July 11th

Junction of Stewart Falls Trail and PCT (inside Crater Lake National Park)
6:30 pm
Weather: cooling off from another hot day, clear, breezy
Stuck in my head: "Mommy's alright, daddy's alright..."
Highlight of the day: Right now. And stew.
 



















This whole trip is just one uncomfortable situation after another- being really uncomfortable and having to figure out 1) why, and 2) how to fix it. Today was a very long day- we logged 15 looooong, slow miles. The first 9 miles were fine, but the second 6 just dragged on and on, with fear of impassible snow lurking around every corner. We started off around 8:30 and pounded out 7 miles by lunch, stopping at the junction of a spring we were planning on visiting before a 15 mile waterless stretch. There was a handwritten note warning that the spring was hard to find and really snow flowing, so we look advantage of all of the snow piles and filled our water bottles to let it melt. We had been planning to jump onto the Stewart Falls Trail to visit (and camp by) the falls (and get another water source) as well as avoid some high elevation (with the chance of impassible snow fields). But it would add 4+ miles, so we decided to stay on the PCT. After lunch we spent a while in a burn area (from a wildfire) then entered the "Oregon Desert". Eventually we came to a junction that had us really confused for a while at to which trail was the PCT. We found it though (after briefly following the other one) and then started on the longest 6 mile stretch I have ever encountered- Tom was really dragging and having trouble catching his breath, there was constant snow and blow downs, and we were really climbing (gaining more than 1000 feet in elevation). It felt like we weren't making progress, and we had to take constant breaks (but we did get some beautiful views from the mountain ridge). Finally we reached a sign indicating we were entering Crater Lake National Park, then pushed on about 1.5 miles further, where we collapsed in an open meadow, set up our tent, and cooked some stew (it was sooooo delicious, and for the first time in days we were starving and able to eat).

The temperature is also dropping, and theres a great breeze. And the mosquitoes haven't found us yet (we are in the sun) so we are actually able to sit outside and enjoy ourselves. It feels really good to know we are only about 5 miles from Mazama Village- our goal for this section, and our resupply box (as well as "civilization"). I am tired of being scared all of the time- worried about what is waiting around the curve in the trail- whether it be bears or snow. Physically, I feel pretty good (besides the calorie deficiency). It feels good to know what my body can do. I wake up every morning really stiff and sore, with my feet hurting. But after some stretching, ibuprofen (vitamin I) and 20 minutes of walking, I feel great. Climbing today felt really great.

The best thing about this trip has been the fact that I am with Tom. We have had to practice patience and compassion and I love him now more than ever before. The trail really forces you to be honest- if you are tired or hurting, you really need to let it be known, and that has been good for us. It is also nice for us to share tasks and a common goal, and being able to help each other when we are feeling horrible.

We have run out of toilet paper and are now using sudoku pages. Sudoku has been really great on this trip- it provides us with hours of entertainment while we are hiding from bugs in our tent, it is a great fire starter to get our stove going, and now it has acquired another use.

Tom is looking really beat up. He is very excited to roll into Mazama Village tomorrow. All he has been talking about is sitting on a bench and drinking Gatorade.

Tom and I are about the third people to cross this section of the PCT this year. I feel very remote and isolated out here. I wouldn't recommend this section to people for another week or two. Crazy year with these temperatures and all of this snow.