Wed. June 22   Miles today: 27      Total so far: 706.5      Oregon section C, begin D

Today we crossed the 700 mile mark!  Less than 2,000 miles left to go!  Many cheers and thanks to the Lord for helping us get this far!

Last night in our camp above Crater Lake, the wind howled in the trees, and it rained, and was very cold, but we were snug and safe, and wondering if we’d wake up to fresh snow this morning.  But the predawn light showed us 40 degrees, and a stiff wind.  Brrrr!  Crater Lake was hidden in mist, and we were actually IN the cloud.  We tried to keep on up the hiker trail, but did not get far–it was soon buried in snow that sloped WAAAAAY down to the Lake.  So we retreated to Rim Drive, which also had plenty of snow, but had recently been plowed.  Only the road itself was plowed, though–not the turnouts or viewpoints.  I felt sorry for any tourists who come up here today–they won’t be able to see much, and will have nowhere to park.

Finally the rising sun began to color the mist above the lake a beautiful pink and gold–the mist lifted just a little, and I could see the shimmering water of the lake far below.  Bill and I were still walking in a  cloud, and being blown around by the wind.   We found a somewhat sheltered place among some rocks by Rim Drive where we could eat breakfast (gobble, gobble quickly!) and Bill could study the maps.   He wanted to take a turn doing this; usually it’s me trying to figure things out.  The PCT guidebook has lots of detail–so much that sometimes it’s hard to sort it all out and decide which way to go.  There are often alternate routes that sound very appealing.  The PCT stays pretty true to the “Crest” part of its name, and the crest is often not the nicest trail.  We are not PCT purists.  If the alternate route sounds better, we will take it!  All we care about is walking all the way to Canada.

After breakfast, we resumed walking Rim Drive.  No worries about traffic at 7:00 am!  A little while later, another thru-hiker named Cat’s Pa caught up with us.  He stayed with the rangers last night and got a ride up to the Rim this morning.  He’s VERY tall, with LONG legs that carry him very quickly along the trail (or road).  Turned out he’s 63, and his grandchildren gave him his trail name.  He had originally planned to hike the PCT with his wife, but sadly, she died less than a year ago, so he is hiking alone.  He was very friendly, and we found out that the HUGE footprints we’d been following in the snow above Sky Lakes were his footprints!  When he went through, there was lots of snow, but he could see landmarks because it wasn’t actually SNOWING, so he made it through.  After a bit more conversation, he was off again on his long legs.

As I walked along, it was nice not to constantly have to watch my footing, so instead I could look at other things, and I noticed some pretty white flowers growing in the pumice along the road, right by a snowbank.  It was very cold, and the wind was freezing.  Those flowers were tough little beauties!   Finally the clouds lifted enough for a view of Wizard Island.  The farther we went, the more snow there was.  At one point it looked as if the whole world had turned white–all I could see was white snow, and the white cloud we were walking in. 

 But finally we reached the North Access Road and began our 10 mile downhill.  It didn’t take long till we were OUT of the cloud and the views began.  We could see vast pumice fileds and mountains.  Finally we could even see sharp-pointed Mt. Thielsen, which we’d be hiking to if we stayed on the PCT.  But our views last night from up top at Crater Lake, plus warnings from the ranges had convinced us to hike AROUND Mt. Thielsen,  on what used to be the “old” route of the PCT. 

We ate lunch at the boundary of Crater Lake National Park.  The sun was shining, and it was warm!  It felt so good to put our feet up and rest and soak up some rays, after being so cold this morning!  Then a bit more walking took us to Highway 138, and the end of “Oregon Section C” in the guidebook.

OREGON SECTION D

Shortly after we crossed the highway, at 1:00 pm precisely (which meant 12 noon in standard time), Bill stopped to check his compass and declination, by using the sun and a stick.  And it was SO GOOD to be on a TRAIL again after 16 miles of roadwalking so far today.  The only bummer was the mosquitoes, which were numerous enough that we had to wear headnets.  And  this part of the trail is a Nordic ski trail in the winter, so not only is it well-marked, but any time it makes a sharp turn, even the TURN is marked!  Again, we could only conclude that the Forest Service cares more about skiers than hikers!

The pleasant alternate route eventually landed us at beautiful Diamond Lake with snowclad Mt. Bailey behind it.  We followed the hiker/biker trail along the lakeshore, enjoying great views.  There’s a campground on the shore, with plenty of great campsites–“We should come camp here someday,” we told each other. 

We stopped at a little store that had cute fish carvings out front, then on to the Forest Service information center, where we ended up talking to THE Ranger himself, instead of just an underling.  He showed us where the heavy snow areas were, so we’d know what to avoid.  We bought a map (which later turned out to be VERY helpful).  We also bugged the ranger about the poorly marked PCT, and he admitted it was true–the ski trails are well-marked, but as for hikers–they are ignored.  We told him very firmly that something ought to be done about it!

Then we headed to the Diamond Lake Resort for an early (4:30 pm) dinner, and who should show up but Cat’s Pa!  He is staying at the resort tonight.  All of us were really enjoying the food at the resort cafe.  “Hiker hunger” is very real!  Cat’s Pa urged us to stay at the resort, too (I think he wanted someone to talk to and hang out with), but we declined and went off to fill our water bottles and push on along Highway 138.  After a couple of miles, we went into the woods to look for a campsite and discovered TERRRRIBLE mosquitoes!  There were just clouds of them–the worst I have ever seen.  So we tried another place, but no matter where we looked, it was the same.  Arrrgh!  So we finally just sighed, set up our net tent and hustled into it for some peace from the whining hordes.  We were very tired, but glad to have managed so many miles today.