Summer of the Aged

You see specific groups of people on the PCT. The younger set are 20 something's who haven't begun their career, are recently out of college and are pursuing the PCT thru hike before entering society and reality. You also see a group of Section Hikers who still have obligations, jobs etc. and are trying to tackle sections of the PCT. And then you see the retired set who are still healthy and now have the time and money to make a concerted effort to hike the PCT. The last group I lump into the Internationals. They come from all over the world, applying for a six month visa, quitting their jobs to thru hike one of the great trails.

This is apparently the summer of the aged hiker, and I'm the youngster of the older set. Many I meet have commented on the number of older hikers this year. I shared my site with 3 of the older set last night, Judy, Mary and Restart, all happily retired, and would hang out with them at Elk Lake. I would be introduced to 2 more tonight, "Noodles" and "Long Skirt", who Mark and I saw on the trail earlier. Both in their mid 60's. Of the four of us last night, I was the first to bed, to rest and write, and then first up at first light around 5:30 a.m. and on the trail by 6:30 a.m. (Pic 1).

The last two nights were cold but that makes for comfortable hiking in the morning. I'm trying to knock out all of my hiking by 1:30 to avoid the heat of the day. Today will be 10.2 miles to Elk Lake Resort. The day started off with a 750 ft elevation gain over the first 5 miles. I passed another bevy of lakes, including Cliff (Pic 2), Island and Dumbbell with twice as many ponds. The mosquitoes continue to swarm and again I complete the hike without putting my pack down. The good news is I'm starting to get into hiking shape. I'm acclimated to the elevation and my legs are getting stronger with no muscle soreness. My knee is holding up with no inflammation after 8 days. Way to go Josh, my Ortho PA, delivering Gel and Cortisone injections right on the money! I know my cardio is getting better because I could not have completed these last two days as my first two days. I was sucking air the first two with Mark, stopping on a regular basis to catch my breath.

Before the final climb of the day to the Elk Lake Trail intersection, I passed through an interesting meadow, in the middle of old growth forest, called Island Meadow (Pic 3). I saw no reason for it to exist but there it was. The last mile of hiking down to Elk Lake was through another burned out section of forest but from here on the mosquitoes are gone! I also get a great view of Mt. Bachelor (Pic 4). Elk Lake is a popular spot to get married because of the view. They positioned the ceremony alter and benches to highlight Bachelor in the background (Pic 7 & 8). AND NO MOSQUITOES!

I timed my arrival at Elk Lake perfectly on a Saturday and had made a campsite reservation for 2 nights back in February. Although the lake is really busy on the weekend, that also meant a live band on Saturday night on a stage off the restaurant deck above the waterfront. See the pic of Restart and the Band (Pic 9 & 10) with Mt. Bachelor in the background (Pic 11). Restart didn't know he was going to be hiking this far so he had no reservations. I offered up my site for tonight and he joined me.

I had finished my hike up pretty early today and checked in with the PCT desk in the bar. I picked up the resupply box I mailed and headed up to my campsite. Picking up your resupply box is liking opening up a present at Christmas. Treats, food, clean socks, shirt and convertible hiking pants. I set up camp (Pic 12) and then went down to the bar to buy a shower before getting my first Cheeseburger, fries and 2 pints of beer. I had heard about their burgers on the trail and I was not disappointed!

I spent a second day here at Elk Lake eating, drinking and talking to more hikers. I had long conversations with Noodles and Long Skirt (named because she wears a long skirt on the trail). They live on an island off the Gulf Coast of Florida and had also thru hiked the Appalachian Trail. I had left my Xero sandals at Bobby Lake on my first night alone. Noodles had found them and passed them on to "Ocean" and "Monk". They were faster hikers and he thought they might be able to catch whoever left them. Unfortunately they were thru hikers that likely blew right by me and I never did retrieve them. They were great sandals for crossing rivers and wading into lakes for a swim. I also met "The Honeymooners" who were just married two weeks ago and were spending their honeymoon hiking the PCT. Mary and Judy also arrived today and we all had campsites near each other. I spent the day eating, drinking and taking pictures. Day 8 and my second zero day were complete! I now felt like I was well into my trip but I still had 13 days to go and that seemed like an eternity. But, South Sister tomorrow!!!

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