First of all, a quick explanation of the title. Oregon really showed me a different side today, a side I really enjoyed. The hike was truly beautiful from start to finish. That said, the hiking is still exhausting, and therefore warrants the vulgarity.
Yesterday I only hiked 22 miles due to the late start. So this morning I was eager to make up some miles. As I woke to the sound of rain pattering on my tent, and felt the heavy numbness of fatigue, however, I had difficulty getting up. This has been the case for a couple weeks now. The best I can figure is that I am so far in calorie debt, and with no more weight to lose, that I am more tired all around than normal. I plan to remedy that a little by stopping at three lakeside resorts between here and the Oregon/Washington border. In fact, the first of those resorts, at Elk Lake, was scheduled for midday today.
When the rain died off I got up, equipped with my bug head net. Between that and my new shirt, I was able to break camp at a more leisurely pace. The first section of hiking was through a fairly flat and marshy 20 miles. In fact, it was very reminiscent of Sky Lakes Wilderness. The difference, though, was that I now had several lines of defense. Despite the section being one of the most mosquito infested on the whole PCT, I hardly noticed them all morning. Instead I was able to enjoy the views of the scenic mosquito breeding pits - or "lakes" as we call them in California. Most of them are nothing more than shallow stagnant ponds, but some of them are quite pretty. The colors are what makes them memorable, with everything from deep greens to robin's egg and royal blues.
After 22 miles I reached the turn off to Elk Lake Resort. I cached my pack in some bushes and jogged the mile down to the resort. Elk Lake Resort is a nice set up on a medium sized lake with good brown trout fishing. A small restaurant, bar, and shop sits on the lakefront, and I was able to get a burger, sweet potato fries, and a beer. Incidentally, the beer was from Boneyard Brewery and was one of the better beers I've had (perfectly balanced porter). The name also took me back to when I worked in Cyprus. I was asked to create a bioarchaeology lab for the excavation, and I nicknamed it the Boneyard.
After lunch I headed back to the trail, grabbed my pack, and started heading up a 1000 foot climb. Just over the top of the rise I started hitting patches of snow. This would continue for the rest of the day, with some sections 80 to 90% covered in snow. Despite this, I only lost the trail once, and even then it was easy to get back on track. Meanwhile, I began to get awesome views of South Sister, especially once I entered Wickiup Plain.
The plain is a place I would love to revisit. It is surrounded on all sides by interesting volcanic features, including a mesa of lava rock, a large cinder cone, and an immense stone face. Not to mention, of course, South Sister herself. In the pictures I took you may notice Lewis and Clark Glaciers, high on the side of South Sister. The only down side to Wickiup Plain was hiking across snow that has been sculpted by wind and melting. Think about being an ant hiking across the surface of a golf ball. Now make every ridge slightly slushy and slippery. It was fun to look at, but exhausting to hike across.
Light was fading, so I set up camp after the plain, by the north fork of Mesa Creek. I am roughly even with South Sister, and still have 22 miles before this section is done. There are some southbound section hikers camped nearby, and they confirmed what everyone else has said - that the snow is bad ahead. They saw only one set of footprints heading north, and weren't sure if I could follow them, or if they even went the right way. So it looks like tomorrow is the big test. The section hikers made it through, which gives me hope. Besides, I now have the start of a glorious trail beard, and with great facial hair comes great responsibility. I'll give it my best shot and let you all know how it goes!
