Outdoor Adventures with Ancient Brit
PCT 2002 - July 24th
Day 99: Wednesday 24th July Mavis Lake – N of Statue Lake
Even with the extra food I had got from Jerry I had only one banana and a recycled
tea bag to spare for breakfast in the morning. There were views across to Mount
Thompson, 9,002ft, the only peak in this mountain system to support glaciers.
At the road crossing at Carter Meadows Summit I came across Justin, Bob and
Chris. Justin, a student, had just given up his summer job as a bartender, to work for
the USFS as a Forest Patrol Officer for which he was paid $19/day. He had just
completed his first 8-day patrol during which he made a tour of the mountain lakes in
the area, clearing up the campsites. He was now going off for a 6-day break. Bob and
Chris were teachers from Idaho, who were hiking south from Ashland. Chris had got
blister problems so they were going off trail. Bob had thru-hiked the PCT in 1997 with
his fourteen year-old daughter. He had had strong opposition from her school,
complaining about 2 months of lost education. They gave her a PE credit for the trip,
but refused a biology credit (Because there was no lab work!), despite a 5-month biology
lesson in the wilderness with her father who was a biology teacher. They added to my
food supplies so I should be able to get to Etna Summit without rationing. I learnt from
Justin that “Iron Man” and “Jaybird” were just ahead of me. Tom had now left the trail
to get back home and then on to England to start as a doctor in St. Ives. His girlfriend,
Katie had had 10 days off the tail for her grandmother’s birthday celebrations and was
now back on the trail.
I climbed up to the ridge and watched an Eagle peacefully soaring on the
updraught, before being attacked by a much smaller, but more aggressive, Peregrine
Falcon, which managed to drive the Eagle away. I was now walking on 500 million year-
old metamorphosed volcanic rocks, which had probably formed on an island chain,
much like Japan today. Since it was cooler in the morning I was carrying less water and
I was depending on two springs on the ridge. By now it was warming up and I began to
get a little concerned when the first spring was a muddy trickle and as I approached the
second all I saw was the rear view of a cow. It departed in panic through what looked
like impenetrable brush, leaving behind a badly polluted spring. I now had only ½ litre
left until I could find another spring. Yesterday had been the first day with cows in the
mountains and now we were getting further north there was enough rain for alpine
meadows to develop.
Many of the hillsides had been ravaged by fires in the past and some of the steep
slopes had been cleared, terraced and replanted to reduce erosion and promote plant
growth.
As the trail entered the Russian Wilderness, an area of bare granite mountains,
reminiscent of the High Sierra, I found good water running through the boulders at the
outlet creek from Bingham Lake. I camped at 8pm by a seasonal spring with a flat
campsite and fireplace. I didn’t sleep well and had a meal trail mix and tea at midnight
when I was woken by deer visiting the creek.
Day 99: 17.1 miles 8.07 hours Camp: N. of Statue Lake
Even with the extra food I had got from Jerry I had only one banana and a recycled
tea bag to spare for breakfast in the morning. There were views across to Mount
Thompson, 9,002ft, the only peak in this mountain system to support glaciers.
At the road crossing at Carter Meadows Summit I came across Justin, Bob and
Chris. Justin, a student, had just given up his summer job as a bartender, to work for
the USFS as a Forest Patrol Officer for which he was paid $19/day. He had just
completed his first 8-day patrol during which he made a tour of the mountain lakes in
the area, clearing up the campsites. He was now going off for a 6-day break. Bob and
Chris were teachers from Idaho, who were hiking south from Ashland. Chris had got
blister problems so they were going off trail. Bob had thru-hiked the PCT in 1997 with
his fourteen year-old daughter. He had had strong opposition from her school,
complaining about 2 months of lost education. They gave her a PE credit for the trip,
but refused a biology credit (Because there was no lab work!), despite a 5-month biology
lesson in the wilderness with her father who was a biology teacher. They added to my
food supplies so I should be able to get to Etna Summit without rationing. I learnt from
Justin that “Iron Man” and “Jaybird” were just ahead of me. Tom had now left the trail
to get back home and then on to England to start as a doctor in St. Ives. His girlfriend,
Katie had had 10 days off the tail for her grandmother’s birthday celebrations and was
now back on the trail.
I climbed up to the ridge and watched an Eagle peacefully soaring on the
updraught, before being attacked by a much smaller, but more aggressive, Peregrine
Falcon, which managed to drive the Eagle away. I was now walking on 500 million year-
old metamorphosed volcanic rocks, which had probably formed on an island chain,
much like Japan today. Since it was cooler in the morning I was carrying less water and
I was depending on two springs on the ridge. By now it was warming up and I began to
get a little concerned when the first spring was a muddy trickle and as I approached the
second all I saw was the rear view of a cow. It departed in panic through what looked
like impenetrable brush, leaving behind a badly polluted spring. I now had only ½ litre
left until I could find another spring. Yesterday had been the first day with cows in the
mountains and now we were getting further north there was enough rain for alpine
meadows to develop.
Many of the hillsides had been ravaged by fires in the past and some of the steep
slopes had been cleared, terraced and replanted to reduce erosion and promote plant
growth.
As the trail entered the Russian Wilderness, an area of bare granite mountains,
reminiscent of the High Sierra, I found good water running through the boulders at the
outlet creek from Bingham Lake. I camped at 8pm by a seasonal spring with a flat
campsite and fireplace. I didn’t sleep well and had a meal trail mix and tea at midnight
when I was woken by deer visiting the creek.
Day 99: 17.1 miles 8.07 hours Camp: N. of Statue Lake
Approaching Carter
Meadows Summit
Meadows Summit
Bob and Chris
Justin
Cows below Peak 7,383
Mount Shasta
from Peak 7383
from Peak 7383
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