Day 10 – OR PCT Mile 285.7
The entire day today was in the Three Sisters Wilderness area. It started out with crazy mosquitoes. Maybe the worst mosquitoes yet. Then I climbed up to higher elevation and the mosquitoes went away mostly. Yay! The landscape was quite beautiful today with open views of some huge peaks above. At the end of the day, there were switchbacks up and down a lava field. It was super cool but slow moving! There were blowdowns, but a ~5-mile section of trail was actually clear with fresh sawdust. Thank you trail crews! There were also patches of snow, including a traverse across the lava field. I met three guys out hiking a section that was closed due to fire during their 2022 PCT thruhike, but other than them it was very quiet today.
Day 11 – OR PCT Mile 318.3
Today was a big day. It started with about 12 miles of lava fields and then I had big climbs up and around both Mount Washington and Three Finger Jack. The lava fields were hard and slow because I was walking on uneven lava rocks. I chatted with a PCT hiker, Cry Baby, for a mile or so which was fun, but he had lived in Hawaii and was much faster on the lava than me. Three finger Jack has some snow still—big patches on the trail including on a couple of traverses. The views were magnificent all day though! Some burned forest but always big mountains in the distance.
Day 12 – OR PCT Mile 350.3
I must have been tired last night because I woke up this morning and my headlamp was still strapped to my head and not all of my nighttime chores were done—I had left my cell phone and Garmin InReach Mini on. I usually turn them both off overnight to save battery. This morning was challenging and frustratingly slow moving for me. The first ~12 miles had steep/rocky ups and downs, SNOW, burned forest (exposed and hot), and blow downs. The snow wasn’t constant like Diamond Peak, but there was quite a bit and some of the patches made navigation difficult and some required kicking footsteps in. Then the trail had a long descent to some glacial streams. Next of course was an even longer ascent. The views at the top were amazing though—maybe the best of the Oregon PCT. There was snow at the top, but I was able to “ski” down some of the slopes (walk fast with a bit of sliding). I hadn’t seen anyone since morning, but as evening approached I bumped into two guys walking the other direction who were backpacking in to drink wine. That sounded like a great idea to me–I am looking forward to my next backpacking trip where I can spend a bit more time relaxing! Then Mike caught me (a PCT thruhiker who I last saw in Shelter Cove). I was super pumped to see him, but our chat didn’t last long because he is a much faster shoe skier than me.
Current Stats
Day 10 Distance Hiked: 32.5 miles
Day 11 Distance Hiked: 32.6 miles
Day 12 Distance Hiked: 32.0 miles
Day 1-12 Average: 29.2 miles per day
Current Record to Beat: 28.4 miles per day
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