Typical start to my hiking day.  Generally wake around 4.  Think about life and God for awhile and start really moving around 5.  Get everything packed and breakfast done and start hiking about 6.  I am going to do the same 16 miles I did just two days ago and I don’t expect to see much different.  But I do see different and amazing things and remember to take some pictures.   So here we have some early morning sun on the trail at 6:25

A little later at 6:45 I decide to take a picture of a little more of the damage on the trail.

Remember two days ago I got water at a spring and there was no more water for 14 miles.  Well I never did those 14 miles but there was plenty of snow.  So before stopping the night before, I stopped at a nice snow pile and melted enough snow for 4 liters for water.  It is about 8  when I hit Christi’s Spring on the way back it was time to get some more.   Here is Christi’s Spring which I did not take pictures of the first time.

A little over an hour later I notice a peak I did not notice on the way out.  It is Lost Peak.  I tried to research how it got its name but could not find any information.  Since I assume the peak itself was not lost it must have something to do with those that hike around it.  Anyway it was very pretty and snow covered.

About 9:35 I come to one of those damaged PCT places.  This tree is too big for me to go across and two wild on either side to see away around and so I try to make friends with the tree and just go under it.

Only 10 minutes from here I got a view of Fourmile Lake that I had totally missed on the way out.  Magnificent.

 

At 1:23 I am getting pretty close to being back where I started two days ago and have this view of Brown Mountain and I shudder thinking about the lava fields.

I get back to Hwy 140 and my pickup point a LOT earlier than I expected and a LOT earlier than Lenora expected.  She had watched my progress for awhile and was sure I would be much later if I made it at all.  The last 5 miles of the trail is easy and I made good time.  If you remember there is a stream right here and I was able to stop about 1/4 mile before the Hwy and clean up a bit in the very cold water and put on my sleeping shirt which, while not fresh, was considerably better than my hiking shirt.   When I got down to the Hwy there were trail angels set up.  They had pulled pork sandwiches with all the trimmings, drinks of all types (soda’s, water, beer, cranberry juice, mimosa’s).  All the drinks they were keeping cold in the stream.   Fruit, candy and something they called candied bacon which was very tasty.   In talking with them for awhile I learned it was 100 down in the valley and they frequently came up to relax in the shade and to help the hikers that are coming off the lava fields.  She told me that she knew hikers that had taken all day to cross those lava fields and others that came off the lava fields and just quit.  I then told her about my experience and she said that I was not unique at all.  Wait…. what…. I AM TOO!!  I told her that if I was not unique, that at least I was special.  Anyway we had a good time talking for about an hour.  Lenora arrived and met them and thanked them for taking care of me.  Another good day.   So, we are heading up to Eugene and then I am going to try and hike south from that point towards Crater Lake.  The snow reports for the Three Sisters Wilderness is not good and indicate that some of the heaviest snow in Oregon this winter occurred here.  BUT…. I will give it a go and see what happens.

Lenora’s Story:

I’ve been having increasing problems with swelling in both hands and so last weekend we get my anti-inflammatory medicine refilled and I go back up to the prescribed dose.  After a week I do not see any improvement but decide I need to give it more time.

Yes Don arrives sooner than I expected.  It is a 45 to 60 minute drive to the pick up point and at about 2 pm I check the computer and think he has about 5 hours to go based on the time it took him to travel that distance two days ago.  I have a pretty bad headache and so lie down to try to sleep.  In about an hour something wakes me and I check the computer to find there is a message saying “I am here”.  Remember my gratitude to the Inreach gadget yesterday?  Well one drawback can be that if I lost the internet it can take a long time to update Don’s location on the computer and today I was seeing a report from earlier in the day thinking it was updated.  When I see the note I grab the phone, check the map and head out.

Don is not the only member of this team that gets lost, or turned around or just plain confused.  I get off I-5 at the expected exit and somehow manage to get back on I-5 rather than onto the road that takes me up the mountain to where he is waiting.  By the time I notice I am still on the 5 it is a ways to the next exit and so the phone and I start to figure out an alternative route.  That found I set off again, only about 15 miles further from Don than when I left the hotel.  I finally get there very happy to find the trail angels who have helped him get hydrated while he waited.  Once again a good reunion.  When he asks me how I celebrated the 4th I can only offer that I smelled some burned odor of people setting off fireworks.  That was my 4th.  It is now the 5th and Don is back safe and I am a happy camper once again.

I wake up in the morning with my forehead and legs remarkably calm.   So ignoring the beast is probably the best plan.   I get all packed back up and have a double carnation instant breakfast.  I find the carnation instant breakfast seems to give me a lot of energy and also gives me a good dose of water to start the day.

I start the day about 6 and at 6:27 I’m starting to see some signs of snow.  Certainly nothing to cause any concern but at this point I am only at 6100 feet.

The blow down on the trail is getting worse.  Again it just slows you down as it forces you to find ways around.   Just tend to get scratched up a bit trying to find alternate paths through the trees.  The PCT site that gives Oregon trail conditions has this to say:  “Snow, debris and blowdown in mid- and high-elevation forests is still impairing navigation and keeping local SAR teams busy fetching lost hikers.”   At one point I did get a little misdirected when trying to go around debris.  Turns out the trail did a right turn just the other side of the debris and so when I went around and came back to where I figured the trail had to be, there was no trail!   Did not take long to figure out however.    At about 6:40 I do get confirmation that all is right with the world.  A sign!!

At 6:49 I decide to take a picture of the type of damage that is on the trail.  This damage is actually mild and easy to get around as you can see a clear path to the right.  Others, not so much.

About an hour later I take a picture of the view with but the picture does not capture the beauty

At 9:23 the trail goes along a rocky ledge on the side of the mountain.  At this point I meet up with the 5 hikers from the day before and they are resting.  Not much room but just enough to rest. I decide to rest as well for two reasons.  On this ledge there are no mosquitoes and in order to pass them they would have to get up.  It is a nice rest.

Not too far ahead the trail makes another one of those tight turns, this time to the left.  However there is another trail, a more obvious trail, that goes straight forward.  It is not until I start descending into the Snow Lake Basin that I realize something ain’t right here.  I am on the Divide Trail and not the PCT.  Pull out my app and sure enough I am 1/2 mile off of the trail.  I know exactly where I went wrong so I backtrack and take the left and I am back on the trail.

 

Not long after that I am on another trail cut out of the side of the mountain and there is snow that gives me pause.

