Jefferson Park!
Day 15, I was now past two weeks in the Cascades. I haven't been able to charge my phone or Garmin so the pics from now on are sparse to save battery. I mentioned how my decision yesterday to push on to mile 2018 (Pic 1) would be a blessing in disguise. Today I would be required to push well beyond my desire. I started out today expecting most of my morning and day would be a downhill journey.
I ended last night at elevation 6450 ft and my first 9.1 miles today were mostly a downhill venture to elevation 4350 ft. I would then have a 600 ft climb over the last 2 miles. After all the climbing I had done and the significant downhill today, I thought that seemed fair. Senor Murphy would ensure today was not going to be fair. I kicked the 9.1 miles out pretty quick. I'm amazed how good of a hiker I am going downhill. :)
I stopped at Shale Lake about 4.5 miles in to replenish my water. About 3 days earlier another hiker had commented to me he had split open the same squeeze bag I was using to filter water. The squeeze bag comes with the Sawyer bottle top filters I was using. The filter screws onto the top of my one liter water bottles and the squeeze bag. You fill the bag and squeeze the water through the filter into your water bottle. Sure enough, I would split mine open today with another 7 days of hiking to go. I tried squeezing from one bottle to another and I tried drinking through my Sawyer filter like a straw. Neither was very satisfying so I decided to switch to my emergency backup treatment, Aqua Mira, a chlorine based system of drops added to your water to "cook" it, much like Iodine tablets. I have been told Chlorine as a long term source can screw with your digestive system long after you stop use. Well, I didn't have much choice, sorry intestines.
I hit the low point of my descent at Milk Creek, replenished my water and took a rest. The plan was just another 2 miles and a 600 ft ascent to get to my campsite. Enter Murphy's Law. On the climb out, I encountered a Park Ranger, a young guy in just his second year on the job. He asked if I had a permit. Permits are self completed at kiosks on the trail for anyone hiking less than 500 miles of the PCT. I told him I had one for Three Sisters Wilderness but that I couldn't find the kiosk for either Jefferson or Washington wilderness areas. Apparently the kiosk was in a parking lot on Hwy 20 at Santium Pass. Well, that's great for anyone parking a car there but if you were hiking thru, the trail doesn't go through the parking lot and I missed it. I asked how to rectify and he let me fill one out at the opposite end. Sure enough there was a kiosk at the end, right on the trail, what a novel place. He could have issued me a citation but didn't which was very cool of him. He asked me where I was headed and informed me my destination was completely burned out. My choice whether to stay there but he didn't recommend it and suggested I should push on to Jefferson Park.
Ugh, unfortunately Jefferson Park was an additional 1000 ft climb over 3.5 miles added to the 2 mile 600 ft climb I was planning. I figured it couldn't be that bad and although I wouldn't have any cover, as long as I had a flat area to pitch my tent I would be fine. He was right, I was wrong, my first choice campsite and alternate slightly further ahead were both obliterated by last year's Whitewater Creek fire. The chance of trees falling if the wind picked up was substantial. Instead of 11.1 miles, I would need to complete 14.8 miles with the last 5.5 miles climbing 1600 ft of elevation. I had to make a significant river crossing, hopping rocks with a 30 lb pack, over Whitewater Creek (Pic 3). On the trail I saw signs to beware of predator animals in the area due to an animal carcass. Yes, that looks like all big boulders in the river but when you take a closer look at the smooth one with the white splotch, it's actually a pack horse that had fallen from the trail (Pic 3). I imagine it broke a leg and the pack train had to euthanize it right where it landed. Needless to say, if you replenish your water here you needed to move well up stream.
By the time I made it to Jefferson Park (Pic 4), at the base of Mt Jefferson, I was exhausted. I was elated however with the beauty of Jefferson Park compared to the burn out I had just left.
The area was very cool and I stayed at beautiful Scout Lake (Pic 5 and 7), one of many lakes in the park. I had passed a hiker earlier in the day who said Jefferson Park was so full, apparently it is a very popular destination for local backpackers, they were forced to stay in the burned out area. Although Murphy forced me into Jefferson Park, he had pity and delivered me there on Sunday evening after all the locals had left and I was completely and utterly alone in the vast area in the pic above, as far as I could tell. Better yet, I was now ahead of schedule and had knocked out the first 1000 ft of elevation gain that would change my plans for tomorrow.
