Hannah the hiker

On day 45 I headed out from Shelter Cove to start the fire closure detour. Shelter cove was a nice place to take a Nero and it was fun talking with the northbound hikers. There was a “tramily” of 12 hikers who have been together since the beginning which is pretty cool! I also ran into a SOBO that I met earlier on the trail and we caught up a bit. We talked about the lessons we have learned so far on the trail and I really enjoyed that conversation. It was interesting to hear about someone else’s perspective and experiences on the trail and what it’s taught them. I left the resort around 1:30 but didn’t actually get on the trail til 2. I had to figure out if I could walk along the forest service road next to a railroad or if I would have to walk back to highway 58. I ended up just walking next to the railroad for about 10 miles. It was a little rocky and sandy but super flat and there was cell service the whole time. Even though some people were complaining about the detour and how it’s just walking on a road I kind of enjoyed it. It’s a little bit of a break from the rest of the trail. There were a couple streams I crossed so I could filter water too. The road was next to some atv trails so I saw lots of people on dirt bikes. I also didn’t see any hikers the whole day which is a first. I saw 4 trains pass by though!

I stopped hiking around 9 and only did 14.7 miles. I wanted to get more miles in but didn’t want to walk in the dark for hours, I should have just left town earlier. What’s nice about this detour is it’s so flat that you can camp anywhere next to the road. The woods are pretty sandy and flat so there’s no shortage of potential campsites.

On day 46 I left my campsite by 7:45. I walked about 4 miles to the next water source and filled up there. I also met a guy walking his dog who knew about the detour hikers were taking. I was kind of getting bored of just walking on a dirt road so I listened to a couple podcast episodes before I took a break for lunch. I had walked 11 miles by 12:30, but it was pretty slow. I stopped to drink water and sit in the shade often since it was about 85 degrees Fahrenheit and hardly any shade on the actual road. I was tired so I had something to eat and just tried to stretch and relax for a bit. I started walking again at 2:30 and aimed to do 14 more miles. I felt okay at first and ready to tackle the rest of the miles but that motivation quickly faded. I saw a bunch of people riding atvs and trucks on these roads and there was a bunch of sand and dirt getting kicked up when they raced by so my throat got a bit sore from that. I was also just getting tired of walking on a road for hours on end, it was the first time I’ve actually been bored since starting the hike. I listened to some music to pass the time. I drank a lot of water and only had about half a liter left by 4 since there hadn’t been any water besides the River I saw in the morning. I met a NOBO hiker earlier in the day who said there was water about 8 miles from where we met, but I wasn’t sure how true that was since I couldn’t find any water sources on my map. I kept walking, hoping that I would cross water soon, but really felt a little dumb for not researching the water sources better. I was really just starting to feel like the day was just dragging on and all I wanted to do was go to sleep and start over. For about an hour I kept walking by drainages put in place next to the road for water, but everything was dried up. I would hear a strong breeze and think maybe it was a nearby stream. I was so thirsty. Finally I actually heard water! There was this great and cold stream flowing right next to the road. I felt so happy and filled up all of my bottles with water. I felt relieved knowing that I wasn’t going to become dehydrated again.

On my map I found a shortcut to reconnect me with the pct detour which basically went straight through the woods. It was about a mile of mild bushwhacking and in the end I’m not sure it really saved me much time since it wasn’t smooth walking.

I walked for a couple more hours and stopped and ate dinner around 8. At this point I just told myself I’d walk 2 more miles to get to 20 miles for the day. I was tired and not feeling motivated at all. Other days I’ve walked 20 miles and got to sleep by 7:30/8 and still had a long lunch break. For some reason on this day it took me a really long time to get 20 miles in on mostly flat dirt roads. I got to camp around 9:20 and went straight to sleep. I was just hoping tomorrow would be a better day.