I go on a mile or so more and run into more snow.  All I can see ahead of me is snow and I’m only at about 6600 feet.   About this point another hiker catches up to me and tells me how he has heard there is treacherous snow ahead but he is going to try to get to a trail where he can descend to a farm road which will take him to Crater Lake Hwy… HE HOPES.  Anyway, I decide, out of an abundance of caution that I will just turn around and head back to where I started.  As far as I know, I am the only one of the 8 or so hikers up there that decided to turn around.  So I turn around and head back to where I started the day and set up camp.  Within 500 feet of where I had camped the night before which was taken by others by the time I got back.  Seems like an easy day but between the snow crossings and all the diversions to get around debris, I was as very tired.  I told Lenora I hoped to get back to where we started by the end of the next day but was not sure I could do 16 miles and it might take me two.  Either is fine she says and she will watch my progress tomorrow to see if she should pick me up.  Time to eat and sleep.  Sad that I am backtracking but still happy to be on the trail and enjoying all its beauty.  Somewhere along the line in going through brush I have lost both my mosquito screen and my PCT bandana.  Must not have attached them securely enough.   Its always something.

Lenora’s Story:

I am determined to have both the side of the house and Chocolate ready for the finisher by the time Don returns so I spend much of his time away indoors and working on the needlepoint.  I do complete the da** stitches on both and go through my bin to decide what to work on next.  Knowing that Don is on his way back to the drop off point I am taking things easy.  Not sure when he will arrive but sometime tomorrow afternoon on the next day.  As usual it is hard to predict how things will go and I’m grateful for the Inreach device that keeps me posted on his progress.  I even get to watch him get lost or go the wrong way or backtrack miles.

The plan for the next 3 days is to travel from Fish Lake at Hwy 140 up to Crater Lake area at Hwy 62.  Should take 3 days but at the start I know I might not make it that far because of snow.  About half way into this plan is “Devils Peak” which is at 7200 feet.  There is a bypass for the peak itself which is really a bypass of the north face of the peak which is steep and definitely snow covered.  However the bypass itself is near 7200 feet.  At the starting point is a nice little tree covered turnout and when we get there there is one PCT camper and a group of people being trail angels and offering breakfast to the hikers.  I had just had a great breakfast at the hotel and declined but it is so incredible that people do these things.  At this point there is also a fairly fast stream passing through and I’m thinking the trail goes right through the stream.  I’m looking at it and trying to find the best approach to cross and Lenora is ready to take a video of me when the angels tell me that the trail actually goes along the stream and just upstream is a bridge to cross it.   So I was about ready to get lost right off the bat.  So sad..

As I start out there are a lot of wildflowers and it takes me a bit of time to really get started as I am taking pictures along the way.  Here are some of those

Given the fact I almost got lost on step 1, it is comforting to find some signs indicating I am in fact on the trail

The trail is very gentle at this point.  Soft forest trail with very little slope.  Here is a shot at 8:45 in the morning of the trail ahead.

Also about this point I enter into the Sky Lakes Wilderness.  Here is some into about it.

The Sky Lakes Wilderness is a wilderness area located in the Rogue River–Siskiyou and Fremont–Winema national forests in the southern Cascade Range of Oregon in the United States. It comprises 116,300 acres (47,100 ha), of which 75,695 acres (30,633 ha) are in the Rogue River–Siskiyou National Forest and 40,605 acres (16,432 ha) are in the Fremont–Winema National Forest.^[1] It was established in 1984 under the Wilderness Act of 1964.

The Sky Lakes Wilderness straddles southern Oregon’s Cascade Range from Crater Lake National Park southward to Oregon Route 140. It is approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) wide and 27 miles (43 km) long, with elevations ranging from 3,800 feet (1,200 m) in the canyon of the Middle Fork of the Rogue River to 9,495 feet (2,894 m) at the top of Mount McLoughlin, the highest peak in southern Oregon and the highest point in the Cascade Range between the Three Sisters and Mount Shasta.

The Wilderness contains more than 200 pools of water, from small ponds to lakes of 30 to 40 acres (12 to 16 ha).   Fourmile Lake, near the southern end of the area, exceeds 900 acres (360 ha).  Several of the lakes at Sky Lakes, including Alta and Natasha, were found to have among the most chemically pure water known of all lakes in the world.

See Wiki

The beautiful forest walk continues and at 10:10 I find that I am still on the right trail.  I don’t think I have had any options to go the wrong way at this point but it is still nice.    I will say that the trail is mostly VERY WELL DEFINED and EASY TO FOLLOW and really only directionally challenged people and those paying no attention whatsoever would have any problem following it.

At 12:30 I get to a Swan Lake which is just off the trail.  I have plenty of water so I just sit there for awhile and enjoy the view hoping that a couple birds might show up.  Nothing does and so eventually I move on.

The rest of the day is spent just hiking.  I do come to a spring where I fill up with water for the evening and morning meals and the next day.  14 miles from the spring to the next water source and so I get all I think I will need.  Meet a group of 5 hikers here who I will see from time to time throughout the day.  They end up diverting just a bit to camp by Red Lake while I camp closer to the trail.   From the spring to the camp site (about 4 miles) is where the mosquitoes start to make there presence known.  By the time I stop for the night the mosquitoes are as fierce as I have ever experienced.  Each time you stop you are swarmed with mosquitoes.  Basically covered.  I have a net around my head the always wear long pants and long sleeve shirts and put deet on my hands.  So a huge annoyance but not much more UNTIL you do something stupid.  Of course I did something stupid.  I get my tent set up and get in the tent and kill the 20 or so mosquitoes that followed me in.  Then I clean up a bit and get into my sleeping attire which is a short sleeve shirt and short pants and then I realize I need to pee.  Ok….. how bad can it be…. I look out the tent and don’t see any swarms of mosquitoes and so out I go and get away to a good place to pee and start and WAM I am covered with mosquitoes.   In a second my legs are actually covered with other mosquitoes waiting for a place to land.  Trying to pee and swat mosquitoes on your legs is not something I would recommend.  It would make for a very funny video however.  I finished as fast as I could and raced back to tent.  After I killed the 40 or so mosquitoes that followed me into the tent I just started scratching my legs from toes to just above the knee trying to relieve the intense fire on my legs.  I thought of the words of my friend Phil who would tell me that is only going to make the situation worse and I tried to calm down and just ignore it.   It did subside some but I actually had to take a pain pill to get to sleep that night.  In the morning it was mostly ok.

Oh, and just to cement my position as the most inept PCT hiker on the planet, when I put on the netting, I put the netting over my head and then put my hat over the netting.   When you do that the netting right where you hat goes over it is right on your flesh.  So rather than the netting keeping the mosquitoes off, it provides a nice guided path for the mosquito.  So right along my forehead was a series of bites that stretched continuously from one side to the other.  Should have taken a selfie.

Had a great day.  16 miles was good I thought given I was taking my time.  There was some snow along the way but nothing serious.  There was a lot of debris on the trail which causes you to find ways around over, under, around and that slows you down a lot.

