Another night under the powerlines near the Hwy 140 trailhead parking - just because it was dark and was familiar with the spot. The plan to pack the previous night was unrealistic in the dark, so, consumed time the next morning organizing, packing. Forecast called for clear skies no hint of rain, so I chose not to bring my tent, or poncho, just some emergency painters drop cloth and a few garbage bags. Got going early enough for a reasonably cool morning ride.
It was a relaxed ride, first a coast down 140 with some nice views of Lake Klamath that I was able to safely stop to photograph on my bike. The road north to Ft Klamath had some gently rolling rises and dips along the west edge of the flat plain north of Lake Klamath. I made a few stops for photos and snacks & water.
At the turnoff where I could choose to continue heading directly north to the Seven Mile Guard Station, though now on a gravel road, or a much longer detour following the paved road as it curved east toward Ft Klamath on the east side of the valley, taking a "middle Road" north from that valley traverse till it intersects another east-west road between the Guard Station and Ft Klamath, then taking that back west to the guard station, I chose to take the more direct gravel road. Again stopped several times on that road for picts.
I was about 50 yards from the end of that road when a gunshot-pop came from my rear tire, echoing from the surrounding trees like a gunshot does. Wow! I've never had such a loud flat! Stopped to inspect - I could see some nylon threads sticking out through a fracture in the tire. Only now did I notice how bald both my tires were. I pulled out the tire irons from my repair kit, pried that section of tire from the rim and pulled out the innertube at that section, no problem finding the hole - it was a 1/4-inch diameter Crater-Lake shaped void with an additional eighth-inch rip!
Oh well, let's see whether the little circular patch in my kit will work. I scraped clean the surrounding rubber surface with the little metal abrasion tool, trying not to lengthen the tear. Pressed on the patch. Inspected the inside of the tire. Lots of frayed nylon webbing. I decided to reinforce that area by lining it with a some plasticine Trisquit bag material. Stuffed the innertube back into the tire, pried the tire back on the rim, pumped it up, it held air! Whohoo!
Continued the short remaining stretch to the guard station, chatted a bit again with the Eva there - she's studying Black Backed Woodpeckers, who apparently prefer nesting in recently burned areas with a plentiful supply of bark beetles, but some are nesting in this un-burned riparian woodland, and they are trying to determine what they eat here.
I headed to an overgrown side road just on the other side of Seven Mile Creek from the Guard Station to "set up" my cowboy-camp and spend the night. Next morning, again got going a bit later than hoped, but luckily the back tire was still holding air, and I bicycled briskly east to Ft Klamath, stopping once for picts. made it to Ft klamath by 8am.
On my earlier scouting drive (I have yet to fill out that story...) one of the places I asked-around at was a horse-trailer converted into a "taco-truck", serving breakfast including an egg-cheese-ham-bacon-sausage packed croissant that I ordered. I ordered the same this morning, and some water rather than coffee.
The food truck was manned by the daughter of the property owners of a former restaurant at that site. It was just kitty-corner across the street from the now boarded-up former brothel that seems to be the primary landmark of the town. It can't be designated a historical place because a tin roof was added.
While preparing my croissant, she said that a Trolly had left about a half hour earlier. Hmm... oh well, there supposedly would be another leaving in a few hours. I wolfed down the croissant and continued on to the Trolly "terminal" - a large "garage" and parking area behind the Angie's place Resort just east of the intersection of the road to Klamath Falls. When I got there, two drivers greeted me and one said she'd be ready to roll in a few minutes. (The other trolley had left earlier for a special group tour.) They pointed to a spot in the garage I could store my bike. Paid my $10, got a seat cushion for the wooden seats, and off we drove.
The driver had family in Fairfield, CA. She was also a schoolbus driver, but would soon be retiring from that position but planned to continue driving the trolly's in the summer. The tours around the lake are actually guided by a ranger, leaving the driver to heed the road. At one point I moved to the seat in front of me just as the road rounded a curve, and my camera slid off the seat landing on the floor on the otehr side. Tested out the camera, seemed that it had not fixed any of the other existing misfunctions on the camera, but the shutter still worked. (I'll list all those misfunctions some time.)
I got off at the Mazaama Store. Got my package - a Lowa boot box I had filled with food, my sun hat (to make sure I didn't forget it) and a few other odds, just to make my bike ride a little lighter. I had dropped that off two days prior, after making sure the trolly stopps there. Stuffed everything into my "ultralight" backpack, filled up my water bottles, and walked off to Annie's Spring, the spur-trailhead to the PCT from the Mazaama Campground area.
