Thursday, August 1
We survived the Dust Bowl last night. The wind howled as we bedded down for the night, and we awoke to a layer of fine, gritty black dust over all of our belongings. We’d put the rain fly on the tent, but apparently wind can create a vortex that tosses dirt up and through fine mesh screens. If there’s one thing (besides mosquitoes) that I dislike about Oregon, it’s the dust.
We were able to rinse off a lot of dust by taking a mid-morning dip by Lake Olallie, casting off from shore on a wooden raft moored to the bouldery waterfront, feeling a bit like Tom Sawyer on the lake surrounded by huckleberries.

After a refreshing 3 hours at the lakefront (including some pop and ice cream!), we done back into the woods, feeling baked to well done as the dusty trail took a relatively straight shot in line with the afternoon sun through the old burn forest. This didn’t change much, with a near-level grade, with water supplies few and far between.
We made good time in spite of the conditions, pushing beyond our planned tent site in favor of a spot mentioned in my backup guide book. We reached 20(!) miles and a crooked campsite just after 8:00, exhausted and happy to be celebrating our one-monthversary on trail!!

Friday, August 2
Today was a GOOD DAY.
A couple nights back, a SOBO hiker named Hong Kong informed us of some trail magic up ahead that would be disappearing sometime today – promises of sandwiches and potato salad were very motivating to cover 13 miles before early afternoon. We were on the trail just before 8. Most of the NOBO hikers we encountered also gushed about the upcoming potato salad, and spirits were high as we leapfrogged each other at various springs and huckleberry patches.
We had multiple reunions today, including Phoenix (our Devil’s Peak descent buddy) and Glow Worm & Chips, all of whom we hadn’t seen since Crater Lake. What a joy to see familiar faces!

At 6 miles to go, a SOBO hiker delivered the news that the trail magic had packed up and moved on. Wind out of our sails, we slowly trudged on, giggling ruefully at how much motivation mayonnaise-covered spuds gave us.
As evening fell, we came into more open, old growth forest, and a gentle breeze rustled branches filtering golden sunshine to the forest floor. Timothy Lake came into view, and our campsite on its eastern shore drew near. After a dip in the lake to wash off the dust, we crashed in the tent, another day successfully and blissfully complete.
It was a good day.

Sabbath, August 3
We planned a leisurely start this morning to enjoy Sabbath rest, but I wanted to catch sunrise over the lake. I woke to a fog covering the water, but fully enjoyed sitting at the water’s edge with what I endearingly dubbed “Backpacker’s Communion”: a brown sugar PopTart and a cup of Starbucks instant latte. I revisited the scriptures of the Last Supper, and found great joy in remembering the gift of the new covenant 🙂
Phoenix had shared the campsite with us, and he asked if he could share the lakeside space to make breakfast. We enjoyed a chat ranging from his work with the Forest Service to education inflation to the importance of unplugging and getting into nature. It was a thoroughly enjoyable morning!
I hit the trail before Bethani, eager to get to Little Crater Lake, a deep blue spring that invites a gaze deep into its cold blue depths.

We meandered along in open forest, eventually reaching a moderate ascent in the sunshine, earning back our eau d’hiker very quickly as shirts turned to saunas. We were thankful to reach a spring in early afternoon to cool off, refill water bottles, and cook lunch. Then, back up the trail and to our 400-mile mark, with a view of Mt Hood!

We mosied along at a leisurely pace, taking frequent breaks, finally stopping at a trailhead parking lot to have supper at a picnic table before selecting a cowboy campsite (no tent) a few hundred feet back into the woods. No mosquitoes!