So at the end of the day yesterday I was looking for a way out.  About  5 miles ahead there seems to be a place.  The trail goes right along Summit Lake and at Summit Lake there is a dirt road and “Large campground with Ranger Station”.  That seems very promising.  So I indicate to Lenora that I can make it but if possible it would be nice if she could pick me up Summit Lake.  She looks at some maps and it looks pretty easy which makes sense.  After all, it is a “Large campground with Ranger Station”.  So I go to sleep knowing I will be off the trail (Until the next Monday) tomorrow and I can figure out what I am going to do about food going forward.

Get up about the normal time and get on the trail a little later because I only have 5 miles to go but I arranged with Lenora to pick me up at noon.  The 5 miles I have left are either level or down hill so all is good.  Below is the trail.  Back to nice soft forest trail.

So I hike and get to the south side of summit lake at about 8:20 or so and let Lenora know where I am.  Then I realize this is NOT the spot with the “Large Campgound and Ranger Station”.  That is actually about 1.3 miles away at the other end of the lake.  So I indicate to Lenora I am not at the right place and where the right place is and I proceed to get there.  Below is a picture of the lake.  Pretty huh…. Crater Butte Mountain in the background.

Here is what it looks like on the PCT Hiker map.

So I am there at about 9 am which was intended.  I wanted to know what I was dealing with before Lenora left.  I tell her I am there and she says I have a long time to wait cause she is just leaving.  Just as expected because the pickup time was noon and it was now 9 am.

So I look around and sit around.  At one time a thru hiker comes through and sits down by me and we talk while he has a snack.  I ask him what he likes to eat on the PCT since I obviously need something new and he mainly eats packages of things that are wet on their own to which he always adds a generous amount of olive oil.  To make them wetter and to add calories.  It all makes sense and I decide I am going back to the meals that I used at the start of the PCT when I had no problems eating.  They are freeze dried and pretty varied in texture and content.  I stopped using them because they were heavier that other things but obviously lighter just does not work if you can’t eat it.  His name is lickety-split and was so named because he says he gets up earlier that most to hike.  I ask him what time he starts and he indicates 6:30.  I ask him to hold my beer 🙂

Where I am sitting is where 3 roads come together.  Just up one road is where the PCT crosses so I want to be able to see that.  The other road has a sign on it that says Hwy 58 14 miles up that road.  I figure that is where Lenora will be coming from.  The other road is the one that goes around the lake and so that is good just in case Lenora comes in from that way.  So I figure I have it covered.   A couple arrives that goes down to the lake and does some kayaking.   Another couple arrives and goes up to the trailhead on the PCT and goes for a hike with a couple dogs.  All seems good.

It is 12 pm.  No Lenora.  Ok, it could take a little longer than expected.  1 pm.  No Lenora, I’m starting to get concerned.  I have walked up and down all the roads and they seem a little rough but OK for as far as I walked them.   But at this point I start to panic.  Hwy 58 only 14 miles away!!  If she is 1 hour beyond expected arrival something must be wrong.   I text her but get no response which is what I expected because I am sure there is no cell service where ever she is.  So I text Martha and then Martha and Meagan because I felt something had to be wrong.  Lost, ran out of gas, flat tire, broken axle, the list is really endless.  By 2pm I am in full blown panic.  Something has to be wrong.   A biker comes by and I ask him how long he was on the road and if he saw anyone.  He didn’t see anyone but he was only on the road for 1 mile.  I’m waiting for the kayaking  couple or the hiking couple to return to see if they can give me a ride up the road to see if I can find Lenora.   By 3pm Martha and Meagan and everyone else back in Georgia is trying to figure out what to do.  911 was called, Toyota was called to try and locate the car.  I have a problem…. should I leave and try to locate her or should I stay and hope she is just delayed.  What if she gets here and I am gone?  I just can’t believe she is delayed, there has to be something wrong.  The kayaking couple returns and I ask them if they happen to be going back to Hwy 58 and explain my fears.  They are amazing and indicate they are and will give me a ride and help search.  I get in their 4 wheel drive truck and they start to turn left down the road that follows the lake.  I say WAIT, can you get here more than 1 way?  The sign says Hwy 58 is to the right.  They say there are two ways and the road to the right is a TERRIBLE road and that she gets sick when they take that road.  I indicate Lenora is coming from Redmond and they both agree that the GPS would have directed her to take the TERRIBLE road.  Amazingly even through this road will make her sick they agree to go that way to try to locate. I describe the car and we are all looking for any signs of a car leaving the road or stopped or parked or whatever.  The road is indeed TERRIBLE.  At two points he had to stop and determine the best part of the road to take to get past ruts and rocks.  At one point had to back up and try the opposite side.   And then folks a miracle occurs.  He asks me what color car was she driving?  White I say.  Well, this is unbelievable but there is a white car behind us right now.  He stops and lets the white car catch up.  It is Lenora!!  It is 3:47 pm.  Crying and hugging involved.  While we were crying and hugging the angel couple left.  I feel very sad not to have their names and address.

