All of OREGON!
I haven’t updated this place since Ashland… almost a month ago! In the mean time, I hiked all of Oregon in 17 days, saw Crater lake, hiked the Sisters, Mt. Hood, Timberline Lodge, ski shelters, rain and mosquitoes, fire detours, waterfall alternates, flew to the Bay Area to be a groomsman (congrats Ben and Charlotte!), bachelor party. I keep moving and the fun never stops.
Let’s see if I can sum up the past few weeks in pictures:
I put 920 miles on these Montrails (from Mammoth to Mazama Village). Needless to say, I’d forgotten how good new shoes felt.
The first few days of Oregon were still sweltering hot, by the time we got to Crater Lake, it cooled down a bit.
Most of Oregon is flat, lots of tree cover, and lots of lakes. Some nights the mosquitoes were horrendous. DEET does nothing, hundreds will swarm as soon as you stop moving.
Ended up getting a bit of weather in Oregon.
Here we are at the Shelter Cove Resort. My second resupply in Oregon (after Mazama Village/Crater Lake). This is not supposed to be a Budweiser ad.
Creek crossing.
On July 23rd a pretty big storm system rolled over Oregon.
It just so happened that I came across a ski shelter that day.
I arrived at the ski shelter at 10 am just as it really started raining. I figured I still had a full day ahead of me and attempted to leave at 11 am. However, the warmth and friends drew me back.
We spent the entire day by the fire, making coffee, eating warm meals, relaxing. We’d hear later that a few of our friends further down the trail got hypothermic in this storm. We got lucky to find the shelter on one of the only rainy days in Oregon.
By the time the sun set, there were 15 hikers huddled in, staying warm and waiting the storm out. We decided late that night to do a 38 mile day to Elk Lake resort so we could get cheeseburgers.
That 38 mile day would end up being a 53 mile day.
Post storm, it’s cold in the morning. Perfect weather to make big miles. I hit 30 miles by 3 pm and I know it’s on.
I’m at the Elk Lake resort by 5 and I’m not ready to stop. Only 12 more miles and I’ll hit 50. Kim Chi, Rewind, and Caboose are there. Kim Chi says she’ll do a 50 as well, nice not to night hike alone.
We run.
We end up doing 53 miles by 10 pm. I’d been moving from 5:15 am til 10 pm, and I crash immediately.
The next day is leisurely, only 30 miles. It seems easier compared to the day before, but I’m hurting. I push myself to get to the Big Lake Youth Camp where my next resupply is.
Lava flow hiking is pretty painful.
At Big Lake, I ran into Handy Andy and Pig Pen and we saw Mt. Jefferson.
Two days later and we’re at Olallie lake. They let PCT hikers take boats out for free. We jump at this opportunity.
There’s an all you can eat breakfast buffet at the Timberline lodge which is 53 miles away. We end up hiking until 11 pm, and then getting up at 5 am to get the breakfast by 8 am. It’s worth it. Best breakfast on the PCT. I have 5 plates of food. I somehow failed to photograph any of this.
The Timberline lodge was shot in the opening sequence of The Shining.
Glacial melt from Mt. Hood.
Tunnel falls on the Eagle Creek alternate.
I arrive in Cascade Locks (the end of Oregon) on July 30th. On the 1st, I flew to Oakland for the wedding, had a nice layover/town stop/resupply/week of weight gain in the Bay Area. I fly back up to Portland tomorrow, where I’ll start where I left off and continue up into Washington!
andrew batjiaka
pacifc crest trail 2014
pct