Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Near a fresh looking lava flow

I forgot to note yesterday that it was one year ago that I quit the trail. Also yesterday was the day I crossed my personal 1000 mile mark for this year. Tomorrow I will cross the trail's 2000 mile mark.

Today the hiking was good. There were mosquitoes around my tent in the morning but they lasted only a couple of hours and then almost the entire day was mosquito-free.

I walked through fragrant, flower-filled meadows, by creeks and springs that visibly bubbled out of the ground. I walked below the massive Sisters with their blaciers and striking red-black lava. I met lots of people on the trail including a PCT hiker who had quit the trail earlier this year and another guy out for a loop around the Sisters who followed me and talked for a while.

I stopped at a small lake and actually took off my clothes and went in.

After all the alpine beautiy of the Sisters wilderness I entered a wasteland of rocky, blocky lava flows. It was difficult to walk on. FInally I crossed McKenzie Pass and completed Section E and started Section F.

I ended up camping in the middle of another long waterless stretch in the middle of another burned forest. I didn't think I could make it to Big Lake Youth Camp at a reasonable hour. My visit there would be for water tomorrow morning.

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