We left Callahan's Lodge last Tuesday morning with our next goal being to get to Katie's parents cabin at Diamond Lake by Saturday at 5pm. We had 5 days and 125 miles to get there.
My new insoles felt better for my feet but still didn't do the trick. Thankfully since we are in volcano country, I found a pumice rock and have been using that on my calluses to help smooth them out and shave them down. That has helped a little, but is still not the magical fix I have been looking for. For now I am hoping rest and lower mileage days coming up will allow my feet to heal.
The first two days on this 5 day stretch were very smokey from the numerous fires in Southern Oregon. Even though the sun was out, the smoke was so thick you couldn't see the sun and the visibility was only about 100-200 feet at times. It was quite eerie to hike in. Thankfully it cleared up some over a few days to where we actually had views when we did get above the trees. The terrain has been more gentle than in California and we are in the trees a lot of the time. The temperatures have also cooled down considerably and it is much more comfortable to hike in this weather.
We once again caught back up with Gumby and Double-It! Crazy to think we have known them now for over 100 days now. It is always fun hiking with them as it makes the miles go by faster. We got to catch up with stories we each have had over the weeks we have hiked apart. Of course this includes any good trail gossip out there like who has left or finished the trail, injuries, hook-ups, engagements, scary encounters, etc.. It is sort of pathetic how gossipy the trail gets and how fast news travels by foot (thanks in part to social media), but when it is all you have day after day you start to understand why.
The 3rd day we met Goose Burrito who hiked the trail back in 1977 and again in 2003! He was car camping in the area and was at a road crossing helping out a few other hikers by giving them a ride to a resort nearby. It was fun hearing some of his stories and he gave all of us at the road each a cold frappuccino which hit the spot.
Our 4th day was fueled by thoughts of the rumored all-you-can-eat pizza at Mazama Village in Crater Lake NP. It was a mile off the PCT, but that was well worth it for "real" food in my mind. The 4 of us got there in time for dinner only to hear from the waitress they have not had the pizza buffet in years and now only offer an all-you-can-eat soup and salad bar. Although we were bummed about this news, we took advantage of fresh veggies, chili and cornbread and had no problems stuffing ourselves uncomfortably. We managed to waddle a couple miles back up the trail before calling it a night.
Our 5th day we got to Crater Lake and boy was it beautiful. The 2,000ft deep lake was as smooth as glass and ever so blue when we were there Saturday morning. The trail took us along the rim of the lake for a few miles, so we had great views of it all morning long. We hiked off and on with the group of people that were planning on joining us for the night at the cabin. The plan was to be at the highway by 5pm to get picked up to go to Diamond Lake, so all 7 of us ended up hiking within an hour of each other.
As we got closer to the highway, our cabin meeting place, thoughts of seeing my dog and parents as well as knowing I had 3 days of rest ahead of me helped make those last few miles fly by. The trail was flat but there were probably upwards of 100 down trees on the trail to negotiate. This made for a much slower go.
I was hoping my parents might be on the trail with my dog hiking in if they arrived early. Sure enough I spotted my Dad on the trail about a 1/2 mile from the road. My Mom and Lexi were heading back to the car, but we managed to catch up with them. I was super excited to see my dog and the reunion with her was better than I could have hoped. She remembered exactly who I was and sprinted right up to me wiggling her butt, licking my face and doing laps around me. It was quite cute...if only she knew she is about to be working her butt off hiking with me for the next couple weeks, then maybe she wouldn't have been as happy to see me!
Pics from top to bottom:
-Oregon trees and lots of them
-lava fields
-me by Devils Peak
-Crater Lake
-Lexi relaxing on the dock at Diamond Lake
I was so excited to hear about your reunion with Lexi! She has been so good at Mom and Dad's and has so enjoyed seeing the kids. Can't wait to see you in Cascade Locks!!!
ReplyDeleteHey you two:
ReplyDeleteWe received the Triscuit post card. Trisquits don't sound like the type of trail food to dream about. A good fiber source, I suppose! Regardless, it was great to hear from you.
We just got back from 11 days of backpacking in Weminuche Wilderness. We were hoping to cross paths with Tom and Tiff, but it didn't work out. It was a great trip despite lots of rain. After a couple of long days (14 miles or so) I would think about you two and how you were doing twice the distance every day. So impressive!
I'd love to do a Fall mountain bike trip down in Durango/Silverton area. When are you coming back to Colorado? Hurry up. Just kidding, take your time!