July 18, 2017

Total daily miles: 27.1 miles

Total PCT miles: 1345.8

Start: mile 1725.6

End: mile 1752.7

Total elevation gain/loss: 4297.6/3931.8 ft

Looks like we’ve found the bigger miles that we were promised in Oregon. Hurray! That said, it seemed like we spent much of the day in the trees and on relatively level terrain. Because of this, it seems like our water stops and the people that we chatted with defined much of the day.

Our first water of the morning was at a pond/spring. I filled up my bottles here while chatting with a section hiker attempting to hike all of Oregon. He seemed so green and it was fun to reassure him that he was doing just fine.

There may not have been a lot of water this morning, but we crossed a bunch of roads, both dirt and paved. It was exciting to see a bunch of log books at these crossings. I love flipping through the pages to see who has passed through and when they passed.  

I guess the area is also popular with day hikers. We found a privy at one of the trail head parking areas. With toilet paper! The fact that this was exciting says a lot about how long we’ve been out here. Can’t take the creature comforts for granted!


We didn’t hit out next water source until lunchtime, when we reached the outlet for the Little Hyatt Reservoir. We chatted with a couple of nobo hikers that we haven’t run into before (Runner 5 and Tailor Made), one of whom was also from San Francisco (although he’s lived abroad for several years now). It’s funny how leaving town earlier or later than those around you can mix things up. I think most people take at least one zero in Ashland, so by leaving after one night we’re running into a lot of unfamiliar faces.

The afternoon again took us through a big forest. This time it was super flat and apparently crossed private land. There were no trespassing signs on every other tree lest we forget that we are not to stray from the PCT. Later, once we crossed back over to park service land, we were the beneficiaries of an odd sight. A spigot right on trail. With potable water! Sweet! That’s got to be our easiest water on trail yet.

We ended up camping near the turn off for a spring. After seeing few people all day, there are a surprising number of people camped just near the spring, but our spot is further away from the spring (near the trail) and more isolated from the crowd. I didn’t really recognize most of the people camped there — I’m not sure if it is more thru hikers that we’ll keep seeing or section hikers out for a short section.

The big downside of our camp site is that it is swarmed by mosquitoes. It was immediately clear that we’d be eating in our tent tonight! I can hear the buzz clearly outside my mesh tent door. It makes the prospect of getting out of the tent to go to the bathroom a daunting one!

Today’s 27 miles seemed to come easier than some of the shorter days that we had in Northern California. I have to admit that the stats for our elevation profile today are surprisingly — it didn’t feel like we did that much climbing. I guess it’s because all of our climbs came in short bursts instead of the long slogs that we’ve grown used to. Today’s shorter climbs just didn’t slow me down or tire me out as much as the long ones do (I’m still tired, just not as bad). Here’s to hoping that Oregon continues the kind treatment!

Current ailments:

Elizabeth: none.

Michael: sore left big toe.