Sagebrush Trails

PCT 2018 Day 80, July 11, Wednesday

Start mile 1837.2, campsites

End mile 1875.8, water cache

Miles walked: 38.6 (oops!)

We are starting to see some snow-kissed mountains nearby,

The trail climbs a bit to Mount Thielsen, not climbing to the top, but getting midway for good views.

In the distance one can see flat areas, hinting at the edge of the mountain range.

I meet Savage and Matador, who hiked the AT last year and are section hiking Oregon. We walk together talking for several miles, and the distance slips by easily and quickly with good conversation. They stop at one of the rare water sources, and I press on to a water cache in six miles.

Magic Beans is camped there. She had not passed me, but somehow got off the trail and took an alternate route.We are both headed to Shelter Cove resort tomorrow, hence the extra miles today to get closer.

Finished audiobook The Stories of J G Ballard, adapted from short stories by the author.

Finished audio short story Auggie Wren’s Christmas, by Paul Auster, read by author.

PCT 2018 Day 79, July 10, Tuesday

Start mile 1810.2, campsites

End mile 1837.2, campsites

Miles walked: 27.0

I walk quickly to Mazama Village and arrive at 8:30AM to pick up my food box, but the staff says I need to wait until 9, so I go over to the restaurant for a well-deserved breakfast. But there is a line waiting, and breakfast takes a while, too late to do laundry and hike to my campsite after seeing Crater Lake. See, the park service restricts where hikers can camp within the park, and I looked ahead to the few camping sites available.

Back to the camp store I get my food box and repack to my food bag. Magic Bean, Viking, Phelps, Spacejam, and I hang out at the Mazama picnic tables, snacking and doing prep.

I struggled with Xanterra’s paid wifi, so slow that I could barely download any podcasts. (Xanterra is the concessionaire for most of the large national parks.)

Viking shows off his 40 pound pack. After a few more miles of steep climb up to the rim trail, the view makes the minor hassles of the morning irrelevant. Crater Lake is in a caldera, an old exploded and collapsed volcano. The stunning blue is real, not merely an artifact of photography. The water clarity is 143 feet, said to be a world record. The maximum distance across the lake is 6 miles. You can see reflections of clouds in the water. Wizard’s Island is a cinder cone within the caldera. Down below, a tourist boat moves past. We are really up high on the rim. Magic Bean and I stop at a campsite 8 miles within the park boundary, with mosquitos getting too bad to enjoy walking further. Viking and several section hikers are already there. Magic Bean models her long netting poncho, which she uses for cowboy camping.

PCT 2018 Day 78, July 9, Monday Start mile 1778.0, tent site

End mile 1810.2, campsites

Miles walked: 32.2

Skeeters are hungry in the morning, as they were last evening. I am a pint low. Haze from a forest fire and the faint smell of woodsmoke is still here, lessening later in the day. In the afternoon the trail crosses talus fields of loose flat rocks, and the forest cover opens for some views. I meet Foodie, who was last seen at Burney Falls. We walked and chatted for a while along a large burn. Also seen today is Magic Bean, Viking, and Nicki. Foodie and Nicki and I are at the same exposed windy campsite, where skeeters do not dare to fly.

Finished audiobook Prince of Hazel and Oak, by John Lenahan.