Lenora’s Story:

One of my favorite things about this adventure is our chance to attend new churches along the way.  I loved the first church we chose in Medford, Sacred Heart Parish, and we returned there each week we were in town.  Yesterday I realized it was my last chance to take pictures to remind me of this particular house of worship and so I wandered around the church and took pictures of stained glass windows.  It is amazing to consider how a church community can decide to use statues, paintings and windows to teach us about our faith.  I found the 12 Apostles pictured in the windows and was intrigued by the symbols for each of them.  In this church there were two beautiful and original paintings that I had to photograph.  The dome over the altar was stunning and the Tabernacle was beautiful.  I could just imagine using what surrounded me to tell stories of our Lord to one of my own children or grandchildren.  Our church has given us such a wonderful gift in the ways she presents the lessons of the Bible to our everyday imagination and reminds us of what wonders God has prepared for our future.

Need pictures here.

Now on to our adventure.  Thank you Lord once again.  A picture of Don contemplating wading the stream and then a picture of what we thought he needed to cross.  If the trail angels had been a little late that morning he would have been up to his knees, at least, in that water.  I often get a shot of him walking away on the trail.

It was a nice night.  Not as cold as the night before and I don’t even need a jacket early in the morning.  I get packed up and start walking down the road which has a number of areas of snow but nothing serious.  I know I should get back on the trail and at one point I am disoriented again and head the wrong way to get to the trail.  Realize it quickly and turn around and get back to the trail.  Always a relief to have feet back the official PCT trail.  The water source that is in 2 miles is actually .7 miles off the trail.  I have no desire to try and find it because in 1.24 miles is a water source that is closer to the trail.  When I get to it, I go down to the water source but it is only a marsh and not really a great place to get water.  There is plenty of snow still around so a little down the path I stop and dig down into the snow to get the nice clean white snow and I scoop some of it out and with my pocket rocket stove I melt enough snow to get about 1.5 liters of water.  Probably good water but I still use my purifying drops and after 30 more minutes of hiking I stop and have some breakfast and feel great.  After about 6.5 miles there is a small stream crossing the path and so I sit down to rest and have a snack and contemplate getting more water.  While I am there is man comes up from the south and indicates there is really good water in another 4 miles.  Also a hiker comes from the north.  He and I sit around for awhile and talk.  His trail name is “Freedom” which he said he got an an earlier age but did not indicate why.  However he is a retired British soldier.  Got to retire at age 55 and now spends most of his time hiking.  He has done trails all over the world.  Done the Appalachian trail and he did the PCT from south to north last year.  This year he wanted to do the trail from north to south but because of snow was having a hard time finding places he could hike. We walked together for awhile until we hit the snow below

This little snow mountain is 20 feet high and was still quite frozen so there was no walking over it.  We can see where others have walked down the slope to get around it and so we did the same.  It was VERY steep and I had a rather hard time getting around it and up the other side.  “Freedom” was much quicker and I told him to go ahead as it might take me awhile.  He did leave but as I got to the top I looked ahead and he was looking back to make sure I made it.  He waved at me and kept walking.  Wasn’t too much longer he takes a break to have a snack and I catch up to  him and also stop and we talk a bit more.  About this time another hiker comes up from the south and tells us he had plans to walk to south to Castle Crags (about 180 miles away) but got to Seiad Valley and found out the trail from that point south to Etna and on to Castle Crags was not passable because of snow.  “Freedom” was not a happy camper about that news.  So the hiker giving the news just turned about at Seiad Valley and was heading back to Ashland.  I asked him about going through the snow again and he said he was ok this time because he knew to use the road.   I told them my story about getting lost and he indicated he had the same issue when he went through the first time.  He got turned around and went the wrong direction.  Made me feel not quite so stupid.  “Freedom” indicated that it was pretty common to get lost in snow.  “Freedom” takes off an I’m pretty sure I won’t see him again because he is much faster than I am.

Probably about 5 miles ahead I get to another water source and it is about 2:30 and time to have a little lunch.  “Freedom” is still there having his lunch and this also seems to be a spot the locals can drive up to and have a day hike.  There are cars about.  When I realize this is probably a place Lenora can get to, I decide to text her to see if that is possible.  She can see where I am and can see a path and indicates she will come.  Seiad Valley is only 14 miles away but the last 7 miles are a steep descent into the valley and I don’t think my toes are going to handle it (as of right now 6 toe nails are black).  Somewhere along the line I have also bruised the bottom of my left foot and it is tender.  “Freedom” does not see any reason to continue and asks if we will give him a ride back to Ashland.  Sure we will.  It takes about 2 hours for Lenora to reach us and we trade stories while we are waiting.  We agreed on almost everything and therefore I declare “Freedom” to be a very smart man indeed.  As we drop “Freedom” off in Ashland we exchange contact information and I expect “Freedom” to be in our lives sometime in the future.

While doing those last 5 miles I come across the following wild flower.  I do not remember ever seeing it before and there were only 5 plants in this one area and that was it.

Lenora’s Story:

I’m working today on ‘Chocolate’ and watching the computer now and again to see that Don is going forward and not backward again today so I do not realize at first that he is stopped.  I get his message asking if I can pick him up a few miles sooner than I had expected so my first concern is to be sure he is ok.  OK means not sick, not injured just ready to be done for today.  Ok it is and so I locate him on the tracker map and plot my path and once again I am in the car.

He is 43 miles away and I’m a little surprised that it is expected to take me 2 hours to travel that distance but after all it is the wilds of southern Oregon and what do I know?  Apparently I know very little.  I start off on some ordinary country roads and am making good time but my projected arrival time does not get shorter.  When I leave the paved road I am 11 miles from my destination and an estimated 45 minutes travel time.  As I start I laugh.  No way this is going to take 45 minutes I think as I fly up the gravel road at a smooth 25 to 30 mph.  Suddenly I am at a big iron gate with a road closed sign.  I begin to panic then recall just a little ways back I saw what appeared to be a driveway with a small sign with the numbers 1055 on it.  I laughed as I passed it because I thought someone lives at 1055 on Road 1055.  Now it dawns on me.  I am on Road 1050 and that was my next turn.  Soon after backing down to the ‘driveway’ and onto 1055 I find out why the travel time is going to be so slow.  It is a one lane road that has some really impressive washboard sections, large boulders at the edge of the road and huge tree trunks that have been moved just enough to let me pass.  Some of them look like newly broken or cut wood and in some places the melting snow is flowing across the road.  I go slower and slower.  Finally a wide place in the road and the orange shirt that tells me that once again my love has done his best to clean up before I get there to pick him up.

He has a friend he made on the trail with him and we are going to take David to Ashland for some recreation and sight seeing while he decides if his hike for this year is over.  As I drive back down the mountain I am entertained by the conversation and the tales they have to tell about their adventures.  David finds it amusing that I drive the mountain roads with seeming confidence and then pull over before getting to the main highway explaining that driving in city traffic makes me nervous.  Remember the thing about being a country gal.  Just more evidence.

