Ashland to ~Crater lake.

Miles 1,720 – 1,841.

Days 86 – 89.

Beyond Ashland, the Pacific Crest Trail makes its way through forests and along ridges all the way to Crater Lake National Park. Here, many thru-hikers opt to take a popular side trail to the rim of the famous lake, which formed when Mount Mazama, a volcano, erupted and collapsed in on itself.

Day 86

I woke up at Trail Angel Martha’s apartment in Ashland. I planned to get up early to hit the trail after taking two consecutive days off. But when the 6 am alarm rang, I decided I was better off maximizing my rest while I still had access to a soft mattress in a temperature-controlled room.

Eventually, I got packed up and Martha gave me and Swish a ride back to the trail. We were hiking before 11 am into the rolling conifer-covered hills surrounding the Ashland area.

For the first time in a week, my feet felt pretty good. I was armed with new shoes, a fresh roll of Leukotape, and my first replacement socks in 1,700 miles. I just hoped the rest I got in Ashland would help me get through the state of Oregon feeling strong. In over a week, my Mom plans to come out to Sisters, OR to meet me and do trail magic. I want to keep on moving to get there on time.

It was a good day for wildlife. I saw plenty of deer, a red-headed woodpecker, a rattlesnake, and could hear a hawk screeching in the forest.

I hiked most of the day without stopping. There were few water sources today – every 9-10 miles or so – so few reasons to stop. There was one dribbling pipe spring, and a tiny green pond filled with algae and little aquatic plants. Towards the end of the day, I tanked up to dry camp in the woods. Even camping away from the water source, the mosquitoes were quite active this evening.

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Day 87

Sometimes the highest mileage days are the least eventful ones. Today was a 32-miler, but not very eventful.

I slept in later than I’d planned and didn’t hit the trail until after 8 am. I wasn’t particularly disappointed. My body needed sleep, so I gave it sleep. I’ve built up a lot of cumulative fatigue over the months I’ve been out here. I’m doing my best not to get too worn out on any one day so I can feel better and go further over the long term.

The morning miles were not very difficult and crossed through conifer forests with gently rolling hills. I took an early lunch where I ran into two hikers that I’d met on day 3 or 4 of the thru-hike. I sat and chatted with them while I ate, and they told me about how they were now flip-flopping the trail: skipping most of NorCal then coming back to do it later.

Flip-flopping means changing direction and/or doing segments of the trail in different orders. Hikers opt to do this for many reasons, including fires, avoiding snow in Washington, or prioritizing hitting the areas when they have the best weather. Wildfire, especially, is a big reason for changing itineraries typically. I’ve been really lucky so far that I haven’t missed any of the trails for active wildfire closures. It’s been a tremendously great year to hike the PCT because of this! In other recent years, all hikers have needed to skip around to avoid fire closures.

I stopped and ate dinner near the final water source of the day, then tanked up to hike a few more miles uphill. So far, the climbs in Oregon have all been quite gradual. I finished up hiking a little after 8 pm. I went promptly to bed.

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Day 88

For the second day in a row, I slept in a little bit and didn’t start hiking until after 8 am. Luckily for me, I can start late, finish before dark, and still get in 30 miles or so – all thanks to the easier terrain in Oregon.

After a gradual forested climb, my first stop of the day was at a water source – a spring a hundred feet off trail. Shortly after, I started my “big climb” of the day. It wasn’t really much of a climb at all, as the topography has been much flatter than what I grew accustomed to in NorCal.

However, after minimal climbing, I was rewarded with a lovely walk along a rocky, exposed ridgeline. There were great views of the surrounding landscape, including a nearby volcano. There were also plenty of views of the sky, which grew increasingly socked in with clouds.

By the time I descended from the ridge, I heard thunder a bit closer than I liked. The ridge was truly the highest area around – not where I want to be in an electrical storm.

After a few switchbacks, I made it down off the ridge and into the trees. I felt much safer. Later, as I hiked through the forest, I was surprised by an extra loud clap of thunder – only a few seconds after the lightning. It just struck the ridge behind me! I felt extra thankful I made it down in time.

Eventually, it started sprinkling rain. Though it wasn’t raining hard, I didn’t particularly feel like walking in the rain. Ahead of me, Swish scouted out a cluster of dense conifer trees just off the trail where we could take refuge from the drizzle. As we hunkered under the branches, cold and a little damp, I recalled how months earlier we hid from the hot desert sun under a tiny stand of Joshua trees in southern California. How things have changed! I cannot believe sometimes that this is the same trip.

It continued to sprinkle rain, so I eventually got going. First, I got out one of the least-used items in my pack: my green Frog Toggs rain jacket. I actually kind of enjoyed hiking in the rain for a bit. It was a break in the monotonous string of sunny days comprising nearly the entirety of this trip. And I definitely enjoyed the cooler weather today that came with the rain.

I reached camp “early” around 7:30 pm. Not bad for a 30-mile day. I enjoyed snacking on all the various things left in my food bag. Tomorrow, I’ll resupply in Crater Lake National Park.

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Day 89

What a day! Today I walked into Crater Lake National Park – the 4th national park I’ve crossed through on this trail.

I started the day crossing a small burn area just outside the National Park boundary. Thankfully, this burn area wasn’t too bad, like the ones that wrecked my feet in NorCal.

Once inside the National Park, I took a side trail to the campground, where I picked up my resupply package from the campground store. I also found an outlet on the outside of the building where I charged up my devices, and sneakily washed my underwear and socks in the bathroom sink.

I wasn’t the only thru-hiker there. Quite a few of us sat around on the pavement in front of the camp store: waiting for our phones to charge, unpacking resupply boxes, and eating. We are all filthy, our clothes full of stains and holes, and our legs caked in dust. I wondered what the families on camping trips and national park vacationers thought of this strange group of semi-feral humans clogging up the sidewalk.

I left the camp store and soon headed up a long, steep climb. At the top, I reached the rim of Crater Lake! The lake did not disappoint! Even on an overcast day like today, the water was a beautiful blue. The lake itself is huge and contains one large island – Wizard Island.

According to the interpretive sign, Crater Lake formed from a massive volcano, nearly as large as Mt Shasta and Lassen. After a violent eruption, the magma chamber beneath the volcano drained, and the whole mountain collapsed, creating the Crater. Later, the crater filled in with rainwater, forming the lake we see today.

After a brief stop at the lodge for a lemonade, I shouldered my pack and started the long walk along the rim of the Crater to reconnect to the PCT. As soon as I started walking, a light rain began. I warily continued on, keeping an eye on the thunder and lightning situation.

A mile or two later, the thunder and lightning were quite close together, which indicates that the lightning is striking nearby. Since the rim trail is up on a ridge, I opted to walk down into the woods to wait out the storm.

As I waited, the rain turned to little lentil-sized hail… Then pea-sized. Then grape-sized! As the hail intensified, I pulled out my foam sleeping pad and held it over my head for some protection.

Once the hail stopped, I looked around. The ground was covered in almost an inch of accumulated hail! It looked like it had snowed!

Once the storm stopped, walking along the hail-covered rim trail was super fun! It was really cool to see this unique park during such a bizarre weather event. I even saw a rainbow afterwards.

As the evening progressed, it grew cold and windy on the rim. While I was sad to bid the lake goodbye, I was thankful to descend back down into the protection of the conifer trees. I reached camp late, feeling tired but content.