Today was great. I woke up early and walked back toward the Crater Lake Lodge where I watched an insane sunrise over the Lake with Amigo and Sleeping Bag who had camped a few miles back. It was magical. On a sadder note, Sleeping Bag announced that his trip was over and he is heading back to Israel. It is the right decision for him, but he will be missed greatly on the trail. Amigo is continuing on without him, but it's hard to picture one without the other. They are undoubtedly the best partnership (Team Whitney, aka The Wondering Clowns) I have encountered along the trail.
Action Pack, Smiles, Amigo, Sleeping Bag, Shameless, Mud Flap, and I made a spontaneous decision to get breakfast at the lodge. It was delicious (banana walnut pancakes for me!), and while we were there, Sidhartha showed up and joined us. After breakfast, we hit the trail. We were actually following the Crater Rim Trail rather than the PCT for much of the day, as it's a much more scenic route. Definitely longer though, so I'm not actually sure how many miles we hiked today. We rejoined the PCT at a water cache near a highway about 9 miles into our day. We started a 25+ mile dry stretch this morning.
When we got to the highway near the water cache, we found a group of 4 road bikers who were cycling around the country. Believe it or not, they had actually pulled off the road in order to look for a stream to get water. We informed them that there was no natural water in the area but that we could lead them to a stash in the woods. I think they were a bit skeptical, but they followed us a few hundred feet back where there was a huge collection of water jugs under a tree. They were so grateful, and shared some special treats in return. It was fun to hang out, and we swapped some stories. It was definitely a case of thru-hikers meet thru-bikers!
The terrain this afternoon was much easier than the terrain we encountered this morning (though not as scenic) and we made good time. I'm currently camped at a highway crossing where there is another cache. I'm with the whole breakfast crew with the exception of Sidhartha who pushed on a bit farther. We attempted to hitch to another resort or town (we were working both directions of the highway) but bowed out when we realized how far we'd actually have to go. We wound up cooking and setting up camp next to the highway. We're all tired, and Smiles hasn't felt good all day.
More hiking tomorrow! I think we're about 8 miles from water and hoping to catch Mellow who accidentally passed us up while we were eating breakfast at the lodge. Have a great night!
P.S....We got our first views of Mt. Bachelor and the Sisters today.....so exciting! We're already over a third of the way across Oregon.
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