Returned from Ashland via I5 to Medford then 140 east, longer but much easier at night than the more direct route from Ashland on curvy Dead Indian Road that I had taken down. Made it to the trailhead parking by 1:30am. Camped along a powerline access road (didn't realize at night that this is what it was - normally try to minimize my time near powerlines.) Pitched my tent right next to the car, asleep by 2pm. Up again 6:30 to birdsong (I guess my hearing isn't good enough to hear that when indide. Remind me to set up a bird-song sound for my smartphone alarm.songNeed )
Took me a while to sort things out - had a checklist but things still located in the order I packed them rather than logical places while travelling. Finally got rolling by 11am I think - funny in the last minute rush I don't look at the time. I did remember to turn on the GPS logger though, so I can go back and check my start & stop times, my pace, etc.. Hope at some time to find or develop an app that will crunch that tracklog data then use the stat's to "reconstruct" photo-locations for trips I don't have tracklogs for. (Would be a good Git-Hub project, IMO.)
My route was a fast four mile downhill on hwy 140 (hitting my brakes for picts at a large lava-flow-clearing with nice views of Brown Mt McGloughlin to the southeast, blowing past the Fish lake Resort turnoff, taking the left onto poorly marked (I've missed the turn in my car both times) onto "Primary Forest Route 37", AKA Big Elk Road. This is a pleasantly winding six mile roller coaster along the west edge of the Brown Mt lava flow. I stopped for picts at nicely flowing North Fork Butte Creek coming from Fish Lake. This road comes to a T at Dead Indian Memorial Road (which runs between Ashland and Lake Of the Woods.) A left takes you across a large meadow with nice views of Mt McGloughlin to the north, and I stopped for picts and finished off the grapes I had at the top of my pack. Up a small rise then down past Keno Access Road across the meadow north end of Howard Prairie Lake, (regretting having passed by a flowery blues & reds & yellows bicyclist-only photo-op with no car-turnouts nearby,) Up another hill then a left (after 4 miles on Dead Indian Memorial Rd) onto Hyatt Prairie Road, another curvy four mile rollercoaster that skirts the west side of the lake, A final left onto Howard Prairie Dam Road takes me southeast three miles to where it parallels the PCT at the south end of the lake, about a mile short of the dam.
I got to my stashed bear canister at 2pm, Took a long break to cool down on this very hot day, and then to transfer water and food from the canister to my backpack - amazed myself that it all fit (after some strategic munching.) placed my bike gear (pump, patch kit, tool kit, yellow vest, and garbage) into the canister, hid that, and hid my bike. I generally choose a clump of pines with low branches to slide my bike beneath, inspecting visibility from all angles, camouflaging shiny chrome spokes & rims with sticks & pine needles.) Off hiking by three pm.
I felt I was really dragging in the heat and a full pack (it's actually a small "ultralite" no-frills pack - no belt strap, in particular, that I got this year at that unmentionable department store for a fraction of REI prices, so it may fall apart quickly, I assume. The pack I've used these past three years, an Osprey Atmos 60, has fallen apart in various ways, finally ripping at the waist band which ended it's useful life for me (although I'm prepared to sew it up in an emergency if my alternative fails.)
I wasn't taking as many picts as usual, due to the extra exertion that takes to do "deep knee bends" every few steps. (At home in this temperature (high 80's?) I'd be sprawled out like a limp rag.) Didn't botehr going to the spring a half mile off trail about 6 miles of hiking, still had plenty I rationalized, though that does violate my policy of never passing up water or photo-ops. Also missed an opportunity to take a half mile side trip to Vulture Rock, that I then regretted. I did stop at the Brown Mt shelter, which had an old fashioned water pump nonoperable because the handle was missing. read some of the log book entries, last visitor yesterday. Left my own mark as muddyknees. I felt I was ahead of schedule despite the heat but wasn't checking my map, so was surprised to find myself at Dead Indian Road where I had stashed a gallon of water, now 12 miles into my hike. It was 7pm, so I just grabbed the gallon, crossed the road, continued about an 1/8 mile further to a nice soft spot of mostly Doug-Fir and I think sugar pine litter and set up camp (a groundcloth consisting of a cut open large garbage bag, to protect my sleeping bag from pine pitch. I also brought along a new roll of painter's sheeting that I've been using during thunderstorms. Dumped everything else from my pack and sorted things into logical order after having packed things randomly back at the trailhead. After settling down, still dusk, hearing some rodent noises, I placed my food into a garbage bagand used it as a pillow, so I might wake to any rodent munching sounds. Put on my bug net, as my mosquito spray from last year seemed to have lost it's potency. (Despite the dry conditions, there still are a few around.) A fly or maybe a native bee? buzzed me all night, and it took me a while to finally sleep.
Woke up to birdsong as usual, but dozed for another hour til 7:30 before getting up to pee and have my usual breakfast of oatmeal, raisins & walnuts. (I guess I was consuming some portion of California water in those nuts.) Discovered I had mistook a small baggie of Ibuprophen from last year's first aid kit as no-doze while I was packing at the car, (used my loupe to read the markings on the pill, )so substituted some extra fig bars for a sugar-rush coffee substitute. Sat there for a longer while listening to the birds waiting for the sugar rush to kick in. Walked back to the road to stash my empty gallon jug to pick up after I got to the car. Got going north by 9am Hiked the 12 miles to hwy 140 my 2pm.
The first part of that hike, like the preceding day's miles, was mostly Doug Fir forest - hence my dearth of picture taking, I guess. (There was only one panoramic view of the horizon yesterday.) But the last couple of miles on the lava-boulder-strewn northeast slope of Brown Mt offered great views of Mt McGloghlin (I mis-wrote Mt Thielsen before this edit) just north of hwy 140. Just a few snow fields visible from this side. There is a trail to the top of that volcano and I was considering making that a day-hike, maybe my next hike before starting the loop to Crater Lake.. But there are thunderstorms forecast for the next few days, so I'm not sure of the timing.
I thought it was just a short few steps beyond hwy 10 to get to my car at the trailhead parking, so instead of following the trail angled northeast then a spur trail to the parking lot southeast, I started a cross-country trajectory directly east paralleling the road, following the power line clearing underneath which I'd slept a few days before. But soon the powerline went up a steep hill, and I realized that the scale of that triangular trail configuration between the PCT, the Road, and the parking spur trail, was much larger than I had assumed, and detoured that hill. I think that hill was the backside of the large lava flow clearing that I had stopped at on my bicycle to take picts of views south of Brown Mountain. I remember that there was a large basalt-rubble "cliff" looking north at that spot. Baktracked.. So it was 3pm when I finally got to my car.
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