Wildfires were on our heels, smoke was in our lungs. We were maintaining a relatively relaxed pace to meet friends off trail, so it almost seemed inevitable the flames would catch up to us…
Day 126 – 23 miles/1934 (7/31/22)
We woke up to a smokey morning on Rosary Lake. There were some mosquitoes, but not terrible. Moving at 7:40 am, we passed by two more lakes early on. A few weekenders were enjoying the waterfront camping as well.
The trail meandered through many miles of more hemlock forest. There was a time when the hemlocks felt special to me, but that since passed and I was longing for some diversity in the forest. The heat was brutal, even with the intermittent shade. We stopped for a quick break at Maiden Peak Ski Shelter, an awesome octagonal log cabin for hikers and backcountry skiers.
Back on the trail, we saw a couple hiking with a dog, and they were struggling, clearly not thru hikers… After lunch, we stopped to get water from Charlton Lake. The couple with the dog from earlier had a huge bug-proof shelter set up on the shore of the lake – in it a small dining table, candles, and pillows for their anniversary. The table was covered with a huge charcuterie spread of fresh fruit, bread, cheese and wine. We were impressed, and a bit jealous to be honest.
Maggie and I both jumped in the water to cool off with a few other hikers. Afternoon clouds were rolling in, moderating the temperature, but hinting at potential precipitation. We emerged from the trees and entered a burn scar. It wasn’t too bad with the cloud cover, otherwise it would have been a scorcher in the afternoon sun.
Thunder rolled over the mountains, but it seemed to come from a safe distance. We clambered over the burnt blowdowns and hiked back into the woods. It finally did rain on us for the last mile to Jezebel Lake, not terribly so. There were, however, awful mosquitoes. We quickly set up and crawled into the tent through the one functional door. The rain did eventually let up and we had a quiet evening to ourselves by the lake.
Day 127 – 19(+1) miles/1963 (8/1/22)
We woke up in the seventh level of mosquito hell. This was one of a handful of days we opted to heat up our coffee and tea inside the tent, generally considered a bad idea for stove exhaust (carbon monoxide) and the potential for lighting your shelter on fire… It felt like the lesser of two evils in this context.
We wanted to get to Elk Lake in time for dinner, so we got moving at a brisk pace around 7:30 am. We started off hiking in rain gear to shield ourselves from the blood sucking onslaught. It was thankfully a cool and cloudy morning, but the humidity was through the roof. Once it felt like we escaped the worst of the hoarde, we stopped to take off some rain gear so we could cool off a bit. Armed with OFF!(R) Deep Woods(TM) 25% DEET insect repellent, we were able to show some skin and shed some sweat while we hiked. We stopped for a short water and snack break 7 miles in, but the mosquitoes were still omnipresent.
Looking at the topographic map, it becomes clear that the Three Sisters Wilderness is chocked full of lakes and ponds, which in the height of summer serve as meet up locations for mosquito orgies. Weaving between these lakes, it felt like we were committed to a day of buzzing and bites. It was truly maddening… After another hour or so, we crossed a couple grassy meadows, the first of which had a lovely, cold stream. We decided to gather water and stop for lunch.
The bugs were bearable now, and when we set off again, they seemed to only diminish more. It felt like we could breath again. We cruised on, hiking mostly through more hemlocks, but there was a brief section of old Doug-firs with lush understory growth, more representative of the Oregon I know. By 2:45 pm, we had made it to the side trail to Elk Lake. Nineteen miles in under 8 hours was a break-neck pace, and we made it well before closing time. At the resort, we got seated for an early dinner. The food was great, and for dessert we grabbed a six pack of Montucky Cold Snacks to sip on while we hung out on the patio.
With time to kill before getting picked up at Santiam Pass, we could stay the night and hike out a few miles the next day. Maggie and I shared a little small talk with two women from Portland who had a very cute puppy. After a little while, a guy with long brown hair, wearing yellow framed wraparound sunglasses, a white button down shirt, tropical shorts and flip flops, walks over to the women and offered to buy them a drink. They were hesitant, and so this man approached us with the same offer. “I would take a Coors Light,” I said sheepishly, not wanting to burn a hole in the guy’s wallet. “You’re already drinking Montucky, man, get something tasty,” he replied. Maggie requested a margarita, and I followed suit. The women from Portland got on the margarita train as well, and a few minutes later, our new friend came out with a tray of 5 margs. We all got to talking- margarita man was a restaurant owner in Bend, Rockin’ Dave’s Bistro, and this was Dave himself.
Rockin’ Dave appeared on a little TV show called Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives a couple years back, serving up his house made pastrami to Guy Fieri. We all talked more about the trail, food, and dreams we had for the future as the evening wore on. Eventually, the women left, the restaurant closed down, and most everyone cleared out except Maggie, Dave, and I. “Do you want some sangria? I’ve got some in my camper van,” Dave asked. We happily accepted, and we went to check out his van set up. The three of us chilled in the parking lot till dark, making mom proud by accepting drinks from a stranger in a van.
