PCT Day 16: Jefferson Park to Warm Springs River

 

I wish I could say that I got an early start on this day, but hitting the trail at 6:45 AM does not count for that on the PCT. I am sure that a good majority of people were will on their way far before I was moving on mine. I had enjoyed a restful night's sleep after being clean. It was a little cooler up at Jefferson Park also, so the night was more enjoyable. Luckily, also, there was a bit of a breeze through the night, so that my shoes were able to dry out after crossing the river the previous day. I had left them open and exposed for the breeze to do its magic and it had worked. So far, my feet were feeling good and when I woke up I was feeling great. Jefferson Park was amazing and I really enjoyed being there. It was tough to leave as I knew today would be a lot of pounding the trail to get the miles in. 

The trail climbed uphill pretty quick. I realized right away that most of the cool people camped up high because of the amazing views. I took a bunch of pictures, because you had great views of Jefferson Park up here. The trail was not too steep and I was making good time even with stopping often for the photo opportunities. There were a few late starters that I passed as I went up the hill and quite a few people camped at the high point. This was like the dividing line. When I turned my back on Jefferson Park, I was heading out and pointing my head forward toward Mt. Hood. I wanted to continue living the Mt. Jefferson experience as long as possible as it was an amazing mountain. 

From here, it was time to point the legs downhill. I passed some snow, some small lakes, some beautiful meadows with flowers like lupine and paintbrush to enjoy. There were uphill hikers with the excitement of getting to Jefferson Park permeating through their being. I talked to quite a few people and they seemed to be in great moods and really commenting on how beautiful the area was. I agreed and I felt so invigorated by this place. I could see the best of it was soon to be over, though, as the charred forest became ever so much closer with each step. Eventually, I was there and I would not leave it for a long time. I was moving pretty good, though, on this day, so I tried to keep it going as much as possible.

It felt very hot and dry. I liked to call these areas ghost forests because the trees stood like skeletons, shadows of their former selves. Even a rest beside what should have been a spectacular mountain lake felt almost empty with the scenery around it so damaged. There were a lot of people out and about, so I chatted with quite a few people on the trail, but I realized soon, that this day was going to be about making the miles. I wanted to get out of the burnt forest as soon as possible and since most of the trail was downhill, I was moving pretty good. Eventually, I made it to the Olallie Lake Resort. This was the borderline between Mt. Jefferson and the Warm Springs Indian Reservation. 

I did not spend an incredibly long amount of time at the Olallie Lake Resort, even though some pushy ladies said I had to go to the store. It was so wonderful. I am not sure why I rejected most of the civilized places to stop on the PCT. I think I just wanted to have the experience of being out there and not relying on any comforts of home. I also knew that a stop at the store would delay the excellent progress I was making that day. So instead of going to the store, I crossed the road and found the shadiest spot I could to have my own meager lunch. Thankfully, the burned forest was giving way to tree cover. The terrain changed also being fairly flat with a slight downhill grade. That was one thing about today was that there was not too much altitude to endure.

The rest of the day became about getting in the miles. The forest was nice, but it became rather repetitive. It was hot and dry, a good place for a fire to break out. I was feeling good and moving, but there were not many places to break up the monotony. The first goal was to get to Jude Lake and then after that I was able to make it to Lemiti Meadow. Here, I had to take a slight detour out to the campsite to get water from the spring. The swampy marsh did not seem like an appealing spot, but with the water filter, the water was still potable. From here on out, though, it was a test of will. I knew that if I put in a big day today, I had a chance of getting out in just three more days. So far, until this point, I had been really good about being patient with the experience and just living in the moment. Now, though, I was starting to just realize how close I was to finishing. If I made it to the Warm Springs River Footbridge, I could make it to the Timberline Lodge for breakfast. I saw the French couple again and they seemed to be doing the same thing on this day. 

I was not moving incredibly fast at this point. It was evening and here I was still putting the miles in on the trail. There were not a whole lot of landmarks to keep me motivated either as the South and North Pinheads were nothing too unique. It was slightly concerning also, because every campsite seemed to be taken. I was running into so many hikers in this section which seemed bizarre given the remoteness of this place. After passing the Pinhead Saddle area, it was all downhill from there to the river. It was easy going, but my feet began to get tired. This was probably too big of a day, one that I would likely pay for later. By the time I finally pulled into camp, it was 8 PM and finding a spot was nearly impossible. There were deadfall all around camp and luckily I was able to find a flat piece of ground to put down a tent. I took care of camp chores which on this evening included filtering water from the same place I would dip my toes in. I was not able to fully submerge and get myself completely clean, but a soaking of the legs was definitely in the cards. A quick dinner and a few minutes of reading still got me in bed at a late hour. I wondered how much I was going to pay for this day later, but for now I could revel in my 31 mile day. This was my longest day on the PCT and I would have never thought I could put in these miles when I started. 

 

PCT Day 15: Wasco Lake to Jefferson Park

Waking up was a little tough, but also a little too easy. After putting in such a full day, it can be hard to rest. I was rather wakeful during the night and when you know what is in store for yourself during the day, sometime it can be hard to come down and relax after putting in so many long miles. I was up before 6:00 AM and on the trail by 6:20. This was fairly average I would say and there were plenty that had found the trail before me but some who had slept in longer. Still, I was up the hill and back on the PCT in no time.

