July 8th

On a minor ridge, somewhere on the PCT- 9:30am
Weather: Gorgeous! Blue skies, about 80, and sunny (but its gonna get hot)
Stuck in my head: Outkast (why?)

Tom and I were making great time this morning when we realized we had left our Spot Emergency Device back at the shelter we slept at last night. We had set it out this morning to send our "ok" message to the families, and had entirely forgotten about it. Total whoops. Tom just ditched his pack and started running back the way we came...so I am just waiting in this huge volcanic boulder field, in the shade of a tree and away from mosquitoes.

This minor set-back sucks. We are still getting our routine down and getting the hang of this. Our mornings take pretty long- with waking up, breakfast, dishes, getting water, treating blisters, stretching, packing up camp, and applying sunscreen and bug spray. Whooh. This morning was a bit easier because we didn't have to pack up a tent (although neither of us slept too well in the shelter last night- due to hard wooden beds and very active mice). The mosquitoes have also been getting progressively worse as we hike north- and today the are pretty nasty. But they are pushing us to hike faster! We are feeling pretty good (except for a sore hip flexor on me and some lil' blisters on the both of us). We are going to do at least 10 miles today- hopefully closer to 15 (supposedly theres a lake 15 miles in).

Junction to Mount McLaughlin Trail- 7:00pm
(Joint journal entry by Tom & Jenna)
In our heads: "Carry on my wayward son" (we found a great classic rock station on the radio today)
Weather: Breezy, 70, sprinkling. Thick with bugs.

Today we seem to have exhausted the good luck we have encountered the previous two days. After Tom got back from his 8 mile jog, he was exhausted, while Jenna was rested and ready to go. But she was a great leader and kept Tom's spirits up- setting a good pace and pushing on. It took us 4 hours to cover 6 miles- the lava rock, undulating landscape was never ending- and while the guidebook made it looks like easy miles (generally losing elevation) we climbed and descended thousands of feet. We finally reached HW140- exhausted (although the lava landscape was our favorite hiking so far- beautiful views of Mount McLaughlin, cool landscape, and a nice sunny, breezy day- although hot). Oh yea, and Jenna bent her trekking pole in the process of falling. A bit of work has set it back to almost straight, but that really knocked us down (simply knowing that our gear is mortal).

When we reached HW140 we rested a bit by a roaring "Cascade Canal" and equally roaring mosquitoes. We sought refuge in the sun and called our parents on the cell phone. It was so nice to hear their voices- its amazing how quickly you feel very far away and isolated. We were feeling okay, so we decided to push on .3 miles to a camp at a trail head. Once we entered the woods, however, the mosquitoes swarmed like we have never seen before. We reached the trail head quickly (because we were trying to outrun the bugs) but Tom just screamed "KEEP GOING!" because the moment we slowed our pace, the mosquitoes were instantly covering every inch of our bodies. We couldn't get enough DEET on us, and we just kept hoping a sunny spot was around the next turn, offering some sort of refuge. But the sunny spot never came. The next 4 miles were a constant uphill climb, gaining 1000 feet in elevation- and some of the worst moments of our lives. It seemed every mosquito in the forest bumped up against us- we were constantly swatting at ourselves, and the constant cloud that had formed around us. We covered the 4 miles in about 1.5 hours- we were practically jogging and we never took a break. We started to honestly feel insane, and since we couldn't stop, all we could do was cry out in exhaustion and discomfort. Tom was considering returning to HW140 and going home, while Jenna just wanted to submit- lay down and let them have her. Our immediate goal was Frye Lake, a .25 spur trail off the PCT (which the guide book referred to as "unmaintained"). But the forest was never ending, and eventually we reached the junction of the PCT and Mount McLaughlin Trail, at which point we realized we had gone too far. In sheer desperation, we threw down our tent about a foot off the trail and jumped inside to escape the incessant buzzing. When we got in the tent, Jenna looked at Tom for the first time in hours and miles and noticed the defeated look on his face, punctuated by the dead mosquito plastered to his forehead and surrounded by a patch of smeared, dried blood.

We are too exhausted and beat up to eat anything real, or do anything much. We were so dirty it took 5 wet wipes to get us clean. Our shoes look years old- instead of merely days: Tom's La Sportivas have become "La Spoivas" (he lost the R & T). It feels great to be horizontal and in the tent, although all we can here is the constant buzzing coming from outside, and we are dreading having to leave the tent for any reason (the most common: using the bathroom, during which we cant help but be "exposed" to the blood suckers). This journey is starting to feel extremely daunting, although we aren't letting ourselves focus on the big picture, and we are practicing staying positive. We only need to cover 45 miles in the next 4 days- we really worked hard to get miles out of the way early, because we are going to be getting into snow soon. We are also hoping that 1) it doesn't rain tonight and 2) if it does, our stuff (and us) stay dry.