Pacific Crest Trail - Von Mexiko nach Kanada, zu Fuss

Montag, den 30. Juli
July 29th we were up and heading towards Crater Lake by 5:45am. The morning was chilly and we donned our jackets and mitts to combat the cold, and the skies stayed cloudy and the temperature cool all day. The trek was mostly through forest, so the scenery was pretty much trees and bushes, and we passed into Crater Lake National Park in the early afternoon. The walking terrain was soft dirt covered in pine needles and although there was some elevation gain, it was barely noticable because it was so gradual. We were motivated to motor along because we knew that at the end of the trek was laundry, showers, and a store -- great motivation factors when you are on the trail for multiple days. We finished the 20 miles to get us into Mazama Village by 2:30pm where we showered, cleansed our disgusting smelling hiking attire, and enjoyed beverages and snacks from the store. At about 4pm, Meliza and Ariele arrived, and about fifteen minutes later, the cloudy sky began to release raindrops. It was good to see Meliza and Ariele again. They are nice gals and fun to chat with. I eventually decided, after much contemplation, to continue 5 miles up the trail to the Rim Village. Tom chatted with Ariele a bit regarding "trail crisis" and then hitched up to the Rim Village. The rain turned out to be not too bad with only small spurts that didn't get a chance to get me soaked, and I arrived at the Rim Village by about 6:45pm and gazed down onto the beautiful Crater Lake. Crater Lake lies in a caldera formed when Mount Mazama erupted about 7700 years ago. It is 1932ft deep, making it the deepest lake in the United States and the seventh deepest lake in the world. It is quite a site to see. I met Tom just in front of the Watchman Restaurant, and we both went and pigged out at the Watchman Restaurant buffet dinner. We watched out the window as the storm closed in with fog, rain, and strong winds. We passed the time in the restaurant (significantly overstaying the normal time customers stay for dinner) waiting for the storm to die down and contemplating what to do. By 9pm we had concurred on a plan of attack. Just beyond the restaurant and gift shop parking lot was a public restroom, and because the gift shop was already closed and the restaurant closed at 10pm, the place would be deserted. Yes, I realized you are shaking your heads, but if you were in our shoes, what a brilliant plan! I wonder what the hardcore backcountry backpackers would have to say about this, but then again ... who cares! We walked across the parking lot, decided on the women's restroom as opposed to the men's, set down the ground cover and sleeping pads, and curled up in our sleeping bags.
We had quite a set up, and unfortunately we neglected to get a photograph of our little oasis. We left the door open for circulation and we could hear the rain and wind just outside the door all night long. The night turned out to be much more comfortable than we could have imagined, especially when we imagined being out in the tarp with the winds, the moist fog, and the rain -- are we innovative or what?!?

Dienstag, den 31. Juli
Up and trekking by 6:15am and greeted by a clear, cold morning. About 2 miles up the trail, the ground was partially frozen and there was frost and dew on the trees and grass. The sunlight was shining on the water droplets, causing the trees and grass to sparkle -- a very pretty morning. We reached 7560ft and had a clear view of Mount Thielsen. As well, we could see Diamond Lake below, which looked like it was filled with cotton due to the low clouds in the valley. We trekked 31 miles, mostly through forest. We stopped for dinner at Nip and Tuck Lakes (a great name) where we were entertained by "skitter bugs" as I've always called them (they walk on water). We trekked on to camp just beyond the Whitefish Horse Camp at Crescent Lake. We put in a high milage day, and although the trail was easy walking, we were both pretty knackered when we crawled into the sleeping bags. It was a wonderful feeling to get off the feet and recline, and we had no difficulty falling asleep underneath an almost full moon to the sound of crickets around us.

Mittwoch, den 1.August
August 1st ... can you believe it?!? We were up and trekking by 6:15am to a cloudy, chilly morning. The morning trek took us through pumice forest and then into more green forest with lichen hanging off of the tree branches giving the trees a very soft, sleepy look. We crossed into the Diamond Peak Wilderness and got a great view of Diamond Peak across the Diamond View Lake (very appropriate name). We headed into Shelter Cove Resort on Odell Lake and indulged in ice cream and pop for Tom and a gourmet double shot mocha for myself -- what a treat! We continued our trek through shady forest up to a chain of three lakes called the Rosary Lakes. We cooked our yummy Lipton's Noodles and Sauce and went for a bit of a dip at North Rosary Lake and then continued on our way. We climbed about 1500ft to a maximum of 6500ft for the day. During the climb, we had a great overview of the Rosary Lake chain with Odell Lake in the background. We tredged on to rack up 30 miles for the day, reaching our campsite beside Charlton Lake by about 8:30pm. The mosquito population is once again beginning to increase as we approach the multiple lakes along the Pacific Crest Trail in Oregon ... oh yahoo. The campsite was beautiful. We planted ourselves right by the lakeside and were treated to a lovely sunset over the far mountains, and then a full moon whose reflection shimmered down onto the far side of the lake.