I found a trail with so many blowdowns it was actually rather exhausting. Having been on this section of trail in June, I thought when I saw the trail crew here, that they would have this nice and cleared out by the time I found my way here. Instead, it was blowdown central. The blowdowns were a place that I held an advantage over many people because I was taller. I ran into the French couple that I had seen many times so far and this was the one time that I was able to out hike them because of the blowdowns. In fact, at one point, I seemed to find my way to a different trail after having to use the GPS on my watch to navigate. The trail must have been rerouted in this section, but it did not seem to matter as there were blowdowns everywhere.

Eventually I made it past the blowdowns only to experience new challenges. I stopped near Rockpile Lake to get some water. By this point, I could discern a good campsite when I saw one on the PCT and Rockpile Lake probably saw its fair share of campers each night. The north side of the lake was forested and shady, while the lake provided water and a place to clean off. The mosquitoes were not great, but they were not horrible either. There were quite a few people stopped here and talking. Sometimes I felt a little left out because so many people seemed to know each other well. I was always friendly and pleasant, but never made any long lasting friendships. The trail continued, this time through some thick woods onto an exposed ridge. I was past the fire scar, which was great, but now I got to look at Mt. Jefferson looming so far off. The trail was quite exposed in this section near and past South Cinder Peak until North Cinder Peak. The views were spectacular and Mt. Jefferson was showing why it was one of Oregon's most beautiful places. 

The trail hit a pass just past North Cinder Peak at the junction with the Hunt's Cove Trail. This was an area that I visited previously having backpacked out to Pamelia Lake last year. I day hiked here and ran into quite a bit of snow in late June. This time the snow was gone and the trail slowly descended to Shale Lake. Here I ran into most of the other people that I had been seeing all day. They were having lunch by the lake. I found a nice shady, quiet tree to sit under and had myself a mid day meal. I finished it off filling some water down by the very shallow lake.

Having been here before, I got a little careless and thought I knew the right way to go. Turned out there were a lot of camper trails around here that went off in directions that were away from the PCT. I thought I was following one trail and then it ended. I thought I knew the way the trail would eventually come out, so I headed cross country over difficult terrain. This turned out to be the wrong choice and eventually I had to stop, reorientate myself, and throw the towel in. I headed back down the steep, rough terrain I had just fought to climb up. Getting lost is frustrating, but I only added maybe a mile to my day and an extra 20-30 minutes of hiking. I didn't let it bother me and soon I was back on the trail.

This section of trail was right above the shores of Pamelia Lake. It was so hot and dry. The trail really felt like a tinder box that could go up at any time. There had been no rain for quite some time and this was one of the few long stretches of unburned forest I would see in Mt. Jefferson. This really is a pretty area around Pamelia Lake, but I felt like it was overwhelmingly warm while I was there. This seemed like a place where people could just fly through the section of trail and I saw many people that were at lunch pass me including the French couple. They were quickly becoming my closest friends on the trail, which honestly was not that close. 

I was soon to pass the junction down to Pamelia Lake and the trail began to climb back up to Woodpecker Ridge. Having been to this place the previous year, I knew the trail was still closed here last June, so I expected some rough, exposed terrain. I got what I expected as this area was so amazingly scarred from fires. These fires were around the same time as the fire that we experienced in 2020. I believe this one was the Lionshead fire. Regardless, it was torched and it made for some very warm, desolate terrain. Luckily, there were some streams around, so water was not an issue, but it still had a very eerie feeling. I knew I did not want to camp around this stuff for the night. That meant that my only choice was to push on through to Jefferson Park. There was a water crossing right before the burn that had been a place on the map that could have been a problem for fording the stream. It turned out to be a piece of cake, but up ahead I knew there was another. It became more apparent when I saw someone heading south and he asked about the water crossing I had passed. I figured that meant that his water crossing had not been so easy. I also saw a very strange site near this when I passed a group of 3 girls with balloons on very heavy backpacks. I had been so exposed to PCT hikers with their minimalist gear that I knew they must have been hiking for a short distance to have extras such as this. 

Eventually I made it to the fordable river. It did not look fordable and instead looked rather formidable. Luckily, one of the French couple was sitting right across the river proving that she had made it across. She pointed me to the place that she had crossed and even handed me her trekking pole to help with the crossing. It all went rather smooth enough as the water flowed over steep waterfalls below me. I was happy to have that crossing done and over with, but now I was walking with wet shoes and it was starting to get closer to camping time. I knew I had to make it to Jefferson Park for the night.

I was moving rather slowly by this point, but going up the hill, I found myself finally starting to emerge from the burn area to a spectacular meadow filled breathtaking park. The term park gets thrown around rather haphazardly, but this felt like it. Huge and open and dotted by large fresh water lakes, this place felt like it could fit many a weary traveler and still have room for everyone to enjoy it. I loved the small creeks flowing next to the trail and even though the fires had impacted this area, it still was living inside of a piece of artwork. 

