Day 110: A Charred Landscape
Date: Sun 8/5
PCT Start Mile: 1781.5
PCT End Mile: 1812.7
PCT Mileage for Day: 31.2
Total PCT Mileage: 1812.7
The Highlights: rocky climbs, 1800 miles, and eerie burn landscape
The day started cold again. Getting out of my comfy sleeping bag is the worst part of my day. Let’s just sleep… several more hours. I would actually describe myself as a morning person… but hiking all day long makes one very sleepy.
Today we had some unwelcome company in the form of many mosquitos. Nowhere near Yosemite levels, but despite my best efforts I have several new bites. More welcome friends of the animal kingdom included the literally hundreds of tiny frogs around a couple of the streams we passed. We had to be careful not to step on them as they jumped to get out of the way. Pretty adorable.
Our morning included a rocky climb through burn landscape, and throughout the afternoon we would also hike through miles and miles of burn, each area unique.
In some areas, the trees stood as burned poles, with no charred or live foliage remaining. In other areas, the burned pines still grasped their singed needles. And in others, regrowth – some likely assisted – had begun, with baby trees scattered about the charred trunks of the burned landscape.
The burned landscape had a somewhat eerie feel to it, like a bomb had gone off over this landscape. And, while devastating, there was also a sort of very raw beauty to the surreal scene we hiked through.
Today we also passed the 1800 mile mark!! The miles go by quickly when you are doing 30+ miles a day 😆
Tomorrow we hike into Crater Lake National Park, a highlight of Oregon. Our fingers are crossed that the day will bring clear views of Crater Lake!
