Day 8 - Up and Over

Mar 13, 2017

Segment: Brush Mountain to Hwy 140, 16 miles. (+3 miles road walk)

Weather: Low 30 degrees, high 50 degrees, partly sunny then cloudy with mist.

Bathroom, Bible reading, breakfast, packing, in that order, all done before the sun rose. Today is going to be a good day, especially with the almost crusty snow in the cold of the morning!

I finished the hill climb in short order, then found some roads that took me all the way to Dead Indian Road (paved). It was not only faster, but safer. Crusty snow on a narrow trail tends to result in tree crashes.

I tried to capture the sparkles, but maybe I will try a video next time to record the dynamics in the glitter.

There were a couple piles of pine cone remnants like this. That represents some hard working squirrels!

Maybe Brown cabin was crowded. About half a mile before arriving I saw this well-built snow cave. Big enough two or three people!

Almost 4 feet of snow, but the signs are still readable! I can almost see Canada from here!

By mid morning the sun was mostly gone and clouds took over. In a way, I was thankful for that. The snow stayed firm and fast. I was all the way to the base of Brown Mountain by lunchtime.

A trackless road that is all mine! Brown Mountain in the background. I followed the rabbit tracks in the left for almost half a mile.

After lunch I partly ascended the mountain. I thought this might be a good idea like my ridge skiing near Ashland. However, this lava mountain was gouged with big gullys. Hating to go down and then re-climb the lost elevation, I kept going higher. My plan to contour around was becoming a lot of work. At least I found that the snow was still not ready above 6000‘ which is where I will be for the next 100 miles.

Finally getting north of the summit I could begin working my way down. However, as much as I love my skis, they are a pain on steep downhills. They insist on floating no matter how wide a turn you cut. After two faceplants I was thankful to reach the bottom near Hwy 140.

I was originally hoping to make it to Crater Lake on this trip, but I stopped here. Not only was my heart not in it, but I discovered I did not have enough food (especially if the slower snow added extra days) and the weather was turning for the worse. Sky Lakes Wilderness starts in a mile and goes all the way to the Crater Lake boundary and I want great pictures in my backyard!

Clouds and mist began to come in heavy as I worked my to the northward descent.

I road walked and additional 3 miles down to Four Mile Lake road to check it out as a potential starting point, but I have since figured out a better plan that stays closer to the PCT. During the next 3 1/2 day break in the weather I hope to go all the way from Hwy 140 to Hwy 138 north of Crater Lake. We’ll see!

Today I thank God for perseverance and better progress.