Day 111, The Best of Me

Part 4, Oregon, Day 111

The Best of Me

Miles: 23.7

Total Miles: 1859.30

I'm sorry for the foul mood I was in for the last post. Days of frustration finally exploded, and I took it out on the trail. Crater Lake was amazing just the way I saw it. A unique viewing, you could say. It was fun spending time with the other hikers at camp last night, but the rain drove us all into our shelters. It rained all night, but I was dry inside my tent.

In the morning, I waited briefly for the rain to stop and left camp at 7am, a pretty late start for me. 

The trail seemed to go on endlessly through a dull forest. 

The mosquitos were pretty bad here. I passed Steady, who to my amusement had on a full body mosquito net. She looked like a beekeeper. I sent my head net home in Ashland. Oops!

This tree is consuming the trail symbol: wow!

Since the weather was bad, I drank little water, which mollified the long water carry. I heard there was a water cache at the Highway, and when I got there I saw this:

Good thing it wasn't a hot day, because these were empty. I crossed Highway 138:

Then I saw the actual water cache. Some hardworking trail angel is doing a great job!

I entered the Mt. Thielson Wilderness, and crossed into the Umpqua National Forest. The sky cleared up for a bit and the sun came out, which lifted my spirits.

beautiful green forests!!

I saw this big ass lake:

After a dull morning, the views came in big time. I turned a corner and saw Mt. Thielson.

sooooo cool to just happen upon!This was a pretty intimidating peak.

As I walked closer, storm clouds surrounded me.

They were quite beautiful.

Oregon really showed up today. It's getting prettier as I go North.

The thunder started early today. 

I climbed to a saddle and saw an older man sitting down. He had a huge handgun on his lap and an even bigger knife in his hand. At first he looked at me and said nothing. Awkward....I finally asked a question about the mountain and the man told me some facts. Pretty weird dude. 

I came upon the first water source since the last 30 miles, Thielson Creek. The creek was beautiful, ice cold and crystal clear.

I sat by the creek for awhile.

One by one, hikers showed up and sat with me. Treble, Thirsty, Cookie Monster, Steady, and Steph were there and we hung out and listened to the thunder for a long time. Most of them were staying at the creek, since the next water is 17 miles away. I chose to carry 4 liters and camp in about 6 miles. As soon as I left, the rain started.

The thunder rumbled on and on. I got pummeled by hail for awhile, which was fun:

The storm was pretty cool today. I felt like this was the Oregon I've been waiting to see; lush green forests, big trees, and a bit of weather. It was a good hike and stunningly beautiful. 

I hope no fires started near me today. The rain should have helped control the current fires. 

I passed the high point of the PCT for Oregon and Washington at 7,560 feet. The highest point overall, if you'll recall, was back at Forester Pass in the Sierras at over 13,000 feet.

I chose to camp early today. I'm really tired and fatigued, and I wanted to set up during a break in the rain. I found a spot on a cliff with a spectacular view.

I sat on the edge of the cliff and looked outwards for a long time.

Today was a bit of a rebound for me. I've been having a hard time, but I tell myself to just keep putting one foot in front of the other. Everything will be all right.