Camping: PCT mile 2101.08
Waking up to sunshine, I knew it was going to be inevitable that I'd have to return to the trail. All good things must come to an end, even great off-trail camping adventures. Packing up was a slow process, one which I enthusiastically took distraction from. I drank as much coffee as I thought I could stand, and commissioned a ride in the canoe back to the trail. Very nice new pal, Charles was willing to paddle me over the 3 miles of non-PCT miles I would have to complete in order to get back to northern progress. That is what they call, "blue blazing," travelling by water instead of land. It's the one way I had yet to travel on this adventure, besides perhaps, by air. It was really nice of Charles to go the extra mile or 3 for me, and I was happy to get back to the trail. I have to say that paddling a canoe worked muscles I forgot I have! My arms were feeling it!
I walked the quick half mile to the detour for Little Crater Lake, and then found myself standing next to the deep blue depths. Unfortunately, the lighting was such that I could not get a good photograph of the pool, but I promise you that you have never seen anything bluer. It's a small, deep pool that you can see all the way to the bottom of the crystal blue waters. Karma was sitting by the shore, so I was immediately reunited with a trail friend, and we planned on doing the same miles for the next couple of days. Tomorrow we are getting to Timberline Lodge, a place notorious for its buffet, and we have our sights set on making it in time for breakfast. That means a pretty mellow day today, just enough to get us within 8 or so miles of the Lodge. That works for me, as it is sometimes difficult to motivate for too many miles after a zero day.
We walked our own walk and ended up in the same spot to camp, just over 6 miles from Timberline. The hiking was all uphill in the trees, and we'll be doing more of that tomorrow. It wasn't an exciting day, but I'm excited to get my trail legs back. Oregon is coming to a close real soon, and it is going to be a whole new game in Washington. I look forward to enjoying the last few days in my home state, and seeing some more friends. Hopefully I'll catch up with more of my hiking buddies in the next few days so we can start Washington together ... it's time to start wrapping this thing up!
A mediocre shot of Little Crater Lake
"Get a job you lazy frond!" - Made me giggle!
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