I am currently sharing journal entries from my section hiking of the Pacific Crest Trail in Oregon, transferring them from Trailjournals.com which has not been a reliable platform lately. In 2016, I finished the section from the highway below Crater Lake National Park to the city of Ashland. For 2016, you can start here, for Oregon in general this page will get you started.
Snuffy’s 2016 Pacific Crest Trail Journal : Day 3
June 26, 2016
I was wide awake at 3:30 am today and laid there debating whether I really wanted to get out of my tent or not. I wondered what bug battle awaited me. I knew I could make it to Fish Lake, and I had been warned about trees down the last 4 miles there. I was curious to see how they would compare to what I had already endured.
But first things first, getting out of my tent. My normal routine in the morning is to take a bathroom break and then get back in and finish getting ready for the day. Hmmm. I looked up to see that those lovely mozzies had kept vigil over me during the night. How sweet. I knew getting out would signal them that there was fun (and food) to be had and I was reluctant to do it more than once before setting out for the Fish Lake resort.
I weighed my options. I had heard about people peeing in the their tent during the night because it was too cold to get out. Were mosquitoes a good enough excuse for the same decision? What did I have to even make that possible? My water bottles were not an option, and not just because I needed them. I didn’t want to risk a single drop getting on my tent so it would have to be something with a large opening. I was not a guy, they have it easy. I realized that the bowl and lid I had rescued from the side of the slope yesterday was perfect. I had been using it to set my meal bags in; I hadn’t actually needed to put food directly in it yet. It would have to do. I thought I could always wash it at Fish Lake! And it wasn’t like I was going to carry it in my pack, I would dump it out as soon as I out of my tent.
It worked like a charm. That was a trail first for me and I have been through a lot of bugs. I debated whether or not taking a picture of it was too gross or not. But then I thought about it. If you haven’t seen or peed in a cup before, this a part of life. Either at the doctor’s office or a really long road trip, it’s a reality. None of this Instagram-Yoga-Posed variation of backpacking here. Bring on the pictures of bruises and bug bites.
After that wonderful task, I ate as much food unmolested as I could, got dressed, covered as much of my body as possible and packed up my stuff for the trail. I’m guessing that because it was a little cooler this morning, the bugs seemed to be a bit quieter and I made it out hiking by 5am without delay.
The walls of trees to circumvent continued for a few miles than thankfully things opened up a bit. I ran into an acquaintance around 7:30am from trail work up here on the North 350 Blades, Loren Schmidt, as he was hiking this section NOBO. Small world! He was with two other hikers and said they had summited Mt. McLoughlin the day before. Through bug netted heads, we chatted briefly and carried on our separate ways.
My water source for today was Christi’s Spring, which I came to just after passing Loren. The water was refreshingly cool and I filled my bottles for the rest of the way to Fish Lake. I added water to one of my breakfasts, and stopped about 8:30am at a nice view point of a lake off in the distance east on HWY 140. I had seen a few other hikers this morning coming up from the resort at Fish Lake, including two section hikers, Smudge and Toaster.
These two women have been working on the PCT like me, but had started in California and were now hoping to make it as far as they could. They warned me about the trees before Fish Lake, but at this point I was pretty sure the worst was yet to come for them. We talked about the snow conditions and when they told me they were comfortable ton snow I told them they shouldn’t have any problems. They were packed light and looked seasoned enough.
As I got closer to HWY 140 and the junction for Mt. McLoughlin, horses and trail runners began to pass me on the PCT. This was a sure sign of growing closer to a TH or popular road. My first thought was that the trail couldn’t be that bad if horses were getting through. I soon realized they had to be coming in from the trail for McCoughlin instead because I didn’t see any more of them after passing it.
The trees did start up again about 4 miles before the PCT meets HWY 140 and there definitely were a lot of them. But they really didn’t phase me at this point because you could actually see through these ones to the trail on the other side. Which you could see, as well. Huge difference. I ran into a few more NOBO hikers and gave them a trail report, as well as a guy going SOBO who had accidentally missed his turn to McLoughlin. Ooops.
There is a nice creek just before you get to HWY 140, but I didn’t need water (nor the weight) at this point so I only took a picture. The trailhead is not big here and you step right out onto the highway. Everyone so far had told me to hitch into town, but it was only two miles off the PCT to walk so I crossed the road and continued on. The spur to Fish Lake is a nice wide path and I shared it with a few mountain bikers from the campground as I made my way down. Around 1 mile down you have a choice of continuing on the nice wide path or taking a “PCT Camp” trail. That trail is not maintained (although a bit shorter), so even though it takes you directly to the camp spots, you might as well take the wide path which puts you out in front of the road.
I walked into the restaurant/store/lounge at Fish lake around 2pm, mostly in search of lunch. I still hadn’t made up my mind about staying or not. The place was fairly busy as it was Sunday afternoon, so I took a spot at the counter. It became clear right away that things were a little frantic, not relaxed at all.
I would really like to say I had a great experience at Fish Lake because Debbie the owner was so nice, but the service really was not good. I do know she was missing her regular server, but she had several family members there to help. Most of whom seemed to ignore whatever she said. I can’t say I should have hiked out after lunch, but I don’t think I will return for more than that next time.
There were several hikers having lunch and someone with the PCTA collecting trail registers, Stonedancer. She looked really familiar and I wondered if she had been at the trail skills college I attended. We chatted for a little bit but I didn’t think to ask. I signed the current trail register and reported what I had seen on the trail NOBO.
I was happy to see salads on the menu and they came with more than just iceberg lettuce. The wait was long and had to get my own drinks and remind them of what I had ordered. Several times.
I wanted a shower and decided to take one of the rustic cabins instead of camping out because I wanted to be able to spread out and put my feet up. I was given a cabin that didn’t have linens or a fridge “because I was a hiker” and when I asked for a towel so I could take a shower, I couldn’t have one for the other cabins and she tried to get someone to get one from her house but that request was ignored and I never got a towel despite going back to ask again. I had to use paper towels. I also had to stand on a chair to turn on the light in my cabin. I’m all for rustic, but if I am paying the same as a person who came in their car, I should get the same service. One plus, I could use the microwave in the cabin to heat my meals.
The lounge is pretty comfy but the store really didn’t have much in the way of resupply. There were plenty of cold drinks, though, and I wondered if supplies were low just because it was Sunday.
In my cabin I dumped out my pack and a cascade of pine needles hit the floor. There were also a few new holes in the pockets of my pack. Darn trees. I threw away garbage and washed some clothes in the sink so they could dry in what was left of the day’s sun. My feet were sore so I took some more pain reliever. I assessed the copious amounts of bruises bug bites on my legs. Again, hiking is NOT glamourous despite what you see on the internet in those posed scenic pictures of the perfectly groomed person standing on some viewpoint. Staged, I tell you. Just like food porn is.
I got myself situated after taking a shower and took a nice walk down to the dock on the lake and watched the world for a bit. I thought about dinner at the restaurant but decided to leave that be and went back to my cabin and made up one of my dinners in the microwave. Very tasty. And fast. And free.
Later, I drifted off to sleep with some critter nesting under my cabin and hoped for an early start in the morning. At least I wouldn’t have to pee in a cup.
PS. Just don’t take cabin #10.
Thank you so much for stopping by Must Hike Must Eat!
If you need some healthy eating inspiration start here:..
Need some eating out suggestions when friends want to stop after a hike? I have a Pacific Northwest Eating Guide here.
Find out what’s been happening outside the blog:
If you have a question you don’t want to post in the comments, you can ask them here:
Discover more from Must Hike Must Eat
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.