Forging Through Oregon’s Forever Forests

A Pacific Crest Trail Journey: Part 3 

Crater Lake fills the horizon like a giant blue sapphire. As soon as I spotted the mountain-ringed gem from Mazama Village, I gasped and widened my eyes. The deepest lake in America and the prettiest I’ve seen makes an unforgettable impression. Breakfast gave the scenic treasure a run for its money, though.

Among perpetually-famished hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), every mini-mart makes hearts race and restaurants provide cause for celebration. Then there are a few next-level eating experiences that we anticipate for weeks.

Crater Lake Lodge is one of those. PCT hikers fill its rustic dining room for an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet. Tourists enjoy their hearty meal like normal people. PCT hikers demolish a double portion on their first round, and then revisit the buffet for multiple sequels, before stuffing muffins into their pockets for later. Down 15 pounds since my hike started, I gorged myself for an hour on the best $25 I ever spent.

Hikers say that the trail provides. In Oregon, I would find out for myself.

Thick “forever forests” create a green tunnel effect here, concealing mountains far and near. I learned that fire threatens those countless trees just as in my native California.

A “nobo,” or northbound hiker, first enters Oregon near Interstate 5 near Ashland. A shower and bed at Ashland Springs Hotel did me a world of good. So did seeing my brother Dan, who drove up to join me for a few days. To celebrate my birthday, he brought a beautiful card from Nathan and Kaitlyn, my nephew and niece, cookies from his wife Hazel and sumptuous steaks from our friend Felipe. I don’t know which I enjoyed more.

Then we learned a fire broke out in Klamath National Forest through which I had just hiked. The fast-moving McKinney blaze killed four people, scorched 60,000 acres, closed the PCT and forced hikers to evacuate. Luck brought me to town in the nick of time but wildfire season was just beginning.

Dan likes summits as I do, so when we passed volcanic Pilot Rock, we scrambled to its rocky top. Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest gave us a perfect day capped off by Felipe’s juicy steaks. My brother’s visit ended much too soon.

Hiking alone again, I returned to eating freeze-dried backpacking meals, which have come a long way since I started the PCT 25 years ago. Pinnacle’s Thai peanut curry, jalapeno cheddar biscuits, and Tuscan chicken fueled me on 20-mile days through Sky Lakes Wilderness. A nightlong thunderstorm struck as I camped beside Freye Lake, testing my new one-man tent. Lightning awoke me often but my Gossamer One shelter held up well; not bad for 17 ounces of pack weight.

Skies cleared by morning so I detoured to climb 9,493-foot Mount McLoughlin. From its summit, I viewed distant mountains and hundreds of forested miles. The view was worth its price; that half day of climbing ensured I would reach Mazama Village with no food and even hungrier than usual.

After stuffing myself at Crater Lake Lodge, I faced a quandary to the north. Fire closed multiple trail sections over the next 200 miles. One could try to trek the scattered open portions but that would require long hitchhikes on remote forest roads, and still leave the closed areas uncompleted. The alternative was to skip ahead to the north and return south after fires subside to hike all the missing parts at once. That’s what I chose.

Dozens of nobos held out their thumbs by Highway 97, smiling, waving and even dancing to charm the motorists. Every PCT hiker must learn to hitchhike to get to and from towns and trailheads. I managed to complete the journey, without dancing, over two days thanks to five friendly drivers.

On an earlier trip, I relished climbing 11,239-foot Mount Hood. This time, I relished an all-you-can-eat lunch at nearby Timberline Lodge. The host seated me with Monica, an East Coast mom traveling with her son, a competitive skier training on the mountain. We both enjoyed the company and a glimpse into each other’s lives. That night I camped with four hikers from four different countries. Meeting new and interesting people highlights the PCT experience.

Eagle Creek boasts a series of spectacular waterfalls. Most striking of these is stunning Tunnel Falls: the trail leads hikers behind it through a tunnel of solid rock. Nearly all PCT hikers rave about this side trip off the main PCT. In Cascade Locks, I met Afton, an old friend who showed me the scenic Columbia River Gorge and took me to dinner.

Hikers cross the state border on Bridge of the Gods over the Columbia River. But when the trail’s fire closures reopened, many opted to “yoyo,” or switch directions. I also turned “sobo” (southbound) to experience the Oregon portions which I had missed.

More good fortune found me in Warm Springs Reservation, Mount Jefferson Wilderness, Willamette National Forest and elsewhere. Connie, another old friend, sent me homemade cookies. When a food box I shipped myself failed to arrive, a clerk opened the closed Elk Lake store to help me out. As weather turned cold, a driver took me to Bend to buy warmer clothes. Trail angels delivered water to key locations. And the good folks at Big Lake Youth Camp built a whole cabin for PCT hikers with a kitchen, showers and laundry machines, all available for free. I left feeling like a new man.

I had long wanted to ascend South Sister in Three Sisters Wilderness. When I arrived, cold winds blew storm clouds over the 10,358-foot volcano. The doubtful weather nearly turned me away, but I climbed anyway. A few hours later, I stood at the summit as skies cleared, rewarding my leap of faith with a majestic view.

My sobo push led me back to Crater Lake, which marked my Oregon finish line. Rainy weather produced a breathtaking rainbow over the deep blue water, and also made me crave a night indoors. Fortunately, the lodge had one room left, and a new friend Karl split the bill with me. Naturally, we indulged in a massive breakfast buffet encore. The joyful return to Crater Lake felt like a fitting end to 455 miles through the land of forever forests.

I still needed to catch a ride to Medford, 80 miles away. That looked like a tough hitch. But a fellow Adventure Sports Journal contributor (who I’d never met) recognized me on the trail a few weeks before and offered to help. I was astonished to learn that she was inspired to section hike the PCT after proofreading a PCT story I’d written years before! She’d also become a trail angel, and to prove it, she drove two hours from Ashland to Crater Lake to give me the ride I needed, with ASJ publishers Cathy and Matt becoming remote trail angels by paying for dinner and gas.

Does the trail provide? You’d better believe it. I can barely count all the people who went out of their way to help me. As my hike continues, I’m going to look for ways to give back too.

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Main image: Wet weather produces a picturesque rainbow over Crater Lake (Photo by Karl Luce)

Read other backpacking & hiking posts here.

Read more by Matt Johanson here.