Again and again we are amazed at how close the Lord seems to be, not only in our daily lives but especially on our many adventures.  We manage to meet up time and again when we are not really sure where Don is or whether any of the roads to pick him up will be passable.  Our misadventures have been inconvenient but never disastrous and at the end of the day we both know we can still count on our Father in Heaven and each other.  God is good and we are blessed.

So before I went to sleep last night a couple passed by and told me there was definitely snow in my future.  The started at the California/Oregon border and that there were sections where the trail was covered with snow.  Not really bad news because I figured I would be traveling through the snow I could not all that far away.

Anyway the night was pretty cool and I was chilled a few times in the tent and really was not all that interested in getting out of the sleeping bag,  But I knew if I got up and going I would be fine.  So out came the down magic jacket and with that on I was warm enough to pack up and have breakfast.  My hands got a little cold but not really cold enough to be a problem.  It just made me remember the advice that the nights on the PCT are always cold.  That has been 99% true with only a few nights I remember as actually being warm.  Here is the view I have from my campsite just before I start walking.

When I got to the part of the trail that was covered in snow I noticed from pretty far away that the crest was clear.  The sun and wind had taken care of the crest so when I got to that point I just went straight up to the crest and walked along the crest and along a run on the other side of the crest for awhile.  Eventually I got to the point where the trail crossed over the crest and the road and looking at the map I figured I could stay on the road I was on.  After about a half mile it was clear the road was not going the same direction as the trail and so I had to get back to crossing and spent some time trying to figure out what to do next.  It was not as obvious at this point how to avoid the snow.  After about 10 minutes however I did find a path, again above the trail, that was mostly clear of snow.  At one point when I was going across the snow I got to a point where there was a mess of tree branches and falling trees on the other side of the snow and my feet got tangled in the mess and I did a face plant.  I thought I heard something break and I thought it was my glasses but luckily I guess it was just the little branches that broke.   I wondered what my face looked like but nobody that saw me said “Dude what happened to  your face” or anything so I figured I was ok.  A few cuts on the head and on my nose seems to be all the damage done.  It was not too long before I was clear of this snow and heading down elevation towards the California/Oregon border.   Below is a picture while I was on the ridge.  I didn’t take many pictures at this point because I was mainly concerned with figuring out the best way to go forward.

Once out of the snow it was a beautiful walk down to the border.  However along the way I continued to meet hikers that told me there was a LOT of snow ahead of me between miles 1680 and 1684.  They indicated to use the road which was covered with snow but was easier to follow.  My problem was that the application that I use had to be upgraded when I went from Oregon to Northern California and so until I could get somewhere with service, I did not a map that would show be the trail relative to the road.  Here are a couple photos on way to the border.

The border is about mile 1690 and so I know I have about 6 miles before I hit the snow.  There are a lot of hikers on the trail and almost all of them, like me, are surprised by the snow.  A lot at this point is probably about 6.  As I was approaching the area with the snow I could see a road below me and I wondered if that was the road to take.  At that time however a young lady hiker came out and I asked about the snow and if the trail could be followed.  She indicated that if you were good at following the trail without seeing it that it was possible but that she had ended up taking multiple “alternate” paths.  She was not really interesting in talking and I imagine she was just happy to be on the other side.  So I venture into the snow attempting to follow the trail.  At this point there is snow everywhere.  Trying to follow the trail, even with navigation app that I have was very difficult and time consuming.  I thought I was doing pretty good and then I came to a road and said…. alleluia all I have to do now is follow the road.  Well I continued on the road at about the same angle that I came to the road.  I remember I was at about mile 1682. I sloughed through the snow and eventually got out of the snow onto a dry road for as far as I could see.  I get oriented and figured out where the trail is and I hike up from the road to the trail and start walking.  It does not take me long to realize that things looked very familiar.  My heart sinks and I look at the application again and notice I am at mile 1684.  So I had gone the wrong direction when I hit the road and was going the wrong way.  Well at least I know the road to take now so I hike back down to the road and start following it back into the snow. Here is my path, the path of a drunk man going home.

After awhile I do finally get to the crest and I am able to get a signal and able to download the Northern California map and see where the road was relative to the trail.  About this time I also get a message on the InReach from Lenora who asks if I am lost because I seem to be going backwards.  I have signal and tell her on the phone that I had been lost most of the day but I think I have it figured out now.  When I get to mile 1680 at about 6 I decide to stop for the day. I am mostly out of the snow but there is still a little more to come.  So for the day I did 13 miles.  However my phone indicates I traveled 18 miles!!  All of the avoiding the snow and the getting lost had cost me 5 miles.  Here are some of the photos

I set up camp and have dinner and at this point notice my camelback is empty.  I have 2 liters of water for cooking at evening and for morning and walking to the next water source.  There is a water source pretty close to where I am camping but there is so much snow and I could not locate it and neither could another couple camping at the same place.   There is suppose to be water in 2 miles down the trail and I figure I will get there next morning and have breakfast.

All is good.  I have found the trail again.  The snow I don’t have to travel through is a beautiful sight.

Lenora’s Story:

I am on the phone with Carolyn talking about EGA National Seminar when I notice that Don seems to be going in the wrong direction.  I first assume he went back for something he left or dropped but as time goes by he still seems to be heading back.  I send a note but no reply.  I wonder if he is trying to find a place he can be picked up so I start to check ever 20 to 30 minutes until he reassures me that he has been lost in the snow but is now ok.

Yesterday was a big day and today I am resting more than working so i do not make the progress I had hoped for on my canvas.  I am on the second canvas of the trip, first one completed but always wish I were doing better.  I am working on “Chocolate” and hope to finish it before Monday so I can start a new week with a new project.  Don will return tomorrow evening or maybe early the next day and I do want to get a lot done while he is hiking.

 

Don Post:

The Sunday comics seemed to target my feelings a bit

So now it is time to pick up some of the times skipped from Ashland Oregon back to Seiad Valley in California.  So I am traveling south for 3 days to get those miles.  Back on the first day, I was told by “Don’t Panic” that this section was free from snow.    Turns out he was very wrong but really how is one to know unless you talk to someone who has been there.  The information about snow and how much is just very bad and something I think the PCT organization should address.  Perhaps in the past it has been pretty cut and dry in that if you get to Kennedy Meadows with begins the High Sierra by June 15 the snow will probably be acceptable.  A lot of hikers are just bouncing around trying to find sections where their is no snow or at least a safe amount of snow.

So I start out on a beautiful day at Mount Ashland area and start walking south.  After a bit of a walk in thick forest I come out into the open to the meadow below.  There are streams crossing the trail all through this meadow from melting snow.

After while there is yet another view of Mt. Shasta.  At elevation Mt. Shasta is just the outstanding feature in view.

