Mon. June 27     Miles today: 24.9    Total so far: 825.2       Oregon Section E

Bill geared for rain--note SNOW in background!

Brrrrr!  It ws a rainy, cold, 45 degree morning. Packing up was tough–everything was wet.  We said goodby to very pretty Sisters Lake and began our hike in the cold rain, usually able to find the trail easily in the ever-increasing snow, and we even found a nice big sheltering tree for a breakfast break. 

 At the next trail junction, while we were checking our maps, a small flock of birds came by and stopped to stare at us.  I don’t know what kind of birds they were, but they were sort of ruffianly-looking.  We continued on through some areas of lovely mountain hemlocks.  Yesterday I was doing a bit of mental grumpng about “hiking through miles of green tunnels.”  Today I take it all back! It’s the “green tunnels” where the trail is free of snow! 

Sisters "foothills" in the rain

The trail continued north, out of the trees, into some wide-open places which normally would have great views.  All we could see were clouds and misty-to-regular rain.  Some of the really large open zones had wood posts to indicate trail.  (I fervently wish they had more of these-it would have saved us a lot of rouble later!)

Creek & meadow--still raining

Finally we got to the first big lava flow, and it was as dramatic-looking as I’d anticipated.  Imagining the scene when it was being formed was like imagining Mordor in Tolkien’s Middle Earth.   We crossed a pretty creek and filled our water bottles there, wishing we could see the “great view” which the guidebook assured us was there, somewhere behind the clouds.

Bill trying to rest his sore foot

But from that point on, we began having serious problems finding the trail, which was increasingly buried under snow, and finally lost it altogether.  Rather than waste any more time hunting for it, we just gave up looking and used the compass to head north till we hit the trail again.  It was tough going.  Bill’s foot and leg were really hurting.  He kept taking more Motrin and trying to rest when he could.

Where'd the trail go?

Meanwhile, the rain came down harder, and it was still very cold.  I was in “full raingear” with warm layers underneath it, and carrying my umbrella to protect my head and the top of my pack.  Again we lost the trail, hunted for it, gave up hunting and “compassed north”.  Bill and I work as a team on finding the trail with a compass.  He concentrates on locating a landmark at the correct compass bearing, and focuses on heading for that landmark (usually a certain tree, or a rock).  I simply follow him wherever he goes, but put my concentration on looking for signs of a trail.  I also pray A LOT while I am doing this…”Father, please guide Bill and his compass.  Help us find the trail again.” 

A CROSS in the snow!

We had been just compass-following for some time when far below in a valley, silhouetted clearly against the white snow, there was a CROSS!  (Well, actually, a signpost!)  It was the first indication of any trail we’d seen in quite awhile.  With great rejoicing, we headed for it–Bill “bootskiing” and me doing the best I could.  Turned out it wasn’t a trail junction sign at all.  It said “No camping allowed near Obsidian Falls”.  Other than the sign, there was no trail visible, but at least we now had some idea of where we were.  The frustrating thing was having no distant landmarks.  If it had been a clear day, we would have had no trouble finding our way.  But everything was hidden in low clouds and rain.

We decided it would be worth hunting for the trail at this point, so we spent some time searching (and praying like crazy!) and hurray, there it was!  We happily followed it for a pretty good distance, and at that point two young guys named Jacob and Brandon caught up with us.  Turned out they had been following our footsteps and using the same basic strategy–“When you can’t find the trail, just head north.”  Then we ALL lost the trail again, and had a bit of discussion as to what to do.  Jacob and Brandon headed north again, but Bill took a slightly different course.  He chose a compass heading of north and a little west.  Over hill and dale in rain and snow we went, praying a lot–and again, the trail!  Each “trail find” was another opportunity to thank God for His loving patience and guidance.

For awhile, all was well, then we totally lost the trail AGAIN on a long uphill snowfield. “Oh, if only we could SEE landmarks!” was our constant frustration.  We saw what looked like it might lead to the pass we were searching for, climbed up, and–nothing, just more snowy mountainside. 

Sure is good to have a "home" even when you're lost!

 So again, we gave up trailhunting, and went back to “compass north and a little west” till 7:00 pm, when we came to a nice grove of trees among some rocks.  We stopped and decided it was no use going on.  We’d had nothing to eat since breakfast, we were totally tired out, and just ached all over.  Setting up camp in the rain was not fun, but we got it done, and Bill went straight into his sleeping bag.  It was very cold–you could see your breath, and it was still raining, but I was nice and warm with all my layers on plus raingear, so I sat outside under my umbrella and cooked dinner–hot mochas followed by Lipton noodles with bacon bits and dried tomatoes.  I figured that to just go to bed hungry, cold and tired was not a good idea, and hot food would help us stay warm and sleep better.  I did cheat a bit, though.  When we were done eating, I left the dirty dishes out in the rain to “rinse clean”!  THEN I put on warm dry silk longjohns and wool socks,crawled into the sleeping bag and wrote some notes.  I concluded with this: (written by headlamp, since it was dark already)

     “The rain is getting heavier as it gets darker.   Tomorrow we will “compass” either to the PCT or to Highway 242.  The Lord has been so gracious today–so often helped us find the trail.  He will go ahead of us and watch over us.”

