Aug 18th
Near Freye Lake(1785)-Jack Spring Junction(1817)
Today’s Mileage: 32mi
We have officially entered mosquito country! There were so many last night that we ate dinner in our tents. I tried not to put deet on this morning and had to give in because they were really biting. There were less in the middle of the day and then we had to reapply the deet late in the afternoon. It is a bit annoying, bit the head net is what keeps me sane when they get really bad. It will be interesting to see how long this lasts…
We set out to do another big day today. I was hiking with Red Blaze and Half Fast and we started at 6am. I felt great after the big day yesterday and it’s great to know I’ve finally reached the point where I can do 30s back to back and feel okay at the end of the day. I thought that would never happen!
Late in the morning today, we came up on two solo northbounders. Cow Pie just started in Ashland and is doing Oregon and Washington. Burning Calves is from Germany and did the Sierras to Echo and is now heading north from Ashland. It was nice to hike with two completely new people and we are all camped together tonight. We also all had lunch together on a mosquitoless ridge with a great view.
The day went by pretty fast. At the end of the day, we walked through a burn section that looked like nothing I’ve ever seen before. I’ve really liked the burn sections we’ve seen on the PCT for some reason. They are just unique in how they look and feel as we hike through. Very calm and unique looking, but also sorta sad. This section felt very ghostly.
I am SO EXCITED about get to Crater Lake tomorrow and have my friend Jennifer join me for the next 100mi. This goal has really driven me to keep moving fast ever since Sierra City. When I was in middle school in Southern Illinois, we all had to do a major report on a state. I randomly chose Oregon and loved it! I had a whole section on Crater Lake and never imagined I’d ever actually get to go there! I’ve been living in Portland for two years and have yet to see Crater Lake. I’m 13mi away and tomorrow is the big day! Yay!
