PCT Siskiyous
As promised, although belated, here's my trail journal, which I'll divide into multiple postings.
6-23-09
Mt. Ashland Campground
Miles: 9
I'm on the road at 10.00, more or less on time. The drive is uneventful. I stop for lunch at a little cafe in Cottage Grove - it's nice and quaint, but not terribly special. I'm surprised to see a little snow on Mt. Ashland's northern lank - maybe I'll encounter some after all.
At the trailhead, I eat a snack and finish my Sonic slush and am on the move. I begin taking a fair number of photos and wonder if I'll make it at this pace. I run out of battery power, but decide not to change them yet so that I won't be temped to take more photos in lieu of hiking. It's too bad, because I see two more penstemons in addition to the one I manage to shoot. The noise from the freeway, distracting at first, fades too slowly into the distance.
I meet a Nobo section-hiker named Chris. He started at Donomore Meadows and is headed to Canada. One look at his pack tells me he's a traditional packer. He even admits he has way too much food and something about resupplying at Crater Lake. Boy, that's a long way. I warn him about Sandy River on Mt. Hood.
I pause for a snack and break at Mt. Ashland Inn. It's a cozy-looking place and I consider recommending it to meavebran, but there's a dog. It's friendly - perhaps overly so. I briefly chat with the small boy who lives there. I decide not to help myself to H2O - I want to see how far I can go without water caches. Besides, I still have plenty. I thank him and continue.
It's getting dim by the time I reach the small bowl below the ski area, so I put on my headlamp. I spook a deer, which in turn startles me. I wonder what interesting plants and sights I might be missing. Silica crystals in the dioritic rock sparkle through the dark. I miss the jeep track I remember from the map, but later cross a dirt road. There's a map on a board on the far side. I locate Mt. Ashland Campground, head up to the junction with Rd. 20. Great views to the southeast reveal the lights of civilization peppering the countryside, seeming so close, yet deceptively far away. I consider just camping in the road, but decide against it. It's a good thing, since the campground is a nice spot. As I scan for a decent place to make camp, I notice two blue-green eyes peering at me from out of the night. I look right at them and they just stare right back at me. After a couple of minutes, they look away briefly before resuming their gaze. Again they look away and again they look back. Finally they vanish for good. Conversations with other people after my hike confirm my suspicion that it's a cougar. There's someone else further within the campground, so I pitch the tent. I hang my food on a limb which seems to have been used for that before. It's 23.00 before I get to bed. I talk to meavebran for a bit. She misses me.
6-23-09
Mt. Ashland Campground
Miles: 9
I'm on the road at 10.00, more or less on time. The drive is uneventful. I stop for lunch at a little cafe in Cottage Grove - it's nice and quaint, but not terribly special. I'm surprised to see a little snow on Mt. Ashland's northern lank - maybe I'll encounter some after all.
At the trailhead, I eat a snack and finish my Sonic slush and am on the move. I begin taking a fair number of photos and wonder if I'll make it at this pace. I run out of battery power, but decide not to change them yet so that I won't be temped to take more photos in lieu of hiking. It's too bad, because I see two more penstemons in addition to the one I manage to shoot. The noise from the freeway, distracting at first, fades too slowly into the distance.
I meet a Nobo section-hiker named Chris. He started at Donomore Meadows and is headed to Canada. One look at his pack tells me he's a traditional packer. He even admits he has way too much food and something about resupplying at Crater Lake. Boy, that's a long way. I warn him about Sandy River on Mt. Hood.
I pause for a snack and break at Mt. Ashland Inn. It's a cozy-looking place and I consider recommending it to meavebran, but there's a dog. It's friendly - perhaps overly so. I briefly chat with the small boy who lives there. I decide not to help myself to H2O - I want to see how far I can go without water caches. Besides, I still have plenty. I thank him and continue.
It's getting dim by the time I reach the small bowl below the ski area, so I put on my headlamp. I spook a deer, which in turn startles me. I wonder what interesting plants and sights I might be missing. Silica crystals in the dioritic rock sparkle through the dark. I miss the jeep track I remember from the map, but later cross a dirt road. There's a map on a board on the far side. I locate Mt. Ashland Campground, head up to the junction with Rd. 20. Great views to the southeast reveal the lights of civilization peppering the countryside, seeming so close, yet deceptively far away. I consider just camping in the road, but decide against it. It's a good thing, since the campground is a nice spot. As I scan for a decent place to make camp, I notice two blue-green eyes peering at me from out of the night. I look right at them and they just stare right back at me. After a couple of minutes, they look away briefly before resuming their gaze. Again they look away and again they look back. Finally they vanish for good. Conversations with other people after my hike confirm my suspicion that it's a cougar. There's someone else further within the campground, so I pitch the tent. I hang my food on a limb which seems to have been used for that before. It's 23.00 before I get to bed. I talk to meavebran for a bit. She misses me.