I have to admit, Oregon hasn’t been quite what I expected so far.
After the incredible scenery of the Sierra and even Northern California, I thought crossing into Oregon would bring another dramatic change in landscape. Instead, much of the trail has been winding through long stretches of forest with only the occasional opening. It’s still beautiful, just in a quieter way. I think my expectations were probably a little too high after everything the trail has shown me over the past few months.
The highlight of the day came early when Mount Thielsen came into view. Its sharp, jagged summit stands out from everything around it and made for easily the best scenery of the day. Knowing the next reliable water was a long way off, I filled every bottle I had, carrying four litres away from the viewpoint. Somehow that water lasted me the next 22 miles all the way to camp, which is probably pushing my luck more than I’d like to admit.
The rest of the day settled into a familiar rhythm. I leapfrogged Oscar a few times, crossed paths with two southbound hikers, and otherwise had the trail almost entirely to myself.
Oregon has felt surprisingly lonely compared to California. There are long stretches where hours pass without seeing another person, leaving plenty of time to think while the miles quietly tick away beneath your feet. Today I hiked pass the highest point on the PCT in Oregon and Washington. Here I thought Washington would be higher.
By the end of the afternoon I realized I was feeling much stronger than I had expected. When I started the day, I never imagined I’d be knocking on the door of a 30-mile day, but somehow I rolled into camp at mile 1879.8 with 29.9 miles completed. It was one of those satisfying reminders that sometimes your body is capable of more than your mind gives it credit for.
Camp for the night was at a water cache, and waiting there was a cooler with just two cold drinks left inside. After nearly 30 miles on a warm day, I don’t think I’ve ever appreciated a cold drink quite so much.
If everything goes according to plan, tomorrow should bring me into Shelter Cove a day earlier than scheduled.
Unfortunately, there was also some discouraging news today. The Ptarmigan Fire has forced the closure of the Pacific Crest Trail approaching the Northern Terminus. Canada still feels a long way away, but it’s strange knowing that the finish line is currently inaccessible.
Hopefully firefighters are able to get the fire under control and the trail can reopen before I get there. But that’s not normally what happens with remote fires that have no immediate impact to critical infrastructure. For now, all I can do is keep walking north and hope the situation improves over the coming weeks.
PCT Day 110 – Crater Lake (1822.4) to PCT Mile 1849.9 via Rim Alternate
July 23, 2026
Total PCT miles: 9.2
Non PCT miles: 11.4
Total: 20.6 miles / 33.2 km
Total elevation gain: 1998 ft
Total elevation loss: 3133 ft
Steps: 47919
Remaining Distance: 805.1 miles
I really enjoyed sleeping in this morning. The restaurant in the park opens at 0700 and I wasn’t planning on missing it. I got up around 7, packed my gear and was patiently waiting for them to open. I met Oscar here and we enjoyed breakfast together. Both of us remarking on how empty the trail is. He’s hiking much faster than me unfortunately But it was nice to just talk with someone for a while.
After breakfast I decided I would hit the easy button and took the shuttle from the campground to rim village. This saved me a few miles and the climb up to the rim. Most PCT hikers take the Rim Alternate trail and not the official PCT through Crater Lake. The reason is simple, if you stay on the PCT you don’t ever get to see Crater Lake and it is definitely something worth seeing.
The best part about the Rim Alternate is that almost none of the regular visitors Venture more than 100 meters from where they park their cars. So you get these beautiful vistas all to yourself. I’m guessing the winds shifted because over the last few days they have had a lot of smoke from the forest fires but not today. I took my time (when not in crowds) and almost felt A little like a tourist myself at times.
Crater Lake really is one of those places that lives up to the hype. Formed nearly 7,700 years ago when the volcano Mount Mazama catastrophically erupted and collapsed in on itself, the lake is now the deepest in the United States at 1,943 feet (592 metres). What struck me most wasn’t its size, though—it was the colour. The water is such an impossibly deep shade of blue that it almost doesn’t look real. With no rivers flowing into it, the lake is fed almost entirely by rain and snow, making it one of the clearest lakes in the world. After weeks of hiking through forests, deserts, and burn scars, standing on the rim and looking out over Crater Lake felt like one of those moments that reminds you exactly why you’re out here.
After leaving Crater Lake the trail leading back to and joining the PCT was some of the flattest trail I think I’ve hiked. Even with the gentle terrane I was not moving anywhere near as fast as I should be able to now. I feel generally weak and tired.
There is no water for an extended period but fortunately there are two water caches after leaving the park. One 5 miles out and another 7 miles after that. Thank you to the trail angles who keep these stocked!
PCT Day 109 – PCT mile 1800.8 to Crater Lake (1822.4)
July 22, 2026
Total PCT miles: 21.6
Non PCT miles: 1.0
Total: 22.6 miles / 36.4 km
Total elevation gain: 2838 ft
Total elevation loss: 3592 ft
Steps: 51879
Remaining Distance: 832.6 miles
I slept well, not long enough… not sure long enough sleep or rested is really a thing anymore. Other than a few water sources that are really close to where I am camped and a pond that’s off trail that doesn’t sound very appealing there is no water until I get to Crater Lake. So 22.6 miles, with temperatures around 25 degrees and most of the day is through a burn scar. I made the decision to carry 5 liters… thankfully I’m almost out of food.
