Week 15ish!

Here’s our week 15 wrap-up brought to you by Chris!

Week 15 began when we left Ashland on July 20th and ended when we hiked into the Santiam Pass trailhead parking lot on July 31st (285 total miles). This timeframe is longer than a week but at this point in the hike we've forgotten what week we're on and find it easier to write about our hiking experiences from town to town. This section of the PCT was tough for Auti and I because it was hot, humid, and had the most mosquitos we had seen so far. Lethargic and "simply over it" best describes our mental state during this section. With 900 miles left, the end is just far enough to feel out of reach, and with 1800 miles under our proverbial hiking belt, we felt burned out and spent. In this write up of week 15, I'll cover what bummed us out as well as a few unexpected side trips that kept our morale meters from running out.

Auti and I left Ashland with our bellies full but spirits low as the temperatures hovered in the mid nineties. The forecast predicted low 100's by the end of the week with no cooling expected in the foreseeable future. We shared an Uber ride with Paul and Amy and started hiking by noon the day we left Ashland. Water was scarce on this portion of the trail so we scooped H2O from a dirty brown pond with tadpoles and water bugs floating around and hiked another 6 miles until we found a lackluster camp spot right beside the trail. It was a blah start to the section but we tried to keep focused and hunt the good stuff.

The next few days were uneventful except for old lava fields we began walking through. The PCT intermittently winds through old lava flows that formed thousand of years ago. This leads to some tricky hiking as the jagged rocks tried to grab and rip our shoes and trekking poles. The man hours it must've taken to flatten and level the trail through the flows is astonishing. It's rumored trail crews used dyanimte to break down the bigger boulders to put in new trail. This rocky and jagged portion would lead us to our first and most anticipated stop of this section: Crater Lake National Park.

Auti and I hiked into Mazama Village, which is located in the heart of the Park, early in the evening and headed to the general store to pick up our resupply package. Autumn's mom, Kris, has been sending our prepackaged resupply boxes throughout our journey and will never truly know hom much that has helped us out! This particular box would get us through the next 6 days of trail! The following day we took the National Park trolley to Crater Lake Lodge and had a delightful all you can eat breakfast. We arrived at the buffet 30 minutes before closing time so we quickly inhaled our first plate of food. I got back in line with sweat running down my forehead; with only 5 minutes remaining, I had barely loaded my second plate before lodge workers had begun removing trays. Talk about stress. After breakfast, we made our way to the Rim trail. The Rim trail is not a part of the PCT but most thru-hikers take it as it follows the edge of Crater Lake for over 10 miles. The views of the lake are jaw dropping. The clear blue water, sheer cliffs, and immense size of the lake had us cross-eyed as we tried to keep one eye on the lake and the other on the trail! But as soon as this beautiful side trail ended, reality set back in as it merged with the PCT; within a matter of minutes, mosquitos and the vast green forest closed back in on us.

We were a few hours ahead of schedule after completing the Rim trail and decided to hitch a ride into Diamond Lake Lodge from State Highway 138. Our plan was to ship some extra gear home and return to the trail later in the evening. We stuck out our thumbs and began waiting for a ride. 30 minutes went by with no luck. Mind you it's a weekend and the road was busy so this should've been an easy hitch. So Auti and I try a new tactic, she thinks I am too scary looking so I hide behind an embankment as she let's her hair down. No joke, within 5 minutes, a guy in a Volkswagen hatch back pulls over. He sees me step up from behind the ditch and nearly speeds off but decides against it. Guess I really do look like a murderer...The gentleman steps out of his car with flip flops and no shirt and introduces himself as Scott. He's dismayed that it's not just Autumn looking for a ride but plays it off cooly. He looks like a skinny Brad Pitt and asks us where we're headed. We tell him and he says to hop in. We had good conversation on the 25 min ride to the lodge and bid him farewell as he dropped us off.

Diamond Lake Lodge is situated on the shores of Diamond Lake with Mount Bailey (a shield volcano) towering in the distance. It's a quaint, old school vibe kinda place that hasn't been touched with a paint brush since the 90's. Auti and I immediately fell in love with the lodge as it has a lot of soul and spirit. We found the front desk and inquired about shipping our package and the receptionist unfortunately relayed the news that the tiny on-site post office wouldn't be open until morning....this prompted us to ask how much rooms were. They were decently priced so we decided last minute to stay the night. The thought of going back onto the trail that evening with the temperatures still in the 90's and mosquito hoarde standing by made it an essy decision. It had been so hot since leaving Ashland that I hadn't stopped sweating since exiting the Uber. I'd wake up in the morning and my sleeping bag would be completely soaked in sweat. Additionally, chaffing on both our hips and lower back had progressed to open blisters. It was an impromptu stay but we needed it. The next morning we shipped our package and got a hitch from a local within 5 minutes. The gentleman had just dropped of his application to work at the lodge and was on his way home. He was driving a two door honda civic with no windshield. Auti and I were a little leery about getting in what appeared to be a demolition derby car but it worked out fine. Driving 55 mph down the highway with no windshield was a first for me, and I had to keep my sunglasses on as mosquitos smashed into my face. Needless to say, we made it back to the PCT in one piece and set out on what would be the most mentally challenging stretch yet.

