We made our way deeper into Three Sisters Wilderness. As I was looking forward to the resort of the day, Elk Lake Resort, and I wanted to minimize any further ravaging by mosquitoes, I went ahead of the others and raced to the branch in the trail that led down to Elk Lake. I wasn’t really …
Before coming on trail, I knew two things about Oregon: it had Crater Lake and there was a place called Three Sisters Wilderness. Why Three Sisters? I have no idea. In my mind, I had an image of expansive meadows filled with wildflowers, with the titular Three Sisters mountains looming in the background. Maybe that …
For the first time we had to hitch around a closure today. The Windigo fire still raged a 1000 acres big, too close to the trail for comfort. So the next 60 mile section was closed sadly. The next step was to go to Shelter Cove and start the following 4.5 day stretch there, after which we …
I was lying in my tent. Everything was peaceful and beautiful. I was happy. Then I heard Fitz’ voice interrupt my half-slumber: ‘Catch Up are you hiking to the Lodge for breakfast?’What was this? Hiking so early on a town day?‘Mash already left’, she went on. God damn it. We really wanted to get back to …
The end of our current stretch was capped of with one of Oregon’s highlights: Crater Lake, the deepest lake in the US. We cruised the last 15 miles to Mazama Village, the restaurant/campground before Crater Lake itself. I didn’t like to admit it, but my feet were sore and I looked forward to a break. …
As the title says, we have officially entered the terrain of the feared Oregon mosquitoes, lovingly referred to as ‘The Mosquito Gauntlet’. The creatures wasted no time and commenced their first assault at dawn, descending upon us in great numbers. Relentlessly, they tried to penetrate the bug spray defense lines and stung through every piece …
As soon as I woke up, it became clear that my mom was not going to be able to continue. She looked pale and weak. We both packed up and headed back to the last paved road. I tried calling trail angels to arrange a ride back to Ashland but no luck. Eventually, my mom …
I encountered almost no other people on trail today, giving me the impression that we had to be in a dead zone. The trail registers told a different story however. A horde of people passed through before us on the same day and the day before. Many of them we knew: Guardian, Remedy’s group, Shiny, Favourite and Double Stack …
Goodbye Ashland! I was all too glad to leave this weird zero town behind. Away from the mess, confusion and sadness, back to trail! And at least today, our choice seemed the right one: the skies were a lot clearer than before and I couldn’t smell any trace of smoke. After the previous days I appreciated being …
This must have been the weirdest zero so far. The smoky sky pressed down on the city and despite the record number of hikers in town, a somber mood pervaded everything. Everyone was here, yet our time together was so so limited. I discovered our group belongs to the minority who will keep on hiking. …
