Month: August 2017

Eclipse Day today!! We woke up and it felt almost like Christmas morning with everyone abuzz in anticipation for the eclipse. Totality was to happen at 10:18AM but the eclipse would start about an hour before. We got up and hung out for a bit before boarding our little wooden rowboat that we’d reserved for the big day!

Tofu, Wolf Bird, Gentleman, and I piled in the small rowboat (I was very nervous we would capsize it as it was tiny) and figured out how to row. Well, more like we watched Gentleman figure out how to row… then Wolf Bird took one oar and Gentleman took the other and Tofu and I relaxed while the two of them paddled us around the lake. Many people were set up along the shore of the lake, but a few others also rented rowboats for the occasion. Tofu and I eventually took our turn rowing around. I was notably the worst at this out of the four of us, which luckily meant I was quickly relieved of my duties.

We didn’t pay for an anchor (well actually I don’t think we were aware this was an option when we reserved the boat) so we had to constantly row around so we wouldn’t be blown by the wind toward shore and shallow waters. We all had eclipse glasses and started around 9:15 or 9:30 could see the beginning of the shadow covering the sun. Wolf Bird’s eclipse glasses blew out of his hand while Tofu and I were paddling. Unfortunately I was not talented enough at paddling to be able to paddle us close to the glasses laying in the water… so they sank before we could reach them. We each took turns lending Wolf Bird our glasses so he could take peaks at the shadow over the sun too.

It was crazy how the conditions started changing the closer it got to 10:18. The light grew dimmer, our shadows grew longer, and it got colder out! Finally at 10:18 the shadow completely covered the sun and all that was visible was a small circle of light around the dark shadow. It was absolutely amazing. It looked like dusk all around us, with a dark sky with pinks and oranges near the horizon. We were near the center of the path of totality which meant we had a full 2 minutes and one second of this darkness. Words can’t do justice to how special an experience this was. As quickly as it started though, it was over, and the sun came back out and it got lighter and lighter and warmer as time passed. What a special experience–I still cannot believe how well the timing worked out for us to have walked so far and arrive right in the middle of the path of totality on the day of the eclipse!

After all that excitement the rest of the day was a bit of a blur.  Wolf Bird rowed us back to shore and we packed up pretty quickly and headed out around 11:30AM. The days always pass quickly when we are leaving town and today was no different. We hiked about 22 miles to a couple spots just beyond a dirt road and powerline. Gentleman fell behind so it was just Wolf Bird, Tofu and I camped together. We luckily arrived at camp before dark and got to bed at a reasonable hour.

What a great day that I know we will all remember for a very long time.

1We woke up this morning with a breakfast buffet on our minds. Wildfires have closed nearly all of the PCT for the next 90ish miles beginning at Elk Lake Resort, which is six miles from where we camped. So we have to get off trail at Elk Lake Resort and find a ride around the closures and conveniently it is a Saturday morning which is when the resort has breakfast buffets!

The six miles to the resort was extremely easy and flat walking. When we got to the side trail to the resort, pink tape with CLOSED signs blocked us from going any further on the PCT due to the fires. We headed down the side trail and arrived at the resort just in time for the 9am buffet. There were a bunch of other hikers there as well and we all pigged out on eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, fruit, French toast, and pancakes. I of course also ordered an ice cream cone once I finished my multiple plates from the buffet. As we are, Wolf Bird, Tofu, Gentleman, and I discussed our plan for the upcoming section. We needed to get a ride around the fires and would reconnect at the northern end of the closure, at another resort called Olallie Lake Resort, which was about a four hour drive from where we were. We planned to try to get a ride to Bend first which is more populated and then hopefully find a way from there to the other resort. We were prepared for this to take a full day or two since it is a long way to hitch. We also were prepared for crazy traffic due to the upcoming eclipse. The Olallie resort is nearly right in the middle of the path of totality for the eclipse.

Just as we finished paying our checks at breakfast, another hiker asked if anyone needed a ride to Bend–she already had a ride secret but met someone willing to drive four hikers to Bend. Us four immediately claimed the ride and hopped in a car with Cindy, who was a hair stylist who had been working at a wedding at this resort. Cindy drove us the 30 miles to Bend and told us a lot about the area and the city. She dropped us off at a post office downtown, where I was hoping my package containing my contacts had arrived (I’ve been having issues with my eyes and contacts the past few days). Unfortunately this post office was the wrong one and closed, but nearly immediately after Cindy drove away a couple of guys asked if we needed a ride just upon seeing us. Unfortunately they were heading the opposite direction but we were amazed at their unprompted generosity. Then minutes later a couple asked if we were thru hikers and if we needed anything. We were shocked at this generosity once again! We told them about our need for a ride and they said they’d be happy to take us part of the way around the closure! They said they’d run home to get their truck and would meet us in a few minutes. What crazy luck! Before the couple (Katie and Tim) returned we also received an offer of a place to stay if our rides didn’t work out! Bend has got to be the town full of the nicest people yet along the trail–we were in town only 30 minutes and had three offers of help from complete strangers!

