Episode 59: Day 131-134

Day 131:

Another cold one, but managed to get started by 8am again.

Trees, trees, and more trees all over. Makes me appreciate the people who maintain the trail everywhere else.

Walked through a burn area, and instead of being sad, I felt extremely inspired by the pine saplings that were growing. Its amazing to see this early phase of the circle of life: knowing that they will grow to be towering trees, and eventually may burn down, leaving room for another generation

Today was a hiker hunger day, had an early lunch and two dinners before taking the road into Mazama village.

I got to the store 3 minutes before closing. SCORE! Snack time.

REUNION!!!! Chocolate Milk, CK, and Brewhiker. Haven’t seen these guys in way too long. There are also two others with them: Triple and Fireball. The group calls themselves Team Vortex, with the goal of having as much fun as possible with the rest of the time they have on trail: sleeping in, drinking beer, playing magic the gathering, throwing around the frisbee, and hiking a few miles a day is the plan for the foreseeable future. I get it, but it’s not for me.. got to keep pushing.

Hung out with Team Vortex until it was time to sleep.

Hit 1800 miles today:

Burn area:

Little Pines of inspiration:

Heard great things about this upcoming section of trail!

22 miles today.

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Day 132:

Although I woke up at 6:20am naturally, I snoozed my hardest and didn’t get out of my tent until nearly 10am!

Charged my electronics and checked out what was in my box once it arrived (I need to stop out-hiking my resupplies) . Food, of course, and some cold gear.

Late in the afternoon, I decided to head back to trail and was fortunate enough to catch a ride to the trailhead from two 2012 PCT hikers.

At the trailhead I met a guy named Elliot, who worked seasonal jobs to support his outdoor lifestyle. Now he was employed by the Park Service, doing water surveys in the area. Pretty cool!

Just a couple miles in, I found a campsite by some delicious water and called it a day.

Nearo today: 2 miles.

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Day 133:

Good start, but almost missed the spur trail to the Crater Lake Alternate. Went about a quarter mile past the sign when I realized that I didn’t read it. That would have been tragic – crisis averted.

So apparently, 150 years ago, a volcano erupted so violently, that it collapsed on itself to form a crater. Since then, rain and snow has filled it, creating a lake: the deepest in the US at 1900+ feet. Also, since rain and snow are the only ways water gets in, its one of the purest lakes in the world. All these factors combined create beauty that is beyond words.

Seriously. This is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been in my life. Please: if you are reading this, make plans to visit Crater Lake in Oregon. You don’t even have to hike it, there is a road around it, so its very accessible. You will not regret it. I promise.

Eventually, I had to say goodbye to Crater Lake, and found a nice spot to camp.

21 miles today (although, i’m 26 trail miles farther, since I was off the PCT).

Pictures of Crater Lake do not do it justice:

Panoramic View

Yes, it’s real:

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Day 134:

Rest day.

The book I had with me was The Long Road Turns to Joy: A Guide to Walking Meditation by Thich Nhat Hanh.

I didn’t like it the first go-around, because it was not aligned with my expectations. I thought I was getting a book with specific, step by step instructions to become an expert. Instead, it was high level introduction to belief/mindset/theory when it comes to meditation. Since I had the time, I re-read it and more accurate expectations led to a more enjoyable experience. Life lesson learned.

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