I awoke early as usual and did not feel like getting up and out of the tent. The mosquitoes were still everywhere and it felt dark and foreboding by the lake. I managed to get myself moving and pack up the contents of the tent. The system I created to pack up my belongings allowed me to get out of the tent and only have to pack that up last. Unfortunately in the process of doing this, I had forgotten my shorts that were drying on a tree branch not far away. It was a mile of hiking before I realized that I forgot them and by then it would have been too long to go back. Even though they were nice shorts, I did not want to lose the hour or so of hiking that it would take to get there.
The trail was very forested today. Thick forest with some elevation change, but not an incredible amount. It was really mainly mosquitoes that were the enemy. I hadn't hiked with headphones on much since my 20s, but I realized that it made the trail much more tolerable to have headphones on. If I didn't have to hear the mosquitoes, then the layers of bug spray could do their job and I only had to deal with the occasional mosquito landing on me. It was really a morning of putting in the miles.
Eventually, I got out of the deep forest and into the Mink Lake Basin. Here, the mosquitoes intensified, but the scenery improved. There seemed to be a large, beautiful lake around every corner. I would just move from one to the next with lakes named things such as Cliff Lake, Moody Lake, Horseshoe Lake, and Dumbbell Lake. It would have been great to stop and enjoy them, but with the mosquitoes being as thick as they were, the best I could hope for was a quick snapshot.
I piled on the miles and enjoyed the lakes, meadows, and wildflowers that were abundant. I was moving well today and really feeling good. So much so, that I almost passed all my water sources before lunch. I was past the whole Mink Lake Basin and approaching the Elk Lake/Horse Lake area when I realized that I should probably find some water. The terrain was changing from very moist, thick forest to a drier, more open forest like the east side of the mountains. I lucked out when I found a spot with a spring right next to the trail. I had been in this area years before and I remembered this spot from the past. I filled up my water without even having to use a filter. This helped to beat the rapidly decreasing mosquitoes that still annoyed me a little bit while I ate some lunch.
After lunch, the terrain and the weather changed quite rapidly. It was now hot and dry. The bugs were gone, but so was the cool of the morning and the heat of the afternoon baked me on the dry open forest. I passed by the junction with Horse Lake which now began a constant uphill climb of Mt. Koosah. I was in pretty good shape by this point, so the uphill really did not get to me much. It was more the combination of the two. At this point, I had to make sure I was managing water while also drinking plenty. The trail climbed steadily uphill until I got to the top and met the people I seemed to run into very frequently. I said hi, talked to them for a while and then was on my way again.
When I started the day, I thought that Sisters Mirror Lake would be a great plaee to spend the night. When I got there, the lake looked so inviting. I was running low on water, so I started to filter water. The mosquitoes were relentless. I could barely focus long enough to get my water full. By the time that I did, I knew this was not the place to spend the night. I still had a ton of daylight left and I wanted to avoid the mosquitoes. So, even though I was over 20 miles, I was not going to stay here and would continue on my way.
I was starting to run out of new terrain in this area. It was only another mile and a half before I would hit the trail that runs around the Sisters. The terrain was already looking so familiar. When I found myself on the Wickiup Plain, it actually sent a wave of excitement through me. Hundreds of miles hiked already and I felt like I was at home. There is a ton of uncertainty when engaging in a long distance backpacking trip, but here I felt the familiarity of trails I had been on before. The winds were kicking on the Wickiup Plain and there were no bugs. The South Sister rose dramatically above as I hiked by Rock Mesa. I even was able to spot a marmot, which ended up being the most exciting wildlife I spotted on the whole trip.
Now I was getting tired. I thought maybe I could just make it to Mesa Creek and have access to water. When I got there, though, I also had access to many blood sucking mosquitoes. I had had enough of camping with mosquitoes, so I filled my water and continued on my way. There was a big flat area that had a great camping spot right after this with access to water. I even saw some trail friends there, but I was determined to find a mosquito free camp. They were not bad, but I wanted to see if I could find it, so even though I was pretty spent, I kept going.
This was a mistake and I knew it as soon as I hit the burned forest around James Creek. There were downed trees and a really poor trail to navigate. I was pretty tired and this was not how I wanted to spend my evening. It was also uphill which made it more of a challenge, so when I finally got above it, I looked for a place to camp. I didn't care if there were mosquitoes or a even water, I just looked for a flat, quiet spot to place the tent. I found it behind some trees and I got the tent set up. After a quick meal, I was exhausted. I read my book, but I had trouble relaxing. The place I was camping was ominous and I was filthy. It was not much of a restful night, but it still felt good to lay down and rest for a bit. I was excited for what tomorrow would bring.
No comments:
Post a Comment