Donnerstag, den 2. August
August 2nd and we were up and motoring by 6:30am. The night was incredibly damp and cold and the sleeping bags were damp in the morning. Neither of us had the greatest night's sleep. The morning brought a light mist over the lake and two ducks were enjoying diving under the surface, leaving ripples that slowly reached clear across the lake. The terrain was smooth and easy going and the scenery was green forest. We also got bombarded by mosquitoes as the trail went past multiple ponds and lakes which are hang-out joints for these pestery little beasts. We encountered alot of different sizes of tree frogs, which seemed to jump about haphazardly. Tom commented that it doesn't seem too appealing to be one of these creatures -- hopping about hoping that whatever you are jumping over will have a safe landing on the other side as opposed to a 100ft drop. I suppose it make life more exciting. I tried suggesting to the frogs that they should be eating more of the mosquitoes, but they just gave me the cold shoulder. Maybe the rumour is out that humans dine on frog legs. Mind you, some of the frogs were pretty chunky looking, so maybe they are overdining already. The day turned out to be one of my most difficult days on the Pacific Crest Trail. I think the cummulative effect of so many high milage days in a row took its toll. The thing that brought me to the brink was once again dealing with mosquitoes. We decided the best word to use for Tom was "irritable" and for me was "snarky" -- sounds like a great combination, eh?!? We managed 29 miles to bring us into Elk Lake Resort, and we were both exhausted. We were to meet Clare, Tom's older sister, and his mom at the resort and as we were stumbling towards it, Clare and Mutti (Tom's mom) drove up. It was wonderful to see them and there was alot of excitement in the air. Tom and I went down to the lake to rinse off and semi-destench ourselves so Clare and Mutti could tolerate our presence and then we went back to the small cabin (beds, heater, and a light were its contents) and we indulged in all of the yummy food that Clare and Mutti had brought up (including Clare's famous berry pie and Mutti's famous peanut butter fingers). It was a great evening -- a nice way to finish off an incredibly difficult, fatiguing day.

Freitag, den 3. August
August 3rd we awoke and crawled out of our comfy bed by 7am. Both Tom and I had a good solid sleep and woke up rested and in much better spirits after our hard day yesterday. We oinked out for breakfast on the food that Clare and Mutti had brought -- yogurt, cereal, croissants with cream cheese, cantelope, blueberries, and bananas ... yum!!! We packed up and headed down to the resort's office and cafe and filled up on water. Mutti also bought me a bottle of "Zero Bite" which is an all natural mosquito repellent that contains no deet. She felt sorry for me after she heard about the trauma and turmoil that mosquitoes have caused in my life on the trail, and I must admit that it was one of the best gifts that I have ever received. Mutti drove Clare, Tom, and I up to the trailhead and took our photo, and then Clare, Tom, and I headed on up the trail. We passed into the Three Sisters Wilderness in the Deschutes National Forest and the scenery began with forested surroundings. As it climbed up, we were able to see the South Sister from a small viewpoint. It was grandeur in size with patches of snow on it, and it is known as the "redhead" due to the red tone on the mountaintop. We stopped for lunch and fine dined on bananas, cheese and crackers, and Pep Sticks. As we continued on, the skies begin to cloud up and the white clouds began developing a greyish tone to them. The trail came up to Wickiup Plain which was an open plain with wildflowers scatterred about. From this plain we got a great view of the South Sister again with the reminants of the black and grey lava flow that thousands of years ago flowed south down into the plain. The trail continued through patches of forest and open meadows of purple, white, yellow and fushia coloured wildflowers. The colours were gorgeous and the scents in the air were sweet and fragrant. We stopped for another short break and crunched into apples and salt water taffy that Mutti had provided for us. We trekked on for about 1 more mile and then stopped for dinner at Hinton Creek and dined on the ever-favourite macaroni and cheese with freeze dried vegetables. We trekked on and tried our voices out on various songs from musicals (The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, Fiddler on the Roof, etc.). We trekked 17 miles for the day, setting up camp on a bed of pine needles amongst pine trees and wildflowers. We set up the tarp because the skies continued to look threatening and we enjoyed some delicious hot chocolate before crawling into the bags. Clare had a great day and loved all of the scenery. She managed great on the trail and completed the day without any blisters and no major aches or pains. Just as I was brushing my teeth before settling down for the night, I saw an owl fly by as dusk was settling in. It was such an amazing sight. We all crawled under the tarp and Tom and Clare went through some trivia questions as I typed into the pocketmail and we all were soothed to sleep by the crickets residing amongst the wildflowers. It was a wonderfully relaxing day on the trail with gorgeous scenery and fun company.

