Day 102 - Lakes & Ponds

Sunday July 26

I knew I was going to be hiking through beautiful country in the Three Sisters Wilderness, but I was not prepared for this!  

All morning I passed lake after lake and pond after pond. Some lakes were large and deep, with ducks swimming about, birds singing, and fish rising for their morning meal, leaving a ripple on the surface. Many ponds were small, maybe an acre, with submerged logs and grass crowding the shore. There were lakes and ponds with lily pads and frogs all around the little streams. At one point the trail passed a campsite that was between two difficult lakes. A fly fisherman could catch a fish casting either direction!

When I wasn't passing by lakes, I traveled through forests where blueberries and huckleberries were in abundance. The huckleberry bushes are tiny, growing no taller then a foot high. Some had itsy-bitty teeny-weenie berries. Some had no berries at all.

The blueberry bushes were knee to waist high. Some had a few berries; most had no berries at all. If I was making pancakes, I would have had fresh blueberries in them! I did stop occasionally to sample a ripe berry. 

Unfortunately, there were low clouds all day and it was rather cool. I had to hike hard and fast to keep warm. At the top of one hill, I know there was a beautiful view, but I just saw clouds hugging the hilltops.

When I got to Sisters Mirror Lake, I was hoping that I could see the reflection of the mountains in the lake. Unfortunately it was still cloudy and a breeze ripped the water. As I was heading up the trail, a nice couple stopped to chat. They were amazed that I was doing a through hike. I told them about the difficulties going through the Sierras and that I had lost almost 30 pounds. I look like a war refugee from some prison camp!  To my amazement, they gave me half of their sandwich!  Of course a hiker never refuses food! I graciously thanked them.

I was going to save the sandwich for dinner, but it looked so good that I ate it as I hiked along. The fresh tomato, lettuce, cheese and spices between whole wheat bread melted in my mouth! It was wonderful! Many thanks to such generous folks from Portland!

The trail then crossed a two mile wide pumice field and an amazing volcanic outflow.

By 4:30 I found a campsite and had beef stroganoff with pepperoni bits, Fritos and olive oil. Of course, I had my cup of hot chocolate!

I am camped tonight at PCT mile 1969.9. I hiked 30.7 miles today. The elevation here is 6,081 feet.