First Ten Days …

We’ve been on the PCT for ten days and it’s flown by. We began at Elk Lake Lodge, south of McKenzie Pass, due to the deep snow around Three Sisters. John’s sister (Barb) and nephew (Jason) drove us to the trailhead, a real kindness. Felt good and right to be back on the trail.

The weather has been great, including one night with a big lightning and thunderstorm, always fun. As the rain came down quickly, we realized we had pitched our tent in a bowl and had to balance all of our belongings on our air mattresses to stay dry. Unfortunately this storm caused some fires to the south, resulting in a reroute that bypassed 50 miles.

We saw two black bears at close range. John was thrilled, I was scared. We hiked 48 miles in 36 hours and our feet hurt. Hiked the rim trail around Crater Lake and suffered in the heat on lava fields and burned areas. Visited new towns including Ashland, Oregon, and two small towns in California, Seaid Valley and Etna. I never would have visited these last two towns if it weren’t for the PTC. Full of character and characters.