Day 79 (July 27th)
Mile 1729.1 – 1760.6
Today: 31.5 miles (50.7km)
Total PCT: 1305.4 miles (2101.0 km)
Its been a while since I went a whole day without seeing any of my tramily, but that was my experience today. Thunder is a little behind me, having left Callahan’s lodge a couple hours after me. The boys seem to be running through Oregon and I assume I will only catch them when they start to miss my winning personality and decide to slow down. So today I hiked alone and reflected on the experience.
I really like the freedom to set my own pace and plan my day as I go. I slept in until 6am this morning, because there were no sounds of my friends packing up to stress me out and get me moving. All day I took breaks when I wanted to, rather than wondering if maybe one of the tram was taking a break just ahead. At the end of the day, I am used to coming across my friends setting up their tents to cue me to stop hiking. Without them, I just keep going… And going. Hence the 31+ mile day. Hiking alone removes any opportunity to be competitive (which I am, but shouldn’t be on this hike) and forces you to make decisions based on how you are feeling instead of what everyone else is doing. Its a good exercise in self reflection.
While I enjoy hiking alone, I am not a huge fan of being alone all day. I miss our tramily’s jokes and laughter over dinner. I miss doing peaks and puts every night. I miss relying on the tram to make sure I dont forget things or miss anything– for instance today I walked right past the last water source for 12 miles and I ended up having to backtrack half a mile. Usually I would come across Corpse or Thunder getting water and would see exactly where the water source is.
I enjoyed the quiet and competition-free hike today, but it also reminded me of how glad I am to have had the opportunity to hike with my friends for over 1200 miles. Hopefully we will all reconnect eventually, but even if we don’t I am so grateful for the friendships we have formed!
Day 80 (July 28th)
Mile 1760.6 – mile 1790.5
Today: 29.9 miles (48.1 km)
Total PCT: 1335.3 miles (2149.0 km)
Everything they say about Oregon is true– you can pull big miles and the bugs are terrible. I was lulled into a false sense of security this morning when I woke up to very few mosquitoes. I hiked in naive bliss for the morning– frustrated only by the loose rock underfoot and the lack of cell service to download my audiobook. I had a lovely lunch with some new friends and even met some folks who were out for a trail ride with their horses.
It wasn’t until after lunch that the skeeters truly started to attack. I kept hiking as fast as I could to avoid them, sometimes breaking into a desperate run. By 5:30pm, I was brushing dozens off at a time and making a plan for how to get into my tent as fast as possible when I arrived at camp. Upon my arrival, I quickly threw on my rain jacket, pants and headnet. I set up my tent and cooked my dinner, and then crawled into my tent to eat and try to relax despite the ominous buzzing all around me. Not cool Oregon.
Day 81 (July 29th)
Mile 1790.5- 1822.7
Today: 32.2 miles (51.8km)
Total PCT: 1367.5 miles (2200.8 km)
I didn’t take very many pictures today because I was too busy hiking! 32.2 PCT miles, plus an additional 1.5 miles on a side trail to get to the campground makes for my longest day of hiking yet!
For fear of mosquitoes this morning, I did everything I could in my tent– packed my entire bag (minus the tent), brushed my teeth, filtered my water…. And then I mentally prepared myself to open the tent door. The first few miles went quickly as I tried to outrun the bloodsuckers. Eventually, I climbed up onto an exposed ridge and the bugs died down a little. From there the day improved with nicer views than I had seen in days. At one point, as I headed downhill, a couple of hikers stopped me and let me know I was not on the PCT. Apparently we had both mistakenly taken the same side trail, but they had hiked a couple of miles before they noticed. Luckily, they caught me before I was too far off track!
My goal today was to reach Crater Lake National Park, where I could get a shower, laundry, my mailed resupply and where I hoped I might reunite with Salty and Corpse. Knowing I had to cover nearly 34 miles, I took few breaks and tried to take as short of a lunch break as I could. There was no water available for the last 22 miles of the day, so once I passed that point (and only took enough water for hiking– not camping) I was committed to making it the entire way.
By 6pm the mosquitoes were back in full force and I was going crazy trying to swat them off of me. Only 3 miles to camp! I speed walked the last bit, praying that the front country campground I was going to stay at would have fewer bugs. Finally, I made it! I walked up to the general store and immediately encountered Salty and Corpse! The reunion was sweet and the boys had been kind enough to save me some laundry detergent. That’s how you know your true friends!
I quickly went about my chores of picking up my food resupply, starting laundry and a showering. I cooked my instant ramen while waring my rainjacket and buff, and ate it sitting on top of the washing machine like true hiker trash. I’m very proud of my last few days of hiking and very excited to have a bit easier (and more fun) of a day tomorrow!
Day 82 (July 30th)
Mile 1822.7 – roughly mile 1827.4
Today: 4.7 miles (7.6 km)
Total PCT: 1362.2 miles (2192.3 km)
A wonderful nero! We slept in and took the time to explore Crater Lake National Park. The entire tranily was briefly reunited in the morning when Thunder arrived at camp, but was sadly seperated again when Thunder had to stay behind to finish her chores. It was nice to have everyone together no matter how briefly. I did some more chores, like throwing out my shoes and charging my devices.
After a relaxing morning, Salty, Corpse, Disco Moth, Apollo, Clumsy, Eduardo and I hitchhiked into the main park. From there, Salty, Corspi and I hitched over to a nice swimming spot at Cleetwood Cove. Our first hitch was easy, but once we were in the park, it was one of the hardest hitches we have had on trail– I guess tourists on family trips to national parks don’t want to pick up dirty hikers.
Eventually a mom and her daughters in a converted van picked us up and drove us to the trailhead, where we could hike down to the swimming spot and spend the afternoon laying on the rocks and swimming in the lake. Apart from our battle with overly brave chipmunks (made scarier by the fact that a chipmunk chewed through Salty’s tent last night) it was a very relaxing day. Returning to trail, we decided to hike an alternate route from the main PCT that would take us around the rim of Crater Lake and expose us to much more beautiful views.
We got our special permit from the rangers and hiked a short way in to a campsite right near the rim. Tomorrow we will wake up before dawn and hike up to a lookout to watch the sunrise over Crater Lake.