The next few days on the PCT are a blur to Auti and I. The mosquitos were so bad, we barely fell below 3 miles per hour while hiking because doing so would form a mosquito cloud of epic proportion. Nowhere in our lives, whether it be in Minnesota, Alaska, or Yosemite, had we seen so many of these flying blood suckers in one place. For the most part, the hiking was relatively easy but having to wear pants, long sleeves, gloves, and a head net in 100 degree heat was draining. It felt as if we were in a Jumanji scene; at one point I was convinced that the amount of mosquitos on Autumn was enough to lift her into the sky. It was bonkers and the situation was pushing some hikers (as well as us) to a breaking point. This was apparent when one hiker, named Bubba, strolled into Shelter Cove Lodge with all his rain gear on and lost his shit when he found out the restaurant was closed. He slammed his back pack on the ground and yelled obscenties as he learned of the news (which we unfortunately broke to him first). Regular weekender campers looked on perplexed and afraid as he bellowed his frustrations. He was drenched in sweat as his rain gear was the only thing he had that would protect him from the skeeters. He'd tell us a few weeks later that he was on the brink of a mental breakdown and had almost quit. Quite a few other hikers skipped parts of the section all together. Looking back, probably wasn't a bad idea as our morale had tanked but we decided to keep humping north, mosquitoes, chaffing, and the heat following us all the way.

By the fifth day out of Crater Lake we were finally getting out of the forest and into Three Sisters Wilderness area. It's located in gorgeous terrain named after the Three Sisters volcanoes. One of our favorite spots in this section went through the Obsidian Falls limited entry area. The section is only 2 miles long but took us over an hour to get through as Auti and I combed through the thousands of obsidian rocks strewn about the trail, constantly replacing or adding neater shaped obsidian fragments to our packs. Our bags were significantly heavier after hiking this short section...

Our final day into Santiam Pass was brutally hot. The majority of the day was spent in old lava fields with no tree cover (but luckily no mosquitoes). The lava flow death march ended after 12 exposed miles but we abrutly ran into a massive old burn area that went on for another 8 to 9 miles. The heat was insane and as we got close to our destination, gigantic thunder clouds had begun to form. The 2000 mile marker was only a mile from the trailhead and when we came upon it, we quickly snapped a pic or two in order to escape the impending lightning storm that would soon hit the area. When we arrived at the Santiam Pass trailhead the area south of our location was black and lightning pierced the sky (this same storm started the Windigo fire that would end up closing a portion of the PCT we had walked through just two days before). We quickly found a spot to hitch on highway 20 and waited. Once again, after 30 minutes of no ride, I hid behind an embankment and like our last hitch, someone pulled over within 5 minutes...It was an older gentleman who told me to stop hiding behind the bush and come put my gear in the car. Autumn is a hitch hiking pro! Our ultimate destination was Bend, OR but Bob relayed he could only take us as far as Sisters. We still accept the ride after and dropping us off at Sisters' city park, Auti and I walked to the cute western-esque downtown area of Sisters in search of food.

The small town of Sisters was an unplanned stop but turned out to be one of our favorite trail towns along the PCT. For dinner, we settled on a sick restaurant called the Sisters Salon. While we waited outside for a table, an older local gentleman named Jack stopped mid-stride down the sidewalk and gave me a once over. He quickly asked, "you a thru-hiker?". I responded with a, "yes sir!" and we quickly began talking about life on the trail. Near the end of our conversation he mentioned that he lived at his sons place a block or two down the road. He stated that there was an extra cabin we were welcome to stay at; he seemed concerned that another thunderstorm might roll through over night and insisted we crash at his place. I took his number and said I'd shoot him a text when we were done with dinner. Sisters is a very touristy town and hotels run about $350 a night...I mentioned my run in with the older gentleman to Auti and we both agreed that this was something we would follow up on.

The wait for a table at the Saloon ended up taking too long so we checked the bar and found a few open stools. Auti ordered drinks and scanned the food menu. Everything looked delicious. She must've been bitten by one too many mosquitos because she hinted at ordering a legit burger (with real meat). For those who don't know, Autumn has been a devout vegetarian since the 9th grade but that all changed. She ended up ordering the Caballero burger topped off with guacamole, provolone, bacon, fire roasted poblano chile, chipotle aioli, and locally sourced beef. I asked her 50 times if she was certain about her decision: she nodded yes. The order came out and for the first time in 12 years she took a bite into a real juicy burger. To my surprise, her face lit up and she confessed, "this is frickin delicious!". It was a good experience overall and she didn't get sick from it so that was a plus. I don't think this will be a regular thing so I was honored to have witnessed such a rare act. The trail really has brought the best out in both of us!

After dinner we called Jack to see if the offer still stood to crash in his backyard cabin. He said to c'mon over and he'd give us the tour. When we got to Jack's place, he was delighted to see us and eager to show us the tiny farmers market stand outside his garage. His tiny market is open everyday 9am to 2pm. If it had been open, Auti and I would've cleared the shelves. Everything was home grown and fresh! He ushered us into the backyard and showed us the compost toilet, outdoor shower, marijuana garden, and cabin we'd be staying in. It was so Oregon and we absolutely loved every second of the tour. The cabin was maybe a 150sq ft with a lofted twin bed. It was a perfect little place for two stinky PCT hikers.

After the tour we sincerely thanked Jack and went back into town to check out the night life. We stumbled upon an open air performance of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream". The director, Clint, stopped every person who walked by in an attempt to recruit more audience members. He easily convinced us and we sat with him and listened to his life story. It happened to be his birthday and he insisted we drink a Twisted Tea to celebrate. At this point in the evening, we couldn't believe the cumulative odd but authentic bout of experiences we had encountered. It's funny how an unplanned night in Sisters, Oregon had turned into one of our most memorable nights of the trip thus far.

Overall, this 11 day section tested our resolve and motivation to continue unlike any other part of the trail. Skipping this section was discussed but I knew if we decided to bypass this area, we'd look back in the future and regret it. The trail isn't supposed to be easy and unless injury, fire, or a closure require a skip, it should not be the first option. Ultimately, this is how grit and resolve are formed: pushing forward when it's hard, even when every force of nature seems to be pushing against you. So there you have it, week 15 in a nutshell. A memorable one to say the least!