Me 2007-08-06 Two thirds done!
August 6th, 2007
Oregon has wasted no time in living up to its reputation. The walking is easy, the weather is cooler and the sights aren’t there.
I woke to see the early morning mist wafting across the reservoir. There was a definite chill in the air and I walked quite a way still wearing my thermal top (mmmmm, merino wool). I stopped for a little while to send messages via the telephone at Hyatt Lake, where I’ll return to this weekend to visit Levi and his family.
It did warm up eventually and with the trail being so flat I found it pretty easy to get where I wanted to be. Unfortunately flat amongst trees means no views and the walk became tedious after a while. I really wish I had someone to talk to or something to occupy my mind. Songs are an ok distraction but I’d rather have an audio book or two.
Things picked up in the late afternoon. I passed mile 1770, the 2/3 mark! Then ran into Gary who gave me some useful pointers on edible plants. We were near some thimble berries which I tried. They’re like bland raspberries but will do in a pinch. He also confirmed the ones I’d seen earlier were huckleberries and a little while after leaving him I found some more. Those things are delici-most! Tomorrow night I’m making up some instant pudding (assuming I camp with enough water) and a handful of huckleberries will go down nicely.
I started looking for a camp just as the trail hit the slopes of Brown Mountain. Great boulders cover the ground here as if the whole mountain was flowing down through the trees. Across these solid rivers the trail has been beaten flat and then topped with red scoria making it look like a fancy driveway. If the whole trail was marked like this the guidebooks would go out of print.
I eventually found a flat spot that some previous hiker has cleared and as I settled into my bag Troll and Oblivious came by. I told them about Caitlin going home and they presented me with my lost ground-sheet.
More photos of this day’s journey can be found at Ashland to Crater Lake
Distance today: 25.5 miles. Total distance: 1773.9 miles
August 9th, 2007 at 2:27 pm
yay! return of the lost groundsheet!
August 10th, 2007 at 2:00 am
Wahoo! You have had so much luck on your side Craig with the camera and now the ground sheet and numerous other things no doubt!
August 10th, 2007 at 2:25 pm
It appears that the PCT acts as a kind of conveyor belt. Hikers have to walk, but inanimate objects like cameras placed on the trail will move slowly north, carried by one or more through-hikers. I have read that this includes useless objects like lead weights, horseshoes and an (in)famous green hammer. Once one of these objects has been placed in your back by a ‘friend’ trail lore forbids you to throw it away so you have to insert it into someone else’s pack to continue its slow journey along the PCT.