I look out in the direction is will be walking and see some snow and I wonder for a little bit if perhaps the report of no snow might not be correct.  Still does not look like much.

A little after taking this picture, there is a hiker coming from the south and he confirms there is snow and at points a lot of snow and there have been at least 2 injuries caused by it.  Hum….. oh well, I am not turning around.  It is just too beautiful and how bad can it be???

By 9:15 I run into the first snow on the trail but really just an outcropping.

Not too much longer I take a picture of the valley.  Just so beautiful in this area.

At about 9:45 I run into more snow but really not an issue because the snow is not very deep or very long and it is easy to either just walk though it or around it and the trail can be seen on the other side without any issue.

Then another view of the valley in the picture below.  The valley and the rows of mountains in the distance just caught my eye.  So amazing.

So there is snow here and there but no issue.  At about 10:30 I look out and notice Pilot Rock.  This is where I was a couple days ago where the Peregrine Falcons breed and I took a picture of the rock wrapped in clouds.

About 1:45 I get to an area that is a little more challenging.  There is a big mountain of snow above the trail and some outcroppings that come over the trail.  It is pretty steep at this point and so going over the snow was a bit more dicey.  Slipping would not be good.  But the sun had been working on the snow for awhile and so it was pretty easy to just dig my feet into the snow with each step so there was no worry of sliding.  After I crossed the snow I took some pictures of the area because it was just so amazing.  The streams coming down from the snow above, the valley below, the mountains in the distance.  I probably stayed there for about 30 minutes just loving my time there.

After I leave that area I take some pictures of the beauty around me as I head towards a place to camp for the evening.

Around 5:30 I get to a spot that is a great camping site with plenty of water.  So I set up camp and had some dinner and basically just sat around and realized how blessed I was to be able to experience this

 

Wildflowers from today:

Lenora’s Story:

Today is a real big day for me.  First I drop Don at the trail and head back toward Ashland.  Not a long drive and I am parked and ready to explore a little after 8:30 am.  A bit early I discover as most of the area around Lithia Park and the Shakespeare Festival buildings does not open until 10:00am.   I find a coffee shop and have the most beautiful cup of latte I have ever been served.  I take out my cross stitch and settle in next to a serious computer surfer to relax until shops open.  It is a fun place.  Patron of all ages from stroller occupying babes to silver haired couples wander in to sample the coffee and fancy pastries and I stitch and people watch for almost two hours.  I have a plan.  Explore the town for 2 hours, lunch by12:30 and see the production of ‘Julius Caesar” at 1:30.  A big day for this gal from the wilds of Southern Utah.  I roam far afield and manage to drop in on knitting, sewing, clothing, candy, jewelry and bead shops in a little over two hours when the alarm reminds me of the treats yet awaiting me.  I hustle back to the play area to find the sushi restaurant I had picked to enjoy lunch is not opening at all today so I find a lovely spot for a small salad and a large glass of White Cabernet before the play.  So far, so good.   I am enjoying my day.

Did I mention that  I am a small town gal from a traditional conservative background?  I was raised, from early years on the magic of traditional presentations of classic Shakespeare at the Shakespeare Festival of Southern Utah.  I have continued this love watching festival plays in Atlanta,  Georgia, Austin, Texas and Arlington, Virginia.  I have never seen Julius Caesar and I confess I haven’t reread the play in years so I have a high school students impression of what I am about to see.  (I confess Jan, that I did not do my homework and reread the play before attending. ) This is something we always did as kids before going to the festival each summer from the age of 12.  Imaging my surprise when I enter the theater to see, not Roman columns or street but a stark black and gray broken backdrop to the stage.  Actors wore some modern kind of dramatic ‘mask” and dressed like street thugs with skin tight black jeans and working style shirts.  The setting of the play and the presentation was influenced, the director said in the playbill, by modern dance and the unsettling political climate of today.  I must admit the dialog was faithful to the words of Shakespeare and I found myself mouthing familiar lines, when I wasn’t laughing out loud at what I realized belatedly were valiant attempts to portray the angst of the political climate as seen through the lens of today.

To say I was disappointed is an understatement.  I decided to pass on the opportunity to treat Don to Henry IV Parts 1 and 2 or Merry Wives as I was not sure what further disappointments this ‘modern” interpretation of the classic and timeless beauty of the rich language of the Bard could possibly subject us to.  I fear the Southern Oregon mindset is just a little too modern for this small town girl raised on the classics.

All in all it was a good day and I returned to the hotel to see that Don had made steady progress this day and so a good day was had by all.

I’ll never hike again.  That is what I was thinking at the end of this day as I threw my backpack into the back of the car and jumped into the front seat.  I turned down the air conditioner to “Lo” and pointed all the vents at me and sat gasping for good air with tears running down my face.  Tears of joy, tears of the love of God.  I broke down and thought never, ever, hiking again.  So how did it get to this point?  Just a normal day on the PCT.

I wake up just before 4 in the morning to the sounds of some birds singing.  It is still dark and so I just lay there for awhile and listen and think.  I think about “Optimistic” and how fast the PCT got to him.  The PCT is just relentless.  Just when you think you have it all figured out something will happen that you had not planned.  Perhaps a longer or steeper grade than you expected.  A stream that is faster and deeper than expected.  A trail that suddenly turns rocky.  The almost constant worry about having enough water and getting to the next “reliable” water source to find it dry or the “seasonal” stream that is apparently out of season.  Then of course for a lot of the time you are alone, alone with your thoughts.  Those thoughts can be deadly if you focus on the failures and the could-have-been’s in your life or they can be uplifting if you think about your success’s, the few things you have done right, your Lord and your God, the source of all that is good.  If you think about the journey and the beauty around you and not only about the destination.  2650 miles and really some injury is always just around the corner.  It is amazing to me that anyone actually completes the PCT.  From the pcta.org site there is this:

4,881 people have completed the trail.  88 did it more than once.  Walking or riding the entire Pacific Crest Trail is an achievement worthy of superlatives. It represents not just athletic prowess, determination and extreme proficiency in the outdoors, but a devotion and dedication to the magic of the West. To be a 2,600 Miler is to have achieved the remarkable.

that is a shockingly small number considering the number that start each year.  There is a definite increase in the number of people that have completed the trail in recent years.  I think just because SO MANY MORE are trying.  A survey of why people left the trail resulted in this:  36% because of injury.  Seems low.

