Progress: 23.1 miles - Mazama Village (mi 1829.5) to tentsite (mi 1852.6)
Leaving Mazama Village, we had a bit of steep climbing to get up to the Crater Lake Rim. We took the "hiker PCT" aka the Rim Alternate, which is technically not the PCT, but all the hikers take it. It was a little strange to be hiking through an area saturated with flip-flop wearing, car-driving tourists. That said, the Disney Land type downsides were easily offset by the beautiful views of Crater Lake.
Crater Lake was a giant mountain some number of years ago that erupted and left a giant hole that had gradually filled with snowmelt and rain water. It's really big, and really deep. Way bigger than I had imagined.
Once the Rim alternate connected back with the PCT, we were hiking through lots of downed trees, and then eventually a mosquito-laden hell. There were more of them than we've had yet. For the last 10 miles of hiking it would have been suicidw to stop for a drink or a break. I hiked as fast as I could to avoid the giant swarm that was continually trailing about two feet behind my backpack. It was straight out of a nightmare.
There are a thousand of them around my tent right now, and there is a loud chorus of buzzing as I feast on my Backpacker's Pantry Pad Thai that I got out of the hiker box in Mazama Village.
No comments:
Post a Comment