continuing on I did some clapping so as not to frighten the same bear a little ways down the trail. This first half of the day was a very gradual incline offering views of Ollalie Butte. I got to Ollalie Lake (elevation 4900) which has a resort about 1/4 of a mile from the trail. They offer showers but they were $5/ 15 minutes and I wasn't going to entertain the idea after only 2.5 days in the woods. I did get an ice cream sandwich though (not much opportunity for that on the trail). After refilling my water, washing my face and resting for about an hour I continued on the trail. As usual it was nice to make small talk with the vacationers who were inquiring about my trip. Unfortunately I felt like a disappointment since the hard core trekkers where soon to arrive from Mexico and they put some miles in at a faster pace than I was going.
From Ollalie Lake the trail goes up 500 feet to more lakes where I planned to take a swim/bath (see I had no need for a shower). The water was great on a beautiful but hot day. upon leaving I got disoriented and slipped onto trail # 719 which goes past more lakes back down to a dirt road on Ollalie Lake about 1/2 mile from where I took my break. That was 3-4 wasted miles and 600 feet of elevation gain that needs to be redone not to mention being quite frustrating (the whole thing was a result of my inattentiveness). I took a different route to get to Breitenbush Lake so I didn't need to repeat the portion of the PCT that I just did. I followed this dirt road up to Trail #712 (Horseshoe Saddle Trail) which brought me back up to the PCT.
By mid afternoon I was getting heat exhaustion from having tried too hard to conserve water. Since my carrying capacity was light I thought I could ration my drinks even though the day offered ample drinking opportunities earlier on. Before I got to camp I was getting heat cramps everywhere (including my fingers when I grabbed something). If I bent over to tighten my shoes, my upper stomach would cramp along with my calf, feet and hamstring. I was getting goose bumps when the temperatures where still close to 90. I did notice that drinking the warmer lake water did not seem to be as good as a similar amount of cold water when your body is overheating (not to be confused with non-hyperthermia dehydration where warmer water is encouraged). Cold water just absorbs more heat before it sweats out because it starts of colder. Warm water tends to sweat out quicker since it is useless once it gets too close to body temperature (at this point it is not cooling you off). On top of all this a lack of wind means the sweat is not evaporating and therefore not removing your body heat. I didn't mean to go off on that but it was something I had really just thought of seriously. Anyway after about 3 hours of resting, eating, stretching, and drinking (water of course, unlike my usual night-time beverage of choice) my cramps began to subside just as it was bed time. My muscles are still aching however and I tossed and turned most of the night getting very little sleep. Forest noises where also a bit more exciting due to the bear encounter. I actually heard twigs cracking at around 3am and shined my light on either a Mule Deer or a Black-Tailed Deer who kept going about its business with my light in its eye.
Day 4: I was wondering how my body would hold up today especially since it starts with a 1700 elevation gain in 3.5 miles that included one large snowfield in late July. This was really a cakewalk in the morning and dehydration did not tug on me. Also the viewpoint was very rewarding offering views down toward Jefferson Park, across to Mt. Jefferson and Three Fingered Jack, and north to Mt. Hood, not to mention all of the other mountains which help build the character of the Cascades. The trail begins what is to be a drop of 2700 feet, from 7000 feet, over about 9 miles first passing many lakes in the Jefferson Park area. Just before reaching Jefferson Park I got to the South Fork of the Breitenbush River and my first taste of beautiful cold glacial water. I also passed my first Mexico to Canada through hiker and two PCT riders on horses. One lady was riding a horse while the other was walking the horse carrying the gear and food. These ladies told me the hiker was doing 45 miles per day.
Until this point I felt the only people I passed where those on single to three day hikes along with a few people doing a large portion of Oregon. At Lake Ollalie I talked to a number of people, all of whom brought their big rigs full of camping gear and boating supplies. I felt like I was on a bit of a pedestal as these people expressed amazement at the length of my hike. As I passed through the Jefferson wilderness the legs of my pedestal were chopped down with each succeeding through hiker that I passed. These people were doing 30+ miles a day coming from Mexico on blistered feet and I was wining to myself about cramps on day 3 where I completed less than 20 miles. I have a lot of respect for the toughness that the border-to-border hikers demonstrated.
