Cruising PCT Oregon--It Crushed Me--July 2005

Section P Castle Crags to Etna Summit

I left Seattle on July 7, 2005, on the Amtrak Coast Starlight at about 10 am with a scheduled arrival in Dunsmuir, CA at 12:30 am, however, it did not get there until 5:30 am.  It turns out that freight trains get priority over Amtrak and we were on sideline rails as freight trains roared by.

Since the train was 5 hours late, I got some sleep on the train rather than a Dunsmuir hotel that I had planned to do.

On July 8,2005, I walked about 4 miles south of Dunsmuir to the Pacific Crest Trailhead (PCT) along Interstate 5.  From there, I hiked through the Castle Crags State Park  After that, I had a 2,500 climb as temperatures got up to the 90s.

During the hike, I met up with about 10 hikers, including a group of 6-day hikers.  I also met up with a Pacific Crest Trail Association—www.pcta.org—a work party of 8 who were clearing the trail of brush, and vegetation, leveling out, and broadening the trail.  They were supported by 2 mules and a horse that carried their food, camping gear, and work tools.  If you are interested in volunteering, just go to their website to look for work party opportunities. 

On the way up the trail, I was treated to glimpses of the Castle Crags and Mt. Shasta in the distance. It was a hot—97 degrees—steep hike to Frog Pond near the Soapstone trail at 6,500 ft.

It was a 12-hour hike of 18 miles with ascents of 5,080 ft and descents of 1,580 ft which included crossing several snowfields.

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On July 9, 2005, fortunately, it was a cooler 50 to 70-degree day as I passed Porcupine Lake and then Toad Lake.

I continued on and took a break at the Upper Deadfall Lake where I met up with six people:  three hikers coming down from Willamette Pass, a couple fishing at Upper Deadfall Lake, and Robotic Man—a PCT thru-hiker. I then passed by Deadfall Lake just below the PCT.

I ended up the day at the Middle Fork of High Camp Creek at an elevation of 7,080 ft. where I had beef stroganoff after putting up my rain fly to stay dry since it rained all night.  It was an 11 1/2 hour hike of 24 miles with ascents of 3,430 ft and descents of 2,860 ft.

On July 10, 2005, after a cold, rainy night, I packed up and began hiking in 45-degree weather.  As the weather warmed up, I found myself on the wrong trail to Kangaroo Lake for about an hour before returning to the PCT because someone had switched the signage, and I failed to read the map at this intersection.  The views were great as were the fields of colorful wildflowers found along much of the trail.

It was another 11 1/2 hour hike of 24 miles with ascents of 3,000 ft. and descents of 3,460 ft. where I found the campsite at Mosquito Lake Creek at an elevation of 6,770 ft.  For dinner, I had lasagna and was pleased that my pack continued to get lighter.

On July 11, 2005, I got an early morning start after enjoying a crisp, clear night filled with clouds of stars of the Milky Way. Today I mostly hiked above the 7,000 ft level passing over saddles with spectacular views down long river valleys like these Cement Bluffs.  

I saw a group of 8 teenagers and their adult leader at a campsite near East Boulder Lake. They were the only people I saw that day.  I hiked a long 15 hours when I arrived at Payne Lake.  It was a 28-mile hike with huge ascents of 5,640 ft. and descents of 4,910 ft.

On July 12, 2005, shortly after I left Payne Lake, I had to get around two huge downed dead trees which made the trail impassable for equestrians.  I then passed by the cutoff to Etna Summit Village, a popular stopover for hikers with its hostel and popular ice cream parlor at the drugstore.  

Section Q Etna Summit to Seiad Valley

I continued on, and when I got to the Shelly Lake creek, I met up again with Robotic Man who had spent the night at Etna Summit and resupplied.  We hiked together a bit and then he continued on.

Shortly before stopping at Marten Lake, I met up with two Forest Service Sawyers—Trevor and Sean— carrying their bucksaw.  They told me they worked out of the Scott Ranger District and were clearing deadfalls along the PCT.  I told them of the two deadfalls I had to climb around.  In these designated Wilderness Areas, no chain saws or mechanized equipment can be used.  That is why they were using the bucksaw.

I usually like to stop for dinner before stopping at my campsite for the night.  That way I avoid having cooking smells around my campsite that tends to attract little critters like field mice, raccoons, or larger animals. 

I arrived at Angel Lake Saddle where I found a good location for my hammock setup.  It was a 15-hour hike of 23 miles with ascents of 4,390 ft and descents of 4,090 ft.

On July 13, 2005, I got a late start—7 AM—and the trail continued along with frequent ascents and descents on the way to the Marble Valley Guard Station where I met the two Forest Service volunteers, Sue and Hannah, who stayed here during the summer months.  They said they did some trail clearing and checked hiking permits as they did with me.

I later met up with a Forest Service Recreation Specialist, Togan, who was out scouting for places to send work parties to repair portions of the PCT.

When I got to the 2nd Footbridge—elevation of 6,840 ft.— at 9:30 pm, I had caught up with Robotic Man again who was already in his sleeping bag and tent. After a bit of talk and washing out my wind-shirt, we both went to sleep.  I had hiked 27 miles in 14 1/2 hours.

On July 14, 2005, Robotic Man and I had breakfast together. He headed out quickly before me so he could get to the Seiad Valley Post Office before it closed because he had mailed a “bounce box” to himself.  This is a common practice of resupplying yourself while on the trail.  Many thru-hikers using this approach would make up several boxes and have someone mail the boxes out to arrive in time for the hikers’ arrivals.

I headed out at about 6:30 AM and after a few more ups and downs, the trail entered the tree-lined trail all the way down to the Klamath River and Seiad Valley. It was a 4,400 ft descent in the last 13 1/2 miles.  After some road walking, the PCT met the Klamath River with Seiad Valley just across the river.  