After awhile I turn on a lantern and start packing up.  Once everything is back in my pack I have a good breakfast.  I know I am in for a long day and at the first I have a 5 mile steady ascent.  It looks like it will be gentle but steady for 5 miles.  I have some sausage, some cheese, and two carnation instant breakfasts.  I’m feeling really good and start hiking about 5.  By 7:30 when I reach the Rogue River National Forest I have reached the top of the crest.  I figure the hard part of my day is already over.  Time to celebrate with a snickers bar.   Here are some photos along the way:

The sign above is at the top of a mountain called “Old Baldy”.  As you can see it is definitely not bald.   It gives me hope 🙂

Thus far the trail has been pretty much as expected.  Nice soft forest trail with lots of shade.  I can tell it is getting warmer pretty fast but the shade of the trees is perfect protection.  I have 16.31 miles to go and I’m feeling good and strong.  No issues.

Another 4.5 miles and I reach Dead Indian Memorial Road.  The same road (but not the same spot) where I picked up “Optimistic” a couple days ago.  This is a paved road with good access to the PCT and locals will park here and do short hikes.  As I get here and decide to rest and have a chocolate/oatmeal bar and a lot to drink.  There is suppose to be water a couple miles ahead so I splurge a little and drink a lot.  A couple drives up and parks and heads out on the trail the same direction I will be going.  A man, a woman, and a dog walk past my resting spot but don’t seem interested in talking.   After awhile I start again and reach the “reliable” water spot which is dry.  I still have 2 liters of water and that will probably be enough.  Near the dry reliable water source there is this sign which puts me in a good mood.

Anyway at about this time the couple comes back on the trail towards me and tell me there is a small pond just ahead on the right.  Sure enough in about a half mile there is a small stream and pond.  So I take the 2 liters container I have and empty it into my camelback.  I’m wondering if I really want to load up the 2 liter container again but decide just to be safe I will.  As I take out the purifier from my pack I notice I still have some electrolyte tablets left in the bottom of the pocket.  Great, I thought I was out and now I have enough for 4 liters.  Don’t think I’ll need them but I add two to the camelback and save 2 in case I need the other two liters.  I had gone forward a little to some shade and so now I walk back with my two liter container and a cup to scoop up some water back to the pond.  As I am scooping up the water, I hear a clear and loud voice say “take three”.  I am shocked, stand up and look around.  Nobody is there.

Ok, I believe that God has been with me all along on this trail.  It is not like I have a bubble of protection around me or anything but He is with me.  When I badly burned my leg 2 days from civilization, He sent me a medically trained woman doing the PCT on a horse with a full medical kit and knew how to wrap my knee to protect it from infection and wrap it so it would not come off while I walked.   She happened to be there because the trail was blocked by a large tree that she could not get past on the horse so she had to backtrack.  When I needed water to continue, He sent birds across my path that dove down into some brush.  Could the birds have gone done there for water?  I hike down to where the birds went and there behind the brush is a small pond coming from nowhere, that cascades down a rock to a lower pond that goes nowhere.  This water source is not marked on any PCT map or application.  When I was sick on the trail, He guided Lenora through the wilderness on closed rocky roads and she found 2 hikers that had seen me and knew where I was and told her they would go back and get me to her.  This was not my most shining moment but it was a good one for God.   There have been countless moments when I needed a fresh breeze to cool me down and keep me going.  Out of nowhere, He sends a fresh cool breeze.  This will happen later today as well.  To quote Gibbs rule 39, there are no coincidences.

At this point I have 9.92 miles to go.  There is no indication that it is anything more than an easy walk in the woods.  Why should I “take three”?   I’m having a conversation in my head now cause nobody else is there.  It is only out of an abundance of caution that I am getting 2 containers full, taking 3 containers seems just foolish.  Just more weight to carry without reason.  I do have another container back in the pack.  I can go get it and fill it up..  I decide not too and I get back to my pack and add the purifier and again I hear “take three”.  I am actually a little annoyed at this point.  Why am I being nagged?  I consent.  I dig down in my pack, find the other container, fill it up, purify it, put it in the pack and say THERE!!  It is 11:30 and about 10 miles to go.  Feeling good and strong.  No issues other than slight annoyance 🙂

This part of the trail has not been very well maintained.  There are many trees across the trail that need to be navigated.  Most I can get over because of my long legs.  Some I have to go around but there is usually some little trail around the tree as others have the same problem as me.  It is just something that slows you down a little.

In about two miles I cross a small dry creek and enter into the Brown Mountain lava fields.  It is about 1 pm and I have a little under 8 miles to go.  When I see the lava field I take out my phone and look at the halfmile application to see what lies ahead.  Normally it will tell you about roads, about campsites, about water sources, about interesting features.  The only thing it says is that in 7.75 miles you will reach Hwy 140.  So it is 1pm, the heat of the day, and I’m about to enter into 8 miles of the Brown Mountain lava fields, or as I like to call it, hell!

I am blessed for a couple things here.  There is some shade during this time.  Between the lava fields there are pockets of trees to provide some shade.  I have 6 liters of water and 4 or those liters have electrolytes.  The grade is sometimes up and sometimes down but never a steep grade and generally it could be classified as gradual.  So I have a lot going for me here.  But it takes me until 7 pm to cross these 8 miles and there were times when I was sure I was going to overheat.  It was at least 90 degrees air temperature and the lava rock both gathered and reflected the heat.  I can’t even begin to describe how hot it felt.  My feet, in new thick hiking boots, could feel the heat on the trail.  After about 1 mile into it, I realized my eyes were getting burned or so it seemed.  As I looked down at the trail it was blurry.  BUT, I had a pair of cocoons that I had infrequently worn but always carried and I put them on.  It seemed like just putting on the sun glasses dropped the temperature a bit and my eyes felt much better.

There had been a couple trees down across the trail in the lava field.  One I could step over.  One I decided to go around into the lava rocks and decided I would not do that again.  Might not look it from the photo but the rocks are large and jagged and it would only take a simple misstep and the game would be over with a broken ankle or worse.  My only choice on the tree below was to go under.  Off came the pack and I crawled under.  Guess what is under that tree?  Yes sharp and very hot rocks!  At this point I realized I was walking on rocks hot enough to burn you.  Or at least to burn a sissy like me :).  It was at this point that I said a few bad words.

 

Each crossing of a lava field to some shade seemed to get more difficult and I would be breathing very heavy to try and get enough oxygen.  I was not actually gasping till near the end when I would rest I would actually be heaving to get air.  I would just sit down until I could breath normally which was generally about 20 minutes.  Each time I would consume a bunch of water.  When it was finally over I had about 2 sips of water left of that 6 liters.  “Take three”.  Yes Sir, I will never question your will again.

I have decided I will hike again.

Lenora’s Story:

“I’ll never hike again”.  Not sure how I felt about that.  It is a little scary when you pick up your love and have him climb into the car and burst into tears.  I had watched his progress all day and knew it was a hard day by the miles and the stop times but I was impressed that he had done so well.  That was until I saw how very very used up this day on the trail had made him.  What do I say?  How do I say, without being unsupportive, “This is crazy!!! Why do you do this to yourself?  You should be done!  It is time to go home.!.”  Yet I got over that impulse and as the evening  wore on he got over the exhaustion and the elation at having survived and was ready to consider hiking again.  So once again I am in for the duration.