Jefferson park is one of the most beautiful places I have seen and I deeply regret not spending more time there. It would make a beautiful spot to camp at though the numbers of people the park sees take the wild out of it. Basically it is a flat area with lots of lakes at the base of Mt. Jefferson: By base I mean their is nothing but vertical between you and the top of the mountain while the whole mountain is in view right in your tents back yard. There were no valleys or ridges or spurs in between, only the glaciers above. I cruised through until I hit Whitewater Creek and continued on until looking at my map 2 miles later wondering why I was climbing more than dropping. I asked a hiker going toward the mountain what trail I was on which happened to be the Sentinel trail and offered many nice ridgeline views. I could have taken a worse wrong route anyway. Now I have to put the proverbial tail between my legs and hike back the way I came.
My goal is Shale Lake and the bottom of my long 9 mile decline is Milk Creek before climbing 1600 feet in another 4.5 miles. When I got back to the PCT I soon had to cross a high flowing non-bridged fork of the Whitewater Creek which wasn't bad at this time of year but you should still exercise caution so as not to slip (not a good spot for that). I stopped at Milk creek, got some water then went up trail 100 feet or so where I could get a little shade under some bushes in an otherwise open canyon. After relaxing I got more water and startled another hiker who was laying down by the creek. After talking for a little while I realized this was the hiker I was told was heading to the Sisters but he was now opting for McKenzie Pass. His name was Adam, from Long Island, and we hiked off and on together for the next couple days. I came to consider him one of coolest people I met on the trail although everyone has been very friendly. We headed up the 1600' incline to Shale Lake together. Eventually I decided to slow down a bit because I did want to risk any more cramping episodes. I took more breaks to cool off for a couple minutes. Next trip like this I need to have more water capacity. I got to Shale Lake a little after 5pm. It seemed like longer than 4.5 miles!!! I met up with Adam here (he continued on) and met my first of many boy scout troops who were whooping it up till their 10pm curfew. I took a swim in the lake which was very refreshing on this hot afternoon. My campsite was on nearby Coyote Lake. I saw another deer tonight snapping twigs. This one stared at flashlight in defiance when I flashed it on the deer.
Day 5: Left at 8:30 and climbed a bit until I reached a ridge offering many views back toward Jefferson, Hood, Adams and St. Helens, followed by views of the trail to come winding past Three Fingered Jack, Washington and the Sisters. Unfortunately a bee liked the view of my foot early in the morning and I am slightly allergic. Upon checking my medical kit I realized the pills I meant to bring for the swelling where not packed. Usually I just get severe swelling without much pain but on my feet that could create more severe pain with nowhere for the fluid to go but get squeezed in. Met up with Adam at Rockpile Lake and cruised down toward Wasco which culminates in an 800 foot drop over 2.2 miles before splitting up. I got water at Koko lake after realizing I missed my last opportunity to hit Wasco Lake. I met my second boy scout troop here where one of the trip leaders was telling me about Cougar sightings in Oregon, especially east of Mt. Hood. He said he was followed by one for 3 miles while hiking at night one time. While talking to the scouts another hiker past who was coming from Ashland and said he would keep hiking as long as he was having fun but admitted, tongue in cheek of course, there are many who wish he'd stay on the trail.
The next water stop was 12 miles away and I was about to do the biggest climb of the day (1200 feet in 3 miles to a saddle on Three Fingered Jack. I passed a Portland State Student who is taking some final classes in an education curriculum. He started at Lake Tahoe and is continuing to Canada. He saves money for the trip by not paying rent for the summer. As I approached the saddle of Three Fingered Jack I noticed snow patches which I could melt then filter. I saved some water so the snow would melt easier. It was hard packed so I could scrape down to get clean snow and could boil some if the melting process was not fast enough. I preferred not to boil snow because I did not send myself any more gas for my stove and I realized that I did not take altitude into consideration when I decided how much gas I would need. I settled on a patch of snow 1/4 mile from the mountains northwest spur with a clump of trees shading on small camp spot on the ridge. The temperature was probably 15 degrees cooler than the trail which was ten feet away. I arrived here at around 4pm but this was the perfect camp spot with glorious views, cool shade and snow. This is probably my favorite all time camp spot. I talked with a lady who was from Wisconsin and thru-hiking from border to border as well. She was doing around 30 miles per day. The sunset over the whole of the west cascades was beautiful. The towering rock of Jacks high point rose above the snowfield overhead.
