Day 65 - PCT 2024
Trail miles hiked: 9.4
Ascent: 1,137 ft.
Descent: 1,807.1 ft.
I awoke to a semi-deflated sleeping pad. How sad! I’ve tried to find the leak but it’s a pinhole leak and I cannot find it. I had this pad 517 miles on the SoCal section of the PCT with zero leaks and here in Oregon, I’m two days in with a leak! Drats! I didn’t sleep well. More hip pain. Just hard to get comfortable. The cool air was nice though. It wasn’t cold, but cool enough to enjoy being cozy under my quilt.
We got up early this morning because it was resort day! Oregon is filled with little lake resorts along the PCT. It makes for lighter food carries as we’ve decided to ship resupply boxes to the various resorts. We packed up and hit the trail at 7:30am.
As we arrived at the Highway 66 road crossing, we stopped to admire a couple of bicyclists straining to reach the top of the steep road. They stopped and we chatted very briefly about how we were all in awe of each other. I wish I could bike like that. I’d be winded! But it’s a goal to start biking when I’m home.
A gentleman sitting in his car came out to see if we were hiking the PCT. He introduced himself as Patient Zero (he got sick starting in Campo and took over 77 miles to feel better). His real name is Wade and he was offering drinks and rides while he waited for his wife to section hike the sobo piece from Hyatt Lake (where we were headed) to Highway 66. We politely declined the ride but let him know we would be grabbing lunch at the resort restaurant a bit later.
We decided to blue blaze (an alternate to the trail) down a country road to look at the spanning meadows and pretty country houses. It got us out of bush whacking for a few miles! The trail was overgrown and poison oak was abundant in this part. A mile and a half before the resort road, we hopped back onto trail to an inviting steep climb. I’m glad we took the trail because we got to see the biggest blowdown yet! Thankfully the tree had been cut into pieces so we were able to safely pass but we had to stop for photos first.
At the trailhead and road to the resort, we called the number posted on the info board to see if we could get a ride but unfortunately they didn’t have the extra staff. The lady on the phone said the walk was roughly 5 minutes (it ended up being thirty minutes) so we took the road, admiring the views of Mount Ashland as we passed. When we arrived at Hyatt Lake Resort, we saw beautiful cabins and decided to inquire about renting one for the evening but they were fully booked. We grabbed our resupply boxes, sat on their outside patio and took a menu. All of a sudden Wade, his wife Tina and another hiker named Debbie showed up and joined us!
As we ordered our lunch, the waitress came over to let us know that a cancellation of a 6 person cabin just came in and it was ours if we wanted it. The five of us agreed! The trail certainly provides! We also met an African Grey parrot named Buzzard. I got to hold him and he was a very curious little fella!
The cabin is beautiful! It overlooks Hyatt Lake and has a large hot tub on the deck that we all got into as soon as we showered. Soaking was great.
We all walked back to the restaurant at 5pm for their Saturday prime rib dinner.
After dinner, I completed some chores, sorted through my resupply, washed my filthy hiking clothes in the sink and then Krista, Wade and I jumped into the hot tub again. What a great night!
Krista and I have beds up in the loft and I managed to connect to the internet after an afternoon of weak connection. What a great day!