I had another 3-mile road walk down to a bridge that crossed the Klamath River and then back to Seiad Valley.  I got there by noon, and on the valley floor, it was a sweltering 104 degrees.  From reading the Hiker Register at the Post Office, those who tried to wade across the River ended up regretting it—most of them slipped and fell and got everything wet.

I again met up with Robotic Man along with Cub, and her dog, Reba, at the Seiad Cafe next to the RV park that allows hikers to camp here.  This is the cafe that has the Pancake Challenge where you get the meal free if you can eat all of it in 2 hours—something like five 13 " diameter-sized, 1 2/" thick pancakes that weigh 9 lbs-- few hikers are successful, and if they are, they have their Polaroids posted on the wall. If you fail the challenge the meal costs you $16.  I wasn't up for this challenge since I am not fond of pancakes.

Here is a YouTube video of the Seiad Cafe Challenge

Robotic Man was finishing off a bacon cheeseburger with blackberry shake and watermelon when I arrived.

  

I had a five-egg sausage, cheese omelet with fried potatoes, and coffee.  I then went next door to the RV park and did my laundry—took my dirty clothes into the shower with me—and took two 3-minute showers.  That felt so good on this very hot day. I wore my rain pants and jacket while the clothes were drying.

The RV park had an area for PCT hikers complete with a refrigerator, TV, microwave, and hiker boxes.  One of the common complaints about using bounce boxes for resupply was that hikers would get tired of eating what they had planned.  In most hiker towns like Seiad Valley, there would be two hiker boxes: one for cast-off equipment and supplies, and one for unwanted food—fruit leather, couscous, and corn pasta were frequent castoffs.  

While waiting for my clothes to dry in the hot weather, I used a 5 lb priority mailbox to fill it up with things I found I had not used nor needed and shipped it home.  I had a couple of beers while talking to Cub, who was a recent graduate of San Francisco State.  She was staying at the RV park for the night.  I had decided to hike up after 5 pm when it was cooling off to the mid-90s.

Before leaving, I had Dave, the cafe cook, make me a bacon cheeseburger along with a root beer float.  After several days on the PCT eating camp food, most hikers, including me, have voracious appetites when they arrive in trail towns.

First, I did some more road walking before the PCT started up 4,400 more feet to Devils Peak saddle.  After 4 hours of climbing up, it got dark, the trail was overgrown, and it was difficult to find the springs the guidebook had mentioned.  Around 9 pm it was still 87 degrees and I finally found the spring, and it was just a dribble that took me 10 minutes to fill my liter bottle.  I used the Aqua Mira to purify the water—it takes 5 minutes to mix the two chemicals and another 20 minutes after adding the mixture to the liter bottle before it is purified.  It was tasty though--well worth the wait after such a hot, brushy climb.

I continued on to the next listed spring, but I couldn't find it in the dark, so I decided to set up camp.  Unfortunately, there were no nearby trees so I just slept on the ground--called cowboy camping-- for the night and wore my head mosquito net.

On July 15, 2005, I woke up and quickly found the spring I had failed to find in the dark. I enjoyed the cooler temperature at these higher elevations. Once past Upper Devils Peak, I hiked along the crest until I came to the Kangaroo Springs area where the meadows and bare trees were the remains of an old forest fire that opened up views.

Shortly afterward, I came to the small Lily Pad Lake with Red Butte looming above with the PCT crossing by the lake in the middle of this picture.

Once again, the PCT crossed several dirt roads which led to old mining camps. I took one of the spur roads about 1/4 mile to Alex Hole Camp, with a nearby spring, to spend the night.  I lashed my hammock between two trees that were on the edge of this steep cliff.  I just had to remember when I got out of the hammock, not to get out on the cliffside.  Alex Hole Camp was the best campsite for this year’s PCT adventure. I hiked about 21 miles in 11 hours and the elevation was 6,600 ft.

On July 16, 2005, I started out with plans to hike to Grouse Gap for the night some 26 miles away.  The first highlight on this day was crossing the California/Oregon border after hiking 10 miles.  

I thought that this was going to be my year to do the entire Oregon section of the PCT.  It was not to be.  When I got to Grouse Gap, I decided to press on to Ashland to get a huge meal. My mind was on steak, corn on the cob, salad, a few pints of beer, and strawberry-rhubarb pie. It would be another 11 miles to I-5 where I would hitchhike into Ashland.  

I passed through open meadows near the Mt. Ashland Ski Area as well as an old burn area with dead snags.

I started to jog down through the meadows while wearing dark glasses, and unfortunately, when I went into a grove of trees, I did not see a fallen limb of a tree on the trail. I tripped and ended up with a sprained or broken left ankle.  

This where the PCT Oregon CRUSHED me.

With 10 miles to go, I knew I would not be able to get my shoe on again if I took it off.  I loosened my shoe and wrapped it with my bandana and vet wrap.  Every time I came across a cold creek, I soaked my ankle. I was so glad I had my trekking poles to help me along the trail. 

It was getting dark when I got to the I-5 frontage road, and I waved down the first car fortunately, two guys in a car stopped for me and drove me to the hospital.

It turned out to be a sprain, so they wrapped it up and gave me crutches and pain pills.  I then took a taxi to a nearby Best Western Hotel where I figured out that driving a rental car home would be easier than going to the Medford Airport.  Luckily it was my left foot so I had no problem driving home.  Since I had Annual Travelguard Insurance, Travelguard reimbursed me for the hospital, taxi, and rental car home, but not the hotel.

A few months of Physical Therapy got me walking better than before since the physical therapist, Rim, taught me how to walk with less pronation. 

My PCT plan for 2006, was to complete the Oregon section of the PCT from Ashland to Bridge of the Gods.

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