Day 6: I was invigorated enough to leave at 6am (I'm normally not an early bird) hiking to a beautiful sunrise over fantastic ridge views. I was also looking forward to amenities like new food, a shower and a meal waiting at Big Lake Youth Camp (BLYC). Today starts easy as it is pretty and almost all gradual downhill to Santiam pass which is 7 miles away. Two miles after the pass I chilled at Adam's site on Lily Pond Lake and ate a snack before we hiked out for two miles and my re-supply stop. It turns out that $5.50 will get you that shower, meal and washed clothes (I thought I was in heaven). The camp's only request is that showers are restricted to three minutes: I think mine was pretty close but I probably stretched it to five. I arrived just in time for lunch, to which I was informed that they are vegetarians which worked great for me being one myself. BLYC is a 7th day Adventist youth camp. Now I don't have to ask the servers what does and doesn't have meat. I have always noticed that friends and acquaintances who are SDA tend to be very outdoor oriented as this camp has been. They let me wander around camp while my clothes were in the washer so I watched the afternoon softball game then purchased a water and a Gatorade at "The Mall" mainly so I would have two more containers to fill with water bringing my capacity to 3.6 litres (still probably not enough).
I left BLYC after spending about 4 hours there and telling quite a few of the camp workers how great they are and how much their services were appreciated. Everyone there was outgoing, friendly and actively tried to make me feel like part of the club. Sadly my journey had to continue. I headed into Mt. Washington Wilderness which extends to McKenzie pass just 17 miles from Santiam pass and 13 miles from BLYC. Basically the trail goes up about 1000 feet in 6 miles as it skirts the west side of Mt. Washington. I plan to camp somewhere near this point for the night since I won't reach any more water sources until two miles after McKenzie pass at Lava Lake. After about 5 miles of hiking I settled on a spot with a nice view of Mt. Washington. Less than half an hour later a hiker walks by and decides to make small talk. Upon closer observation this guy had nearly 100 pounds of gear including steel pots and all kinds of implements strapped and roped to his pack. His clothes were tattered but his eyeglasses and boots looked good. This was probably my first encounter with the closest thing the 21st century has to a mountain man. He talked endlessly and without any interest in my conversational participation. I thought he was just happy to talk to someone but he soon revealed that he ate a mushroom and was starting to worry about overdosing. That explained a lot but eventually he became too annoying so I had to keep intervening with "well it was nice talking to you Jan" and he would start to leave, and then forget he was leaving, then he kept on talking. He did tell me some crazy stories about things like climbing up a tree after waking up to a Grizzly Bear standing right over him. Most of his stories probably had quite a bit of truth to him and he did know how to survive in the wild. After another twenty minutes or so and several strong hints he took off.
Day 7: I didn't get much sleep again, which makes it about 6 days in a row, due to forest noises and the same restless muscle aches where I can't seem to sleep in the same position for more than 5 minutes. Again the weather was beautiful without a cloud in the sky leaving me rain-fly-free again at night. My tent is mostly mesh so I could see the stars and Mt. Washington all night from within my tent.
