Day 132: mile 2040.2 to mile 2069.4
8.25.18. 29.2 miles.
It was so cold when I woke up this morning, I really didn’t want to get out of my quilt! I didn’t realize how cold it was until I accidentally touched the top of my tent and felt ice on the inside, and once I’d finally packed up, I discovered that the whole of my tent was covered in frost. It definitely feels like fall is moving in. Cold mornings, evenings, and nights, cooler and shorter days.
I had a quick 5 miles to Ollalie Lake, where I didn’t really need to stop, but since it was cold, kind of wanted a coffee, so I stopped in for about a half hour. The lake is in the national forest and the store there is very bare bones, cash only, no electricity. It’s a fishing lake with a beautiful view of Mt. Jefferson.
After Ollalie, there weren’t really any views the rest of the day. I had a moderate climb right after the lake, and I saw a coyote cross the trail near the top, and then I descended down a bit to where I took lunch near a spring. I tried to dry out all of my things, especially my tent, and had decent success, though it was covered in dirt that stuck to it from the dampness. I felt a few rain drops and quickly put my quilt back in my pack, but they didn’t last. Even so, I finished eating and packed up my things. It was cold sitting still, so I swapped my puffy for rain jacket as I got hiking again. It took me quite a while to warm back up, even though I was going uphill. I didn’t take it off until the clouds cleared and there was sunshine to warm me up. I stopped for a bathroom break near the top of the climb, and much later realized that I regrettably left my pee rag near where I went. I’m sorry for littering!! I didn’t realize I had lost it until about 5 miles later.
After the climb, I descended until a river where I needed to get water for dinner and the night, then had another climb, this one much steeper than the other 2 of the day, but shorter. Once I reached the top, I just had a little bit left until camp. It was getting cold again, and there was no sunshine, just clouds.
I’m looking forward to tomorrow a lot! Should be pretty, and I can’t wait to see Little Crater Lake and get to Timberline Lodge at the end of the day!