Date: August 6, 2017
Miles: 2106.4 – 2134.1
A fire near Crater Lake has closed the PCT and the alternate Rim Trail, the Whitewater fire in Jefferson Park has grown and expanded the closure of the PCT in that area, and a smoldering burn has caused the US Forest Service to close the Eagle Creek alternate trail, which is one of the most anticipated sections because it contains several gorgeous waterfalls, one of which you walk behind. The actual PCT in that area has no waterfalls or anything else to speak of, really, other than Wahtum Lake – which today was being dipped into repeatedly by a giant helicopter as part of the firefighting effort – and some views of Mt. Hood. I have hiked the Eagle Creek trail several times so I wasn’t terribly heartbroken about the closure, but I was bummed that my friends won’t be able to see it.
We are starting to see more and more sobo’s now and it is fun to talk to them about what they have in store for them in Oregon and California. Today I met the owner of The Trek website, which is a site dedicated to PCT and AT hiking adventures. He has hiked the AT and is able to take time off this year to do this trail. When I asked him why, he said he just started to get the itch to do another long trail. I hear that happens a lot.
We camped at Benson Camp and after dinner heard some strange howling/barking noises that I’m telling myself were dogs but that Fluffy insisted was Sasquatch. Whatever they were, they were creepy. The noise I enjoyed hearing, however, was the distant hum of car engines, indicating that we’re close to Cascade Locks and the border between Oregon and Washington. I’m excited to get to my home state!