Today I feel very rested and comfortable once I actually get out of my tent and start walking around. My muscle aches just vanished like every other morning after getting up. After a few miles of relatively level hiking around Mt. Washington the trail winds into lava fields which are very recent (less than 4,000 years old). This will be nearly my entire day with only a few breaks within the forested outskirts of the fields. The first drop of the day is 400 feet in 2.5 miles before rising up 800 feet over 2.5 more miles passing the two Belknap volcanic craters (each has a trail leading to the top for a fairly easy side hike). The trail is relatively hard rock with many jagged cinders (way different from the dusty trail of the previous 6 days which is much more forgiving on the feet). After passing the big and little Belknap Craters the trail drops 900 feet in 2.3 miles. By the time I got to McKenzie pass I was starting to get many "hot spots" on the bottoms of my feet. Two miles later I reached Lava Lake and began to filter water but discovered that my filter was clogging and scraping it seemed to do no good. I think it was getting clogged with organic substances which can get stuck inside the filter. Slowly I got some water than talked to Glory and Nameless Mike who offered me a bunch of Iodine pills after I whined about my dilemma. I only took six figuring it was my bed and I should sleep in it or something like that. They were both very kind people. As I reached the main PCT (1/4 mile from Lava Lake) I ran into a programmer from northern Idaho named Mike. He was in Eugene looking for a new job and decided to spent a few free days backpacking near Mathieu Lake (3 miles and 700 feet above Lava Lake). I hiked with Matt up to the lake then continued on through more volcanic lava.
By this point I am thinking about getting water at fresh sources so I don't need to filter and can save the Iodine tablets for emergency and/or Lake water. Any spring or glacial river is good enough for me and even faster moving water below springs is adequate in my opinion. From Mathieu Lake the trail goes up 900 feet in 3.5 miles to Oppie Dildock Pass. Much of this section of the trail is covered with views of one or all three Sisters while walking through park like terrain. Just before this pass is Minnie Scott Spring with very cold water: Cold water has definitely become a treat I desperately look forward to on this hike. I also met another boy scout troop who recommended a heart shaped lake as a destination camp site. From the pass I took a trail up pure pumice to a great viewpoint of all three Sisters. The side trail was short but grueling. I stopped at Glacier Creek and talked with Rydog a bit. He was a friendly thru-hiker who did the Appalachian Trail last year while working for an Uncle in Rhode Island during fall and spring then spending winters in Jackson Hole. Can't be a bad life. I traded some mixed nuts for carrots and then we headed off in opposite directions. I camped near Obsidian falls though I am still not sure if it was allowed without registering (but where was I going to register?). It is a limited entry area where the only permits are available through the Detroit Ranger Station. Anyway there was a glacial river, beautiful falls and lots of Obsidian volcanic rock. My feet feel of death and flesh is starting to disappear. I am now making a point to wash my feet thoroughly in the morning and at night with water, soap and/or alcohol wipes. Tonight is the first night I used my rain fly because the clouds got thicker as I went further south. It is completely overcast now: This is a picture I took on a later trip of Middle Sister. Unfortunately I brought a disposable camera that only had 15 pictures (one of the biggest mistakes I have made in my life with all that I saw on this trip:(
Day 8: Every other night my body ached but getting up relieves the soreness although the aches in my feet are last leave and first to reappear. Last night I felt good with the exception of my feet. During my morning mending process of wash, alcohol wipe and band-aid (which eventually became duct tape and gauze), I chatted with Ken and Klickitat for about half an hour. Ken and Klickitat are hiking from Ashland to Ollalie Lake. They offered me extra bug spray for the mosquitoes that will begin to swarm as I hit lake country. I gave Klickitat a Cookies and Cream Granola bar in exchange. They said they were hitchhiking into Sisters for more supplies anyway. They were doing about 16 miles per day which was a lot closer to my range than these thru-hikers were doing. Today I passed a lot of through hikers and PCT segment hikers who were doing a large portion of Oregon. Today is the flattest day yet even as I pass the Oregon Cascades biggest conglomeration of high peaks. Today's trailside highlight is probably the blooming wildflowers that surround the trail in so many places. The trail meanders up and down in very small stretches passing the heart shape lake at which I was told to camp. To pretty college aged ladies where just leaving the camp at the time. Soon the trail drops to Mesa Creek and then rises all of 500 feet (biggest gain of the day) to Wickiup Plain which is a vast open sub alpine meadow.