By the way, the “Large Campground and Ranger Station” needed to be read in context.  Large was by PCT standards.  Rather than 1 to 4 tent spaces there were probably 10.  The Ranger Station consisted of a box where you could leave the fee for using the facilities.  Believe me I searched for a Ranger Station, you know where Rangers actually live and manage the area, thinking they could help.  The kayaking couple indicated they come here because they are always the only ones on the lake.

Back on the boring old PCT trail next Monday.

Iphone says 9.4 miles and 23572 steps.  5 miles of PCT and 4.4 miles walking up and down roads hoping for a miracle that eventually happened.

Lenora’s Story:

Possibly a day better forgotten than remembered but also a good lesson in how easy it is for things to go wrong.  I get my expected slow start and at 9:00am I message Don I am leaving and I lug computer, two maps, phone, extra water and myself to the car.  A short time down the road I remember I was supposed to fill up with gas before the pick up trip.  Next exit says Gas, Food, Lodging so I exit.  It is north Bend, Oregon where nothing is ever what it seems.  Can you remember Alice in Wonderland?  Lots of food, a couple of Boutique style hotels and tons of yuppie restaurants in downtown Bend but not a gas station in sight.  I make my way back to the highway and try again 2 exits later with same results.  The third time is the charm and I am leaving a town 14 miles south of the hotel about one hour and fifteen minutes after I start the drive.  The computer has recommended a route way northwest of the Lake and then drop back down as roads are few and far between in these parts but on Highway 58 I see a turn-off to Summit Lake and I turn onto it.  It said Summit Lake 14 miles and 17 minute drive in current traffic conditions.  I am a little curious that this was not the way I found on Google maps but I drive.  I have only been on a road this bad once before and I was not driving.  It scared me so I got out to walk down the mountain on that trip and beat the car to the bottom by about 15 minutes.  I made it in about 5 miles in 45 minutes and the road was not getting any better.  I figured if Don ever saw that I was on this road he would be furious so I found a wider spot among the boulders and ruts and managed to turn the car around and head back to highway 58.  By now 11:00am is looming and I have 40 miles or so to go but I feel good about my decision.  I may be late but at least I won’t be in trouble for choosing a bad road.

The next hour goes pretty slow as once off 58 I am in dirt road world and I make some errors in following the tracks.  The map shows a left turn and I am at a spot with a right turn or straight.  I try straight and the road quickly deteriorates so I go back and try the right.  That road ends abruptly and I turn around to return to the bumpy road.  After a few miles, a couple more wrong guesses as to how the map mimics reality and almost two more hours have flown by.

I finally find myself crossing the PCT, I see the trail and the sign and the Guthook map says I am near the mile marker I am heading for.  Another half hour I have gone up and down this stretch of road passing the same camper 3 times and there is no other place to look.

