Day 116: Lava Rock Landscape

Date: Sat 8/11

PCT Start Mile: 1957.2

PCT End Mile: 1991.6

PCT Mileage for Day: 34.4

Total PCT Mileage: 1991.6

The Highlights: cool, windy hiking; stunning landscapes and skies; over 75% done

Today was absolutely stunning – probably my favorite day in Oregon as far as landscapes and scenery go. I took a LOT of pictures.

The day started cold and actually stayed pretty cool all day, a phenomenon we are not at all used to on this hike. Waking up in the morning, my entire sleeping bag was damp with heavy condensation, as was the tent. It took me some extra time to pull myself from the warm inside of my sleeping bag, so it was closer to 6:10am when we hit the trail.

As mentioned above, it was quite chilly, and I started the hike in my rain jacket, rain pants, and gloves. There was also the distinct smell of smoke in the air, but this eventually cleared throughout the morning and we had the clearest skies we’ve seen in probably the last 300 miles. Every view looked amazing.

The morning took us through more burn area, forest, and meadow, eventually leading us through the Obsidian Limited Entry Area, a landscape of obsidian rock and the beautiful Obsidian Falls. This area was also full of day hikers, apparently one of the most popular hikes in all of Oregon.

Beyond the Obsidian Limited Entry area, the landscape became more and more volcanic, host to mountains of lava rock, an absolutely stunning landscape, though a bit hard on the ankles and feet.

We took a lunch break near a spring about 19 miles into the hike, spreading our sleeping bags over a large rock to dry out while we lunched. During the break, we met several day hikers as well as other thru hikers, including a family of six that was south-bounding.

They had started at the Canada border on July 4th, and the four kids looked like they ranged in age from about 7-8 to late teens. The father had a super positive attitude and the whole family seemed to be in great spirits. I can’t even imagine what it takes to thru hike as a family.

The spring was our last water source for the next 15ish miles, so we filled up before heading on. The upcoming landscape would include several miles of exposed lava rock and burn landscape and was known to be quite hot. All this said, the day had been cool and windy so far, and probably was unlikely to suddenly heat up. This proved to be true, and we considered it lucky to have cool weather through this section.

From the end of our lunch break through early evening, we hiked mostly through the stark rocky volcanic landscape, entering the Mount Washington Wilderness Area. The terrain was somewhat difficult to walk through, but unique and beautiful.

We had a short break along the way at a trail magic stop set up by a former PCT hiker (and now trail angel) named Coppertone. He had hiked the trail in 2006 and this year had been working his way up the trail as a trail angel, providing magic at seven different places so far. Several hikers had met him more than once, but this was our first run-in. He had cookies, bananas, and root beer floats, so we sat enjoying some treats and chatting with him and other hikers for awhile before continuing on.

Another half mile up the trail, there was a cooler, though by the time we went through, it was all empty cans. We continued through the rocks, passing a lone pine tree in the middle of the desolate landscape. Nature finds a way.

We hiked a bit later than usual, watching the colors of the sky change as the sun set. The sun filtering through the clouds splashed a swath of light across the burnt landscape below. It was gorgeous. By the time we got to a tentsite, it was around 8:45pm and we quickly set up before the sky grew dark. I ate dinner in my sleeping bag with my headlamp. Thankfully, I was eating the rest of my lunch that was cold-soaked earlier so I didn’t have to cook anything.