I went out for a much-needed hike this past weekend. Things didn’t go as planned, but it was a good trip overall.

I plotted out this hike. It’s a mild elevation gain, and most of the territory is familiar. I looked at some other options, but I’m glad I ultimately decided to do this hike. The lack of long, steep climbs certainly worked in my favor.

I got a later start than I’d planned, and that meant arriving at the trailhead later than I’d planned. Even so, it was a moderate 62°F when I left the trailhead. For the most part, the weather was cool or cold. I’d opted for my white, lightweight sun hoody instead of the darker, slightly heavier one because I feared I’d be too warm — that was not a problem I encountered. My arms were quite chilly all of Friday afternoon.

Despite the cool air temperatures, it was a delightfully sunny day and there were lots of plants in bloom.

Leaving Highway 26, the Pacific Crest Trail gains a wee bit of elevation, and then it’s almost all downhill to Timothy Lake. There’s a section with lovely views of Wy’East, and then one finds oneself in Oregon’s legendary “green tunnel.” Given the impact of wildfires, I shan’t complain about the relative lack of views if it means I’m hiking through a shaded forest.

I was feeling good on Friday, and I had thoughts of modifying my route to head down the east side of the lake first so that I could camp on the west side of the lake Friday evening. If I’d started early enough on Friday that would have been possible, but I decided the smarter thing to do was to make the decision when I reached the junction with the Timothy Lake Trail at the north end of the lake. By the time I reached that junction I knew that I preferred the idea of stopping early enough to have a leisurely evening in camp. It was the right decision. I ended up stopping at the first campsite at the north end. It was a great spot. (Friday’s hike)

The dispersed camp sites around the lake are first come/first served. The site I used was very large, so I decided against putting my permit tag on the post by the trail and to offer to share the site with anyone who wandered down to it. Again, it was the right decision. I sleep in a hammock, so I don’t need the near perfectly flat spots tent campers want. Not long after I got my hammock set up, a group of people wandered into the campsite. I immediately let them know I was willing to share if they wanted to; they accepted.

My neighbors for the night were a group of Scouts & their adult chaperones. I love seeing teenagers hiking & backpacking because it can give them a deep reverence for the natural world. They’re our best hope for preserving wild spaces for the public to use, as well as preserving wilderness just for wilderness’ sake. I also recognized that while they may be boisterous & energetic, there would come a point in the evening they’d all crash & fall asleep — even if they didn’t, the adults would ensure they’d be quiet & polite.

Speaking of polite, after a few of them got a fire going in the site’s large firepit, one of the boys came over to me and invited me to join them at the fire. I certainly welcomed that! By that point, I was wearing all my clothes and I was still cold. The fire was lovely, and I enjoyed the conversation with my neighbors. Had it not been for the fire, I would have eaten my dinner huddled under my quilt in the chilly night air.

Saturday started cool, but I got a decently ‘early’ start despite having a leisurely morning packing up & more conversation with one of the adult chaperones. Ever the overly-optimistic person with limited insight into how poor my physical fitness is right now, I still entertained thoughts of getting back to the trailhead – or at least very close to it – that night. That was not to be.

Saturday was relatively slow going. I stopped again for a break at the day-use area at the dam at the southwest part of the lake. At this point, I decided to shave off the loop south of where the Timothy Lake Trail meets the PCT. This saved me about five miles. Even on the relatively flat sections, I was averaging less than two miles per hours an hour; skipping five miles saved me a few hours of hiking.

I forewent the Southshore Trail and stayed on the Timothy Lake Trail south of the Forest Road. I’ve hiked the Southshore Trail a few times; this section of the Timothy Lake Trail was new to me. I’m glad I went that route if only for the limited number of other humans that were on it. Between the Hoodview and Stone Creek campgrounds, the Timothy Lake Trail swings back across the road. From there, it goes through campgrounds & along the shore, affording another lovely view of Wy’East. I took another break where the trail crosses the Oak Grove Fork — it’s a creek, not a piece of flatware — to filter some cold water & soak my feet a bit. I rarely have issues with my feet, but they were feeling weary.

The Timothy Lake Trail joins the PCT just past the creek. Bikes are not allowed on the PCT, but this area is a maze of bike trails. There are signs at both ends of the PCT where it meets the Timothy Lake Trail, but I got the impression that local land managers are weary of people ignoring the signs.

