PCT Day 117 – 123 Running from Fires
Stats
Start: Ashland – Diamond Lake Lodge – Mile 1,847.8
End: Bend – Mile 1,991.6
Elevation Max: 7,592
Elevation Min: 4,699
Elevation Change: 41,168 up & down
Walking Time: 47 hrs 36 minutes
Date: 7/28/2022 – 8/3/2022
The Walk
Day 117 – Diamond Lake Lodge to Oregon Highest Point (1847.8 – 1,861.8)
Day 118 – Oregon Highest Point to Tensite (1,861.8 – 1,889.3)
Day 119 – Tensite to Maiden Peak Shelter (1,889.3 – 1,914.4)
Day 120 – Maiden Peak Shelter to Mac Lake (1,914.4 – 1,942.4)
Day 121 – Mac Lake to Tentsite (1,942.4 – 1,968)
Day 122 – Tentsite to Tentsite (1,968 – 1,991.6)
Day 123 – Tentsite to Bend (1,991.6 – 2,000.9)
I had two full meals at Diamond Lake and got a resupply to take me the next 145 miles to Bend. Fozzie has another friend in Bend, who will let us crash for a day. We plan to take a zero there and recharge.
I left feeling refreshed and ready for the next stretch of trail. The first day was easy. Not much elevation change and we even got to the highest point in Oregon! I got a picture with the sign and kept on moving. The weather was great through this section and we consistently did low to mid 20 mile days. Which was a welcome change from my mid- 30 mile days.
Two memorable things happened at Devilfish’s water cache on the second day. Devilfish is a legendary trail angel who maintains multiple water caches through dry stretches of Oregon, and later on would give me a 6 hour hitch around a trail closure.
We were relaxing in folding chairs, enjoying a morning break when a guy jogs down a hill from the north, totally out of breath.
Trail runners are fairly common, but this guy had a fully loaded backpack. With more gear than most thruhikers carry. Something didn’t feel right. He ran over to our group of ~10 hikers and frantically asked if we had heard about the fires.
I’d heard that fires impact the trail every year, but this is the first time it was real to me. He said there were 4 fires nearby and all had the potential to grow. One to the south, and three to the north. All within 5 miles of trail.
I was immediately nervous and got my phone out to learn more. No cell service. Shit. We hadn’t had good service for the past week.
Fozzie used her Garmin to coordinate with a friend. She confirmed there were no trail closures yet. Since the fires were surrounding us we decided the best option is to keep hiking north. To try and get past them before they grow.
I grabbed a trail saw from the trail magic (unrelated to the fire). But Quest carried one through California and I wanted to carry on the tradition. I would have been stoked, but the fires nearby and lack of cell service had me distracted.
I started hiking way faster than normal. A few miles later up on the next ridge I looked back and saw a plume of smoke rising into the sky. Creepy.
I kept walking and checking my phone. But I never had service. Fozzie’s friend sent a satellite message and said there wasn’t much information, but we should do our best to hike out of the area.
Bend was 4 days away, so my focus was to stay ahead of the fires.
It was a stressful 4 days. Most of my time was spent thinking about fires. Wondering what we would find over the next ridge. Thankfully we stayed a half day ahead of the fires and never had to deal with hiking in low air quality. Gushers and Highlife who were a few days behind me got evacuated from trail. Yikes!
The trail turned into lava rocks for the last 20 miles before Bend. I thought I was in Lord of the Rings! As far as I could see was covered in old lava flows. The sharp rocks killed my feet, but was a unique section of trail.
In the days to come a large section of trail south of Bend was closed due to the fires. I heard horror stories of hikers frantically packing up in the middle of the night because of heavy smoke and fires. Thankfully everyone was safely evacuated.
By the time we arrived in Bend, smoke filled the Oregon sky. Seeing the color of red / orange when it’s not a sunset is surreal. It is beautiful but you know the cause is a forest fire and smoke in the air is concerning. So it’s not the kind of surreal I ever want to experience again.
Bend was a much needed break. I didn’t think about fires for a day and a half and Nikki gave us a free place to stay. She welcomed us into her apartment with a puzzle, kickball, and food trucks. We even spent an afternoon floating down the river through town. Such a great stop!
Days 117 – 119
Days 120 – 123