Dave’s friend Pablo showed up, who was a paraglider pilot, and I talked paragliding with him over another beer. It was getting late, so we thanked Dave for his generosity. Maggie and I stealth camped on the beach by the campground next door. What a wild day!
Day 128 – 6 miles/1959 (8/2/22)
To say we were hung over in the morning would be an understatement. We begrudgingly packed up before 8 am to avoid getting hassled for stealth camping. Good news was that we were on a lovely little beach here on Elk Lake. We made breakfast as some early risers from the campground trickled out of the woods to enioy the water with us. Maggie and I chilled on the beach for a while, jumping in the water to help shake off the hangover.
We wandered back to the resort for lunch. We met some hikers milling around the picnic area, including Josh, a fresh section hiker with 30lb base weight. He was kind of trying to bring that weight down, and in respect of the “hike your own hike” mantra, I held back my criticism advice. Maggie and I chilled some more at another beach nearby so I could work on the blog in peace.
Looking ahead, we still had plenty of time to kill before Santiam Pass, so we decided to climb South Sister the next day, a substantial 13 mile side trip with 4,000 feet of vert. By mid-afternoon, we hiked out to Mirror Lake. There were killer mosquitoes yet again, but by now, we had dialed in the PPE and tent routine.
Day 129 – 1(+13) miles/1960 (8/3/22)
We tried to wake up at 4:45 am to get an early start up South Sister, a 10,300 foot peak just off the PCT. However, our debauchery the night before had taken a toll so we snoozed till 5:30. We got back into our beekeeping suits to pack up and got moving at 7:15. We diverted off the PCT on to the Wickiup Plains and Moraine Lake trails to approach South Sister. We crossed some dewey meadows where we got a view of our objective, 4 miles away and 4,000 feet above us. South Sister sure looked intimidating from this distance.
Once we reached the flanks of the volcano, it quickly became a steep climb. The route was certainly a primitive trail weaving through the volcanic scree. The wind was howling. The summit was capped with a cloud cooled by orographic lift and we wondered if we would even get a view at the top. It is worth noting that Maggie and I decided to carry all of our gear. The route by which we approached the mountain did not lend itself to stashing gear at the bottom, so we were slowly marching upwards with the largest packs on the mountain.
The last mile climbs nearly 1,500 feet, our second steepest hike this summer after Mt. Thielsen. We reached the rim of the volcano, now bathing in full sun, but still battered by relentless wind. We sat for a quick pre-summit lunch, gazing upon the icy blue glacial lake in the crater, then cruised up the last half mile to the true summit.
At times I worried the wind would blow us off the mountain, but there was a phenomenal sheltered ledge on the east side of the summit block. The view was breathtaking! Cascades volcanoes stood prominently to the north and the south, still holding a smattering of snow fields. The steep slopes dropped to the eastern Oregon plains. Thick smoke obscured some peaks to the south, reducing them to undescript mounds of earth.
After taking in the view for half an hour, the time came to hike down. We crossed paths with three PCT hikers, Dusty, Run Away, and Star Boy, joyed to see folks from our thru hiker community. The hike down was uneventful, and naturally a bit easier than the climb up. We took a 2 hour second lunch break under a group of big hemlocks, killing time and resting up from the hefty climb. As we were getting ready to pack up and get back on the PCT, we heard a plane flying low in the vicinity. Then we saw a thin veil of smoke rising up from the northwest, directly where we were supposed to go. We checked online and called the local US Forest Service office, inquiring about wildfire activity. “West side of South Sister? Yeah, there’s nothing over there, you’re good,” the guy said on the phone. I had a feeling that he didn’t have the most up-to-date information…
Standing at our trail junction for awhile, we decided to bail. The fire was right in our path and the wind was still blowing strong, and we simply did not have a good feeling about it given the wildfire activity all around us lately. We later learned from Dusty, Run Away, and Starboy that the fire was indeed visible from the PCT. They had left their nonessential gear at the base of the peak, so they felt compelled to retrieve their belongings. They obviously survived to tell the tale, but Maggie and I felt vindicated in our decision to play it safe. We hiked down the Devil’s Lake trail to the road and tried hitching for a few minutes. A group of four day hikers passed by at the trailhead, and we sheepishly asked if they were heading towards Bend. Chad, Sarah, Fiddy Mike, and Sarah were from Bend, and they agreed to take us into town, but first we had to join them for a cold dip in Devils Lake. We sat in the 45° lake, chatting and getting to know each other. The ice bath was exactly what we needed after climbing South Sister! We piled in the car for the ride to Bend. Chad and Sarah graciously let us shower and play with their Great Dane, “Wille Nelson”. Maggie and I made some calls to hotels and hostels, and everything was either booked up or too pricey, so Chad and Sarah agreed to host us! We were floored by their generosity, but it didn’t end there. They treated us to Thai food for dinner, and Maggie and I wondered how we happened upon such wonderful people. Back at the house, we set up air mattresses in the office, and drifted off to sleep, feeling safe and filled with happiness.
Distance Over Time 