Friday, July 12
Hit the trail early with the intent of getting to Mazama Village, a campground south of Crater Lake, as early as possible in order to get a walk-in reservation for a tent site. Phone calls and internet research had suggested the walk-in reservation kiosk opened at 7 am, for a limited number of sites. Typically, Mazama Village offers a Hiker/Biker site, but this is currently closed due to tree removal. Long story short, we ended up having to wait in line outside the store for nearly 2 hours in order to get a site when the desk opened at noon. Our plans to explore the Park were interrupted, but we did successfully get our resupply package, bringing our batting average to .500. While getting our shower/laundry/internet fix at the store, we ran into hiker friends from last week, who had had to get off-trail due to injury. They were gracious enough to give us a lift to the rim of Crater Lake (7 miles away), helping us get the tour I thought I’d missed because of the tentsite debacle. God works good things!

We ended up sharing our hard-won tentsite with a half-dozen other hikers who were also displaced and hanging outside the store eating ice cream bars (more than once). Trail life really is another culture!

Sabbath, July 13
Old friends from Wisconsin had reached out weeks ago to see if they could meet up with us somewhere on trail, and today was the day! We divvied up our resupply box (too much food again), then caught the free trolley up to the visitor center so Jess could get her museum fix (did you know that Crater Lake is considered the purest large body of water in the world? Or that is was formed when a 12000 foot volcano erupted and imploded? Wowzas!). Friends found us at the visitor center and gave us a lift to one of the most beautiful picnic spots known to man, and laid out a feast of sandwiches, fresh watermelon, cherries, potato salad, brownies… DELICIOUS. It was a Christmas-in-July feast!! We were rejuvenated and encouraged by our visitors and hosts, and were happy to get a lift to the north end of the crater (shaving off 12-14 miles from our overall trip; we considered it a Sabbath walk 😉). Thanks, Gillens!!

We bid farewell to our gracious benefactors and dodged back into the forest, over the Pumice Desert. It was hot, dry, and very sunny. We knew we had nearly 20 miles before our next water supply, so we had packs heavy with water, yet sipped at our water bottles. Sand and dust were everywhere, and the trees offered little shade. We were especially thankful for the lift we’d gotten from the Gillens!

Sunday, July 14
A later morning (sleeping in until 6:30), then on to Mount Thielsen, the “Lightning Rod of the Cascades”. At a high point on the saddle, we shared fresh cherries from yesterday’s lunch with Endless, Pacer, and Goat (we will likely never again see these 25-30 mi/day hiker friends). We were afforded beautiful weather and jaw-dropping views of Mt Bridget’s reflection in Diamond Lake, and the looming spire of Mt Thielsen, with the great bonus of a valley breeze that kept the mosquitoes at bay. Spirits soared, though the miles seemed to crawl by – probably something to do with the multiple photo breaks and snow field crossings. We reached a mountain stream at the base of the mountain, where I met Paddles, an Australian Packer-backer (they’re everywhere!). Beauty, beauty, beauty. Loving today!

The afternoon continued to be filled with snow (don’t worry, Jess made one snowangel and one snowman), and we had to expend a bit more energy to cross each snowfield (imagine walking over snowbanks 5 feet high every 30 feet!). Mosquitoes descended again, but we escaped them briefly when we found a lovely campsite with a view! Wanting to keep up our mileage, we stopped for a rest and to make supper, then continued on 4 miles to make camp for the night. We’re still having fun! What a joy. 😀