Had a good night.  Wake up feeling great and ready to go.  Get packed up and have my Carnation breakfast.  I can tell that this lack of eating is starting to take a toll.  I feel good but a little weak and under stress I go really slow.  I am not aware of it at the start but in 6 miles I have a really steep 4 mile ascent ahead of me.  I do realize it before I get there however as I look at PCT Hiker and can see it is steeper than anything has been in Oregon to this point.  I figure I have to eat and so I give it a try.  Find a nice spot and pull out the stove and fuel and boil some water and add the Ramen noodles.  Cut in some cheese and some summer sausage and add some olive oil.  I take a few bites of the noodles and it just ain’t going to happen.  I can’t.  I do pick out the summer sausage pieces which go down ok and then I drink all the broth which I think helped.  I start the 4 mile ascent.  I’m just very tired and don’t go fast but eventually do make it to the top.

It took me about 4 hours to make it 4 miles.  Went from 5800 to 7300 feet in elevation which I think is about a 7% grade is all.  That does not seem to bad but doing it for 4 miles perhaps adds a level of difficulty.  Anyway at the top, I was happy and tired.  Below is a picture taken of Cowhorn mountain near the top of the climb.  As you might be able to guess from the picture, the trail was also a tad rocky in this section rather than the normal soft forest floor.

The picture above was the east side of the trail of the mountain and the picture below of the west side of trail.  Both views were worth the climb.

The trail actually wrapped around Cowhorn Mountain and this is the view on the other side.  A very pretty lake but I am not exactly sure which lake it is.

After getting to the top, I hike down for about another 2 miles to a reasonable looking camp site and decide to stop.   Pretty early, about 4 pm I think, but I am beat.  My body and feet are holding up better than expected and I am happy about that.  However, my energy level has plummeted with lack of fuel.  Knowing I need to eat, I can’t force myself to do.  I’m sure it won’t stay down.  I have the usual to eat and start looking for an EASY way to get out.  I’m not giving up.  I will continue.  But for now I need to do something.  I only have 21 miles to go to reach my goal for the week but the way I’m feeling that could be 3 days and not sure how I would be at the end.

NOTE TO SELF:  There never is an easy way out of the PCT unless you are  crossing a major road.  It may look EASY, it is NEVER EVER EASY.  The illustration of that will come tomorrow.

Iphone health app says I did 13.5 miles and 36510 steps.  The funny thing is that it does not believe I had any significant change in elevation!!  I believe that is just an indication of how slow I was walking.

Lenora’s Story:

It takes a while to get Don’s response to my message about the offer on the house and in typical Don on trail fashion he is brief and to the point.  Message says “I am inclined to accept.”  Since we are in agreement I go ahead and commit my signature to the agreement.

Now I get to wonder about the other two messages he sent.  “Possibly?” and ‘I guess not”.

It is only later that I realize that not all his messages come to my phone.  Some just show up on the inreach page on the computer and this is how I find he wanted to be picked up today.  It is too late for that but I check the map and just cannot find any kind of road or track that leads to where he is now.  At the end of the day he is asking to be picked up tomorrow at Summit Lake and admits he cannot eat and is getting very weak.

Now I don’t know whether I am more scared or more angry.  What is going on I wonder?  Is this a foolhardy attempt that I should not be supporting?  How do I stay positive when I just want to tell him we are done.  Fortunately nothing happens immediately on the trail as the tale of tomorrow will show and by the time we are reunited I am once again in control of myself and able to sit in the cheering section again.

I am in a Best Western in Redmond Oregon.  The artwork here is incredible and I cannot stop taking pictures.  I find this photo on the wall that explains the art and the artist.  I am hooked.  I want to have fences like this on the farm.

I continue to stitch and would have completed the Penguin piece in one more day but I have run out of one of the critical threads and need to find a place to buy more.  Another job for tomorrow after I meet Don at Summit Lake.  I look at Google maps and get directions to the south shore of the lake and all the roads look like they will be paved.   About 90 miles and 3 hours travel time so I decide to sleep in and take a slow easy morning since he does not expect to meet me until noon.