Storms, Clouds and Snow

Hi everyone, writing to you from Bend, OR, more then half way up through the state. I'm staying with my sister's friend Maggie, her husband Matt, and their son Liam, who thankfully are putting up with my smelly self for a few days. Its definitely nice to get off trail and not have to worry about hitching to town, getting to the post office on time, or hauling groceries around while doing other errands.

Bend seems like a nice town with alot of small breweries, coffee houses and parks which make it ideal for a rest day. It is quite a bit larger than most trail towns, so I'm glad that Maggie and Matt have graciously taken the time to shuttle me around a bit; it definitely reduces the stress normally associated with visiting towns of this size. Today I hope to resupply with some minor re-outfitting at the REI in town as well, as I hope this will be the last major stop before the finish. I'm looking at a tentative finish date of August 23, though that number could go up or down a few days depending on the coming trail conditions. It was a bit of a shock when I sat down to figure out the timing and realized it could possibly be that soon, but I've been averaging 35 miles a day due to good conditions so the distance just keeps rolling by.

That being said, the trail from Ashland has been fraught with a new obstacle, this time in insectoid form. Due to the lat melting of the snow (the gift that keeps on giving), I arrived in southern Oregon just as the main mosquito hatch began. Let me be clear about this; these are not your backyard BBQ insects. These are a force of nature. Bigger and more tenacious than those on the east coast, these things can descend in clouds in seconds, often following you for miles in a comet-tail of aggravation. The summer thunderstorms that have been rolling through keep them down for a few hours at the cost of a quick dousing, but these ominously signal the approach of worse weather up in Washington. Camp offers little respite from the madness as the mosquitoes congregate around your tent, buzzing and whining all night, and waking only brings the realization that you'll have to fight off waves of them to pack up. DEET helps keep them from biting, but the constant malevolent presence of such entities that live to suck your blood is unnerving. If nothing else it forces you to hike faster and appreciate the bugless areas even more.

Thankfully, for the moment such sanctuaries seem to be coming more abundant. While the first half of the state was a tree covered, flat, largely viewless walk, the northern half is proving to be awesome and beautiful enough to make up the difference as the Cascade Mountains and their attending volcanic environs are on display. Crater Lake has been the single most stunning section to date as the trail closely follows the rim of the gigantic caldera for several miles, offering great views of Wizard Island and the countless jagged escarpments plunging thousands of feet to the deep blue waters below. Mount Thielsen, it too an extinct volcano whose cone has collapsed to a needle-like point, offered the next insight into the areas geologic history. Three Sisters Park was next, another trail highlight that began with open fields of wildflowers giving way to barren fields of obsidian and boot-shredding pumice, apocalyptic landscapes that belie the forces that created the place. Paradoxically, snow patches still linger in the open fields there despite the lack of shade. Mount Belknap came after, throwing up more barriers of lava rock that surround oddly tranquil islands of trees amidst the destruction, followed by Mount Washington, a highly glaciated peak surrounded by open forests blanketed with ferns.

Ahead on the agenda is the Mount Jefferson wilderness, which is consistently rated the best area in Oregon on the trail, as well as Eagle Creek, a hike down a narrow gorge with tread blasted into the rocks and behind waterfalls. Cascade Locks, a border town on the Columbia River and the lowest point on the entire trail is the next stop another milestone to look forward too. I expect there to be fast hiking until then for the most part, though there are rumors of more snow ahead. Furthermore, the climb into Washington is said to be very steep and, with a full resupply coming into the state, will doubtlessly slow progress a bit. As long as the mosquitoes tail off it should be no problem however, and having coming over 2000 miles so far--with only 650 to go-- I m getting excited about the prospect of finishing the second leg of my triple crown. Hopefully I'll be able to post once more from Oregon, then its on to the final state. Wish me luck, talk to you from down the trail.