We headed out of Mazama Village around 1pm and headed back towards the trail. Or did we?... Turns out our quick glance at the map was not adequate and we were walking in the wrong direction. However, we soon recognized our error and only walked about a half mile in the wrong direction. Oops, I guess we probably won't make 15 miles today as planned. According to the forecast for today there was a 40% chance of rain, but the sun was warm on our skin and only a few clouds dotted the bright blue sky. Perhaps we will finally have a beautiful day? Nope. Just before dark it started to sprinkle. Not wanting to get wet we threw on the ponchos and rain jackets and searched for a spot to sleep. This can take a while given our strict requirements for a camping spot in cold rainy conditions: lowish elevation, away from water, flat, under trees, slightly rounded (to avoid rain flooding in), and big enough to pitch the tarp. Luckily, the rain had pretty much stopped by the time we had found a perfect spot. We crawled under the tarp to eat our dinner of cheese, crackers, and oreos. The rain came in waves throughout the night, but we slept safe and sound in our silnylon home.
The next morning we woke to a cold but cloudless blue sky!!! As the sun was rising we climbed up about 500 to 1000 ft where we found frost and ice on the trees. Glad we camped where we did. Sadly, the sun did not last long and it soon was overcast and freezing cold. So cold that for the first time we walked the rest of the day in almost all of our gear to stay warm. Problem was the rain from the previous night still hung heavy on the bushes and trees instantly soaking your clothing if you bumped into them. As it got close to dusk, we could tell that it was going to be a really chilly night. However, we were able set up a tarp in a great spot under the shelter of some hemlock trees. Ferd found some dead tree branches laying on the ground nearby that we sort of closed in the two open ends of the tarp hoping to trap some extra warmth by sheltering us from the wind. Still, the night was long and cold. We found that it was hard to sleep in cold conditions because you will at first get so hot from wearing all your clothes that you sweat, but wake up freezing as the sweat evaporates. It is a constant struggle.
Morning! We made it! The next day we woke to frost on the surrounding ground and bushes. Much of the rain had turned to little ice drops. Slowly but surely the sun climbed over the horizon and warmed up the our little world on the trail. Unlike yesterday the clear day continued and we had lunch in the hot sun! Sadly, our first water source of the day was dry. I guess it will be a long day without water. At least there will be water tonight near Brown Mountain Shelter. We were ecstatic to find out that we could stay in Brown Mtn. Shelter, a cool little hut heated with a large wood stove. Awesome! But our hearts soon sank as we realized that the well was dry due to drought. No water tonight either :( In a desperate attempt to wet our whistles we boiled, then filtered some moldy pink liquid (picture Pink Panther piss) that we found in a water bottle in the shelter. Still tasted sweet... must be artificial sweetener. I woudn't say the mystery liquid was good but we felt better having a bit of water to wash down our Snickers and salty snack food. That night we used improvised candles to read a bit of a copy of Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban that was left in the shelter before bed. Once during the night it got a bit cold so we stoked up the fire and went back to bed.
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| Some "berries" we were eating |
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So thirsty!
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In the morning we set off to hike the 8 long miles to Big Spring to get some much needed water. However, we only made it about 2 miles to a highway where we found 2 gal kitty litter containers full of water! Next to the jugs was a note that informed us that Big Springs was also dry. Wow... it's kind of scary hiking when you cant't depend on water sources. Although we were SO grateful, our precious water it had a notable kitty litter flavor. Yuck. For lunch we got water from a nasty looking creek and made a fire to boil water (still no stove fuel) for our luxurious ramen feast. After lunch we trekked to our last water source before Green Springs Inn, which was a small facet next to a horse corral. As we feared, but still couldn't believe, turning on the facet yielded nothing but a hiss of air. No water for us. Pretty pissed about the lack of water on the trail we decided to take a chance and road walk the 3 miles to Hwy 66 where we could walk or hitch to Green Springs Inn. After just a few minutes of walking a nice couple picked us up and we drove down to the highway. To our delight and surprise, Green Springs Inn was right at the intersection!!! We had an incredibly delicious dinner, hot chocolate, the works. Dangit was able to talk the nice people at the inn into giving us a deal on a room too. We were pleasantly surprised to find that we had been given an awesome room with a jacuzzi tub, down comforter, and a DVD player! We relaxed in our palace, watched two movies while grazing on some snacks from our deluxe care package from Ferd's parents. How spoiled are we!
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| Our water source in kitty litter containers... |
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| No stove fuel means cooking the old fashioned way |
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| Wise words |
In the morning we packed up, checked out, and had an fantastic breakfast at the inn including perhaps the most divine bacon we've ever eaten. With full bellies we caught a quick hitch from a local (Nicholas) to Ashland to buy stove fuel and some food to supplement our care package. We also scored some cheap pumpkin orange running shorts to replace Dangits tattered purple ones at a Goodwill nearby.
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