Day 122 : The Oregon Desert

19th August 2013
Mile 1794.5 to 1824.5 : Red Lake trail junction to Stuart Falls trail junction
Mileage : 30

Average mileage since day 101 : 22.2

Tired and irritable from the lack of sleep the night before, I resolved nevertheless to get a full day's hiking in and be so tired that i would sleep no matter what that night. I had resigned myself to a difficult day when after only a few miles, my day was turned around by Puppy. Puppy is one of the few hikers on the trail that I would actively seek out to talk to and hike with, and I happened across her mid morning as she was breaking camp. The last time I had seen her, i think, was probably about 800 miles ago just before getting into South Lake Tahoe. Unfortunately for her, she had gotten a cold off someone and was suffering from the usual cold like symptoms and was therfore struggling to make miles. Thankfully, I have been spared any sort of illness and as I had no intention of getting sick, kept my distance as we spoke. Puppy is a solo hiker, and although I usually hike with people, we both prefer to do the actual hiking alone, but today we kept each other company. I lead the way and she tagged along behind me, 'pulling' her along. Given my irritability not even an hour before I surprised myself by actually enjoying the company of another hiker and before long we were making good miles at a comfortable pace. Puppy is a stronger and faster hiker than me on a normal day, but we seemed to maintatin about the same speed that day as we made our way north. On the maps today I saw that we were passing through the Oregon Desert. Hiking along the PCT in Orgeon shaded by a forest canopy the idea of a desert made me smile to myself thinking of other deserts i've experienced on this trail and growing up in the middle east, but I guessed that the main reason it is called as desert is that there is little water. The volcanic landscape of the southern section Oregon Cascades with its porous means that there are few springs and creeks, and most of the lakes are man made and far from the trail. The 'desert' nature of the trail and the corresponding relative lack of water meant the we hiked fast taking only enough water to get to the next source. By the end of the day however Puppy was feeling the effects of day's hike coupled with her cold and had to stop a few miles short of my own goal. I didn't feel bad about carrying on and leaving her to fend for herself as she is one of the capable and independent, male or female, hikers on the trail and didn't doubt she'd be fine. I stoppped a just inside Crater Lake National Park but before the crossing with the main entrance road, as I intended to get up early and get to Mazama Village at the main entrance in time for a real breakfast. Given the miles I'd covered that day, and lack of rest the previous night, sleep came quickly and easily that night.