Sun. June 26    Miles today: 24.6       Total so far: 800.3 miles!!!!!    Oregon Section E

We did it–just barely, but we did it–crossed the 800 mile mark today!  Thankyou, Lord!  What an encouragement!

It was colder this morning, (only 42 degrees) when we got up, and crowds of mosquitoes were waiting for us.  Gray clouds covered “Irish Rock”, which juts up high above Stormy Lake.  Distracted by dealing with the worst mosquito situation we’ve had yet, we forgot to fill water bottles, so we were short on water when we stopped for breakfast an hour later.  Normally we drink a cup of Emer-gen-C each, plus a cupful of granola with powdered milk.  This morning we only had enough water to make the powdered milk, so we ate the granola and milk under headnets amid a buzzing, whining horde. 

 Later on, we reached pretty little Tadpole Lake, which had nice clean water, and stopped to fill our very empty water bottles, despite the mosquitoes. But in my haste to change out of my warm fleece jacket (because the morning had warmed up) into my raingear jacket (for mosquito protection), I really messed up.  I forgot that I had put my watch OVER the sleeve of the fleece jacket, so when I yanked the jacket off in a tearing hurry to put on the other jacket, the watch went flying, and I did not even notice. 

Dark red & black "Sith" mushroon

Now cooler, and protected from the mosquitoes, we went cheerfully off along a very green and pretty trail.  A major “green component” here are the shining, ribbony clumps of beargrass.  There were also a lot of mushrooms.  Somebody (not us!!) had knocked loose one that I call a “sith mushroom.”  There were many of these along the trail–black and twisted, with a touch of a dark, “evil” red. 

The PCT doing its usual "side of a mountain" thing

At that point, the trail did a lot of contouring along steep hillsides.  Bill and I firmly believe that the PCT should really be called “The PSMT” for “Pacific Side of a Mountain Trail,  because that’s what it mostly does!

Monty by one of the "rockpiles"

At one point, Bill spotted a tiny gray frog–we never expected to see a frog out in the middle of a forest.  The trail went around many rockpiles (thankyou to the trail gorillas who built the PCT through challenges like this!).

Bill in one of the violet-carpeted meadows

I was particularly thrilled by the fact that we were walking through  big meadows carpeted with VIOLETS!! The sweet smell was amazing!   And we passed lakes galore–too many to count–with names like Desane, “S”, Mae, Island, Dumbbell and Camelot. 

South Sister, with clouds closing in

We put in many miles just walking through forest.  At lower elevations, this meant huge douglas firs, but as we climbed higher, it was lodgepole pine and mountain hemlock.  Finally we began to catch glimpses of the “Sisters” mountains.  At about 2:00 pm, we stepped out into a burned forest with a full view of South Sister, then began a 1,200 foot climb of Koosah Mountain.  The clouds were growing thicker and darker, and we were very tired, especially our feet.  But at the top there were amazing views, including one of South Sister  in gathering clouds.  Middle Sister was entirely hidden under clouds, and we never saw “her’ again. 

On the downhill trail now, the temperature really began dropping, and there were large areas of snow across the trail.  But we’re getting better at following trail through snow, and Bill figured out a way to NOT posthole–you RUN across instead of walking!  He’s braver than I am.  When we reached Sisters Mirror Lake, there were only patches of snow, and though the Sisters were all hidden in clouds, it was still a very pretty area.  We were just starting on a crackers & peanut butter supper when along came two section hikers we’d seen earlier.  We talked with them for a little while, and they filled us in on their adventures following the PCT right past Mt. Thielsen.  They said it was really tough, and the only reason they made it through was because they had a GPS, and wore snowshoes.  Hearing their tale made us glad we chose another route!  And they told us that they’d been following our footprints in the snow for quite awhile, and that had made it easier for them, especially coming off Koosah Mountain. 

Setting up camp near Sisters Mirror Lake

They pushed on, and we finished our supper in a leisurely way, because it was so nice to be able to eat in peace with hardly any mosquitoes.  There were a lot of frogs singing and swimming in the lake; could that explain the scarcity of buzzers and whiners?  Just as we finished eating, a light rain began, so we hurried to find a campsite in the “Forest Service approved” area near the lake.  After setting up tarp and net tent, we were glad to crawl into warm sleeping bags. Our feet were aching and tired, but my sore ankle is feeling much better–thankyou Lord, and praying friends!  And we cheered when we did our mileage math and realized we’d crossed the 800 mile mark.  Knowing that helped cheer me up a bit, because I was still very sad about carelessly losing my watch.

We went to sleep to the sound of rain on the tarp, singing frogs, and even a hammering woodpecker.  Easy, Greenman & Co are probably back down at Elk Lake Resort eating hamburgers and staying dry.  We met them earlier in the day at a trail junction where we all had our maps out and were scratching our heads over which way to go.  The PCT in Oregon, as usual, was not well-marked, and the guidebook trail names don’t match the ones on the trail signs.  Hope they are having a good time!