Ashland to Crater Lake National Park to Sisters/Bend, OR!

 Prior to walking half way across Oregon, we were warned of the boredom and monotony that we would experience in the thick conifer forests, despite the easy terrain. Now that we have seen it for ourselves, we both disagree. Oregon has been extremely gorgeous and diverse. There are definitely times when we get anxious walking through the green tunnel, but there always seems to be quite the reward when we pop out the other side. We have been traveling through mosquito infested lake country, green meadows, dry, desolate lava flows, green rolling hills, and skirting around the legends of the Cascades. Simply, we love Oregon so far!

8/9

After a full day of town chores, Ernie took Bert out to dinner at a nice café by the name of Pangea. We enjoyed a refreshing gelato and headed over to the Varsity Theatre to catch “A Better Life,” an independent film about a father/son relationship in a hard neighborhood in L.A.  After the eye opening drama, set in places we have seen on the trip, we both strolled back to our room, humbled and slightly depressed, to write a couple letters and pass out. 

0 PCT miles, 1727 S->N

8/10

A 6 AM rise to a sick Bert (Adam)…a very sick Bert. It seems that Bert may have been spending too much time playing with rubber ducky and drinking too much scummy bath water, and therefor spent most of the night running to the bathroom. With a 102.5 degree fever, Bert moaned and laid in his plush bed all day, while Ernie played Mom for the day. Bert demanded Gatorade, water, muffins, medicine, back rubs, and cool, damp wash cloths all day. At every opportune moment, Ernie would make a dash for the food co-op for a snack and to enjoy some people watching. Lonely, Ernie went out for pasta and pizza this evening, while Bert broke fevers, slept, and frantically ran to the bathroom over and over again. After a few pages of Old Man and the Sea, Ernie too decided to catch some z’s. 

0 PCT miles, 1727 S->N

8/11

Disappointed to wake to an ill Bert, we slowly got moving and decided to hit the trail anyway. A young man from Mt. Ashland gave us a quick ride down I-5 back to the trail. With frequent bathroom and rest breaks, we soon realized we made the wrong decision. We pushed 17 miles to HWY 66, where we contemplated hitching back into Ashland to a doctor. Adam, feeling a bit better, decided to eat dinner made with nasty reservoir water and make a decision in the morning. 

17 PCT miles, 1744 S->N

8/12

We woke at 7 and realized the symptoms Adam was experiencing were not going to get better without a doctor. Unfortunately this meant another trip to Ashland, but luckily HWY 66 gets a lot of traffic. A nice woman (crazy driver) took us straight to the hospital. Adam spent the day in the hospital bed with an IV for re-hydration, while the doctor performed all the necessary tests and samples while Forest pulled his hair out from boredom in the waiting room. Once, feeling brave, Forest came into the hospital room and after one look at the IV sticking out of Adam’s arm, his world was spinning and on shaky knees, he returned to the waiting room . The verdict finally came in and the Doctor told Adam he had a stomach protozoa from bad drinking water, but should be back to normal after 7 days of intense antibiotics *. Relieved to have an answer, we caught a bus to the pharmacy, ran into friends, Lovebird and Raven, and hitched back to the trail by 5. Aside from frequent bathroom stops, we walked 9 miles to camp near massive Hyatt Lake. 

9 PCT miles, 1753 S->N

*A call later confirmed that it was in fact a stomach bacteria, not a protozoa, meaning Adam was being treated for the wrong thing! He stopped taking the medicine, and his body soon fought off the bacteria and now he feels good.

Returning a Cart for an Elderly Woman--Taking it to Canada....

8/13

We woke at 6 to watch a fog bank roll away from us, leaving everything soaked. Overall an easy morning, strolling on relatively flat ground through tall stands of pine. We love Oregon walking so far! After lunch near a highway, we traversed lava fields all afternoon, which were beautiful but tough on the feet! After an afternoon filled with gorgeous views of Mt. McLaughlin, we once again entered the thick woods in the Sky Lakes Wilderness and immediately hit a cloud of mosquitoes. Running up the final hill for the day to get away from them, we made camp next to friends, Hot Cheese and Thorny the Escalator. Always enjoyable to watch and listen to, these guys also share a tent, song on trail (to each other), have matching everything, and even read to each other at night. We said goodnight to the mosquitoes at 9 p.m. and Forest refused to read Adam a bedtime story… 

32 PCT miles, 1785 S->N

The New Lean Machine Crossing a Lava Field

8/14

We woke at 5 to the bugs and were on the trail before 6. The goal for today was to get within a morning’s walk of Crater Lake. Descending and ascending easily all day, we reached the high point of the day, 7300 ft, after 19 miles and decided to have lunch. We dined with outstanding views of volcanic pinnacles, and massive Klamath Lake in the distance. Lots of beautiful ridge walking (our favorite) followed, which was a welcome change from the sometimes oppressive woods. As we walked through a huge burned area, we ran into an old friend, Bookworm, who was hiking with family for a few days. We had dinner there and walked on to camp on a ridge with a massive Cascadian sunset and Crater Lake just 9 miles away. 

