Six Lakes Trail to Crescent Lake

We got on the trail south of Elk Lake on July 28th. It was an easy six mile hike west to the PCT, and we passed 3 or 4 mosquito clad lakes on the way..

Since we got such a late start, we made camp 8 miles in at Cliff Lake, an absolutely beautiful place with fish jumping everywhere. I set up camp and Scratch fished until dark. We met our first thru hiker, DragonAnt, he'd hiked over 2000 miles! And of course he was gone before we woke up in the morning.. We plan on hauling the Tahiti up the hill next summer for some serious fishing.
There were raindrops and clouds on day 2, so we got out our ponchos for the first time. After a few trail miles, we detoured to Mink Lake. It was a worthy detour...we had the entire lake to ourselves. If the weather had been warmer it would have been perfect for swimming.

After lunch we climbed back up the ridge, (Mink Lake is down in a basin) and headed south through dense fir forest with lots of Mosquitos. We also met many more thru hikers.. including one man who was hiking sans maps until Cascade Locks....I gave him Sisters and Jefferson, as I have good Topo maps for these areas. Hiking through snow with no maps..

We made it to Stormy Lake before dusk, and built a fire. We had company again, a thru hiker named Cliff... not sure if it was a trail name or real name, but he was great. We learned about the people we had met in passing that day, and took messages to relay to the people who were still further south. He had the fire built up the next morning but was on his way soon after he ate. We feel so slow and lazy compared to these guys...

We set off for a 20 mile hike to Bobby Lake, with stops at Irish and Charlton Lake. We finally had views back to the north of Bachelor and South Sister, and views to the south of Wilammette Pass. We hiked through a huge burn area, but no mosquitos! We also met 7 other thru hikers. The community these people have is amazing, we were glad to be part of it for a few days. It was especially nice to meet the 2 men trying to break the speed record, 2700 miles in 79 days! I hope they make it! We continued to hike fast and covered the last 3 miles to Bobby Lake in 50 minutes. We went for a swim, ate and went to bed!

The next day we were able to cruise the 9 miles to Odell Lake. It was mostly downhill, and along the way, you pass a cabin that can be used by backpackers, skiiers and snowshoers. It has solar cells for charging batteries, a fireplace and a stove. Nice to know it's there, we plan on skiing to it this winter. Another treat was the Rosary Lakes. 3 sparkling lakes in a row, all with fish. We met an older gentleman who brought a raft and his dog up for the weekend.

We also met Tango Charlie, just hiking Oregon, and Mother Goose and Lost and Found. They are also hiking Oregon, and are probably the most interesting, formidable hiking team on the trail. Not to mention in their 60's.. it was inspiring to meet them! We wanted pizza at Willamette Pass, but Mother Goose told us they're only open on weekends. Poo. So we walked on to Odell Lake. There were several more hikers on the porch, I went inside and bought beer and called my mom. The selection of food isn't very good, and it's very expensive. They only have kielbasa and ice cream, plus a selection of canned goods. They have laundry facilities, showers and a free campsite for PCT hikers. And a huge hiker box, in which I found 2 books and some burts bees hand salve. I put in a beer for good karma.... We met more amazing thrus, including a young guy named Charlie that we camped next to. Poor guy didn't expect the mosquitos to be so bad, and only had a sleeping bag. No tent, no net.

After a latte in the morning, (they do have an espresso bar, so i'm almost willing to forgive the $11 price tag on the mosquito repellent) we headed south again, toward Diamond Peak. We took the low road, on alternate trails, to avoid more snow.. Diamond View Lake was beautiful, and the trail underfoot turned from forest dirt to pumice.

Our trail eventually brought us to a horse corral on the west end of Crescent Lake. We hitched to the resort, and spent the evening eating and drinking with the owner and some of the staff. The food is excellent, inexpensive and generous. If you're on the alternate trail and hungry, it's well worth the detour. However, no laundry or showers... so you'd really only stop for food. And the company, the owner, Tom, and his wife made us feel like family.

The next morning, we decided to skip the hiking and go straight to Tokatee for 5 days. Then we had family to visit in Roseburg. So we'll get back to the Trail and do the rest of section D next year.. At Tokatee, we fell in with a busload of Rainbows...that was an adventure in itself. We hiked, swam, fished and soaked. The weather was perfect and hot. We'll head north on the PCT later this month.