June 26th Evening

After hitching down to Lake of the Woods, where we had a fabulous dinner, we struggled to get a ride back to the trail. The light rain w as starting to come down, and we knew our packs and boots were sitting exposed to the elements.

Eventually we got a ride from a PCT enthusiast. Upon arriving to where we stashed our bags we noticed a peculiar change. The dry creek bed we crossed to hide our bags was now running very full. It must be one of those creeks that they turn off and on for irrigation sake.

Since our packs were on the other side we had to find a way across. Jon hopped on a wobbley rock and splashed to the other side, advising us to try another route. Recalling my slight detour earlier, I remembered the bridge a few hundred yards upstream. So Debi and I walked up that way, while Jon sought out an appropriate place to put our tents.

Well fed and sheltered we now go to sleep, hoping no rain will come.

June 27th Evening
Elevation: 6670 ft
Trail Miles: 781.6 miles

Last night the rain on my tent woke me up a couple times. I stayed dry, but the noise woke me, so I slept in. When I finally decided to get up, Jon and Debi were about to pull out of camp. I let them go ahead, as they often let me.

Packed and ready to hike I started with a short walk into the woods, where Jon and Debi were waiting for me, or rather having an early second breakfast.

After a short rest we worked our way into mosquito heaven, or hiker hell. Unwilling to stop, we tried to push on through because the mosquitos were unbareable. Unfortunately, the body demands breaks, especially food breaks. It was interesting frenzy upon stopping. We put on our warm clothes, to cover as much skin as possible, and Jon and Debi put on their headnets. I didn’t want to dig for my headnet.

Then we ate and had a conversation about whether to push the last 45 miles to Crater Lake through the bugs and snow, or to hike 10 miles back and hitchhike to Crater Lake. Ultimately we did not want to backtrack and miss 45 miles of trail. Plus escaping the mosquitos probably would have required more than just skipping a portion of the trail.

I did want to backtrack and hitchhike because it sounded like a fun adventure, but opted to not miss that much trail. Though the rest of the day was really hard on my feet, I don’t regret it. We climbed up and out of the dense flat forest to some rocky hillsides where we were afforded a great view to the east and west. Then the fog rolled in.

Once the fog came, I was exhausted and miscalculating my distances. So the last 3 miles seemed to me 6 miles. Dragging myself into camp, I layed on the ground until I had motivation to set up me tent. In the meantime, Jon was busy building a campfire. A nice treat, but I mostly just wanted to eat and go to bed. So I filtered water while Jon made dinner for Debi and I.

Shortly after dinner was ready, two Oregon Section hikers arrived, quite happy to smell the campfire, and happier to warm their wet feet by.

Twenty-nine miles to Crater Lake and I have too much food. Not just a little too much, but alot too much. A miscalculation of my distance and required food has given me an extra heavy pack, making my feet hurt so much more. I can’t wait until I can empty the pack of unnecessary food.

June 28th Evening
Trail Miles: 807.8

We did 27.5 miles today, roughly. Jon and Debi went .5 miles down the wrong trail, so they did about 28.5 miles. A long day.

It is our 2 Month Trail Anniversary. Sixty-One days we have been out. But there has been alot of zero days, especially with the flip-flopping. I calculated an average of roughly 18.5 miles a day, on the days we hike. It seems low only because of our “Nero’s” (near zero) or half days that come from heading into or out of towns.

What a great day for our 2-month anniversary. The rain that beat on our tents all night long had cleared, and the sky was blue with only a few puffy white clouds.

As we walked the quarter mile from camp back up to the PCT, we were given the view we missed yesterday afternoon. Sharp rocks and steep cliffs dropped off the edge of the trail, as our trail wound back up to the PCT. Once we started our way up the hill to Devils Peak, we had an amazing view to the south. I stood on the rocks looking back at the north face of Mt. McLoughlin and, in the distance, Mt. Shasta. A large lake layed calm to the east (presumably Klamath Lake). I stood there listening to total silence. No birds were chirping, and I felt the complete silence existed so that the view could be fully planted in my memory.

We continued on along the eastern face until we reached the spur trail to Devils Peak, where we happily took “second breakfast.” Perched high upon the hill, we looked down the steep sloping snow.

Adventure Ahead, I thought. I pulled my sleeping pad out to slide down the snow on, but that was too boring. So, instead, I put it away and glissade down the hill on my feet. Its like skiing without skis on. Of course, with all the snow, we are bound to lose the trail.

Searching for a short bit we relocated the trail and made our descent the rest of the way down the mountain. We constantly had to cross snow patches for the rest of the day.

Lunch time came, as it always does, but this time we were happy to find sun, unlike in most of Southern California. We used the warm sun to dry our wet tents, boots, and socks.

With hopes of getting to Crater Lake today, I knew I was still carrying too much food. So what did I do? I did what any other thru-hiker would do, I ate as much food from my pack as I could, to lighten my pack weight.

Though the pack still felt heavy, I noticed a difference after hiking a bit. Generally the last five miles of the day are the hardest, or at least the miles after the first 18 to 20 miles. But today, with all the extra eating and the lighter pack, I hauled through the last 10 miles. I moved along at a fast pace, letting no snow or mosquitos slow me down. Four and a half hours later, I took a break. Compared to the usual 2 to 3 hour leg, this was quite a feat for me.

After the break, I put on dry socks and pushed the last 3 miles down to highway, where I sat and waited for Jon and Debi to show up. I met a couple other long-distance hikers and chatted with them, but had to leave promptly when Debi and Jon arrived. They had one thing on their minds, lodging for the night, away from mosquitos and with a shower.

We arrived at Mazama village, bought some food, and had a beer to toast the 2-month anniversary. Now I lay in the comfort of a bed. Tomorrow we do laundry, sort through our packages and get ready for the next leg of the trail, Crater Lake to Elk Lake.

Happy Trails, Inner Peace, & Harmony