While the Holy Spirit is talking to my husband I am spending another day at the really really hard job of doing needlepoint all day.  Each day begins and ends with fervent prayer to protect this man as he continues his journey.  Today I now know my prayers have been given extra attention.  Thank you Lord Jesus and Abba Father for continuing to guide our lives and steps.

 

Don: Post Script

At Church on Sunday one of the songs was Be Not Afraid

You shall cross the barren desert, but you shall not die of thirst.
You shall wander far in safety though you do not know the way.
You shall speak your words in foreign lands and all will understand.
You shall see the face of God and live.

The sermon was about how we should not be afraid.

So today starts the next test.  A 2 day trip with a pretty normal pack except it only contains enough food for 2 days and 1 night.  And because it is suppose to be in the 90’s and perhaps 100 there is no need for any cold weather gear or rain gear.  I’m guessing the pack is at about 35 to 40 pounds.  I start where I left off 2 days ago at Hwy 66 and plan on going to Hwy 140.  Notice that I took a day off, not because I was all that tired or hurting but I just was not sure what the next hike should be.   The hike between the Hwy 66 and Hwy 140 is 38 miles and seems very possible.

But on yesterday I hear from “Optimistic” again.  Turns out he wants me to pick him up on Dead Indian Memorial Road which is between the 66 and the 140.    He figures he will be there about 6:30 pm and I tell him I’ll be glad to come get him.   Anyway I was curious how a road could have such a name and so I googled and found this:

By late summer 1855, vengeance and retribution were about to explode. Settlers and American Indians both felt the tension.

By late summer 1855, vengeance and retribution were about to explode. Settlers and American Indians both felt the tension.

Two years after the 1853 Rogue River Indian War had ended, fear and suspicion were stronger than ever.

In September 1855, Fred Alberding was returning to the Oregon Territory after a year living in the United States. He made camp in the Siskiyou Mountains off the Applegate Trail.

When he woke up, one of his horses was missing. Seeing smoke from a nearby Indian village, he decided they must have taken it.

He hurried to Ashland, where he spread the news that Indians had stolen his horse on the Emigrant Road. It didn’t take long to find 15 men who were willing to go out and “lick them Indians,” just to get Fred’s pony back.

They rode to the Greensprings and camped, intending to attack the village before daybreak, but they overslept and the attack came well after sunrise.

The Indians had been peacefully gathering berries for the winter, but as soon as they saw the attacking settlers, they grabbed their rifles, took shelter behind trees and opened fire.

One settler was shot through the hand, another through his arm and Alberding was wounded above his eye. Granville Keene was dead.

The outnumbered “posse,” chased by the tribe, scrambled for their lives. Only when the Indian’s leader was wounded did his men stop their pursuit.

The next day, a detachment of 38 soldiers from Fort Lane were ordered to recover Keene’s body. Nearby Keene Creek would be named for him.

It was an embarrassing defeat for the volunteers, especially when Alberding’s horse suddenly reappeared, dragging a large tree branch caught in its harness. It was the same branch that Alberding had tied the horse to on the night it had disappeared.

With a rumor that Keene’s body had been mutilated, another, larger company of volunteers set off to find his killers.

To the west, not far from an old Indian trail, buzzards circling in the air drew the men to an abandoned Indian camp. There they found at least two, and some say as many as 15 murdered bodies.

Because items were found that Alberding’s volunteers lost when they ran away, it was assumed that these Indians were the ones who had attacked on Keene Creek.

Who had killed the Indians has always generated controversy. Some say it was the volunteers, although it was a time when a settler was likely to brag about killing an Indian, and no one ever did.

Another story said members of an Indian tribe who camped along Little Butte Creek had told Indian Agent Ambrose they were the culprits.

According to the account, fearing they would be blamed for Keene’s death, they had sent a war party to the camp and murdered the men of the tribe while letting the women run away.

The area where the bodies were found soon was known as Dead Indian Prairie, and when the settlers began developing the Indian trail they named it Dead Indian Road.

In 1993, after years of protest, the road was renamed Dead Indian Memorial Road.

And, as happens so often in our history, after all these years, no one knows for sure what really happened.

Writer Bill Miller lives in Shady Cove. Reach him at [email protected].

When I get there to pick “Optimistic” up he simply shakes his head and says the the PCT just kicked his butt.  I laugh out loud and tell him the story of me at REI getting ready to start the PCT and the salesman convincing me to train for a year because frankly the PCT is going to kick my ass.  Here is a copy of that blog post:

I then decided that my next test would have to be a full blown training hike with complete hiking backpack, tent, pad, etc.  Full blown simulation.  (A description of some of my training hikes in the next post).  Of course, I had NONE of this stuff.  I have never backpacked before.   Time for a visit to REI.   Not my first visit to REI and I have always enjoyed shopping there to get clothes and “stuff” for various birding trips.  However I was exceeding lucky (blessed) on this trip as I hooked up with Gary, a very fit employee about my age who was a backpacker.   I told him I needed some backpacking supplies such as a backpack and tent.  Ok he said, what are you planning to do?  I’m going to hike the PCT.  Ok he said, when?   This year.  Ok he said, have you ever done an backpacking before?  No.  OOOOOOKKKKKKKK he said.   So we went over and he picked out the backpack that he thought would be best for me and for the PCT.  We then went over and he helped pick up a tent and pad that he thought would be best for the PCT.  Then he said, you really think you should hike this year? Yes.  OK, then we went over and helped me pick out some trekking poles and some water proof bags to hold “stuff” in, and talked to me about stoves and food supplies.  Then he said, if you have never done this before, it my personal opinion that it would not be best for you to do the PCT this year.  You need to get some experience first.  The PCT will kick your ass.  I smiled and nodded.  Ok, water bottles, water storage, water purification, emergency equipment, rain gear.  Then he said, I would not feel good about myself if I let you walk out of here without saying again that you should not try to walk the PCT this year.  You need to try it out first on small adventures to get trained up and to make sure you even like it.  Thank you, I said, I will think about it.  Ok he said and on we went, socks, gloves, hats, boots (size 10.5, the same size I have worn my entire life).

So, I gave him a ride back to our hotel and he got a room and was going to travel up to Portland and decide when to head back to North Carolina.  Then he was going to plan and train and try to do Oregon next year and I will probably never see him again.

