Posted by Mile 1718.9 to mile 1744.3 (25.4 miles, 40.9 km)
I made contact with Troublemaker via Messenger last night and secured a ride back to the trail head. Troublemaker walked a fair chunk of the PCT this season but was injured and now has to wait for hip surgery. In the meantime she is hanging about her parents place in Ashland and providing lots of trail magic for hikers in the area, including shuttles between the trail and town.
Troublemaker got me to the trail right on 8am and I was away.
It was still damn smokey and the forecast is again, you guessed it, expected to be over 100. Oh boy. How long can this last? I did check the weather for my next goal Mazama Village near Crater Lake and it is looking promising with high 70’s and low 80’s most of the week. I just need to get there.
The trail was fairly flat right through the day but I was walking at a slower pace with a fully loaded pack and new shoes. I didn’t want to bust myself today and aimed for just 25 miles.
Even with a flattish track the heat was knocking me around as well. My nice clean clothes were highlighted with crystallised salt at the end of the day.
I can’t really say that I saw much today given the thick smoke, just the narrow trail leading me north.
Right through this trip I’ve carried a collapsible Platypus water bladder for extra water capacity and if today is anything to go by I’m going to have to start using it more frequently. Coming from town all my water bottles were full the and the 3.5 litre capacity saw me through the day with a refill 20 miles in. Most of the known water sources crossed today were either dry or really nasty ponds. The good source at mile 20 was from a reservoir. Looking at my maps and updated info on water in the upcoming sections it looks the same – lots of dry or muddy water – so I expect long water carries between sources. My next water is 7 miles away as the Lake is way too filthy to drink from. If I was dying of thirst I’d give it a go with prefiltering and then use my Sawyer. I think I can hold out for 7 miles tomorrow.
Mick Beckers 