I enjoyed the meandering trail through this side of the lake. There were lots of hikers out, but as it was getting closer to supper time most of them were heading back to the campgrounds. I stopped for m evening repast at the last dispersed campsite around the lake. I considered camping there, but I had several hours of daylight left and hiking longer on Saturday meant a shorter hike on Sunday. So off I go again…

I found a decent-enough campsite off the trail. It had stout trees, lots of privacy, and hordes of mosquitoes. They were voracious and savvy — I don’t think any of them managed to bite me, but I wasn’t able to kill a single one of them that landed on me.

In retrospect, I should have camped where I ate Saturday’s dinner. Had I stopped then, I would have enjoyed a few hours of relaxation & unwinding; that would have translated into a better night’s sleep.

I suspect that’s one reason I slept well Friday night — just an hour or two of relaxing can make for a more restorative sleep. But the bigger reason is I ended up having to tack on a couple of miles to Sunday’s hike because of something I screwed up Sunday morning.

Sunday morning was COLD. I first woke up at about 5 a.m. Given the cold and my not-great night’s sleep, I was unmotivated to get moving. I went back to sleep. I finally got out of my hammock at about 8 a.m.; it was below 40°F even at that hour. (One advantage: the mosquitos didn’t show up until it was warmer, and they were much easier to kill in the morning!) I got my breakfast shake & my breakfast grits soaking and started filtering my water. I hung the Cnoc water bladder on a tree to use my filter as a gravity filter. I used a branch to stabilize the Nalgene bottle so everything was secure, and then I started packing my gear. At one point, I was sitting in my hammock changing my clothes & I heard what sounded like the “whoosh” of a bird’s wings. I didn’t see a bird, but I didn’t think much of it. As I moved to the other end of my hammock I saw what made the noise: it was my water bottle falling over. I let out an “oh no!” that was surprisingly devoid of f-bombs. Other than my breakfast shake, I had about two ounces of water. My choices were to hike one mile back to Little Crater Creek, a rapidly-flowing stream, or go on my planned route and hope the ‘unreliable’ spring 4 1/2 miles up the trail had water in it. Even on a good day, I don’t like the idea of hiking with no water, and if the ‘unreliable’ spring lived down to its reputation the next water was in my truck – seven miles up the trail from where I camped. As much as I hated the idea of adding two miles to my day, hiking back to water without my pack was still a better option.

And so off I go, muttering all the way…

The hike back to truck was mostly uneventful. I always prefer loops to out & backs because it’s all new territory. But the hike north still had lovely flowers and views of Wy’East. I believe I was passed by a NOBO* PCT thru hiker. I took a lot of breaks. My body was tired – some of it was muscles, some of it was not-great sleep, some of it was my cardiovascular system reminding me of the importance of taking adequate time to recover.

* northbound

I got back to my truck around 3:30 ish Sunday afternoon. Shortly after getting back to the trailhead, my nose started to bleed. Sunday was not my luckiest of days. I have no idea what brought on a nosebleed, but my departure was now delayed by my having to spend 20-30 minutes waiting for it to stop bleeding. Because I am incredibly impatient – and, up until about a half-dozen years ago I had a pretty impressive platelet count and if I got a scrape I stopped bleeding very quickly – I kept checking my nose too soon. That meant it started bleeding all over again, and it meant I ended up spilling a lot of my own blood – on my hands, on my clothes, on the tailgate of my truck, and – my personal favorite – on the sheath of the knife I wear around my neck when I’m hiking. Suffice it to say that I looked like blood was shed but not my own. I cleaned up as best I could and hoped & prayed I wouldn’t have a sneezing fit on the way home.

Just as I left home later than I planned on Friday, I got home later than I planned on Sunday. But it was a really good trip. I was slow – painfully slow at times – but I also understand that the health issues I’ve been dealing with have prevented me from doing much in the way of any kind of physical activity. My endurance is poor, but the good news is that the best way to train for backpacking is to hike. August is just around the corner. I can’t get into tip-top physical condition before then, but I can improve.

I look back on how much I struggled hiking in the Goat Rocks Wilderness last summer. The elevation and a lack of fitness had a lot to do with it. Where the PCT crosses from California to Oregon, the elevation is around 6,000′ above sea level – just as much of Goat Rocks is. I know going in that I will be slow, and that’s okay. One of the lessons from the past weekend is that I need to be prepared to hike 7-10 miles a day that first week. That means planning to have enough food on Day 1 to get me to the first place I can pick up a re-supply box.

So, while I may have sounded disappointed by how slow & tired I was this past weekend, I’m really not disappointed. Slow is still movement. Relentless forward progress is how we get to our goals. At the end of the day, stopping to watch carpenter ants “clean up” their home or taking pictures of tiny flowers is a fine way to spend one’s time.