A slow start to the day since we were in a hotel in Sisters. I woke feeling much better than yesterday, chafe mostly taken care of or taped up, rehydrated, and ready to get back out of town. Before heading down to breakfast I did some gear maintenance, cutting the lining out of my shorts and throwing away my sad, old pillow.
After packing up we walked over to the outdoor shop in Sisters to buy a new pillow. Then we stopped into the bike shop for an anti-chafe stick. On the walk back to the highway I decided we should get powerades so Jake popped into the gas station to grab some for us. We managed to chug them before we started hitching back up to the pass.
We didn’t have to wait too long before a truck pulled over and picked us up. A very nice guy who lives and works at one of the summer camps said he saw us at the gas station and was going to offer us a ride there but we left too fast. He took us to the Suttle Lake turnoff so we had to get a second hitch, which luckily happened fairly quickly. A nice couple who was on their way to the Oregon Country Fair gave us a ride to the trailhead and even sent us off with a little treat!
Our goal was super small for the day since yesterday was a struggle and temps were hitting 90 again. We took it pretty easy, drinking water and stopping in the shade. Finally made it up to where there was some snow and I put some in my hat & my shirt…what a lifesaver. Instant mood boost! Since it was still early we decided to push on to the next spot. At the next spot I half laid in the snow pile, the heat is not my friend. Again we decided we should push on, this time to a further goal, the next water source.
Stretches of snow started popping up for us to traverse, nothing too sketchy but still slowed us down. Then we stared getting into blowdowns, I’ve never hiked in such bad blowdown before! It is slow going. Constantly having to stop, figure out a route, climb over several large trees, then start hiking for a moment before you do it again. It is the worst obstacle course. There were some incredible views to make up for all the scratches and tiny stabs my legs were getting.
As we were getting along I stopped in the shade on a steep slope to drink some water and missed my pocket when I went to put my bottle back. Down the slope my bottle went but did stop not too far down. Thankfully Jake was able to get it back safely! We left this area and crossed over a ridge to an incredible view so i decided we should sit down for a couple minutes to regroup and have a snack.
Onwards through more blowdown! In one of the logs we crawled under I found a water filter and CNOC bag and picked it up to carry with us, hopefully we can get it back to the owner. Finally we started seeing ponds, hoping the next one was the water source. We found it and scared a deer who was poking around in the flowers. I asked the four campers above the lake about the filter but none were the owner. Back at the pond I leaned down to fill my bottle and came face to face with a cute little snake…so I moved a little down the shore to give it some space. As we were chilling there discussing whether to stay or hike on I swatted at something crawling on my upper thigh and got stung by a bumblebee. It hurt really bad for a bit and Jake helped pull the stinger out. It swelled up a little but I was fine overall and it made the decision to move on easier.
Two more miles through the worst blowdown yet to try to find a safe, flat spot to camp. We picked one that should be okay but still a little sketchy since it’s windy tonight and there is so many trees down in the area. We both spaced on soaking anything for dinner so we ate snacks and bars for dinner. It’s a little chilly but I am cozy in my quilt and hopeful for a less eventful day tomorrow.
PCT Hike 