The night of sleep was good, but the waking was not. I knew I would have to deal with an absolutely massive amount of mosquitoes. The lake was absolutely breathtaking in the morning light with the views of Diamond Peak. Just laying in bed and looking out my tent, I could enjoy it thoroughly if I just ignored the constant buzzing. I had a great system for getting myself going in the morning that freed me from getting out of the tent until the very last minute. I had packed my backpack so the last two items that went on the outside were my tent and air mattress. So when it came down to the time to take the tent down, I was completely ready. Still, the onslaught was insane. Even with bug spray, the mosquitoes were still relentless and I got out of camp as soon as possible.
I walked faster than normal because I had to. At least initially, the trail hugged the edge of the lake by a very difficult 4-wheel drive road. It was weird being this close to civilization but I wondered who in there right mind would come willingly to this lake if they had a choice to get in their vehicle and leave. The mosquitoes were ravenous and it would not have been enjoyable for anyone. From the look of it, not many people ventured out this way and when I tried to use a porta-potty by the lake, I reckoned that not many forest service folks made it out this way either. It was piled to the brim and what should have been a place to rest from the mosquitoes became a place to leave quickly also.
The problem with the area that brought all the mosquitoes was that the terrain had many full to the brim small ponds. The color of the water in some was an iron stained brown. There were dozens of them right along the trail which made for cool features that were great to look at, but were perfect breeding grounds for the mosquitoes. There had to be so many mosquitoes in this area that the chance to feed in any way was propelling them to harass every person hiking on the trail. I even put on an extra coat of bug spray and it did no good. The only hope was to hike uphill as hard as I could and get to higher ground. The best I could do to get away from them was to just put on my headphones. At least without all the constant buzzing, I could tolerate it by just swatting the mosquitoes as they landed on me.
Luckily the terrain was not too steep and I was able to make fairly good time. The trail climbed up the flanks of Diamond Peak. I went past the summit route that curved away to the left. I had a great trip there with Corey Culp a few years back and really enjoyed the climb of Diamond Peak. Continuing on up the flanks of Diamond Peak was now putting me in new territory and soon the environment changed from a dense forest to an alpine wonderland. It was late in the morning when I finally was able to relax because I had climbed to high enough elevation to be away from the mosquitoes.
I did not take long breaks usually, but on this morning, I deserved one. I sat on a big rock after filling my water bottles in a nearby stream. I had cellphone service, so I even gave the wife a call to converse with her for a little while. The area was really pretty and I took a myriad of pictures. Eventually I had to start moving again.
I had reached the high point of the trail and from here, it was time to go downhill. The trail would eventually lead me to Willamette Pass, but it would be a long and winding road to get there. The trail led me past many lakes and a lot of thick forest. This was definitely a section of trail that I felt like I was just trying to get through, even if there were many pretty lakes. I was not seeing many PCT hikers in this section and I found out later that many of them had skipped this section of trail for a quicker route that started at Windigo Pass. I wouldn't have wanted to miss Diamond Peak, even with the mosquitoes. I did see some other hikers, but most of them were day hikers or short trip backpackers. I chatted with a few of them, but really, I was just hopeful for Willamette Pass to appear. It seemed to take forever, but soon I had great views of Odell Lake. It was so large and I wished that the trail went down to its banks so I could take a dip, but I wasn't going to add any extra miles. This was already turning out to be a long day.
By the time I reached Willamette Pass, I was pretty whupped. I still had to travel uphill until I was away from the Pass to find a place to camp. Crossing the road seemed like such a strange thing because since I left Highway 138, I had not seen a car. Now I was waiting for the cars to pass so I could make it across. What a strange contrasts of worlds. Soon I was back on the trail though and heading up a well traveled path to the Rosary Lakes. This trail was in great shape and I saw quite a few day hikers smelling of laundry detergent and deodorant, two things that they probably wished that I had.
I was tired but I trudged on. Other PCTers were starting to come into view. They always seemed fresher and more well rested than me. Obviously I was making some sort of mistake in the way that I was traveling, but it was just my style. The trail went slowly uphill until it came to this amazing lake. I had no choice but to set up my tent and camp. It was still only 5:00 pm, which was early in PCT time, but I had had enough for the day and this place was awesome. There were no mosquitoes and a great lake for dipping.
I got the tent set up and the first thing I did was jump in the lake. It was cool but so refreshing. It made all the hard work worthwhile to just float in the lake for a while and let the cool water wash over me. I enjoyed that thoroughly, then it was time to make some dinner. Another PCT hiker set up his tent near me. I talked with him for a while. He was an older gentleman in what seemed like his early 60s. Nice guy and he was moving well. Still there was a little ego in his talk but I was happy to share my experiences with him. We went our separate ways though and after a freeze dried dinner, it wasn't very long before my tired eyes were ready for the blissful rest of not moving at all with a good dose of sleep mixed in there also.
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