Do You Believe in Magic?

We wanted to get up early this morning and try to make part of todays climb before the heat kicks in. We are hoping that we can gain enough altitude early so that it helps with the temperature. As we pack, we talk briefly with Reindeer who is the guy that camped next to us last night. His real name is Jepper and he is from Denmark. We do not find out too much more as we are set on getting started. We make it out of camp at 0630, which is our earliest start to date.

We immediately climb almost 600 feet and it is pretty warm even at this early hour. Then in a cruel twist of fate, we switch from south facing climb to north facing descent. The forest here is actually chilling as we lose most of the elevation we had gained on our way toward Bear Creek. It is almost dark with the lack of sunlight and the woods become spooky.

Bear Creek

We make it to Bear Creek, a little over 3 miles from camp, where we have to fill up with water. The next reliable source is a spring over 7 miles away. There is a nice big log to sit on and the creek itself is beautiful with big elephant ear leaves lining the shore. Nice place to filter water and have a snack. As we sit, Reindeer comes trotting down the trail. He grabs some water and stops long enough to get in a conversation with him. He was in marketing in Copenhagen, Denmark and it was becoming time for a change, so he quit and decided to hike the trail. We talk about our experiences last summer in Denmark, culture, hiking, and other things. Almost an hour goes by before we both realize, it is time to get moving. He says, “I will see you in Bucks Lake”, but I tell him we are not going that far. His reply is, “you can get there today, so I will see you later. ” We know our plan is to stop about 3 miles short of Bucks Lake, as we have reservations there tomorrow night so we will most likely not see him again. We put our 2.5 liters of water each in our packs and head out for the long climb of today.

As we climb, the temperature starts to heat up. Climbing and heat only leads to one thing for me. Sweat, and lots of it.

Moss Padded Seat Break

It was slow going and we managed to take a couple of short breaks along the way. These were on top of the little standing breaks, I was taking every tenth of a mile or so, to keep my breathing at an acceptable level. My trail legs and aerobics have been improving but are definitely not at 100 per cent. We hit a few exposed sections that do not have any shade relief and the added heat is making me drink more. We are still about 3 miles and a bunch of elevation gain away from the next spring and I start thinking that I need to cut back on the water so it will last. This does not make my body too happy as I continue to sweat out precious liquid and salt. I am really starting to drag and take a look at my spreadsheet. There may be a seasonal creek up ahead and I am hoping that in this wet year, that it is flowing. we continue gaining in elevation and that fact does not bode well for finding water. As we get closer, we both keep listening for any sound of liquid runoff, but nothing is heard. We get to within 300 feet and still no sound of water. Then we turn a bend and halleluiah, the sound and sight of a small rippling creek running across the trail greets us. We cross it which only involves a normal step, and find a flat spot in the shade and on the trail just beyond it. Literally the trail is the only flat spot and we lay our pads across it, our head on the slope above and our feet off the trail below. We do not care as we have water and shade and that makes this time for lunch. Carol knows I was struggling and volunteers to go collect the water. She comes back with nice clear, cold, mountain nectar. Today is going to be a short under 11 mile day and we are 8 miles in so we can relax, take our shoes off, try not to let them slide a thousand feet down the steep slope below, and refuel and recuperate. We are finishing our PBN lunch when a hiker approaches. We are kind of blocking the trail but he stops before crossing over us and starts to talk with us. John is section hiking south bound and has done all of Washington and Oregon. He is the first person we have seen all day since Reindeer left us at Bear Creek. Eventually, John steps over us and is on his way, leaving us in our sloped solitude. It is time for us to move on and get to the next spring and closer to camp.

We still have about 700 feet or more of elevation to gain, but the break and rehydration, has really helped and we seem to climb with a bit more bounce in our step. It also helps that we have some shade in the forest at this point. We break out of the woods and make a final big ascent up to a ridge.

Lookout Spring

Back into the woods, and we reach Lookout Spring. It is flowing well, and we drink some more as well as fill up water for tonight’s meal and our hike to Bucks Lake tomorrow. It is only about another mile to where we are looking to camp, so we press on. The trail is flatter than its been all day, but never totally flat. As we approach a promontory called Lookout Rock, I see a sign on the trail. It says that there are trail angels by Bucks Lake and they are offering showers, laundry, food, and mattresses. There is a phone number and it says we have cell service at Lookout Rock. Carol did not have to read past laundry to want to go so we take out my phone and turn it on. She calls and they say that they will pick us up at the trailhead by Bucks Lake Road in an hour and a half, it is only 3.5 miles and all downhill. We add 20 minutes to their pick up time and so my less than 11 mile day becomes a fantasy, just like that.

We Believe in Magic

We now move with purpose and although nothing about this trail is all downhill, this section is pretty close, with only a few small, short climbs. We move the best we can and come out to the road in exactly the hour and a half that they had said we would. Better to be early, than late, we walk to a small side road and are just taking our packs off, when a car pulls up.

Terry and Pit Stop

Terry decided to show up a little early and so the timing is perfect. 2.2 Miles later, we pull into the Williams Cabin, known as Honker Pass. The older Australians we met the other day are there, and we are told some younger hikers as well, but they are down swimming at the Lake. Terrys wife Nancy has gone to pick them up. I ask if one of them was from Denmark, and sure enough Reindeer is here, so he was right, he will see us in Bucks Lake. Terry shows us the setup. There is a hiker hut that has a bathroom, and laundry room. Cold beer and soda are in the ice chest and they will serve us dinner tonight. It is a beautiful setting.

They have loaner clothes which Carol and I change into. Carol then beelines for the laundry with our dirty hiking clothes, while I chat with Terry. I find out that he is from the town of East Biggs and is a farms walnuts and rice. I tell him about Half and Half and his small (compared to Terrys) walnut operation. Carol comes back out and then says that she is getting ready to take a shower. At that moment, Nancy pulls up with two girls, Reindeer, and Parker. She says that they are going to run to the store to pick up some beer and beverages. Before I can say anything, Carol says, “you can take your shower, I am going to the store”, and gets in the car. Now I know where I stand. I do take a nice long shower while she is gone. When they return a while later, find  out that they also went to the Bucks Lake Lodge (bar) where they give PCT hikers a free pint of beer. I catch up with Reindeer and Parker while Carol is in the shower. Terry and Nancy go inside to prepare dinner. These people are amazing. We have a pulled pork dinner with rolls, cole slaw, salad, and some fruit.

Campfire Stories

After dinner, they start a fire in their fire pit and we all sit around drinking, talking, and having a good time way past hiker midnight. In fact, I think it is close to real midnight when we set up the thick foam mattresses that they have, on their deck. Cowboy camping in style tonight. We made a great decision to come here tonight and now we will have a true zero day tomorrow. Life is Good.

Our stats today were 14.25 miles hiked at a pace of 2.4 MPH. Our high point was 5960 feet, over 3000 feet higher than where we camped this morning. We are currently at a cool and pleasant 5092 feet. We definitely believe in Magic. Good night.