Miles Hiked 257.1
PCT Mile 763.7
Elevation feet 5,597
Miles Hiked Today 16.6
July 29, 2026
I woke up at 5:00 a.m. in the Shelter Cove campground. There were quite a few other hikers who joined me pitching a tent in the campground. I was surprised by the number when I got out of my tent.
I was packed up by 6:15 a.m., but I’m not ready to go yet. I went over to the PCT tent and charged my phone up to 100% before leaving.
While at the tent, I almost tripped over three hikers who put their sleeping bags on the ground under the tent. Obviously they did this to avoid paying the fee to put up a tent in the campground. I hope the management sees it and charges them $10 anyway.
By 7:30 a.m., my phone was fully charged and I was on my way. Instead of going all the way up the blue blaze trail, I found a shortcut, which saved me some time and distance to get to the PCT. My mileage today reflects that shortcut. I only added an additional half-mile to my total hiked for the day.
My hiking goal for today is to get me within 70 miles of Crater Lake. About 16 miles would do it. Unfortunately, the trail was not cooperating. When I left Shelter Cove, the trail immediately started going up and did so for about six hours. While the difference between Shelter Cove and the high point of the day totals about 2,200 feet of elevation gain, it doesn’t tell the whole story. There were many small descents and ascents within that 2,200 feet (the infinite climb).
Despite the slow down effect of climbing most of the day, I still made good time. I never thought I would make it to Summit Lake, but I surprised myself and did.
There were quite a few campers already in the campground. Nevertheless, I found a spot and pitched my tent. After I ate dinner, a nice lady from a large group of campers came over and gave me some water and watermelon. That was a nice surprise and both were quickly consumed.
Crater Lake is 69.7 miles ahead.