All day I have be heading to the campground and ranger station on the south shore of this lake with no success.  All other options exhausted I recall that the first place Don stopped was not right and he was going on further so I make the turn to head north along the lake and drive slowly pausing to honk my horn at every crossing track or path hoping to find him.  When the road around the lake turns to the right I keep following it rather than heading away from the lake and I realize it is now about 4 pm and it is going to get dark and I have had no cell or wifi all day and have no idea how to ask Don where he actually is.  I am at my wits end by now sure I am going to be spending the night somewhere other than with my husband and very very discouraged.  I realize I am crying and I start to pray, out loud and really loud.  I ask Dear Saint Anthony to help me to find my lost husband, to carry my need straight to my Father in heaven.  I admit I do not have the answers and I need the Lord right now.

For about 5 minutes there has been a van ahead of me going as slow as me.  It is the first car I have seen on the road for hours.  Suddenly this van pulls to the right and stops and the driver sticks out his hand in a stop motion.  I stop.  I sit. Seconds pass and nothing happens and I wonder if I should have stopped.  Then the back door of the van opens and I see Don start to climb out.  All I can do is cry over and over, “Thank you Jesus, Thank you Jesus.”  I am shaking so hard it is difficult to get out of the car to hug my ‘found” husband.  In the midst of the reunion the van drives away and we never found the names of the people who helped this unlikely reunion happen.

That is the thing about this adventure of ours.  We keep getting ourselves into strange situations where we are headed on parallel roads with no idea of how close we are, or take a ‘wrong’ turn or give up and just sit down only to find that a small ‘blessing’ occurs and suddenly we are both in the same place once again.  I know now that Don and the girls were very worried but I was not worried.  I did not feel lost or in danger at any moment I just could not find the desired location.  I did not worry until I realized how very much time had passed with me unable to get to the right spot.  As it turns out the TERRIBLE road Don talked about was the road I tried to go down at the start of the day and if I had just persisted I would have ended up at the very right place.  It was also the road we took to get out of Summit Lake and back on the highway to the hotel.

Not a stitching day, a long and emotional day and we both felt like we had run a marathon so the day ended early.  The next 3 days will be fun because we will be together and figuring out how to make next week go better.

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.

I have a good nights sleep and get up about 4:30.   Get everything back in the pack and again have 2 Carnation Instant Breakfasts for breakfast.  I figure if I have the summer sausage and cheese where I can get to it easy, I might be more likely to eat so I rearrange a little so I have easy access to them.  Feeling good, I start hiking.

The pictures below were just taken because I thought it was a pretty view of the trail in the early morning.  The hike is about as expected.  You go up and then you go down and then you repeat.   The slopes are not overly steep.  If I were walking this after having traveled 1800 miles from Mexico this would really be a piece of cake.  I can remember that this level of slope was not as difficult as it is now.  However now is now and I am breathing heavy almost continually and have to stop often to catch breath and get the pack off my back for awhile.

This last picture above was taken an 7 am in the morning.  I did not take another picture all day long.  I was actually too busy trying to catch my breath.  There were some mighty pretty things along the way and some nice wildflowers.  I’ll get stronger and better at this.

I am in a 16 mile waterless stretch from Thielsen Creek to Six Horse Spring.  However, it is fairly hot and not being in great shape, I am drinking water rather freely and really don’t want to wait till I get to Six Horse Spring to get water.  I start looking at my apps and no water is mentioned directly.  However on GutHooks PCT Hiker there was an entry about Maidu Lake Junction and if I clicked and read the comments it indicated it was a beautiful lake and was only .8 miles off the trail.  I decided to give it a try and walked the .8 mile down to the lake and it was a great decision.  Nice clean lake with clear water and so I filled up.   This was at mile 1865 or so and so I had another 5 miles to get to Six Horse Spring.  This nice lake was not even mentioned on the Halfmile PCT app and so I was happy to have both.

Oh, and here is something cool.  Today on the PCT I passed over the PCT’s highest point in Oregon at 7,573 feet at about mile 1860.  This is just east of Tipsoo Peak.    The highest point on the PCT is in California  at Forester Pass at 13,153 feet.  I’ll figure out the highest point in Washington when I get there.

