The Adventures of...: Days 114, 115

Day 114, 20 miles, endpoint PCT mile 1758

This was kind of a blah day. We hiked through woodsy hillsides, occasionally with views of Mt. Ashland or nearby hills, but overall didn't see much that was interesting. We went past Hyatt Lake, which was only a so-so lake and appeared to have low water levels. Then it was back to the trees and the grassy hills. Boring.

The weather was the only thing that kept us on oue toes. After a cool morning, the sun came out and threatened to make it a hot day. But by 1pm, dark clouds blanketed the sky and thunder began growling. We took a break under a cluster of trees, which worked out well since that's when the rain started. For the next three hours, booming thunder followed us on the trail, and the rains came and went.

By the evening the rain was over and the sky began to clear. We stopped at a campground near the trail to make dinner. Campgrounds are nice for two luxury items: picnic tables and running water. Making dinner is so much easier with a table to set things on instead of scattering the stove and pot all over the ground. We were also able to throw out the garbage we have been carrying, which was another exciting thing. It's the little things that matter.

We didn't want to actually camp at the campground, however, so we went back down the trail just a bit and found a spot under some pine trees. I'm hoping tomorrow will be a little bit more scenic, but we might have to wait until we hit Crater Lake in a few days.

From the hills east of Ashland.

Trail views.

Day 115, 25 miles, endpoint PCT mile 1785

We had a repeat performance of the weather today. Late this morning, the sky turned dark as if it were dusk; loud, roaring thunder soon followed. It only took minutes for the downpour to begin, and soon we were hiking through a solid Oregon thunderstorm. Luckily, there was a ski hut within two miles so we were able to hop inside the rustic one-room cabin to take a break and wait out the rest of the rain.

Less than two hours after it started, the storm subsided and the skies cleared. We left the hut and began walking over lava beds for several miles. The red, crunchy rocks were about the size of gold balls and made the going a little bit slower.

About halfway through the lava bed stretch we turned a corner and were suddenly face to face with Mt. McLoughlin, a perfectly symmetrical cinder-cone shaped volcano towering over a valley of thick evergreens. This is the first of Oregon's big volcanoes that we will see on the trail, and we had a great view of it.

Towards the end of the day, on a long uphill, we decided we needed a camping spot and it was getting dark. We did something we normally wouldn't ever think of doing: we picked a camping spot next to the trail. I know, shocking, right? Well, you are actually not supposed to do this; camping spots need to be at least 100 feet from any trail. This is especially important in designated wilderness areas, and we had just crossed into the Sky Lakes Wilderness before we made camp. I want to personally apologize to the wilderness and assure it that we meant no disrespect. We will be up early and will never pick a spot like this again!