I made my way to the largest lake in Jefferson Park which was Russell Lake. I camped along the southern shore of the lake in a bare patch of ground with a little bit of tree cover and a few mosquitoes to keep me company. The views of the mountain from my tent site were fantastic. After getting up the energy to take a cooling dip in the lake, I made some dinner and put my shoes out to start the drying process. I was lucky because there was a nice breeze. I took the soles out and aimed my open shoes with the wind blowing right in. With any luck, they would be dry by morning.

I had only put in 23 miles today, so I had a little more daylight than normal. I needed that extra hour tonight as 50 miles in two days seemed like plenty. I was able to get my phone and watch charged back up and even got a good chapter into my book. With the cleanliness of the dip in the lake to revive me, I was able to get a full night's sleep. Something about being in Jefferson Park really made me relax and just enjoy myself for the night. It may have been my favorite place and favorite campsite on the whole trip.

PCT Day 14: McKenzie Pass to Wasco Lake

I debated for a long time whether to hike from McKenzie Pass or just start at Santiam Pass from Big Lake. I had hiked the McKenzie Pass section previously, so I could easily skip it. Frankly, though, I had enjoyed hiking in places that I was familiar with, so I decided to still go for it. I was able to get Jacqueline up early and she gave me a ride to the trailhead. It was sad to leave my family again, but this time it would be the last. I only had 166 miles to go, which still sounds like a lot, but considering I had already hiked 254, this was going to be easy. I had the incentive of being able to get off the trail after this. 

By this point, I was getting tired, but I was going to finish my goal. I had done a great job of not getting impatient, so far, and I think that was my saving grace. This last leg, though, I wanted to see what my body could handle. I was going to try to pull it off in 6 days which would mean an average of 27 miles plus per day. This would mean getting up with the sunrise and going to bed with the sunset. 

I was well on my way at 8am. The trail climbed through the lava fields beneath Belknap Crater. I could imagine that this would be really annoying without fresh legs. Having taken a day off, though, I was feeling pretty good. The lava rock was everywhere and it was all uphill. Then I topped out on a trail I had been on a couple of times. The spur to the top of Belknap would have to wait for another day as now I went down the other side of the lava flow. This put me into forest some of which was burned out from previous fires. I went past the place where I would turn to go to George Lake, one of the best lakes I have ever been to, and continued along the slopes of Mt. Washington.

The trail was rather quiet as I climbed the hill. The pack was a little bit heavy with 6 days worth of food stuffs in there, but I felt like so far, I had done a great job packing. Eventually Big Lake came into view. It was such a far retreat from where I was with its jet boats and people yelling near the water. I skirted it for quite some time before popping out on the trailhead. From here, I took the connector trail that went between Big Lake and Santiam Pass. This trail, I had never hiked before, but I spent quite a bit of time cross country skiing it in the winter. There was an obscene amount of blowdowns on the trail and then there was a trail crew. I was happy to see them and thanked them for their work. It is always the right thing to say to a group of people sacrificing their time to make your hike better. 

I eventually made it to Santiam Pass and it was hot. The trail led uphill from here and given that it was in an old fire scar, I did not have much reprieve. The day had been so quiet, but I was now starting to see a few people again. I knew they were PCT hikers because I would see them resting and then they would blow by me a few minutes later. When talking to people later, I learned that many people just skipped the section that I just did. They would get a ride down the hill from McKenzie Pass, but they could not get back up to it. They would take a ride to Santiam Pass and skip the 16.5 miles it had just taken me to hike all morning and early afternoon. 

The trail continued to climb and eventually I found myself back in the forest. I was feeling pretty tired having already put in 20 plus miles by the time I got back into the woods and the water supply was running low. Eventually I found a nice little pond in the woods to filter water from. This made me feel a little bit more secure as I continued to traverse the narrow trail along the high cliffs of Three Fingered Jack. Eventually the trail popped out to the slopes of Three Fingered Jack and I got some of the best views of the day. Having hiked past Mt. Washington and Three Fingered Jack in one day was quite the feat, but it was made even better by the views of the upper slopes. In fact when I came around a corner, I could see down into Canyon Creek Meadows, a place the family and I went just recently, and had to text a picture of it to the wife.

At this point I was tired, but I was so close to Wasco Lake that I had to make it there. I knew I could take a dip in the lake and having a clean body was so important in the evening. Still I was wondering if I would make it there before dark and after talking to many other PCT hikers, it seemed like that was the goal of everyone I was running into. The blowdowns did not help the tired legs and body, but eventually I made it to the turn off. When I got to the lake, it was like a party. There were so many tents. There was no way I was going to invade someone else's scene, so I found a spot down a lonely trail at the far end of the lake. There was a clearing just big enough for a single tent and I made myself a home. The only visitor I had that night was a single deer most likely upset over me invading his space.

I did find the time to take a dip in the lake, even though it was nearly dark. The cool waters refreshed me, but it was more about necessity than enjoyment. Then it was a rehydrated dinner, just enough time to read a chapter of my book, then it was off to sleep. Probably put in a little over 27 miles, so well on my way to meeting my goal.