36 PCT miles, 1821 S->N

8/15

With the moon still high in the sky, we hit the trail early for Crater Lake. A few miles down the trail, we ran into our new friends, Noah and Honey Buzz, and cruised to Mazama Village together. Straight to the restaurant for a breakfast buffet! With full bellies, we digested and repacked our food for the next leg. Still without a view of the lake, we hit the trail for 5 steep miles up to the rim for a jaw dropping view. Absolutely stunned with the massive water-filled crater, we relaxed and soaked it up in the crisp, fresh breeze. After a Bert and Ernie photo shoot and a few laugh attacks, we grabbed some lunch and gawked  at the swarms of tourists. After highly anticipating a boat ride on the lake for the past couple days, we were immediately shot down by a ranger who informed us that we would have to make a 12 mile walk in 20 minutes to catch the last boat. The story of our lives… With our daubers down, we hit the rim trail for a beautiful 8 mile evening walk 1000-2000 feet above the deepest lake in North America (1934 feet!). We enjoyed a quick dinner at the Wizard Island Overlook, where we were joined by a rough bunch of burly, homely hikers (Turbo, Mr. Furious, Honey Buzz, and Caddy Shack). We strolled a few more miles and made camp as the sun dipped behind the Cascades. 

21 PCT miles, 1842 S->N

Crater Lake!

Climbing Trees on the Rim

Wizard Island

Cruising the Rim

Mr. Furious, Bert, Turbo, and Ernie

Dropping off the Rim

8/16

Headlamps flashing, farts thundering, zippers zipping, sleeping bags and tents crunching, we were up early with the goofball crew. With anticipation of too many butting heads and poop breaks, we soon took off on our own for a long day ahead…. After traversing the Pumice Desert and wrapping around jagged Mt. Thielsen, we dropped down to refreshing Thielsen Creek, our first water in 26 miles, where we shared a lunch with a day hiker, David, under a large fir tree along the creek. Back on the trail, we climbed through spotty snow patches up to the Oregon/Washington high point on the PCT. We dropped over the gradual ridge and ran into a buzzing cloud! We scampered to get our rain gear and head nets on before the storm hit, but there was no rain today, only mosquitoes. Sunny and 80 degrees, we rolled up and down the Cascade Crest all day, sweating and swatting in the constant swarm of aggressive, fast blood suckers. We refused to stop and rest for sections more than 10 miles long because the bugs were so intense. After a dinner of instant potatoes, bacon flavored bits, Ramen, and bloody  bugs, Bert and Ernie hoofed a couple more miles to camp and hit the sack mentally exhausted! Buzzzzz…. 

37 PCT miles, 1879 S->N

Through Bert's Eyes after the First 28 Miles....

Guzzling from Thielsen Creek below Mount Thielsen

8/17

Awake at 5:30 and hitting the trail within the hour, we descended easily to Windago Pass where another thru-hiker, Todd, was there with family. We got harassed by two cute little 3 year old twins who told us we looked scary, while Todd’s beautiful wife made us eggs and gave us sodas. Donning rain gear and bug nets once again on this hot morning because of the bugs, we walked amongst jagged volcanic pinnacles and many small lakes in the Diamond Peak Wilderness. We ran into our old friend (enemy), snow, swore at it a couple times but it didn’t move or melt, and spent the afternoon slogging our way around avalanche debris. Finally descending out of the snow, we camped aside a trail leading to the Shelter Cove RV Park, where we would resupply the next morning for our remaining 100 miles to Sisters, OR. 