Near mesa Creek I met a 52 year old jogger named Dan who was walking/jogging a loop in the area with his 67 year old buddy. They do this every Saturday covering a roughly 20 mile loop which is improvised as the buddies separate for a few hours. I met several horse riders on the Wickiup Plain and they were all very friendly. Most I think came from nearby Elk Lake Resort. One gentleman, about 65 or 70, was with two middle aged ladies and he just reminded me of someone straight out of an old-school dude ranch with the plaid shirt, Buddy Holly glasses, and missing tooth to boot. After Wickiup Plain you meet the Deschutes/ Lane County Divide which is near an excellent view of the nearby mountains and Elk Lake below. The trail begins to go up slightly again passing a few mosquitoes infested lakes which serve as beautiful mirrors to the surrounding trees. After passing the Elk Lake Resort trails the PCT starts a very gradual up slope to a low divide in which there are no lakes but I did find a small creek which fed into a meadow covered with bear tracks and feces. Not a great idea for a camp site but there was water, my feet were aching and I had already gone over 21 miles. Boiling water for dinner was an issue with my restricted stove fuel so I put my noodles in the cold water and boiled from there so the noodles soften up before the boil starts. I continue boiling for a few minutes to ensure the elimination of potential bacteria.
Day 9: It was raining when I woke up. Two hikers past at 7:15 saying "Its seven o'clock, time to get hiking". I always find that stuff to be very annoying. I was having none of that and waited it out until a lull in the rain so I could pack without getting everything wet. I finally left at about 10am and was resolute to take fewer breaks in order to make either Brahma or Irish Lake. Pretty early I decided I would aim for Brahma Lake since it was still in the three sisters wilderness. The trail starts in Mountain Hemlock forests soon passing many small ponds then sub-alpine lakes. Some of these lakes near the trail in lake country have Nordic shelters often put up by groups like the Eugene Chapter of the Oregon Nordic Club. Black Huckleberries were also prominent near the lakes.
One couple and their young daughter saw me eating berries I had just picked and told me I would find a bunch of berries near the picnic table of what they said was the free PCT hiker camp site at Shelter Cove (they actually charged me $6 though I could have probably just set my tent up in site #33 without anyone saying anything). Anyway that is a couple days down the road still. The trail so far has gone up and down past many lakes before rising up to the 6,000 foot lakes culminating at Brahma Lake on the edge of the wilderness.
A couple miles before Brahma Lake I ran into a guy who has volunteered to maintain the PCT trail for about 11 miles north of Irish Lake over the past 5 years. He told me about a spring just 1/8 mile before the lake. I didn't see the spring but I could tell the water did not come from any of the lakes I passed so I re-watered without filtration here. Next I found a nice open camp site right on the lake with a convenient leaning tree to hang my day pack with all my food and scented items. The first thing I did was washed some of my clothes than went for a swim. The weather has been much cooler the last few days so it was a relief that the lake was actually warm when I took my first real wash since BLYC. unfortunately my stove ran out of gas before getting my Ramen noodles to a boil so I ate soggy Ramen wafers. To top this off my first box of water proof matches ran out and my second box was used and only had 4 matches left and couldn't get them to stay lit long enough to get a fire going. This was a new and unfortunate discovery. Murphy's law was a big fan of mine today.
Day 10: I heard many noises on the lake throughout the night but got up fairly early and invigorated at about 6am. My clothes were not dry and my rain fly had condensation inside from me. By morning the clouds had gone and it was a clear day. My plan is to make it to lower Rosary Lake tonight (about 23 miles). The hike starting with a downhill beginning as I reached Irish lake just outside of the wilderness area (there is a rough primitive road that goes out here and was the first road I crossed since the morning of day seven. I passed another large boy scout troop on this portion and again we chatted briefly and they were very friendly and inquisitive. This portion of the trail was a bit boring going through burnt forest and climbing slowly with a few dips over 8 miles. The highest point reached was about 6400 feet elevation. En-route I crossed another road near Charlton Lake where I talked with two smoke jumpers, Nelson and Jerry, transporting boy scout troops to and from destinations. I passed the troop they dropped off earlier which included Nelson's son. Before leaving they asked if there was any supplies that I needed and saw me off. Again, very nice people. Not long after I met Stretch who was thru hiking the trail but hiking with his wife up to Elk lake and chatted with him about dealing with foot problems.