Day 47 was another long and hot day. When I woke up I thought it was raining because I could feel something dropping on my face. When I opened my eyes I realized it was pieces of tree bark falling from the squirrels running up and down the tree next to me. I guess you could say that’s annoying but it was entertaining to watch them run back and forth above me. I left my campsite around 7:40 and it was already 80 degrees out. I walked about a mile before the next exciting thing happened for the day. I thought there was a huge tree trunk fallen in the road but it started moving. And then I realized it was a bear walking on the road! I was playing music out loud and was surprised the bear didn’t run away. It was about 20 yards away from me, it just walked into the woods. I kept walking too. At around 11:20 I finally reunited with the PCT. I was so excited. There was a giant water cache here which was amazing since the last source was 7 miles back. I sat here and had an early lunch and just felt happy to be back on the trail. Walking along forest service roads wasn’t physically difficult it was just kind of draining. It was flat and dry which made me pretty bored and tired. But not all aspects of the trail will be thrilling so I’ll take it. I’m glad I walked the detour though it makes me feel like I didn’t just take the easy way out and skip miles.

I saw a sign after lunch that said the California border is 165 miles away. I can’t believe it’s so close!

I got to sign the PCT trail register before entering Crater Lake National Park. I saw the names of other southbound hikers I met at the hostel before starting or that I’ve met on trail. It was neat to see who’s passed through this part of trail. I don’t think everyone has signed this register, but I only counted about 20 southbound hikers who have passed through before me.

I was pretty tired after lunch and it was still very hot out. I took a couple breaks to just sit and drink water, but I couldn’t drink too much because I wasn’t sure if the water cache ahead of me had been refilled. So I just told myself to hike until 5 and then I can call it quits for the day. I didn’t think it was much use to just push myself when I’m so tired. I’ve been learning how to listen to my body a bit more and understand when I need to take breaks and when I need to actually stop. It’s difficult to stop when I should sometimes because I feel like I need to be pushing myself to the full extent or get to x amount of miles even if it’s painful. But I really did stop at 5 on this day. The water cache had been filled so I got 2 more liters of water to last me until the next source the following day.

I set up camp and laid in the sun to relax. The sun isn’t all that great when I’m trying to hike but when I’m laying down and resting it feels great. I tried to calculate how many miles I did for the day but wasn’t sure how accurate I was. I had to switch between my garmin map and the FarOut map. I could have done 17,19,20, or 22. My phone said I walked 20 miles so I’ll just go with that I guess. I read more of “Crooked House” by Agatha Christie. Someone had left it in a hiker box so of course I snagged it. As I was getting ready to fall asleep I could hear something in the trees above me. I looked up and there was an owl looking down at me! I’ve never seen an owl that “close” before and just kind of stared at it until it flew away. Again, it’s been really neat to see so many animals up close. I felt happy to go to sleep at 7:30 which was early compared to the days before. I have to remind myself that proper rest is just as important as the walking part of this whole adventure, if I’m tired then I’m no good.

Day 48 was amazing! I woke up early and left my camp by 6:45. I started walking on the rim trail for Crater Lake and was so impressed with how beautiful the trail was. Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the US and the deepest volcanic lake in the world. It was amazing. The trail went up and down quite a bit but went along some major rock cliffs with exposed views of the lake. I went up the watchman to the ranger station at 7,837 feet. It also had great views of the lake and was a fun little side climb to the top.

I took my time walking along the rim so I could fully enjoy the lake, I didn’t want to rush through one of the most beautiful parts of the trail thus far.

I had an early lunch on this sweet hidden rock on the trail. I felt pretty fortunate just to be up here, and felt like all the pain from the past couple days was worth this view.

I then started the 6 mile hike to town. It was a bit more of some up and down but not too bad. I listened to some music and just cruised to town (Mazama Village). I got there before the post office closed and was able to send some stuff home. I picked up my resupply box which had all my favorites, mustard packets, cliff bars, snickers, and paydays! I even scored a jar of honey from the hiker box.

The campground was free and even had free showers! That was awesome since I’ve had to pay for showers so far, and they were timed too. I washed my clothes and hung them out to dry while I got dinner at Annie’s Creek restaurant. Another hiker heard me talking on the phone with my friend about how much I wanted ice cream and when I got off the phone she gave me money to buy ice cream. I thought that was really sweet of her and I’m looking forward to an opportunity where I can pay it forward.

The fire closure I just walked a detour around opened up today which is exciting for those about to pass through it. It’s just crazy how it opened the day after I was through it. The next fire closure I thought I would have to skip opened up today too so now I get to walk almost the whole trail in Oregon!

I’ve been feeling really tired the past couple days and I’m looking forward to getting to Ashland and taking a day off to rest. My next stretch of trail to Ashland is about 5 days if I do 20 miles a day. I’ve just gotta push through and keep my head up!