August 4th
I was up and walking by 6am and the morning continued with more evidence that this area suffers from frequent wildfires.
Arriving at the trail/road junction for Breitenbush Lake and Campground, I stopped for 2nd breakfast. This morning I saw two more thru hikers and a day hiker from Minnesota who had parked at Breitenbush and was headed in towards Jefferson as I was.
There were patches of snow covering the trail and a few snow fields on the north side of Mt. Jefferson (mile 2044), enough to make it interesting. In places, I had to go around the trail on the neighboring rocks as the snow fields on it were melting in such a way to create snow covered ponds. It was obvious I had to go up, and carefully placed cairns helped. The problem was, most folks were northbound and had glissaded the snow fields down.
Where they would have walked across snow, it was now clear that water was running underneath, so I had to figure out the best way to go up without falling through a snow bridge. The bright day meant a gorgeous view from the top and I lingered a bit to savor the contrast of the white snow with the blue sky.
I headed back down the other side and into Jefferson Park. The rush hour of thru hikers started about 11:30am, too many to count. Some asked about the road detour ahead and I shared about the snow fields. I asked one about Russell Creek that was coming up, because it is listed as potentially hazardous. He said it was no big deal, and there were rocks to cross on.
When I got to Russell Creek, I can see again the difference in one person’s “easy” another’s “potentially hazardous”. The rocks he was talking about were far enough apart that one had to hop across on them. I am not a hopper and so I forded the creek. It was a little more exciting than the Zig Zag but I made it across to the other side (albeit ungracefully) and took time to soak my feet since they were already wet. I have made it thus far without any pain medication, I really thing that soaking my feet has helped with this.
Continuing on, I made it to Shale Lake by 6:40pm at mile 2030.3. I have seen one set of southbounders this afternoon and they were traveling fast, mixed with more thrus headed north. Some clouds rolled in as I set up my tent at Shale, mostly to ward off the mass of mosquitoes that welcomed me.
Watching the red beacon sun set through the trees, I heard a sudden buzz to my right. The thoughts of drones came to mind, only to see a hummingbird dancing on the paintbrush in the field next to me. Later, I was startled as the clamper of hooves and the snorting of what I first thought must be someone on horseback right next to my tent. Then I realized it must be a disgruntled elk, surprised to see my tent near his stomping grounds. It is no wonder I did not sleep well this night.
Jefferson Park is an incredibly popular backpacking destination and permits are needed. I was just hiking through but if you think you might want to visit this stunning area, you can learn more here.
For the continuation of this journey, visit Snuffy’s 2014 Pacific Crest Trail Journal-Oregon Day 11
To start at the beginning, head over to Snuffy’s 2014 Pacific Crest Trail Journal-Oregon Day 1
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