Month: July 2018

PCT 2018 Day 85, July 16, Monday

Start mile 1996.5, pond

End mile 2028.7, burn area

Miles walked: 32.2

Looking back, say farewell to Sisters and crater. And mesas and other features. Three-Fingered Jack is the best name for a mountain ever. Mount Jefferson presides over all.Tho trail goes up high on a ridge, with views of steep formations. Milk Creek had big flow and erosion, tricky to cross. Past the base of Mount Jefferson is a huge burn area. I am hiking late, and am not able to get out of the burn area before the light fails. Camping among standing burned trees is not safe; random creaks and pops from tree trunks are heard through tho night.

Finished audiobook The Diary of Otto Kandinsky, by I G Hulme, a Heavenfield book.

PCT 2018 Day 84, July 15, Sunday

Start mile 1966.5, tentsite

End mile 1996.5, pond

Miles walked: 30

North Sister comes into view in the morning.

An Obsidian Limited Entry Area requires a permit for non-PCT hikers for a two mile segment of trail. Bits of obsidian are in the trail, and larger fist-size specimens are nearby.

The trail goes over an area of lava rock. Unlike lava flows in New Mexico, where rock is melted together, these are separate lava rocks. Was the lava broken up by a glacier? Several named glaciers are nearby, not visible from the trail. Or did the lava get deposited by an explosion similar to Mount St Helens, instead of a liquid flow? Or was there some other mechanism?

Later I do see some lava melted together, not separate rocks.

Looking back, one can see the Three Sisters together.

You might think you are done walking across lava fields, then the trail routes you over some more. Near Highway 242, to Sisters, the route does a fun twisty maze with many turns.

Across the highway we climb Belknap Crater, all lava, a long section of several miles.

The day is hot, and walking on lava is hotter, and walking 12 miles between water sources is hottest.

Some trees try to grow on the lava fields, so it is especially sad to see a burned area here. I run into a hiker who says the burn and closure happened last year, and that she is back now to complete her trail.

I detour to a youth camp for water, and stay an hour or so to download podcasts on their wifi. They have a hiker welcome center, with kitchen, laundry, showers, and hiker box.

Hikers Josh, Ran (Israel), and Cache 22 are there, staying for a dinner. I skip dinner, and leave a donation for water and wifi on my way out.

I stop at a large pond to camp, the last water for thirteen miles.

PCT 2018 Day 83, July 14, Saturday

Start mile 1935.8, campsite near small lake

End mile 1966.5, tentsite

Miles walked: 30.7

The trail goes by many lakes, ponds, and mosquitos in the morning. Fog rises from the surface of some lakes in early morning. Elk Lake Resort has many visitors today. A hamburger selfie… The resort does not offer wifi, so there is no reason to linger. I grab an ice cream cone on my way out and return to the trail. The next two photos go together. In the Three Sisters Wilderness, some peaks rise suddenly above mountain meadow. Le Conte Crater is an old volcano. Then comes the Three Sisters, starting with South Sister. Behold Middle Sister. North Sister must wait until tomorrow.

Finished audiobook A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway.