I was really looking forward to walking through the lodgepole pine forest and got to experience that for a while.
August 9, 2014
Steve drove us back to the trail today. Had a little trouble finding the trailhead. We started north of Crater Lake on Highway 138. Hiking was good although my pack weighs a ton with 5 L of water and 4 days of food. We have long dry stretches on this leg. Did a lot of climbing but we did really well - motored up them no problem. The temperatures are much more comfortable than they were further south. The highlight of this stretch is Mt. Thielsen, which we got to see from several angles. Gorgeous. We had dinner at Thielsen Creek, which was icy cold and very picturesque with a small waterfall. Jeff is being a good sport and even carried my pack across the creek for me. We continued on 2.5 miles after dinner. We have a long dry stretch ahead so wanted to get a head start on it when it was cool.
Looking back toward Mt. Mazama (Crater Lake)
A first peek at Mt. Thielsen.
Getting closer to Mt. Thielsen.
A very nice thru hiker took this picture of me and Jeff.
I just like the way the trail hugged the side of the hill.
Mt. Thielsen and Thielsen Creek.
August 10, 2014; Miles 16 trail miles, 17 actual
Today started out well. We got going by 7:00. Neither of us slept very well. The moon was super bright so it never seemed to get dark. The walk was very forested today with few views. Mostly what we see are tree covered hills everywhere. We did get to see the OR/WA High Point, which was a bit anticlimactic. We expected a pinnacle or something but it was a bench in a meadow. Met up with some nice hikers - Linda and Billie. Ran into them periodically. We walk the same pace but they are in their 60s! We went almost all day without a water source but finally made it to Six Horse Spring. It is a steep descent down to it and it's just a little trickle. We ate dinner above the spring and tons of other hikers showed up. After dinner, we kept going on the trail for 2.5 miles but I am pooped so we stopped. Thundering and raining a little tonight. I am so dirty and sticky.
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| Me at the OR/WA highpoint. I'm eating a fun size Butterfinger. |
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| Jeff at the OR/WA highpoint. Not really that high . . . |
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| This is pretty much what the day looked like. |
August 11, 2014; about 14 miles
We switched to the Oregon SkylineTrail today. It is much less scenic but there are definitely more water sources. Before that, though we walked through a very recent burn area - probably less than a week old. Leap frogged with Linda and Billie and Terry and Alice. Terry and Alice are hiking Oregon with a Chihuahua! Her name is Pip. I had been looking forward to the OST because Grandma Charity used to ride it on her horses but it was pretty dull. After leaving the PCT, we basically did a really long, 10 mile descent down to Crescent Lake on it, which just killed my feet and knees. We stopped at a lake to get water. Linda, Billie, Terry, and Alice were already there. Terry jumped in the water to rinse off but I saw leaches in the water! Crazy. I've never seen them before. He got out with no issues, though. The weird thing is, no where is the trail ever referred to as the OST! None of the trail markers we saw called it that. But I guess we were in the right place since we made it to Crescent Lake around 3:30. We took our shoes off and waded in the water. It felt so good. Jeff and I sat down at an empty campsite to make dinner. A camper came up and gave us salmon and salad! We called Teri and Alice to come have some. After that, another camper came up and gave us blueberries and green beans - too much to eat. After we ate, we tried to get back to the trail but it was very confusing and frustrating. Finally got back on it at the horse camp. Set up the tent just as it started to rain - phew! We're in a blow down area. It was very hard to find a place to set up. I joked with Jeff that we should have brought a chainsaw. Very scary being in all this blow down with lightning going off.
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| Jeff, Terry, Alice, Linda, and Billie. |
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| Very recent burn area on the PCT |
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| Crescent Lake looking toward Diamond Peak. Scary storm clouds brewing. |
August 12, 2014; Miles - about 9.5
Jeff's last day on the trail. We woke up to find that my side of the tent was soaked but Jeff's side was dry. My hiking shirt was soaked and it stank! We got a slow start. Yesterday was hard with a lot of downhill, so we walked pretty gingerly and slowly today. We were greeted right away with a thunderstorm - weird to have one at 7:30 in the morning. Lightning was cracking right over our heads. It was pretty scary and we were still in an area with a lot of blowdown. We walked through light rain for most of the day. The last few miles to Odell Lake are along Trapper Creek and it was really pretty but it seemed like the trail would never end. We arrived at Shelter Cove at Odell Lake by about 1:00. We bought some hot dogs and chips and I called my mom. There were a lot of other hikers stopped there. Pretty much all thru hikers except for us. Terry and Alice were there and they were pretty upset because their resupply box hadn't shown up. About an hour after we arrived it started pouring rain. All of us hikers hid on the porch of the store. We were pretty concerned that Billie and Linda hadn't arrived yet. My parents showed up at about 2:30. We chatted with them and then they went home. Right after my parents left, Billie and Linda finally arrived. I asked them if they'd gotten stuck in the big downpour and they said yes. I told Billie we were really worried about them, so she said, "So you put on your rain gear and came looking for us, right?" I said, "No, I just kept eating my hot dog." She laughed and said "Atta girl." Jeff and I took our car into Oakridge - shower and a real bed! Had dinner at the Pub. Ate way too much. Will zero tomorrow.
Wet trail all day
Diamond View Lake
My tired and muddy dogs
Lovely Trapper Creek
Shower, bed, laundry and real food. Sort of caught Jeff by surprise.
Pouring freaking rain at Odell Lake and hiding on the porch.
August 13, 2014; Zero day
Jeff and I had breakfast at the pizza place in Oakridge and then drove into Eugene to buy me a foam sleeping pad. I love my air mattress but it's too heavy and takes up too much space in my pack. REI didn't have the pad I wanted so we went to another store - Backcountry Gear. They weren't open but the mail order guys sold me a pad anyway - how nice! After that we went to the Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History. It was very good. We ate Mediterranean food on the U of O campus. Went back to Oakridge so I could prepare for the trail tomorrow - geez so soon! Had dinner at the Pub again.
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