PCT: Day 139

We parted ways with General and the Daleys before I headed out for a day hike with Matt. We were hiking a stretch of the PCT from Wahtum Lake and then down Eagle Creek where Jessi and and Blue Lizard would meet us later. We took a detour up Chinidere Mountain for some incredible views of the surrounding volcanic peaks. From the top we could see Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams, Mt. Rainier, and Mt. St. Helen’s. There’s nothing quite like seeing these solitary snow-capped behemoths reaching out of the forests.

The trail after the summit passed through old growth forest with a multitude of gushing streams before dropping into a burn along Eagle Creek. This burn is 3 years old and has a lot of undergrowth that has come back. This means lots of flowers and the occasional huckleberries and thimbleberries. The undergrowth thinned further down as the trail traversed steep slopes and reached the real reason this trail is popular, waterfall after waterfall.

It warmed up as we descended and walked into the afternoon. The heat wave was still here, and highs were supposed to hit 102F. The heat was uncomfortable until we turned a corner with about 4 miles to go, at which point it felt like we walked into an oven, or maybe the inside of one of the nearby volcanoes. As hot as some of the days in Northern California were, they were nothing compared to this. We had about an hour of some of the hottest weather I’ve ever hiked in before the shadows lengthened enough to take the bite out of it. We met up with Blue Lizard and Jessi about 2 miles from the end and hiked out with them. We also picked up a PCT hiker, Sunshine, along the way, and gave her a ride to Cascade Locks.