Katie and Tim soon arrived and drove us first to a different post office to check for my contacts (no success, I will have to have them forward it later) and then up to Sisters, OR. They were a really nice couple who have lived in Bend for about ten years. They have a cute dog named Jake who also rode with us. As we drove to Sisters we soon saw a huge cloud of smoke from the wildfire! It was insane to see how big the smoke cloud was and how close it was to the actual town of Sisters. Tim and Katie stopped at a grocery store so we could pick up a few things before dropping us off up the road a bit. They headed off to trail run in the area while we started to hitch again to find a ride to Ollalie Lake Resort.

We weren’t hitching long when a guy, Two Forks, stopped for us. He is from MA and hiked the AT and was in the area to hike and see the eclipse. He was sort of killing time today until the eclipse but still drove waaay out of his way and ended up taking us all the way to the resort! Mind you this involved about ten miles of dirt/gravel forest roads with huge potholes and bumps. He was driving a tiny sedan rental car that bottomed out a couple times but still drove us all the way to the resort. What kindness!!! We could not believe it–we arrived at the resort by 5pm… We were originally doubtful we’d even be able to get here before the eclipse. Thanks to the kindness of strangers though we got here super quickly.

Olallie Lake Resort is quite remote and right on a beautiful lake with Mount Jefferson looming behind and reflecting into the still water. There are cabins here but everything is super rustic–there are only pit toilets and no electricity except at the store where they run a generators one day a week. There are boats you can rent in the lake but you can’t swim in the lake due to it being a water source. They are letting us camp in the day use area. We plan to take tomorrow off and hang out here and then watch the eclipse the morning after from a boat in the lake! Because we had to skip about 90 miles of trail we are already almost done with Oregon! Only 100 miles to Washington. Pretty crazy that our trip is starting to wind down.

Today was an interesting day. We planned to stop by Shelter Cove Resort midday to eat some real food. We had 17 miles this morning to get there and they passed insanely quickly! I listened to some standup comedy this morning which was a nice change and probably helped the time fly by. Wolf Bird listened to his Harry Potter audiobook which is his new addiction.

We arrived at Shelter Cove by 1pm and it was super nice! They had a well stocked store and were located right next to a beautiful lake and best of all had tasty food. We of course immediately ordered food–to show just how obsessed with food we are: wolf bird was willing to wait 1.5 hours for a pizza. We spent several hours just eating and lounging and it was wonderful and relaxing. We ran into a couple hikers we knew and chatted with them as well.

Eventually we had to get hiking again and were on the trail by about 5. We planned to hike another 10 miles. Again the miles passed really quickly. We met a girl Long Legs and chatted with her for a bit. The trail was mostly flat which helped us make good time. We had to walk in the dark for the last half hour or so. We planned to camp at Bobby Lake, which is about .3 miles off trail.

When we finally reached the junction a little before 9pm, I looked at the sign and headed left, where the arrow pointed to Bobby Lake Trail. After a few minutes hiking Wolf Bird found out via his god that we were going the wrong way! We headed back to the junction. I was frustrated because I triple checked the sign and was sure it’s pointed left for Bobby lake! We arrived back at the junction to find Tofu and took another look at the sign. I wasn’t wrong– the sign did point left for Bobby Lake TRAIL. But apparently Bobby lake is not on Bobby lake trail. It is on Miller lake trail to the right… Makes sense. There was a second sign behind the first one that did say Bobby Lake and pointed right but I hadn’t seen it.

Oh well. We headed to the actual Bobby lake and found Uncle Jesse camped there. We all chatted as we set up camp and got to bed late once again.

Today we reached the highest point on the PCT in Oregon and Washington so it was a good day. Sherpa and I woke and packed our things, Tofu was already on her way down the trail. We descended the slope on the trail to Thielsen Creek. We filled our bottles from the glacier water that flowed from the north side of Mount Thielsen. It was some of the coldest water I put my hands into on the trail. We continued on to ascend the short and pleasant climb to reach the highest point on the PCT in Oregon and Washington.

The highest point was funny and anticlimactic and we reached it around 8:30 am. It felt like we were in a pasture and I started to think that all of Oregon and Washington was going to be rolling hills. That is ok with me because, so far, the trail in Oregon has been really enjoyable and beautiful. The highest point was no exception.

We did get some amazing views as we continued our traverse. Oregon has been surprisingly dry thus far and we had to carry water nearly 16 miles though we could see a lake in the distance.

