Lenora is a tad worried, based on my history, of me starting at the start of the next 100 mile section because all the reasonable pick up points are near the end of the 100 miles and none at the start.  So we find what looks like a reasonable point off of a dirt road called Breitenbush.  GPS indicates a 2 hour drive.   Ends up taking about 4 hours as the road is pretty rough but not at all dangerous.  Had it been dangerous I would have just turned around and come up with another plan but both Lenora and I are sure she can handle getting out without worries.  It is a rough area however and Lenora says this is going to be a rough hike when we reach the destination and I get out of the car.

 

The rockiest areas seem to create the most wild flowers.  The hike starts with a little bit of an ascent and there are some wild flowers along the way.  I have not identified any of them except for some wild strawberry.

 

Burned out are and lots of rocks.

Mount Jefferson looming as I am making the ascent.  The valley below Mount Jefferson is beautiful.

 

As I finish the ascent I come to this large pond.  Would be good water but I don’t need any yet.

This reminds me of the High Sierras.  Not many trees and very rocky and to your right it is straight up and to your left it is straight down.

About 1 pm I get to upper lake.  Very pretty.  Along the way I have hit a couple rocks just wrong and/or stepped directly onto a sharp stone which I could feel very clearly on the bottom of my foot.  The boots I have been wearing are thin and well worn.  I knew this BUT so far Oregon had been a pretty pleasant hike on soft forest ground, not this section however.

Just a little later in the day.  Nice sign to Red Lake (have no idea where Red Lake is).  The other sign clearly could use some work.  Olallie Lake is in 1.5 miles and I figure I will stop there and have some lunch.

I am surprised when I get to Olallie Lake.  Right on the trail (about 400 yards away) there is a general store and a campground and in the campground there is a trail angel cooking up some food for the PCT’ers.   I wander in and he offers me banana pancakes or a hot dog.  Took the hot dog.   He also has watermelon which I eat about a ton of that :).  Oddly he has no drinks and indicates can go buy some at the general store.  About this time 4 other hikers arrive to the feast.  I go over to the general store and buy 6 big Gatorades for us hikers and the host.  The host tells us that he is doing this because he tried to hike the PCT last year but only made it about 100 miles but got an appreciation for the types of food that hikers eat and thought he could help the situation.

I hike another 4 miles or so to Jude Lake and decide to stop for the day.  My feet are already sore which catches me by surprise because I have had NO issues with my feet at all.  Jude Lake is very warm and not very easy to get clean water from but I do fill up and get water for cooking and for breakfast.  The water tastes ok but is warm.   That is a little bit of a problem in this part of Oregon.  There is plenty of water but it is all from lakes and it is warm.  Getting the water at the end of the day and leaving it out in the open at night helps cool it down a little but even with that it is still warm.

Iphone: 12.7 miles, 31059 steps, 12 floors

Lenora’s Story:

Finding a good drop off or good pick up place remains a challenge.  Some roads are described as rough and others just say unpaved.  No way of knowing which will be better.  The drive to Breitenbush was long and scary.  The section where the sheer drop-off beside the car seemed to go on forever and I was not looking forward to the trip down.  But, you never know how things will turn out.

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The above are different views of the road down the mountain. Not sure the pictures do it justice.  Guess you had to be there to appreciate it.

Since wild fires have affected this area so much I decide to stop and learn about what has happened.

I see a lot of neat things on the way down and the section where the road is narrow and the drop-off sheer is way shorter than it seemed on the way up. I hug the wall side of the road and am in the good spots soon.

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I expected to lunch in Sisters but this is taking way longer than expected.  As I bump slowly along I see a hammer standing on end on the side of the road partly obscured by the thick dust that covers everything near the road.  For some reason I stop and pick it up and feel suddenly as if I am equipped to handle anything that comes my way.