Thursday (8/14/97) (7 AM) Camped near Highway 140.
As I was saying above, its hard to write when people keep showing up and talking to you. It happened again there. Since yesterday was a 30+ mile day (my 5th), I didn't have time to resume writing. This is getting critical, so I'm usurping prime hiking for writing.

Little John (named Bob) and Bob (of Bob & Bug) both had their wives and families visiting at Hyatt Lake, so there was plenty going on. One of Little John's daughters was turning 10, so we had a birthday party dinner in her honor. It was also Bob and his Wife's 25th Wedding Anniversary! There was quite a feast of chicken, ribs, corn on the cob, birthday cake, peach cobbler, mashed potatoes, etc. Yum! Afterwards I taught 4 people the basics of bridge. Robin of Loxley and Bug, plus two of Little John's children, Jay and ? Jay seems very interested in learning more. I suggested he contact his nearest ACBL bridge club when he gets home.

This also reminds me of a late-breaking story from the Wildwood Saloon in Seiad Valley. Treetop is working on a mini-Rubiks cube during breaks on the trip! He had it out in the bar. I spotted it, of course, and got to show off a little. I couldn't give a really good show of speed with a small, sticky cube, but being able to solve it in a couple minutes was impressive enough to most. I gave Treetop some pointers on what to work on next. He's very close to being able to solve 2/3 of it (that's where it starts getting hard, though).

I've been doing some very decent mileage lately. Coming out of Seiad Valley I did 28 miles including 4,400 ft uphill in the sun at the start. The next day was easier and I did 30. The next day I was feeling tired, but still got in 25. After that it was just 6 miles to Hyatt Lake Resort where I resupplied and layed over the rest of the day talking, swimming in the lake, and partying as described earlier. I really needed the rest. My feet have been hurting a little more than usual.

Coming out of Hyatt Lake yesterday, though, was a 30+ mile day. I probably wouldn't have done so much except that several of the others, who have access to families with cars, were slack-packing. That means hiking without packs while the car meets you with your pack up ahead. As I'm committed to carrying my pack the whole way, I declined to slack-pack, but I still felt inclined to try and keep up. Also, the last 12 miles yesterday were through lava beds around Gray Butte and there was no place to camp and no water. So here I am. Today I'll be heading into the Sky Lakes Wilderness just south of Crater Lake National Park. I'll probably do a side hike up Mt McLoughlin (9,495 ft).

Saturday (8/16/97) (7 AM) Mazama Campground, Crater Lake National Park.
Mileage to date: 1,826. Its a cold morning and the thru-hikers are slow in getting up. Myself included. I had on all my clothes inside my summer bag last night and was warm enough by a small margin. I'm also a bit worn out and planning to take it easy today. My only firm goal is getting my resupply box out of the Crater Lake Post Office this morning, today being Saturday.

As I intended, I climbed Mt McLoughlin the day before yesterday. The views were quite spectacular. Mt Shasta is still clearly visible and Crater Lake's Rim was easy to pick out. Beyond the lake was Mt Thielson to the north. The climb took about 6 hours, including a long lunch break. This was more than I had planned for because the guidebook said the climb should take about 3 hours, but on re-reading it I think it really says it should take 3 hours to reach the top. Anyway, it was 3:30 PM on Thursday (8/14) when I got packing again. I had 45 miles ahead to get here in time for the Saturday morning Post Office hours. So in 28 hours I hiked 45 miles! No wonder my feet hurt :-)

There is a shared PCTers campsite here. Again its quite a crew: Robin of Loxley, Trooper, Leslie, Dave & Jen, Bob & Bug plus, a south-bounder, Anne Marie, Randy, and Cathy.

I talked to my father, Roy, on the phone last night. He called Katrina and confirmed that she has left the trail. She will probably rejoin Justin for the last section in Washington. Justin is about 1 or 2 days behind me. He should catch up soon.

Brian