Outdoor Adventures with Ancient Brit
PCT 2002 - August 23rd
Day 122: Friday 23rd August Trail 3,493 – above Breitenbush Lake
It was clear at first light, but clouds were quickly building up over the mountains. I
left at 7am and had a few more miles of climb before I rejoined the PCT. This was steep
terrain with luxuriant vegetation and the creeks were running well. I then dropped down
to Pamelia Lake, which I reached at 10am to find several groups still packing up tents. I
only took a short break because I wanted to reach Milk Creek and Russell Creek as soon
as possible as these meltwater streams would be more difficult to cross later in the day.
Russell Creek, typically for creeks coming down from a glacier, was brown from the silt
carried by the water. Fortunately in today’s cool conditions it was possible to cross dry-
foot, but I wouldn’t have fancied it on a hot afternoon, when it would have been much
deeper.
I met Carey after Russell Creek. He lived at Anza, near to the PCT in Southern
California, and had just intended to hike home from Campo. He then decided to continue
to Big Bear City and was still walking. He was not an experienced walker and between
Campo and Anza he had cached water every 15 miles, but was learning the techniques of
wilderness hiking as he was going along. He had been doing about 35 miles/day, but had
had to reduce this now that there was less daylight. He worked as a stuntman, mainly on
motorcycle stunts, at shows. He was still recovering from breaking his thigh-bone in five
places a couple of years ago and he didn’t like the cold weather as it aggravated his
injuries. After completing the walk he intended to attempt the World Record for jumping
a motorcycle over a line of cars.
A thunderstorm started as I approached Jefferson Park. This was one of the most
popular areas for backpackers in the Oregon Cascades, with views of the glaciers on the
north face of Mount Jefferson from a lake-studded alpine meadowland. There were a quite
a few walkers around, including one young couple walking south through the storm
without any waterproofs! I had been looking forward to lunch and a swim at Scout Lake
but had to abandon the idea.
From 1804-1806 William Clark and Meriwether Lewis shared the leadership of a trek
from St. Louis to the Pacific Coast and back sponsored by President Jefferson. On their
return journey they had seen the 10,497ft snow-covered peak on March 30th 1806 and
named it after President Jefferson.
As the storm diminished I met “Sky Pilot”. He had hiked from Campo to Echo Lake,
but he didn’t fancy Northern California, so he skipped it and started section hiking
Washington and Oregon from north to south. He seemed intent on chatting as long as
possible with any thru-hikers he met. Shortly after this I met Nona and Anne. Nona was a
section hiker I had met earlier on the trip and she was now hiking with a Canadian friend.
They had camped early to escape the rain. Thunderstorms continued intermittently into
the evening as I climbed a high alpine ridge and started the long descent down the other
side.
The Achilles tendon on my left foot was beginning to hurt again so I was delighted to
find a nice flat grassy campsite during a lull in the storm. “Cantaloupe” from Minneapolis
went through as it was getting dark and camped at Breitenbush Lake.
Day 122: 19.6 miles 8.42 hours Camp: Above Breitenbush Lake
It was clear at first light, but clouds were quickly building up over the mountains. I
left at 7am and had a few more miles of climb before I rejoined the PCT. This was steep
terrain with luxuriant vegetation and the creeks were running well. I then dropped down
to Pamelia Lake, which I reached at 10am to find several groups still packing up tents. I
only took a short break because I wanted to reach Milk Creek and Russell Creek as soon
as possible as these meltwater streams would be more difficult to cross later in the day.
Russell Creek, typically for creeks coming down from a glacier, was brown from the silt
carried by the water. Fortunately in today’s cool conditions it was possible to cross dry-
foot, but I wouldn’t have fancied it on a hot afternoon, when it would have been much
deeper.
I met Carey after Russell Creek. He lived at Anza, near to the PCT in Southern
California, and had just intended to hike home from Campo. He then decided to continue
to Big Bear City and was still walking. He was not an experienced walker and between
Campo and Anza he had cached water every 15 miles, but was learning the techniques of
wilderness hiking as he was going along. He had been doing about 35 miles/day, but had
had to reduce this now that there was less daylight. He worked as a stuntman, mainly on
motorcycle stunts, at shows. He was still recovering from breaking his thigh-bone in five
places a couple of years ago and he didn’t like the cold weather as it aggravated his
injuries. After completing the walk he intended to attempt the World Record for jumping
a motorcycle over a line of cars.
A thunderstorm started as I approached Jefferson Park. This was one of the most
popular areas for backpackers in the Oregon Cascades, with views of the glaciers on the
north face of Mount Jefferson from a lake-studded alpine meadowland. There were a quite
a few walkers around, including one young couple walking south through the storm
without any waterproofs! I had been looking forward to lunch and a swim at Scout Lake
but had to abandon the idea.
From 1804-1806 William Clark and Meriwether Lewis shared the leadership of a trek
from St. Louis to the Pacific Coast and back sponsored by President Jefferson. On their
return journey they had seen the 10,497ft snow-covered peak on March 30th 1806 and
named it after President Jefferson.
As the storm diminished I met “Sky Pilot”. He had hiked from Campo to Echo Lake,
but he didn’t fancy Northern California, so he skipped it and started section hiking
Washington and Oregon from north to south. He seemed intent on chatting as long as
possible with any thru-hikers he met. Shortly after this I met Nona and Anne. Nona was a
section hiker I had met earlier on the trip and she was now hiking with a Canadian friend.
They had camped early to escape the rain. Thunderstorms continued intermittently into
the evening as I climbed a high alpine ridge and started the long descent down the other
side.
The Achilles tendon on my left foot was beginning to hurt again so I was delighted to
find a nice flat grassy campsite during a lull in the storm. “Cantaloupe” from Minneapolis
went through as it was getting dark and camped at Breitenbush Lake.
Day 122: 19.6 miles 8.42 hours Camp: Above Breitenbush Lake
Bear Grass
Small Creek
Mount Jefferson
from Russell Creek
from Russell Creek
Carey
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Mount Jefferson
Sky Pilot
Anne and Nona