So the temperature is going to be high but I am walking through a nice Oregon forest and shade on most of the trail.  It is another beautiful hike and there seem to be more meadows along the trail. Here are a few photos of the meadow trail

There seems to be a bit of a water issue in this section of the PCT.  Hyatt Reservoir and the campgrounds are suppose to be good sources for water but all water is shut off because of Coliform issues.  But it is still a pretty area

 

About 8 miles ahead there is another lake named Howard Prairie Lake which is about 2 tenths of a mile off the PCT.  There is a campground here called Klum Landing and I went down there and got some water and used their facilities.  Always nice to be able to actually use a bath room.  They also had very nice free shower facilities which I can imagine are a huge hit for PCT’ers that have been out for days.  I stayed here for awhile and had some food.  I loaded up with 6 liters of water so that I had plenty for the night meal, drinking during the night, and breakfast in the morning.  In real life I never get up and drink during the night but while hiking I will frequently drink a liter of water during the night.   I passed this scene on the way there which should have been a clue for me that perhaps not all of Oregon is green forest.

I continue for a couple miles after Klum landing where I cross a dirt road and on the other side is some nice flat ground.  Its been 17 miles and I decide to camp here for the night.

It has been a good day.

So today it is back to where I started yesterday but going to travel in the opposite direction.  The direction that gets me closer to Canada :).  Down in the town it is clear and will be hot.  However as I start the walk this morning there are clouds on the trail.  It is cool but not cold and just excellent conditions for a hike.  I plan on going  17 miles today.    Start where the PCT crossed Hwy 99 and end where the PCT crosses Hwy 66.   Some things amuse me and this is one of them.  If you turned the world upside down I would still start on Hwy 99 and end on Hwy 66.

Yesterday there was no one on the trail.   I was wondering if today was going to be the same when a young couple raced right by me without saying a word.  Shortly after that another young man came by and we talked a bit.  It was his first day hiking and his plan was to do all of Oregon in the 13 days he had off.  I therefore named him immediately “Optimistic”.    He had just flown in from North Carolina and is in the army.  He had a 65 pound pack full of food for the 13 days.  He estimated he would have to average 33 miles per day to get it done.  Not impossible from what I have read in the PCT books.  Oregon seems to be the high milage state.  We do talk about the fact that there is still a LOT of snow at Crater Lake and that he might not be able to get past there.  He did not research it at all before he left and was a little bummed that he might not be able to do all of Oregon.  I thank him for serving in the military and off he goes.  I never expect to see him again.  However in about 5 miles I do catch up to him at a small stream where he is getting water and I am going to do the same.  He indicates he was getting worried because he was not carrying much water and I told him that there was this stream and one in about 2 miles and that was it for another 10 miles or so.  He wondered how I knew that and I told him about the Halfmile application that tells you all the important information about road crossings, camp sites, and most importantly WATER.  There was phone service at this point in the trail and so he downloaded the application and was amazed and thanked me profusely.  The reason I was able to catch up to him was that he had packed his filtering equipment at the very bottom of his pack and had to spend a lot of time unpacking, finding, and repacking.   Does not take very long to learn those things you want to at the top of your pack.   Off he went and I never expect to see him again.

Here are some photos from the beginning of the trail

The clouds are still lurking about and there is a bit of wind and it just makes for very comfortable hiking.   The hike is going through the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument which was established in 2000 and is the nations first monument designated in recognition of an area’s biological diversity.   Reminds me of the quote from Aldo Leopold

“A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.”

This is also within the Soda Mountain Wilderness which encompasses 24000 acres and was established in 2009.

Fairly early in the hike I get to Pilot Rock and there is a warning sign there that this is a Peregrine Falcon breeding site and they should not be disturbed.  Pretty exciting but I do not see any falcons.  Perhaps they were hiding in the clouds.

There is a family that is camping here.  A man, woman, 2 young men and a little girl.  They are two tents near by and they seem set.  I notice the little girl picking some wild flowers and giving them to her Mom.   About an hour later while I am taking a break they pass me and I talk to the dad for awhile.  They are on a SLOW hiking trip to do the southern Oregon PCT.  He emphasized the SLOW.   Anyway I rest awhile longer listening to the birds and get a glimpse of the back end of fox running away.   When I start hiking again I pass the family and I don’t ever see them again.  Hope they are still having a good time.

Walking along I get a good look to the north and take this picture of Mount McLoughlin.

Very very often I am captured by the beauty of the country I am walking through but the picture below was taken while I was resting and lying flat on my back.  I look and up and just think WOW..  As I was lying there enjoying the view, a large group of “older” people walked by.  They were on a day hike they said.  There were probably about 20 of them.  Talked to them for a bit and one lady indicated to me that there was a little known pond just ahead where I could get some water.   As one of the last ones walked by I heard him say to the others:  “Hey why don’t we ever take breaks like that”.

It was a beautiful day hiking and just before getting to Hwy 66 I have this view.

As I get down to Hwy 66 who do I see but “Optimistic” sitting in the shade.   I indicate I never expected to see him again and he said he got to this road and started thinking about his plans.  Since he can’t do all of Oregon due to the snow what does he really want to do?  I sense the PCT has already taken a toll on him.  He indicates he will probably want to hike to Hwy 140 (this is at the base of Mount McLoughlin) but that is 40 miles from Ashland.  I indicate that we, probably just Lenora, would be able to pick him up if that is what he wanted.  He then started wondering if he even wanted to go that far or just go in with me now.  Either one I indicated.  After awhile he decided to keep hiking towards Hwy 140.  We traded phone numbers and I told him to just call when he needed a ride.  Off he went and this time I was sure I would see him again.

It was a good day.  Heavier pack, more miles, and all good at the end of the day.

Here are some wild flowers from along the way.

 

So I figured the issue yesterday was that I was just not ready to be carrying a 50 pound pack for a long distance.  So today was going to be a short hike with about a 25 pound pack.  We are staying in Ashland Oregon and the trail goes just south of Ashland.  Today I drive up to the trail near Callahans Lodge near interstate 5 and start hiking back towards Etna Summit.  I get a pretty late start and want to make an early end (LOL) so I divide the hours in half and walk away for half the time and walk back.  The distance out was 5 miles.  So after two days on the trail I have done 8 miles.  Wow… impressive..  Lenora says actually 16 miles to make me feel.  BUT the key thing is that after the 10 miles (5 in, 5 back) I am feeling fine.  There is no pain on the right side at all.  So it is not the act of hiking that caused the pain but it seems the weight in the pack.

Here are some wild flowers along the route

And some pictures of the views and the trail.  The trail is a nice soft forest trail.

 

 

 

So I will continue as it appears to be a simple matter of lack of preparation.  I will consider this on the job training.

Lenora’s Story:

So we are still on a hiking adventure.  Am I happy?  Yes.  Am I concerned?  Very much so.  My part is very minimal today as Don drives himself to the trail and does the 5 out and 5 back thing.  I stay in and do some laundry while stitching.  A good day all round as Don returns without the leg pain and feet feeling stronger.  I’m done with one side of my Love Shack house and decide to work on the “Chocolate” piece.