Day 105 - Tuesday, August 10

Tenting at the Grouse Hill Camp on the Crater Lake Rim Alternate (left PCT at mile 1823.0). Walked 1.3 miles today plus 12.3 non-PCT miles.

I woke up at 2:15 am this morning despite my alarm being set for 3:20 am. I tossed and turned until about 2:45 when Frank got out of her hammock and lay down beside me to cowboy camp. She was freezing and the nights so far in Oregon have all been chilly. When my alarm went off, I packed up and started hiking.

I immediately remembered that I'm not a fan of solo night hiking. The eyes (likely of deer) glowing by the light of my headlamp did nothing to assuage my unease. I hiked quickly, first on the Annie Spring Trail and then turning onto the PCT for a little over a mile. When I got to the Rim Alternate Trail, I took that. I'll end up skipping about 16 miles of the PCT in favor of the 11.5-mile Rim Trail. Most hikers take this trail that has great views of Crater Lake. The PCT runs farther to the west and has zero views of the lake. Frank, who has been to Crater Lake before and is trying to not skip any PCT miles, is taking the PCT and we'll meet up later today at a campsite we picked out last night.

I hiked up the steep trail and arrived at the lake about 5:30 am which was perfect timing to watch the gorgeous display of sunrise over Crater Lake.

After the sun rose, I called home and journaled before aimlessly wandering around and eventually making my way over to the cafe. I met up with Heather, Bougie and Clockwork and when the cafe opened at 10, we got in the surprisingly long line and got some food. After a meal and packing our stuff up, the four of us set out to tackle the rest of the rim alternate.

The terrain was steep and tough with a lot of ups and downs, but finally became easier about halfway through.

We took a couple of breaks and admired the views including a great one at our lunch spot.

After lunch, the trail left the rim and headed north into the trees. After several miles, we reached the campsite and I found Frank lounging in her hammock.

She had been there for an hour and reported that the PCT through the section that I missed was 80% burned with over 200 downed trees across the trail. We caught up on each other's day. We and ate some dinner and chatted a bit more before going to bed. The mosquitoes are bad here, so we shared a tent again this evening.