It was a steepish climb from the campground to the trail, and then a slight downhill from there to the hwy 62 road crossing. I would be making that same climb later when I do a loop with my bike from "The Watchman" area down to Mazaama and back up the "hiker's PCT" along the rim. (The now "Equestrian PCT" skirts around much lower down out of view of the lake.) I might have saved a little effort climbing that Annie's Spring trail twice, by just fetching my box and rejoining the trolly to it's rim village stop. But that may not generally be possible since the trolly picks up passengers at Mazaama, and It may then be full. Alternatively, a road walk from Mazaama to the hwy 62 road crossing may save a bit of climb. But this fretting over a short half-mile climb as actually silly.
Much of the first portion south of hwy 62, past the spur trail to Union peak, is viewless. It is also waterless. This would have been my chance to visit Union Peak, but I was already relatively short of water and so bypassed that opportunity. Somewhat regrettably in retrospect given the prominance of that peak from all angles at far distances (other than the trail right here.) Soon after passing that trail junction I met two Australian ladies (the first hikers I'd seen, though it was a Saturday inside the boudaries of a national park) and I made some comment of it being a nice day but rather viewless so far, to which they reacted with some surprise. "Well, there are lots of wildflowers in the burned area south of here. But also lots of downed trees." They said they had taken the Stewart Falls trail by mistake. (That tail branches off westward from the PCT then eventually rejoins the PCT.)
Soon after I left them the trail climbed a ridge and I got spectacular views behind me, of the various prominances of the rim, and of Union Peak. But soon thereafter, a large burned area. I ended up camping in the burned area, on the saddle between Maude Mt and Big Bunchgrass on the map, alongside a rotting log whose innards were not charred by the fire, so made for a relatively ash-free cowboy-camp. A bit windy but hoped for an early morning sunrise. Didn't quite choose it right, in the morning I was in a ridge shadow, but still got a fairly early start, I think before 7am. Finally hiked past the burn just before the south end of the what turned out to be the Steart Falls trail, that the two women had mistakenly taken. There was a big log arrow at the broad intersection pointing to the trail I was coming from, pointing PCT north. There was one sign, it said Crater Lake pointing left, Seven Mile Marsh pointing right. No explicit mention of the third branch. I misinterpreted the sign to mean that the branch eastward was THE Seven Mile Marsh trail, and so assumed I was making good time. I took the westward branch which would be PCT south, but soon encountered a trail left signed Mone Camp trail that I wasn't expecting based on my map.
I've been using mt Holux Track Logger to provide me a log for later use of the location of my pictures, but it isn't usefull for navigation because it has no display. I had left my smartphone off because even though I brought lots of extra batteries for it, if I left it on all day I would run out. So, turn it on, wait forever to have it find a GPS fix in the woods. Meanwhile, study the map. Finally I found the mystery trail and realized my error, backtracked, and onward toward the still-to-come junction with the Seven Mile Marsh trail.
I was planning to stop at Ranger Spring, which was just before getting to the Seven Mile Marsh trail junction, (which should also have been a warning flag in my previous sign misinterpretation, that I would have missed that turn.) Suddenly I find myself at the real Seven Mile Marsh trail. missed my water stop!
The Seven Mile Marsh trail, by the way, was the trail I was considering taking as a split-point to bicycle up the road to, just before I had learned of the just-started Trolly from Ft Klamath. It was a somewhat special point of interest. Somehow, now it seemed to be distracting.
I still had enough water to go on to one of the Seven lakes Basin lakes, coming up in two or three miles. It would also offer some lake photo-ops. I did make it to those lakes, although I got my water from one of the inflowing streams before I got to the lakes. And I did get my photoops, especially, at Cliff lake, at the base of prominant Devils Peak, that the PCT would next be ascending.
I'm running out of time now here at the Bend Library, so I'll rush things along now and hope to elaborate later.
Did the side-climb up to the head if Devils Peak, left a note in the ammo-box that wasn't a true GPS cache. Just a notebook.
2nd overnight at...
3rd overnight at base of Mt McGloughlin.
Climbed Mt McGloughlin the 4th Day, finally getting back to car by 5pm, taking a shower, doing laundry, and having a meal at Fish Lake resort.
Drove down to Ft Klamath to pick up my bike. Overnighted same spot near 7mi guard station.
headed to Crater Lake to do half the rim-trail that day.
Discovered my rear tire was twisted out of shape, and a tear in the tire growing larger. Decided to get that dealt with, drove to Bend before I found a bike shop. Got two new tires and innertubes. Had hoped to get one with wider tread, but not in stock, not surprising.
I'm now at the Bend Library.
Was intending to scout my next section north of Crater Lake and maybe start south from here from Sistersarea instead of driving back to crater lake now, but now have no specific viable plan other than go back to crater lake, so will waste some gas, I guess, do some scouting on way back, but likely will to Crater lake circuit next two days.
Time's up. being chased out.
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