I have not seen a single person all day.  The German fellow was still sleeping when I left and he has not passed me which is a bit of a surprise but I assume he went by when I did the Maidu Lake diversion.  I plan on camping at Six Horse Spring and the apps say there are 4 camp sites there.  I have not seen anyone all day but literally within 1/2 mile of Six Horse Spring 3 people pass me and say they are camping at Six Horse Spring!  3 of 4 camp sites will be taken  .  I look behind me and hope I do not see anyone else.  I did not and was able to manage the last half mile without being passed and did get a tent site.  However, once there, I could see there was room for others.  So Six Horse Spring water is  .6 miles off the PCT, but unlike Maidu Lake, this diversion to get water is straight down!!  After resting for awhile, I grab 2 of the water bottles (2 liters each) and head down to get water.   After .6 miles I do indeed get to a “spring”, however it is stagnant nasty looking water.  I had read to keep on going which  I did and in another .1 mile there was a spot where the water was flowing and I could get water.  It had “things” floating in it even so but I was able to clear that out later with a screen filter I carry for such occasions.  The hike back up was the most steep I have had on the PCT but only for .7 of a mile.  I made it back up, drank a lot of water, had 2 Carnation Instant Breakfasts and felt pretty good.

A little later another south bound German hiker (Germans really seem to like the PCT) came into camp.  He was low on food and was asking if anyone could spare some.  I had a 7 day supply that so far I was not eating and couldn’t see me ever doing so and so I gave him either a 4 or 5 day supply of food.  I can’t remember exactly, I was just pulling out food and giving it to him.  He was a happy camper and so was I.  My pack was now much lighter and he had food.  Win-win.

Iphone health app says I did 14.5 miles and 39402 steps.

Lenora’s Story:

While Don is on the trail I am in the happy position of being the recipient of missives and messages from both daughters.  Today I get a really neat text from Myla and it is touching and makes we want to talk to her.  We have a good long talk and I revel in the positive feelings of being in tune with one of my kids.

I am not neglecting my stitching duties and today I complete one piece of a nativity that I have had in my stash for years.  Then I finished up #5 Ornament of the series of 16 called Five Gold Rings and it is finished finished, that is ready to use.  By end of day I am working on a Charlie Harper Penguins needlepoint and making good progress.  This is turning into a productive week already.

The offer to buy the CA house arrived late today and I told the realtor I would sign off after Don and I got to agree.  It is a good offer and it seems we are on the correct path.  I will hear from him tomorrow I am sure.  He is still moving steadily forward and at this time I still did not realize he is unable to eat so I am foolishly and fondly feeling very positive about his first week out.

So the day begins normally.  Lenora and I get up at normal time and go down to breakfast at the hotel.  Then get on the road and about 2 hours later are at the location where the PCT crosses Hwy 138.  We pray and I start out.

After just one half mile I crossed Forest Road 961 and there was a huge water cache.  I started at Hwy 132 rather than Hwy 26 because it was basically a waterless area between the two.  Add that the next water is 8 miles from 132 and you basically have 34 miles without water.  That is why some very kind soul put the water cache here.  I can imagine everyone finds it an amazing gift.  I had drank 2 liters of water before I started and so did not need any.  You can see in the picture below the number of 5 gallon water jugs that someone left here and probably maintains the entire season.  Amazing generosity!!

I had noticed two other hikers that seemed to be going south back at the 138 but within a mile both of them passed me without saying a word heading north.  Both young and fast.

After a little more than a mile I pass into the Mount Thielsen Wilderness in the Umpqua National Forest.  The spell checker does not like either Thielsen or Umpqua but they are spelling correctly.

