Miles Hiked 99.7
PCT Mile 607.1
Elevation feet 4,964
Miles Hiked Today 15.7
Well, my fear of yesterday is my reality of today. There are fire crews on the PCT. The storms late yesterday afternoon apparently set several small fires. I met fire crews as I came down the trail, and they told me that they were working to contain a fire. The trail was not closed officially, but earlier I had encountered a ribbon strung across the trail. That is the forestry service’s way of telling you that the trail is closed. I played dumb and stepped over the ribbon as did many other hikers.
About 2 miles after my encounter with the fire fighters, I was hiking along the trail when I got a strong odor of smoke. Also, I could feel heat. I don’t think the fire crew knew about this particular blaze. There was an airplane overhead circling the area, and I’m sure that they found it.
I kept hiking with a quickened pace to get out of the zone of danger and to try to avoid any chance of a possible trail closure. In 2024, my hike was cut short in Washington because of fires in Washington and Oregon. I truly do not want that to happen again. I want to finish Oregon.
Without any other incidents, I kept hiking with a goal to reach Olallie Lake and Resort. The plan is to spend the night there and also provision for the next several days until I get to Bend, Oregon.
I did reach the resort about 2:15 p.m. and joined several other hikers who were there drinking and eating. The general store is well stocked and I won’t have any problem reprovisioning. Unfortunately, they don’t have a grill. I was looking forward to a hamburger or some other hot food. Oh well, Bend is only four days away.
