July 23, 2016

Milk Creek (mile 2025) to Pinhead Saddle (2055.8)

Miles: 30.8

Our total miles: 1649.5

It was a warm night. We slept without the fly and at one point Andy woke up to the moonlight casting shadows of leaves across the tent.

Our alarm went off at 5:10, neither of us wanting to open our eyes but we knew we needed to get moving. We stopped earlier than planned last night and wanted to make up those miles today.

We snuggled for 5 minutes and then started the packing process. We were on the trail by 6:15am. Very reasonable for us.

We initially climbed for about 2 miles, walking past lots of blooming bear grass. Our bodies felt good and our lungs happy in the fresh morning air. Climbs always feel best first thing in the morning.

At the top of the hill we dropped down past a small pond where another couple were packing up their things. We recognized them from a few days prior at Big Lake Youth Camp. It is nice seeing familiar faces along the trail – it contributes to a nice sense of community.

We got to Russel Creek and investigated our options. We could either walk across a quickly melting snow bridge or ford the icy cold river. We choose the latter.

It was painfully cold and difficult to see where to put our feet through the cloudy water but the creek was narrow and so much tamer than what we had experienced in the Sierra. We were relieved and felt good knowing our creek crossing confidence had been restored.

We climbed up some more to a green paradise. Bright pink and red paintbrush littered the ground. We walked past ponds and lakes and through vivacious green meadows. Mt Jefferson stood tall in the backdrop. It was truly a spectacular area.

We ascended another 800 ft to a ridge with views of Mt Jefferson to the south and Mt Hood in the north. Simply incredible scenery!

We took a short break amongst a rock pile and were swarmed by mosquitoes. The views were worth the pestering so we stuck it out.

Once on the north side of the ridge we stepped and glisadded down a few large snow patches.

We passed many backpackers and day hikers out to enjoy the area on this beautiful Saturday. The longer we are out here the more we notice the clean smells of day hikers.

We ate a late lunch at Upper Lake before continuing down the trail towards Ollalie lake. We walked past other wooded lakes and wandered deep into the forest. The trail was flat but rocky.

Around Jude Lake we ran into a couple in their late 60’s named Instigator and Expediter. They met in a backpacking club in college and have been exploring and hiking together ever since. They were such an inspiration to us. We hope to still be doing thru hikes in our 60s!

At 6:20 we decided to shoot for 30 miles. We still had gas in our tanks and wanted to push ourselves.

But was it smart?

Could our bodies handle it? Was it just our egos egging us on?

We figured we would find out.

We passed our originally planned campsite around 7:00pm. There were literally 8 tents tucked in together amongst the down trees.

We were glad we had made the decision to keep walking since we may not have been able to squeeze in there.

The trail was initially flat but then climbed around 800 feet past fireweed and mountain lilies and back into the trees.

Once on the ridge we started looking for a spot to call home. The first spot was taken. The second spot had toliet paper everywhere and a shirt crumpled by a tree. It gave us both the heeby jeebies.

We agreed to walk a tenth of a mile to another spot identified on Guthook (one of the apps we use for water sources and tentsites) but we never found it. We ended up walking three tenths of a mile tired and hungry looking for camp.

Eventually we found a flat spot and called it home. It was 8:45pm. Laurie crawled inside while Andy cooked. Laurie was very happy with celebratory hot chocolate while sitting in her sleeping bag.

By the time we ate and cleaned up it was past 10pm. It is hard getting into camp this late but we are so glad we pushed ourselves a little. We just hope our bodies agree in the am!

Tonight we are grateful for our tough feet and tranquil forests.

July 22, 2016

Bushcamp (mile 2004.2) to Milk Creek (mile 2025)

Miles: 20.8

Our total miles: 1618.7

We woke up in a cloud. By the time we left the fog had thinned and we could see the outline of Three Fingered Jack. So beautiful!

We walked through the fog and across a boulder field into the forest. The trail climbed up towards an unnamed pass. As we crested over to the other side we again made note of the beauty. Clouds rolled in and out framing a sunny meadow.

From here we walked back into a burn area. We stayed in the burn area most of the morning, getting water from a pond near Koko Lake. Waldo caught up as we were setting off to hike another 1.5 hours before taking a second breakfast stop.

Andy boiled water and we enjoyed warm oatmeal and hot chocolate. Waldo eventually joined us here and we hiked near one another the rest of the day.

We stopped for a late lunch with a view of Mt Jefferson. The mosquitoes found us quickly so we ate as we swatted them away. We wondered outloud about the purpose of mosquitoes. None of us had a good answer.

From here we hiked down to Shale Lake. It was a sweet little lake glistening in the sun. We wished we could stay here longer but unfortunately we had miles to cover.

The trail led us down 2000 feet to Milk Creek. Andy noted the silence of the forest as we walked down into a sea of maple trees and other dense foliage.

We stopped for a moment and heard nothing. No birds chirping, no creatures running about, no wind moving the branches. It was as quiet as a cave. If there was a place to camp in here Andy would’ve been tempted.

Less than a mile later we reached Milk Creek. It was a good sized creek with milky looking water. It reminded us of the rivers in Nepal.

After setting up our tents in two separate but equally snug spots a tenth of a mile from the creek, we took what we needed and headed for the rocks.