From here the trail goes up 500 feet in 2.5 miles before a small flat stretch then a 750 foot drop in 2.7 miles bringing me to Bobby Lake and my last chance for water before the Rosary Lakes. I took a 1/4 mile trail to the Lake where I hoped for the best in term of my filter working. Soon after I began filtering a middle-aged lady named Petals showed up (she got the nickname because she liked taking pictures of flowers). I talked with her as I was pumping water through my filter. She is from Kentucky and hiked the southern California portion of the trail before getting stress fractures in her feet and having to cut off half of California. The PCT was her first backpacking experience ever and she decided a couple years ago that she just had to do it. Talking to her made the filtering process go quicker as it took 40 minutes to filter three litres of water. Petals also saw her first Oregon bear a few miles up the trail after hearing a scamper. She made some noise and the bear took off.
I walked for a couple miles before the day,s biggest climb came with an 800 foot gain over 3 miles. This was actually pretty easy and just as I neared the saddle (2 miles from the three Rosary Lakes) I noticed a structure just a few hundred yards from the trail. I decided to investigate and it turned out to be a shelter built by the Eugene Chapter of the Oregon Nordic club in conjunction with the forest service for use as a winter nordic shelter. A sign also welcomed use by anyone as long as it is left as it was upon arrival. There was chopped wood but I didn't build a fire since they needed that for winter. There were tools such as axes, shovels, and a rake along with emergency supplies such as chocolate, waterproof matches, candles and non-potable water. There was a wood table and log stump chairs as well as several loft benches and a card table. There was also reading material including Outside magazine and a book on the history of Australia. There was also a timed light switch powered by a battery fed by a solar panel: This was a fire prevention measure. On the wall were two posters inquiring about any sightings of Wolverines and Lynx in the area. I snuggled up to an article in outdoor magazine on Bhutan until the timed lights turned off: Bhutan turns out to be an amazing Buddhist country that refuses to let the influence of western aristocratic tourism contribute to the degradation of the "happiness" factor in the country. If interested I encourage you to read up on Bhutan.
Day 11: Got up early without having to worry about folding up a tent which was a pleasant way to start the day. As I left it wasn't long before reaching a viewpoint above Rosary Lakes including Diamond peak in the distance. From here it is all downhill, about 1200 feet, toward Willamette pass. Soon thereafter I reached lake Odell and a mile walk down a road that services the resort brought me to the trips culmination. I found the headquarters, paid $6 and change for site #33, walked to camp set my pack down, sat on the picnic table bench and picked Cascade Blueberries without having to get up. One recommendation, which I did not do, is to buy half-and-half along with some sugar at the resort and make a slurry with the berries. Once I set up camp I went back to the store and bought some chips and a 6-pack of Black Butte Porter. After making the purchase I asked whether they recycle thinking they surely would and I could just bring the bottles back there. The man who I talked to was the owner and he said "no we don't do that here!" almost as if to make a political statement. I would consider that boycott material actually but with the many elderly people there on fixed income I did find a couple who where happy to take the bottles of my hands.
I called my potential ride to let them know that I could just hitchhike back unless they wanted to camp down here: No point in having someone drive from Portland when I could hitch a ride from someone who is going toward Portland anyway. To make a long story short there was miscommunication on a cell phone call with very bad reception. The next morning I began a 3 mile walk to Willamette pass aiming to hitchhike when my ride came down the resort road. Though I didn't mind hitchhiking this was a very pleasant surprise and conclusion to the hike.
RETROSPECT: There are a few things I would do different next time. I would bring Iodine tablets for water as an emergency precaution. I would put more consideration to how much cooking fuel I would need. An extra pair of thin wool socks and liners would have been great as well since I could then alternate the wash and dry cycle. Feet are crucial on a long hike. Finally some aspirin would have been nice though I am proud to have pushed through the aches without taking any. One philosophy that has been recurring from the border-to-border hikers who go through ten times the pain that I experienced is as this: "Just take an Alieve and suck it up".
The biggest personal gain was a renewed appreciation for patience. Trail life moves slower and issues can't be resolved instantaneously. They must be solved over a longer time period and confidence builds to address these issues independently and creatively without the comforts of nearby shelters or modern facilities. This was a great experience.