Umpqua National Forest, in southern Oregon Cascade Range, covers an area of 983,129 acres. Ancestors of the Umpqua, Southern Molala, Yoncalla, and Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians lived here before Mount Mazama erupted forming Crater Lake nearly 7,000 years ago. The Indians were moved to reservations in 1856. As Europeans bought reservation lands, the tribes further fragmented to become farmers and ranchers in the Umpqua Valley. Two translations of the word “umpqua” are “thundering waters” and “across the waters”. The Umpqua National Forest was created by the United States Congress on July 2, 1907 (Theodore Roosevelt). For more information see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umpqua_National_Forest

The Mount Thielsen Wilderness is a wilderness area located on and around Mount Thielsen in the southern Cascade Range of Oregon in the United States. It is located within the Deschutes, Umpqua, and Fremont–Winema national forests. It was established by the United States Congress in 1984 (Ronald Reagan) and comprises 55,100 acres.   For more information see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Thielsen_Wilderness

About noon I get a good view of Mount Thielsen.  Look at that!!  Lucky me.  Such beauty.

3 more hours of hiking and I make it to Thielson Creek.  I stop here for awhile and load up on water and just look around.  The water is wonderfully cold and I use my lifestraw to suck water right out of the creek.

I walk on another two miles to a good camp site.  I want to get in at least 10 miles on the first day.  I am sore a bit but my feet are in good shape.  There is however an ominous sign.  I have no desire to eat.  Worse that no desire, the thought of eating what I have makes me nauseous.  I have two Carnation Instant Breakfasts which gives me some energy and set up camp.  While I am setting up I am surprised by another hiker who comes in and starts to set up camp as well.  He is German and in his 50’s.  He is a thru hiker and started on the Mexico border on April 4th.  He is making great time.  He said he weighted 190 at the start and nows weighs 140.   We do not talk much because he has had a long day and is tired and I am just terribly out of shape and am tired.  I did 10 miles, he did 25.

Iphone health app says I did 12 miles and 31310 steps.  Not bad for day 1 I think.  I thank God for giving me the ability to do this.

Lenora’s Story:

Just another day on the PCT.  We’ve been doing this a while and it feels so familiar.  The excitement, the anxiety about the late start, anticipation and dread.  The element of fear is always a part of the send-off.  I get the week 1 picture and we pray together.  The send off prayer is something I treasure.  Knowing I am calling on God to protect this precious human creates for me a sure confidence in the outcome.

The drive back to the hotel is beautiful and I spare a little twinge of regret that I am on the highway while Don is out in all this wonder.

While Don is not eating, something I’m glad I did not know at the start, I am very hungry.  All my anxiety channels into a desire for food and sleep.  Funny human nature.  He needs to eat and can’t and I don’t need extra but have it anyway.

I am so ready to spend a lot of time beading and stitching that I do not delay in getting to the first of my projects.  My many breaks are taken to stretch, to snack and to check Don’s progress.  It is looking good to me.

This year will be the year I get my Canadian beer.  Starting on July 16th at Crater Lake in Oregon and ending in Canada on September 13th.  Thats the plan.

We got an early start heading up to Oregon from Escondido because we knew from last year we wanted to spend more time in Oregon at the Umpqua Valley wineries.   There is a mandatory visit to the “Chocolate Shoppe” in Gardnerville Nevada.

When you visit the Umpqua wineries you are given a sheet so that you can record the wineries you visited and after you have visited 5 wineries you get a gift.  Of course we needed to get the gift and after 5 we got our nice wine pouch.  That was on day 1.  So, on day 2 we did another 5 wineries and got another pouch.  Of course we probably bought about $200 in wine in the silly quest for another pouch.

After that we made it to our destination of Redmond Oregon.  After church on Sunday we went for a ride to find the place where Lenora was going to pick me up after the first week just so she would know where it was.  It is an easy pickup spot right on major road Hwy 58.

I’m nervous about starting the journey but my pack is all loaded and ready to go.  Did have a change of starting location.  Based on where we are in Redmond it is a 3 hour drive (at least) to get to where I was planning on start on the lower end of Crater Lake by Hwy 62.  However only 1.5 hour ride to rather start at upper end of Crater Lake by Hwy 138.  Since the hike from 62 to 138  is 26 miles and basically waterless, I felt that starting from 138 would be prudent.  Don’t have to get up so early to get started, which is only worrisome for the drive back, and don’t have to start the trail on a very long waterless stretch.