The day started by navigating a series of blowdowns by channeling my inner American ninja warrior. The blow downs would continue on and off with various degrees of difficulty until I arrived at the National Park Boundry (15ish miles). Just prior to entering the park I saw the first other human being I’ve seen in 36 hours.
Most of the day was spent walking through a burn scar. Not sure which fire or when it was but based on how tall the new trees are it happened before the others I have walked through.
I reached the national park boundry and hiked the final miles into Mazama Village arriving at 1530. I had dinner at the restaurant (it was okay), got my resupply box (thank goodness I sent one here) and headed to the PCT campground. The campground only cost 5$ per night. Which I’m assuming is a good deal compared to the regular sites. There is no cell reception here so to use the interweb you need to hang out at the store. Tomorrow I’ll actually walk the trail around Crater Lake.
Today was a tough day for me mentally. I’m physically and mentally exhausted and just feel done. It’s been 109 days and I’m tired of being sore and tired and having a hard time embracing the suck. The heat, long water carries, big miles, promise of upcoming wildfire smoke, the consistent pain, low energy, missing home and the boredom really took its toll on me today. I’ll say it- I want to be done. This has been building over a while but it really hit me today.
Now I’m not saying I’m leaving the trail… at least not yet. One of the things I promised myself was not to make rash decisions or quit on a bad day. So tomorrow I’ll treat myself to a real breakfast at the restaurant and head on my way.
Despite sleeping next to a highway and the not insignificant noise from the passing cars and trucks I passed out hard last night. I don’t even think the traffic woke me up through the night the night. I guess after hiking 50 kilometers I can sleep just about anywhere.
I snoozed my early alarm and contemplated sleeping in and going to Fish Lake Resort for breakfast at 0700 instead of hitting the trail early. The temptation of a real breakfast was almost too much to pass up but somehow I found myself hiking at 545 instead. I mean 2 protein bars are pretty much just as good as a restaurant breakfast right? Before leaving I filled my water from the water cache. I can’t remember the last time I had to rely on a water cache. I didn’t even know they were a thing in Oregon but they are and for good reason.
Most of the day was spent again hiking through a forest with very limited water sources. Fortunately I’ve eaten about 1/2 my food so I can afford to carry extra water. About 10 miles into the day I came to my first water source. I ate lunch and unsuccessfully attempted to patch the leak in my water collection bag.
It was hot and I felt like I was starting to over heat. So a few miles later I took a 0.7 mile trek off the PCT to Island Lake for a swim. It wasn’t the nicest lake. Fairly shallow and lots of dirt on the bottom but it cooled me off all the same.
At least in this section there are lots of small lakes within a short detour off trail should you find yourself in trouble over the heat. If I wasn’t trying to make miles I may have explored a little more.
Shortly after I started climbing up to 7200 ft and it even started sprinkling rain for a good 20 mins. I’m not sure if I’ve ever been so happy for it to rain while I was hiking. I only wish it had rained more. Finally I got some great view and even enjoyed a decent ridge walk.
I arrived at camp and was treated to a beautiful sunset that I shared with a nuisance deer that I hope doesn’t bother me all night. That said I’ve seen no other humans today. So looks like the deer is the only living thing I have to talk to.
Tomorrow I’ll be getting up early and will hopefully get into Crater Lake while the restaurant is still open. I also have a potential 20 mile water carry which is always fun.
PCT Day 107 – Hyatt Lake Campground (1744.2) to Hwy 104 (1774.9)
July 20, 2026
Total PCT miles: 30.7
Non PCT miles: 0.8
Total: 31.5 miles / 50.7 km
Total elevation gain: 4426 ft
Total elevation loss: 4528 ft
Steps: 71494
Remaining Distance: 881.1 miles
I was up before everyone else who packed into the small PCT camp at Hyatt Lake Campground. There were only 5 tents here last night and I can’t imagine what it looks like when the actual bubble gets here. I tried to be as quiet and efficient as possible and even ate breakfast far away from everyone to try and disturb them less. I was on the trail at 550 am, a little late for me but I had a hard time finding the desire to leave my bed this morning.
The weather is better for hiking today. Although it’s still warm and humid it was cloudy almost all day. It even sprinkled rain a few times. The clouds are potentially going to continue into Wednesday when there may be more lightning storms. This is really concerning due to the likelihood they will start more forest fires. Fortunately I should arrive in Crater Lake National Park around the time they are forecasted to start. So I should be able to keep up to date if there are new fires.
Most of the day today was a green tunnel day. Not much to see other than the forest I hiked through. I’m pretty sure I saw the same fawn and doe that I saw yesterday shortly after leaving the campground. My first stop was for water at another campground about 9 miles away. From here I hiked 13 miles to the South Brown Mountain shelter for more water and finally to where I am now. I only saw two other hikers all day long.
The last 5 miles was around Brown Mountain a volcano known for its jagged basalt lava flows. The trial was very rocky and pretty rough. Had I known this is what I was going to end my day on I probably would have stayed at the mountain shelter.
I didn’t have a plan for the day but I managed my first 30 plus mile day hiking a total of 31.5 miles or over 50 miles. This is the most I’ve ever hiked in one day and I’m pretty impressed with that. Not sure how I’ll feel tomorrow or if I’ll be able to do anything remotely close to the same mileage. But I’ll take the win today because I definitely needed it.
Apparently the water here is contaminated with unknown chemicals. There is no sign but I played it safe.
