Day 102, 24.7 miles

This morning was SO cold again!! I knew that I only needed to do ~25 miles today, so I slept in again! When I finally did get up and get rolling (close to 8am), I soon saw some the dramatic outcropping of Thielsen Peak up close. Again, I was really really tempted to hike it as a side trail, but upon reading up on it more on Guthooks, it involves some class 1 rock climbing near the very top (basically some novice bouldering). This is actually right in my wheelhouse, but without a partner or anyone else around, I wouldn’t want to risk a bad fall, especially from that height and not on the PCT. I definitely want to come back, maybe with Claire, and make a cool day hike out of it.

Look how pointed that peak is!!

There was no smoke at all the whole day today! It felt great to be able to see out pretty far and also breathe fresh air! I even saw a marmot for the first time since the Sierra! I’m in the mountains again baby!! Whoo! 

I was pretty surprised that this is the highest point in Oregon AND Washington. I swear I thought we got much higher in WA...


Thielsen Creek

After the first great water source, Thielsen Creek, 3 miles from where I camped, there was a 22 mile waterless stretch to get to the next watercache set up by Devilfish. Instead of taking a ton from here and then needing a lot from the cache later, I decided I’d take a 0.8 mile side trail to a lake halfway in between. The lake was called Maidu Lake and I had read it’s water was warm and clear. I’m so glad I went!

Maidu Lake all to myself!

It seems like no other hikers had taken this side trip down to the lake and I was A-OK with that! I waded through the super silty shallows and swam about 200ft out! It was so warm! There was a sweet on shore wind that kept the mosquitos at bay, as well as plenty of dragonflies. I was able to dry out and eat a late lunch while admiring the pretty color! 

On the way back, I decided that instead of going back the 0.8 to the PCT, I’d cut steeper up the bank of the lake and meet back up with the trail up on the high ridge to the North. I think I saved a lot of time by doing so but MAN was it steep! This was the steepest I’ve hiked so far “On-Trail”, but at the end of it I was glad I didn’t go the full 1.6 miles out of my way.

3,000 KM!!

About 5 miles afterwards, I came up on Daddy and Verde! They had gone down a steep spur trail to a sting 0.6 miles East of the trail, but since I had plenty of water from the lake, I didn’t need to go down. We talked for a bit and then all headed out together. They were trying to both do 30+ miles, so after a few minutes they split off ahead of my lax pace.

Verde and Daddy flying!

It’s not that I’m going “slow” really, but I’m planning to meet Claire at Shelter Cove on Monday. Basically, by going just under 25 miles a day instead of 25-30, I wouldn’t get there too soon and find myself spending extra money! I’m actually happy that I’m going this pace. It’s not much less than I normally do, there’s more time to sleep in, there’s more breaks, AND my body feels great! 

As I was nearing the end of my day, it started sprinkling, which was weird because it was such a nice day! Wait a minute, now it’s HAILING! There was only one cloud in the sky, and it wasn’t even grey! Just a big white puffy cloud hailing on me for 5 minutesin the middle of a nice 80° day, just a few hours after a pleasant swim... I guess I AM in Oregon!!

A big white puffy cloud

Hail y’all...

Small, but plentiful! 

I got to Devilfish’s 3rd water cache around 7pm. Thanks Devilfish!! This is where I would camp for the night. There is plenty of water here but I only took half a liter, since I still had a full liter from Maidu Lake. This will get me to the next reliable water source tomorrow, and saves cache water for the people who do the whole 22 miles without stopping and need 2 whole liters when they get here. 

I gotta say I’m really stoked to be hiking through Oregon and it’s a big bonus to be smoke free. I talked to my dad for about 1/2 an hour today, and I got some cool recommendations from him that I’m excited to check out. It’s crazy to think that I’ll be out of Oregon in about 2 weeks! 

Thanks for reading!!