Oregon PCT 2016: Day 4

Mout McLoughlin, here I come!

Day 4 involved a lot more trees and quite a bit of climbing and mosquitoes. I hiked with Kami and Ben, a couple of hikers I had met at the Brown Mountain cabin. They had hiked into the Fish Lake Resort about an hour or so after I got there. The next morning we all had breakfast together and did laundry. While washing clothes, I had a nice talk with a mountaineer who was camping at the lake. He talked about summiting all of the major peaks in the cascades. I told him of my hopes to climb a few mountains during my hike (McLoughlin, Theilsen, and South Sister) and he told me what to expect. Unfortunately, there was too much snow for me to climb the first two mountains.

Hiking partners for the day

On the trail again!

Angry overused calves

We were soon back on the trail hiking around the east side of Mount McLoughlin. As we got higher, the downed trees became a problem again. Only these were much bigger trees. We also saw a few patches of snow, but nothing compared with the snow I would see in the next few days of hiking.

Ugh, more trees

You can see Ben in this picture... big tree!

Initially, I had planned on climbing Mount McLoughlin but we ran into someone coming down from that trail. According to them, the trail was completely covered in snow and they had turned back rather than getting lost. I was not prepared to blaze a new trail to the top of the mountain so I chose to pass this mountain without reaching its summit. Too bad.

Mount Mcloughlin summit trail... another time!

Snow patches

First snow on trail

Trail along the ridge

Looking south toward McLoughlin

As we passed around to the north side of the mountain, we got a good view of Four Mile Lake to the east. It was beautiful but it was also an area well populated with mosquitoes so we hurried on. Between the many trees and my choice to hike at a slower pace with my companions, I didn't make the 25 miles I had planned for. I had been promised lots of snow and danger and made careful choices to be safe and nothing particularly difficult had been encountered. All I had done was slow myself down, only hiking about 11.5 miles.

Four Mile Lake

Where's the trail?

More trees

I camped next to another new hiker an a ridge north of the mountain. He was already in his tent and I got up really early the next day, so we never chatted until later on the trail. That night, wind continually blew over the ridge. I could hear a gust of wind start miles away and work its way up the hill before buffeting my tent... it was a cool effect. I slept very well that night. I had a lot to look forward to the next day when those promises of snow would prove true!

View from the campsite