Oregon Skyline Trail 8/9

FC swimming in Oldenburg Lake. 

Today we separated from Princess and Mr. Sandals for a few days. Mr. Sandals is a "purist" PCT hiker in that be insists that all his miles to Canada be on the "official" PCT trail. FC and TC are not this. They are walking to Canada and will take alternative more scenic paths when necessary. It does  not happen often but it did today. The route we are doing today passes by some pretty lakes and is 9 miles shorter than the official route. Mr. Sandals would not budge from his position despite pleas and tears from Princess. She is not a purist  but they share a tent and stove. She gave in because in her words, "Nine miles is not worth arguing over". Fortunately, FC and TC were in perfect agreement. We will meet them in Sisters, the next town we will be staying in. We love hiking with them. Princess and Firecracker share a twisted irreverent sense of humor and are cracking each other up all day. They are happily crazy together. TC and Mr. Sandals are obviously enjoying the entertainment. We will all be together again soon.

Diamond Peak reflected in Diamond Lake. The PCT follows the tree line of that peak. 

FC styling in her new hat she purchased at Crater Lake. 

      It was up to 80 degrees again but we were able to swim and cool off. We reached Crescent Lake slightly lost and disoriented because the OST is not as well marked as the PCT. We asked a couple of people our whereabouts which lead to an invitation to their campsite and some tasty fruit. We unabashedly ate a pear, peach, banana, and handfuls of blueberries and strawberries. Julia was so excited to meet PCT hikers. It was either a baby or the PCT and she chose the baby. She has a four year old daughter named Brooke but still dreams of doing the PCT. She and her husband Eric live in Bend, OR. She has read every book about the PCT and has a lot of knowledge concerning it. She has always wanted to do some trail angeling and so it was. She was with a friend(Bandi) and her daughter(Ava), We may meet up with Julia again while in the area. We were so grateful for the delicious fruit and their interst in our journey. Thank you, thank you.

Julia

Julia & Eric sharing their knowledge of OR backcountry on a huge map with TC. 

      We are camped a few miles from the Crescent L. Campgrounds about 6 inches from the trail. We can hear music and raucous behavior below us at the lake. Not much to do but enjoy the music.TC can recognize the songs   but FC cannot. It's late and we cannot walk on so this flat spot will have to do. The trail through here has seen a lot of horses so it is dusty, dry, and shitty. We love horses but aren't one. 

        Our next destination is Shelter Cove on lake Odell. We make 10 miles by 10.30. This is a fishing lake as opposed to Crescent which was an all purpose recreation lake (FC wanders if the fish know this). Crescent had more motorized toys and drunken men. Shelter was fancy and quiet. It was also for sale (4,000,000). FC liked it and might have considered buying it if she had more than $ 2,500 in the bank. We picked up a box of our food and had a can of pineapples, a nectarine, a coffee, a mocha frappa chino with cream, It's It ice-cream, a fresh frozen sausage cheese pizza, (heated in a toaster oven) while we re- packed. FC got engaged with Sideways on the green grass of the front lawn doing some chiropractic work with her. Her neck had been giving her problems so FC took off her boots and started to work. She received the fancy coffee drink in payment. People looked on from their lawn chairs. No one called the authorities. 

     We were ready to go in four hours. TC was investigating the maps and told FC that they had to walk an extra 2 miles to get back on the PCT. She said maybe we should get a ride to the trailhead. FC wasn't paying any attention to the maps (as usual) but volunteered to ask Highchair, a section hiker whose wife was supporting him and his friend  (from grade 3) as they walked through Oregon. They were all form Oregon and had a large luxurious rig they were hauling around picking up Highchair and his friend (can't remember his trail name) re- supplying them, feeding them, driving them around etc. I sauntered over as they were eating BLTs and drinking beer. FC asked Highchair if he would give us a ride to the trail head. His wife, White Knuckle Taxi Driver, jumped up and volunteered. She was getting into being an angel. Doing nice things for people can become an addiction. As FC sat at their picnic table she was offered cookies which she declined. Crazy bastard. FC came and fetched us and we all walked to the fifth wheel to get the ride. When we arrived Highchair offered to give us some newly opened Merlot and put it in a plastic bottle so we could enjoy it later. 

Yes, thank you we all replied. This time when offered home-made peanut butter cookies FC whipped out a plastic bag and took 2 for later. TC ate one on the spot and away we went with White Knuckle Taxi Driver driving and Highchair sitting in the back. It dawned on FC that we were missing some of the trail. That perhaps TC had made a mistake. When we all reached the trail head FC asked," Did we just cheat?". Highchair and his wife answered in unison, "Yes". Highchair explained, "The PCT runs parallel to the road for two miles. I call those miles schlock miles, not worth doing. Road miles." FC wasn't sorry she had skipped 2 miles but she felt slightly mislead by TC. She had misunderstood her explanation. In the future she wanted to discuss and agree upon missing miles. All in all we have only missed 8.5 miles out of 1,900 or so. What's the big deal? FC would reply that skipping is a slippery slide into perdition. 

High Chair & White Knuckle Taxi Driver. 

Bubbies heading back in north of Shelter Cove.