Samstag, den 4. August
August 4th Tom, Clare, and I crawled out of our sleeping bags at the comfortable hour of 7:30am, and we only had about 10 minutes of light rain last night. We started trekking at about 8:15am to a cloudy sky and a bit of fog in the air, but a good temperature for walking. The mosquito repellent that Tom's mom had gifted to us worked great and it also had a wonderful smell. I seriously considered squirting some under my armpits, but amongst company I decided against it, being the tactful gal that I am. We stopped at Obsidian Creek for breakfast, just beyond the Obsidian Falls. The trek to Obsidian Creek was littered with obsidian, which looks like shiny black jade rocks and it is considered nature's own glass. As we trekked on, we came up to the origin of Obsidian Creek, Sister Springs. It was interesting to see because the Obsidian Creek was a fairly sizable creek, and all of the water originated from a hidden spring that came out from underneath a large boulder. We trekked on through lava fields and up Opple Dildock Pass to gain great views of the North Sister on which we could see glaciers. The pass was a bit of a climb with steep switchbacks, but the scenery was incredibly unique. The landscape was black, grey, and reddish lava rocks with skeleton trees as well as small, bonsai-like looking trees that looked like they belonged in a scene from "The Hobbit". We passed through another section of forest and then finished off trekking through the blocky, hard-on-the-feet Yapoah Crater lava flow to add up to a 16 mile day. We had arranged to meet Mutti at 6pm at the Pacific Crest Trailhead on Highway 242 at McKenzie Pass. We waited until about 7:30pm with no signs of Mutti. We hitched a ride into Sisters and phoned Tom's father to find out if Tom's mom had called home, but nobody had heard from her. We were all extremely concerned and had even called the State Police to see if any accident reports had been registered under the car's license plate numbers, but to no avail. We went into the local pizza joint and satisfied out grumbling stomaches, and then Tom's friend Becky who lives in Bend came and picked us up. We went to Tim and Becky's house and Tom continued with phonecalls trying to track down his mom. By 10:30pm he had requested an "intent to locate" and began calling the local motels. He discovered that she was registered at the Motel 6, but there was no answer in her room. Tom and Becky drove down to the Motel 6 and discovered Mutti's car in the parking lot and to everyone's relief, she answered the door when Tom knocked. The story goes as follows ... Mutti was up at the trailhead at 5:30pm and had waited until 10pm for us to come trekking out. She concluded that we did not make the miles we had intended and because the trailhead was at 5325ft elevation and cold, she decided to drive back to the motel and then go back to the trailhead in the morning to wait for us. The only glitch was that we had each been waiting at different trailheads, about one mile apart! Everyone was incredibly relieved to find that everybody else was alive and healthy. Mutti stayed at the Motel 6 and Clare, Tom, and I crashed at Tim and Becky's house. It was a long evening, and it was great to shower and crawl into bed knowing that all were safe and sound. For Tom and I, another great knowledge that we savoured was that tomorrow was a layover day and we didn't have to walk -- yahoo!!!

Sonntag, den 5. August
August 5th we awoke from a peaceful slumber at about 8am. It was such a treat not just to sleep in, but to sleep in on a soft, comfortable air mattress that Becky had set up in her living room for Tom and I. Clare was in heaven as well, having slept in Tim and Becky's spare bedroom in a nice cozy bed.
Clare joined Mutti for church in the morning while Tom and I stayed at Tim and Becky's and did some laundry, munched on toast and peanut butter and did some enjoyable socializing. Mom had also mailed some chocolate treats so we also munched on those as pre-breakfast appetizers. Tim and Becky were kind and generous hosts and they let us have the run of the house. At about 11am Clare and Mutti returned from church and we all went to IHOP (International House of Pancakes) and had a big delicious breakfast, compliments of Clare. Tom, Clare, Mutti, and I then headed up to Pilot's Butte to soak in a panoramic view of Bend as well as the surrounding mountains (Mount Washington, Mount Hood, Mount Jefferson, Three Fingered Jack, Black Butte, and the Three Sisters). It was a clear day and the views were spectacular. We stopped at Fred Meyers for a resupply of denatured alcohol for our pop can stove and then on to the Motel 6. Mutti then went shopping, Clare lounged by the pool and gave the blister that she had developed on her left foot some quality rest, and Tom and I organized our packs and did the numerous little tasks that tend to consume alot of the time on a layover day that would be much better enjoyed lounging and relaxing.
At about 5:45pm we all headed down to the Deschutes Brewery where we met Tim and Becky as well as friends of Mark (Tom's older brother), Lou and Teresa who live in Bend. It was a delicious dinner and the beer was rather tasty as well. Mutti had also brought some of the pictures that Tom had sent home for developing and it was fun to go through them, although we had difficulty identifying the numerous mountains and various scenery ... how quickly we forget! After dinner we all strolled down to Drake Park and then went to Goodies for some fattening, sugary, high calorie ice cream treats, compliments of Lou and Teresa.
We bid farewell to Tim, Becky, Lou, and Teresa and they all wished Tom and I well on the rest on our journey. We headed back to the motel and hopped into bed at about 10pm. It was a busy but great layover day and it was so enjoyable to meet up with Tim, Becky, Lou, and Teresa to visit and enjoy each others company. They were both great couples and we received invites to return for a more "leisurely" visit in the future. That sounded incredibly appealing to Tom and I, especially when Lou and Teresa described their plans to put in a hot tub!