Day 108, Trial by Fire

Part 4, Oregon, Day 108

Trial by Fire

Miles: 27.38

Total Miles: 1782.60

It was 1am when I awoke with a jolt of adrenaline. Something large was lumbering around outside my tent. I heard logs breaking under its weight. I'm thinking it was a bear. I stayed awake trying to pinpoint the animal's location, but the forest I camped in was too dark to see anything. I slept poorly the rest of the night, partly due to the sweltering night heat. I was up by 5:30 and hiking by 6:20. 

The morning hike was more how I expected Oregon to be like; a green and dark forest. It was nice and cool here. 

I crossed "Dead Indian Menorial Highway," a rather off-putting name. 

I saw this sign which claims that I was 2/3 of the way to Canada. After checking, the mileage was close enough, so when Pine Stick walked up, we air high fived. (Hikers don't touch each other's hands.)

I made an error in planning, as I should have gotten water back at the sign. It would be 10 hot miles before the next water. 

The trail soon passed over vast lava fields. It was both cool and painful, as the lava rocks tore up my feet.

It was hot early, pushing mid 90's. I was very thirsty and still incredibly tired. My pack felt too heavy and the weight was digging into my back and shoulders. 

There were great views of Mt. McLoughlin here; a pretty good looking volcano.

I was beyond thirsty here. Dehydration was setting in, as I got a headache and had little energy. All I could think about was water. I finally made it to Highway 140 and crossed it to find a glorious creek.

I drank a shit-load of water, but I probably should have filtered this, it being right near the highway. I was far too thirsty to filter. I found a cooler of trail magic that was empty... The story of my hike.

I ate lunch by this creek and talked to Pine Stick for awhile. He advised me to be on the lookout for huckleberries. I started my afternoon hike, again neglecting to bring enough water, of which the next source was 12 miles away. The path went uphill for miles.

I entered the Sky Lakes Wilderness in the Winema National Forest. 

The climb absolutely sucked. It was so damn hot out and the forest looked like this for a long time:

I had no energy and was so, so thirsty.

I was drenched in sweat and covered with dirt. The heat caused rashes on my back from my stupid pack rubbing on it. I seriously considered throwing some of the food and objects in my pack into the woods to relieve the weight. I was becoming dehydrated.

All I thought about was water as I painfully and slowly made my way uphill. The miles seemed to take forever. This distant lake only teased me.

At 5:30pm, I finally came to the spring. It took everything I had today to go 27 miles.

I ignored the mosquito hell and drank so much water. It was ice cold and clear.

I filled up 4 liters and planned to hike a few more miles. The sky was black all around me, and thunder roared in strange bursts. It sounded like the sky was puking. There was no pause, the thunder just kept rumbling. With the heat, this was severe fire weather, and sure enough, after half a mile, the air was filled with smoke and the smell of fire. This made me a bit nervous, and I decided to wait until morning to hike on. No need to be engulfed in flames during the night. I walked back toward the spring to a flat spot. Just then, Cookie Monster walked up with the same fire concerns and pitched his tent near mine. 

Right as we got our tents up, the rain started to fall. Thunder exploded all over. We cooked our food in the rain while other hikers arrived and pitched tents nearby. The rain stopped, but the thunder continued. We all walked over to the nearby huckleberry bushes and picked huckleberries. They are really delicious!

I'm a bit worried about the fires that may have been caused by all this dry lightning, but I'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out about that. Hopefully I don't burn during the night! I'm too tired, and it's so hot tonight. Wish  me luck...