I remember thinking how we passed through so many seemingly isolated ecosystems in Oregon. It reminded me of southern Vermont on the Appalachian Trail. We would pass into a forested area where all the trees had the same type off moss, then we would pass into another area where all the trees had the same tumors. It was striking and I it was some of the most enjoyable trail we have experienced.

At some point we caught up with Tofu and agreed that we would camp at Summit Lake a few miles ahead. We were pleasantly surprised when we reached a hidden junction and we found ourselves on a long, narrow outcropping that was teardrop shaped. It had flat and well groomed campsites and clear access to the water’s edge. We took in the site and decided to rinse off in the lake.

I jumped in and Sherpa did her usual dance before getting into the water and eventually got a quick dip and got out. We were worried that Tofu was going to miss the junction where we got off the trail and sure enough we heard her voice clearly from across the water.

She was a few hundred yards away but we could hear her as if she was only a few feet away. She was talking to another couple that was camped on the shore. We called to her to tell her where we were and convinced her to join us after she rinsed off.

We got out and hung our clothes. Tofu joined us and we all ate dinner and chatted. Sherpa and I went into our tents just after sunset and we occasionally called out random comments to Tofu who was only a few feet away.

Eventually we settled and it was time for sleep. We passed out in no time and slept like little hiker babies.

We had a nice warm nights sleep last night in the shelter. However after finding the BIGGEST cockroach I’ve ever seen right before bed, I did have some trouble sleeping out of constant fear of one crawling on me in the night. Luckily nothing got me.

We packed up and walked to the road to start hitching into Crater Lake National Park. It was still early and there was not much traffic. After about 15 minutes though a car stopped and a woman who works as a ranger in the park drove us in and dropped us off at Mazama Village where we were expecting a package. We couldn’t pick up our package until 930 so we headed to the restaurant nearby where we pigged out and had many cups of coffee. Wolf Bird even ordered two breakfasts! I headed over to get our packages while Wolf Bird waited for the check. while getting the packages I found out we could take a trolley to where the PCT picks up (the trail to there was closed due to wildfires in the area). Conveniently the trolley came every hour and there was one outside waiting right now!

I headed outside hoping Wolf Bird would be finished at the restaurant in time and was relieved to see he was! We hopped on the trolley only for me to realize just as it was pulling away that I left the GPS charging at the restaurant. The driver was nice enough to be willing to wait while I ran in to retrieve it in record time. We had a fun ride to the Rim Village. The driver was playing fun music and driving faster than he probably should’ve been given this was a trolley in a crowded national park. Once at Rim Village, we sorted through our packages and were happy to discover that a part of the trail we’d thought was closed was in fact open and we wouldn’t have to hitch around. We chatted with some other hikers at the store–Jackpot, Storm and Yeti.

We set off to hike the Rim Trail starting at about 1130am. This is technically an alternate and not the official PCT. However right now the official PCT in this section is closed due to fire and the Rim Trail only just reopened after also being closed for the same reason. The Rim Trail skirts the edge of the giant lake and was surprisingly steep for the first couple miles going up and down quite a bit. The lake was quite beautiful and a vibrant blue, although smoke from the nearby fires made it less vibrant than I imagine it typically is.
We had a nice leisurely walk along the rim trail. We could spot plumes of smoke coming from the fires nearby. Once the alternate reconnected with the PCT, we stocked up on water from a water cache provided by a trail angel. We decided to carry quite a bit of water, as the next water wasn’t for about 16 miles and we weren’t sure if we’d hike it all tonight (if we were camping Before the water, we’d need to carry more to cook our dinner etc). The next 9 miles were relatively flat. The trees were all spread out and many were dead and the forest was eerily quiet. Because we were carrying so much water, our packs felt quite heavy and walking felt difficult. I was feeling tired and like I wouldn’t be able to make it to the next water tonight.

Wolf Bird and I took a break at the next road crossing and while he took a bathroom break, I looked at our guthook app on my phone. I discovered there is another water cache just ahead!! We didn’t need to carry so much water after all! So frustrating and even more frustrating because we’d talked with a southbounder who didn’t even mention the second cache. We were frustrated and decided to eat dinner now and just hike the extra miles to a creek tonight. We were sitting eating dinner at the second water cache when who walks up the trail but Tofu!! We’d caught her because she did the road walk part of the fire closure whereas we hitchhiked the road part. She sat with us as we ate dinner and the three of us hiked the nine miles to the creek together.

It was a nice change to hike with tofu and we all chatted as we walked which made time pass quickly. It was growing late and the sun started to set which was quite beautiful over the mountains below. We eventually needed our headlamps as it grew dark for the last couple miles. We arrived at camp at 9pm and tried to be quiet as we set up next to a tent that was already there. They seemed to still be awake though and knew Tofu so it wasn’t a big problem. We finally were set up and ready for bed by about 10.