34 PCT miles, 1913 S->N

8/18

Reluctant to get out of our cozy nest, we slept in until 6:30 before rolling out and hustling down to Shelter Cove Resort. Soon, we were sitting on the stoop of the general store , each with a coffee, Danish, breakfast burrito, and sleeve of donuts. After relaxing a bit with fellow hikers and grabbing a few groceries, we hit the trail with our caffeine and sugar buzzes. Passing multiple large, crystal clear lakes, we climbed to the ridge top and ran into a beautiful cross country ski hut. We were extremely tempted to move into the Maiden Peak Ski Hut, but instead we cured our sugar hangover with a snickers bar and moved on. Thanks to DEET and a nice breeze, we hiked most of the day comfortable and bug free. That is, until dusk, when we frantically rushed to get our rain gear and bug nets on as swarms of aggressive, hungry mosquitoes dive bombed us. We strolled by many more lakes, staring at hundreds of mosquitoes attempting to penetrate the mesh on the bug nets and over heating in our plastic suits with zero ventilation, on our way to camp at Jezebel Lake. We ate in the tent tonight to escape for a bit of relaxation and reduce the insect consumption. For a change, the bugs went to bed after dark and we enjoyed a fresh, brisk evening of star gazing before passing out. 

27 PCT miles, 1940 S->N

Bear Grass

Lean Right....

Junk Food Session at Shelter Cove

Maiden Peak Ski Hut

8/19

Up and moving by 6:30 today.... 9 easy miles of lake hopping and we took a look at our options. We had plenty of food for the 2.5 days we had left to Sisters (we just resupplied yesterday!), but with a restaurant just a mile off trail, our stomachs got the best of us. After 18 miles, we detoured to beautiful Elk Lake Resort, the aforementioned restaurant for a massive lunch. You would think we would have learned by now, but we left the restaurant stuffed to the max on double orders of fries, chicken strips, sodas and the biggest burgers you could buy. Needless to say, walking was slooowwww…We climbed and finally left the dark forest for uninhibited views of the redheaded South Sister from the Wickiup Plains. We found camp next to a lakelet after a beautiful, breezy walk below the Sisters. Relieved to be away from mosquitoes and soaking up the impressive views of the South Sister, we stayed up late, talking of future plans and the stars above. 

32 PCT miles, 1972 S->N

ODing on Grease

Elk Lake Resort

South Sister

3 Sisters Wilderness

8/20

After a night of odd dreams  for both of us (probably associated with the burgers and fries), and a rush to find a tree for our morning business, we hit the trail eager for a diverse day of Oregon walking. Early into our morning, we were distracted by glassy chunks of Obsidian scattering the ground. We were startled to see our first ranger on the trail, as we both had about 10-15 pounds of Obsidian in our hands. The nice young man checked our permits and continued down the trail. After a short climb, we crossed through a treasure field of the shimmering, ebony rock. Lacking self control and common sense (as always), we loaded our packs with paper weights ranging from egg size to the size of an NFL football. With our packs at least 15 lbs heavier, we hit the trail slowly, yet proud, to Mackenzie Pass. Along the way, we passed by the Middle and North Sisters, traversed the Yapoah Lava field, and caught views of Mt. Washington, Three Fingered Jack, Mt. Jefferson, and Mt. Hood in the distance. We are excited to walk by all of those on our way to Washington! We were greeted at Mackenzie Pass with sodas, taco salads, jalapeño fry bread, and shade by Lost & Found, a fellow hiker we met about 1800 miles ago. After an hour or so of vegging out in the shade, we took off to tackle the dry, hot, desolate climb up the Belknap Lava Flow. Sharp, hot, and hard on the feet, we cruised about 9 miles with sore toes before taking a break in the shade. Back on our tired legs, we descended to the 2000 mile mark! Some cashews to celebrate, and we continued to find camp on the banks of a small lily pond near Santiam Pass. Dinner in the tent was a four course meal tonight.

First course : peanut butter and honey tortilla.

Second course: peanut butter and Nutella tortilla.

Third course: Nutella and honey tortilla.

Refusing to go to bed without a sugar buzz or dessert, we ate a PayDay and nearly passed out from the shakes…dreams abrewing. 

33 PCT miles, 2005 S->N

Trail Art

Obsidian!

Washington, 3 Fingered Jack, Jefferson, and Distant Hood

Relaxing in the Shade!

Thank You Lost and Found!

Sisters Beyond the Belknap Lava Flow

Mount Washington

2000!!!!

8/21

We slept in again after a sugary sleep and got to Santiam Pass by 8 AM, where we would hitch to Sisters and Bend, OR for our town stop. We caught a quick hitch in the back of a pickup to Sisters, where we grabbed an immediate breakfast, and another hitch to Bend where we will resupply, shower, do laundry, blog, and hopefully dine at the Deschutes Brewery this evening. Back on the trail tomorrow for a 150 mile push to the Oregon border by Friday night! Good livin’! 

2 PCT miles, 2007 S->N

Thanks again to all of the wonderful souls that have helped us along the way. This trip would be near impossible without such a support group. Sending our smiles and love to all of you! 

Spread the word. Spread the love.

Much Love,

F + A