The cold, damp, foggy night on the open, but roofed porch of the Crater Lake Rim Village store, was my coldest night in the sleeping bag and I didn’t sleep particularly well. At about 4am I opened my eyes and the Big Dipper was there before me, bigger than life. I smiled, went back to sleep, then woke up a little after 6:30am to clear skies and faint light to the east. Tabasco and I both packed quickly and returned to the warm men’s bathroom to dry out damp gear and to prepare ourselves and our packs for the brisk morning hike.
Just after 8am we began the stunning hike on the crater rim. There were lots of short steep climbs to viewpoints of the entire Crater Lake and I began to wonder if we would ever make any miles today as we stopped for picture after picture. By 11am we had only hiked about six miles, but the perfect weather (except for cold) made the slow hiking in such a sublime place well worthwhile. Finally we worked our way off the rim and, though slowed several times by obscure trail tread along the Rim Road, we got on track with a fast pace.
We stopped for lunch about 1pm on a stretch of trail where we weren’t sure exactly how far we had hiked. After lunch we located a data point, then we hiked at top speed (about 4.5 mph) for a couple hours. After a 4pm break to call Tabasco’s mom, and my friend Greg, back in Charlotte, we entered the Mt. Thielson wilderness and began a 5 mile climb to the western face of Mt. Thielson. About 4 miles into the climb we stopped to celebrate my crossing of the 2000 mile mark for the second time in my life on a long distance hike. In keeping with my personal tradition that I began on the AT at 2000 miles, I stood on my head while Tabasco took my photo. In the late afternoon chill at 7100 feet on Mt. Thielson, I crossed that magical distance.
We pushed on, both extremely hungry and for the third day in a row, both feeling dizzy and completely worn. Truth is, the calorie deficit is reaching that critical point where even though we are in top physical condition, our bodies simply run out of calories to keep us going. We made it to Thielson Creek at 6:15pm in waning light, first and only water of the 25.9 miles since leaving the Rim Village this morning.
In freezing temps we gathered water, then found a campsite another tenth of a mile farther and five degrees warmer (always colder near creeks and river than on a hillside away from water). In near darkness we set up tents, then both cooked double meals to fill our empty bodies. I am happy we were able to do so many miles after a slow start, though I’m really tired of having to do so many miles, having to hike so hard for so many hours. I got stung again today by a yellow jacket, 12th time in the combined states of Washington and Oregon. I am so thankful for blue skies and tomorrow should be a good hiking day as well, and we hope to hike at least 30 miles tomorrow. Today’s weather: sunny and cold; low 27i, high 49. Today’s miles: 26.0’ cumulative: 2004.4.
