Day 125

(Originally written on Sunday, Sept 6)

Much like yesterday, today was a damp, muddy mess. Except that it was worse. All of our wet gear from yesterday continued to be wet today because it rained nearly all day. We'd get to the point that we were nearly dry and then the rain would start up again, only harder it seemed. It was quite demoralizing because I just wanted to be dry and while I could see my shadow in many instances, I'd continue to be rained on. Eventually after 12.5 miles we came to Clackamas Lake. It had a campground and we were hoping for some kind of covered area where we could get some respite from the rain. No luck. It wasn't long, however, before Bob Rob struck up a conversation with a woman camping with her family. Trail Magic! She invited us over for hamburgers, corn on the cob, and hot chocolate! And they even had a fire so we were able to get a bit warm, if not dry. The rain continued to fall all afternoon despite forecasts that called for clearing. So after getting moderately dry, we elected to call it a day, build a fire of our own, and finish the process of drying out our gear and ourselves. (I failed to mention at the beginning of this entry that the rain was falling and the wind blowing this morning when we'd usually hit the trail, so we ended up sleeping in and weren't on the trail until 9:40. This meant a late lunch and we didn't decide to make camp until about 5 pm.)

Our friends who fed us gave us the rest of their firewood on their way out of the campground. Unfortunately, I think the crummy weather kept most of the Labor Day camping crowd at home. So we made a fire and spent several hours drying each garment and piece of equipment. It was a slow process. One of the dumber moments I've had on the trip--right up there with trying to cross the ice patch just before Donner Pass--was when I started drying my shoes and forgot to check on them after the fire got bigger. Let's just say that I'm glad I only have three days of hiking left in this pair, if they make it even that long! All the rubber pieces have melted slightly and pulled away from the fabric. The tongue of one shoe had a hole the size of a quarter nearly melted through. A shoelace was burned completely through on the same shoe. All of this has resulted in a smaller shoe because of shrinking. I'm really hoping that this doesn't cause any blisters because that would be a HUGE bummer and a setback I don't need. I'll keep you posted.

The good news is that the sky seems to have cleared. So tomorrow we are hoping to close out the 25 miles to Timberline Lodge where we'll grab dinner. That will leave me about 22 miles the next day to Wahtum Lake where I'll meet Matt. Then it is the last 15 miles of Oregon.