Outdoor Adventures with Ancient Brit
PCT 2002 - August 26th
Bracket Fungus
Day 125: Monday 26th August Timothy Lake – below
Timberline Lodge
When I left Timothy Lake the weather would have done justice to Manchester on a
Test Match morning. There was low grey cloud with dampness in the air.
The first point of interest was a curious creature on the trail. It looked like an
amphibian, about 9 inches long, with webbed feet and eyes in the top of its head. The jet-
black coloured skin with some patterning made it look like a creature from out of space.
It certainly looked out of place waddling uncomfortably along the trail, a long way from
water. The forestry workers I met later in the morning suggested it might be a Pacific
Giant Salamander.
Josh, Kyle, Mike and Bruce worked for the USFS on trail maintenance and they were
clearing away windblown trees, which had fallen across the trail. They were handicapped
by the USFS ban on all machinery in their forests, due to the high fire risk from the long
dry summer and they weren’t able to use chain saws, which made their task very hard
work. I was surprised this ban applied to their own workers, especially now that the
weather had broken and the woods were no longer tinder dry. This section should have
been cleared by a group of volunteers, but they hadn’t met their commitment.
By lunchtime I reached the Barlow road; now a modern Highway. The first road had
been built across the Cascades in Oregon in 1845-1846 by Samuel Barlow, a pioneer from
Kentucky.
From here I started on the long climb up the lower slopes of Mount Hood towards
Timberline Lodge where I would pick up my next supply bag. I reached a small creek and
campsite at 4pm and decided to stop, since it was still at least 90 minutes to the lodge and
I wouldn’t be able to pick up my supplies until the morning. I hadn’t seen Mount Hood
yet, but as I approached camp the skies started clearing. This did not help very much
since I was still in dense woodland. The pole of my tent snapped as I was putting up the
tent. The tent had a single flexible pole without which it would have been impossible to
put up the tent. I had one tube for emergency repairs, which worked OK but made the
tent slower to put up, which might be a nuisance in heavy rain, and I would be in trouble
if it broke again.
The Achilles on my left foot was a little sore again and I was wishing I had a second
pair of Brasher walking shoes, rather than the heavier boots I was now wearing.
“Scooter”, from San Francisco, came through. He had started at the kick-off party and
intended to get to Timberline Lodge tonight for a hot meal. Somehow he had acquired his
trail name from one of the signs in Southern California prohibiting motorbikes on the
PCT. Later “Heavy”, from North Carolina, came through, also heading up to Timberline
Lodge for the night. The basic weight of his pack (excluding food and water) was a
massive 38lb. He got his trail name when he hiked the AT in 1999, similarly heavily
laden. He was also carrying 5 days food since he oversupplied at his last supply box and
didn’t want to waste money by throwing it away. He was a strong young man and able to
cope with the load.
Day 125: 17.9 miles 7.01 hours Camp: below Timberline Lodge
Timberline Lodge
When I left Timothy Lake the weather would have done justice to Manchester on a
Test Match morning. There was low grey cloud with dampness in the air.
The first point of interest was a curious creature on the trail. It looked like an
amphibian, about 9 inches long, with webbed feet and eyes in the top of its head. The jet-
black coloured skin with some patterning made it look like a creature from out of space.
It certainly looked out of place waddling uncomfortably along the trail, a long way from
water. The forestry workers I met later in the morning suggested it might be a Pacific
Giant Salamander.
Josh, Kyle, Mike and Bruce worked for the USFS on trail maintenance and they were
clearing away windblown trees, which had fallen across the trail. They were handicapped
by the USFS ban on all machinery in their forests, due to the high fire risk from the long
dry summer and they weren’t able to use chain saws, which made their task very hard
work. I was surprised this ban applied to their own workers, especially now that the
weather had broken and the woods were no longer tinder dry. This section should have
been cleared by a group of volunteers, but they hadn’t met their commitment.
By lunchtime I reached the Barlow road; now a modern Highway. The first road had
been built across the Cascades in Oregon in 1845-1846 by Samuel Barlow, a pioneer from
Kentucky.
From here I started on the long climb up the lower slopes of Mount Hood towards
Timberline Lodge where I would pick up my next supply bag. I reached a small creek and
campsite at 4pm and decided to stop, since it was still at least 90 minutes to the lodge and
I wouldn’t be able to pick up my supplies until the morning. I hadn’t seen Mount Hood
yet, but as I approached camp the skies started clearing. This did not help very much
since I was still in dense woodland. The pole of my tent snapped as I was putting up the
tent. The tent had a single flexible pole without which it would have been impossible to
put up the tent. I had one tube for emergency repairs, which worked OK but made the
tent slower to put up, which might be a nuisance in heavy rain, and I would be in trouble
if it broke again.
The Achilles on my left foot was a little sore again and I was wishing I had a second
pair of Brasher walking shoes, rather than the heavier boots I was now wearing.
“Scooter”, from San Francisco, came through. He had started at the kick-off party and
intended to get to Timberline Lodge tonight for a hot meal. Somehow he had acquired his
trail name from one of the signs in Southern California prohibiting motorbikes on the
PCT. Later “Heavy”, from North Carolina, came through, also heading up to Timberline
Lodge for the night. The basic weight of his pack (excluding food and water) was a
massive 38lb. He got his trail name when he hiked the AT in 1999, similarly heavily
laden. He was also carrying 5 days food since he oversupplied at his last supply box and
didn’t want to waste money by throwing it away. He was a strong young man and able to
cope with the load.
Day 125: 17.9 miles 7.01 hours Camp: below Timberline Lodge
Pacific Giant
Salamander
Salamander
Mike
Josh and Mike
Barlow Road sign
Scooter
Ancient Brit in camp
Heavy
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