Day 129: Mile 2015.4 - 2028.1
And I woke up this morning to a tent cold and half wet--the half facing the wind had water droplets on the screen of the inner tent--and I just had a hard time getting going. I woke around 6:30am or so, but didn't get on trail until 9am. I have a whole routine in the morning: it starts with getting my contacts in, which is always a roll of the dice and can sometimes take a minute or sometimes ten, but which also signals, it's go time. Only this time I got them in then it was not go time. I couldn't get going. And I would start to change, maybe pull off my thermal underwear, and then get stuck, and just sit in my tent with my head down, trying to summon motivation. And ultimately, it wouldn't come, at least not from anything internal. Around 7:30am, Double Snacks would pass by my tent on her way out--on time as always--and say she'd see me ahead, and that reminded me that we were getting picked up by Brett today around 3pm at the Pamelia Lake trailhead, and that was 13 miles away, so I had to get going because people were being generous and I couldn't be late when people were being generous. So that was my ultimate motivation: nothing from inside, but rather an outside social obligation.
And I got my stuff together, and I saw that my inner tent was wet and that was concerning because I thought it meant I had set up my tent wrong (although Double Snacks would later speculate that that wasn't the case, that instead the wind--which was still blowing--had just blown the fog under the rain fly and into the tent, and it had collected on the inner tent) (she's probably right), but I got my stuff together and got out into the cold. I was clearly camped in a cloud now, with the mists still swirling into a cold fog, only now it was maybe even more windy than last night. And in this miserable state, both internally from yesterday's debacle, and externally from this morning's cold and wet, I pulled down my wet tent and finally set out.
(Incidentally, yesterday Ranger Talbot had said that Rockpile Lake was a beautiful campsite and I'm guessing for him--a true Oregonian born and bred--this *is*. I'm betting he'd relish these conditions, he'd go swimming in the lake! Because I think Oregonians are a different breed, and I know I'm not one of that breed!)
I started hiking and, even just a little bit past the lake, things got a bit better. Sure I was still in a cloud, and sure I was still in the cold on the west side of the ridge, but the wind didn't seem as bitter, and the wet didn't seem to get under my skin as much. And as the hike went on, the day cleared up and became sunny and the trail today afforded some nice views of Mount Jefferson, as even the clouds doming the top of the mountain eventually gave way. But I only paid so much attention: I was starting out an hour and a half behind Double Snacks, and I didn't want to be late. And being in a desparate sort of mood, I went all out, trying to make up the distance, trail running part of the time, trying to make miles. And while the trail running was exhilarating and exciting, I was also not in the best head space for it: if I had fallen and hurt myself, instead of pushing through it and saying I'm going to get past this and move on, I would have thought, well, this is my lot, everything's messed up, and left it at that. It's dangerous trail running with that attitude, and honestly I got away with it today.
Because it paid off: at a pond, the last good water source before Pamelia Lake, I paused to fill up my CNOC--I would filter later--and was heading out when I heard someone call my name. And it was Double Snacks: I had caught up. She had been taking a break on the other end of the pond, and was getting going again. And so we met up and hiked together, but only for a short time before she let me go ahead and me, still feeling it, went off down a switchback slope, eventually readopting the trail running. And I would go--mostly fast walking, sometimes trail running--the rest of the way all the way to Pamelia Lake, even though now I *couldn't* be late--I was ahead of Double Snacks--and now I was risking the other social faux pas: arriving before Double Snacks and thus showing her up. Can't win for trying when you're in this sort of mood!
So knowing I was ahead, I figured I'd find a spot to dry things out, stop there, and let her catch up. And I got to the end of the PCT, where it bumps into the southern end of the Lionshead fire closure, and there was a chain across the trail saying don't go farther! And I took the sharp left that went down to Pamelia Lake, and I was still under cover and tree so no drying prospects here, until I got close to the lake and saw some campsites and some blue water through the trees beyond them. And I got curious and decided just to check out the lake, and through the campsites I went, until I broke out onto a nice rocky shore and there was Pamelia Lake.
And it was sunny and nice and there were day-hikers scrambling around, populous enough to feel not alone, but few enough to stay alone. And there were some big fallen trees, and I took the opportunity to lay out my tent to dry, and to finally eat a meal (or two), and even to solar-panel charge my Garmin. And I messaged Double Snacks on the Garmin to let her know I'd found a great place to dry stuff, and for the first time today, I relaxed and just sat and enjoyed being by the lake. Because even though I don't fully understand the appeal of lakes, still this one was really nice. Here I could see that the sun was out, here I could see other people with their loved ones out having a good time, here I could watch this chipmunk who went to the log a bit ahead of me, and stood up and looked out over the lake for a few minutes, just taking it in and enjoying the view (or, more likely, trying to wait me out and hope that I would be leaving soon so he could scavenge my crumbs). And it was just very nice and things were suddenly right with the world, and yesterday's stupidity, and this morning's cold and wet tear down, just faded away.
And then as I was getting ready to go, I got a message on my Garmin from Double Snacks that she was already at the trailhead and where was I, oh wait, she just saw my message, was I finished drying yet? (That's the problem with the Garmins in the woods: they're so low power that they often can't send or receive messages under canopy, so you get messages hours after they've been sent.) And suddenly it was on again, and I hurriedly finished packing up, and tried to run the last couple miles to the trailhead, but having just eaten developed side cramps, so ended up just fast walking it instead. So I ended up being late in the end anyway, by about half an hour or so, and finally met Double Snacks and Brett by a picnic table at the trailhead, where she had put her tent out to dry over in the brush over there, and where Brett had bought three large burritos, and we each had one.
And that was the hike! Overall a desperate day to start, but one that eased out over Pamelia Lake (to which I'll always be indebted), and then one which ended with a big speed push again in the end. A short day, but one that got us off trail right at the southern end of the Lionshead fire closure--a trailhead that definitely had day-hikers around, but also was at the end of a dirt road and pretty far from Bend (it would take maybe an hour and a half, maybe more, to drive into Bend?) so I'm glad I could catch a ride with Double Snacks and Brett rather than trying to get a hitch!
Some notes:
-- Rockpile Lake > Mount Jefferson View > Pond > Pamelia Lake > Pamelia Lake Trailhead > Bend
-- Today's peanut M&Ms colors are red and orange, because I forgot to eat some yesterday, those are the ones that are left, and we're headed into town today so might as well eat the rest!
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