The three of us ate dinner sitting on said rocks watching the alpine glow fade off of the west face of Mt Jefferson.

Tomorrow we will part ways with Waldo. His father and friend are meeting him at Timberline Lodge around the time that we hope to be in Cascade Locks.

It was fun hiking with him and we hope to connect again whether on this trail or future trips.

Tonight we are grateful for cold creeks and our shoes.

July 21, 2016

Big Lake Youth Camp (mile 1992.6) to bushcamp (mile 2004.2)

Miles: 11.6

Our total miles: 1597.9

With our ear plugs in, once our heads hit the pillow we were out. We both slept soundly. So much in fact that when we woke up at 6:30 and popped our heads out of the tent we were surprised that 2/3 of our little tent village were gone.

Breakfast wasn’t until 8:30am so we took our time packing up, trying to avoid carrying copious amounts of sand with us in our packs.

After all of our chatting, charging and uploading it was 11 am.

Waldo waited for us and we finally walked away from the hiker A-frame at 11:20. Big Lake Youth Camp and their staff are wonderful. We can’t thank them enough!

After checking our maps we chose to walk along the dirt road rather than retrace our steps to the trail. We were passed by 2 trucks, one of which was a Fed Ex delivery truck. The driver slowed to say hello and to wish us well in our journey. He had hiked the PCT in the 90s.

We re-joined the PCT 1.5 miles later and within 5 minutes stumbled along trail magic! Ten feet from the trail was a nicely decorated cooler with soda and beer. We had just eaten a big breakfast full of sugar but Laurie couldn’t resist trail magic.

She and Waldo enjoyed a soda while Andy quietly substained. After 1500 miles soda still doesn’t appeal to him.

We walked another 4 miles to Hwy 20 and Santiam Pass. The trail sliced through an old burn area. The vibrant green new growth provided a nice contrast to the burnt and dead old growth. It reminded us both of the intertwined nature of the cycle of life.

We got to Santiam Pass around 1:15pm. Waldo needed to go back to Bend to get different shoes and we were continuing on. The question was how far.

We said goodbye and watched Waldo walk down the highway holding his sign in search for a pullout and a friendly motorist.

We walked another 15 minutes and took a break in the shade. Neither of us were feeling particularly motivated today. We had just lost the last member of our latest trail family and it felt like a loss, especially for Laurie.

It still amazes us how quickly we can fall into a rhythm with strangers. And how these strangers become great friends over the span of a few days.

Laurie gets attached easily and this is apparent everytime we have to say goodbye. She fantasises about future adventures together but understands the strong likelihood that we may never see one another again.

This trail is one of the first times we have made friends as a couple. Majority of our friends at home were friends with one of us initially. It feels nice to be creating new relationships as a unit.

We walked through yet another burn area. The sun was intense initially but as we climbed the number of clouds in the sky increased. There was a nice breeze and the hiking was comfortable – particularly when the sun hid behind a cloud.

The burn area was HUGE! Once on a ridge below Three Fingered Jack we could see far and wide and truly appreciate the immensity of this fire. We walked alongside penstemon and lupine below the bare and scorched trees.

A third of the way into our climb we stopped for a snack on a rock. Within 5 minutes our feet were bitten my small and fast mosquitoes. We swatted at the mozzies while we ate a bag of trail mix and apples.

We had planned to hike another 7 miles past the next water source to a campsite. The pace we were traveling we would get to camp around 7:15pm.

We walked on, past an awesome tentsite on the edge of some rocks overlooking the valley. We wished we had enough water to camp here but since we didn’t we reluctantly walked on.

About a mile later the trail opened up and we walked along the scree at the base of Three Fingered Jack. Laurie spotted at least 5 mountain goats traversing the mountain.

We noticed a narrow use trail off to the left which lead to 2 tentsites. We looked at each other.

“We can make it work” reassured Laurie holding up her liter of water. “Yeah. We won’t cook dinner” Andy replied.

And that was that.

This spot was too nice to pass up. We didn’t feel like pushing today and this way hopefully Waldo can continue to hike with us. Andy texted him and let him know where we were in case he could make it.

It was 5 pm and we were home for the night. We set up our tent and crawled in to escape the mosquitoes.

We felt grateful for the sun but it got hot sitting in the tent. There were too many mozzies to sit outside on the rocks so we stayed inside crammed at the foot end for more protection from the sun. We snacked on bars and nuts until we could eat no more.

Around 8:45 Andy thought he heard a whistle. He whistled back. He whistled again. Nothing.

Laurie called out “Where’s Waldo?”

“In the clouds” replied Waldo from the junction.

Waldo had the hitching adventure of his life and still made it to camp before dark. We were both happy to see him.

Eventually we will have to separate because of different schedules and logistics but today was not that day. We are grateful for at least one more night together.

When we got to our campsite we had an amazing view of Three Fingered Jack and the valley below. Around 7 pm the clouds rolled in and by 9 we were socked in completely. We could hear occasional rocks falling in the distance and could only see 30 ft in front of us.

We are happy we stopped early and even happier to be in Waldo’s company tonight.

Tonight we are grateful for the opportunity to live freely and stray away from rigid schedules and the generosity of Big Lake Youth Camp.