Day 33 – Cowhorn Mountain

I wake up at midnight drenched in sweat again. This is getting old. I have always been a warm sleeper, throwing off a lot of heat at night, but this is getting ridiculous. Luckily the bugs are low so I expose my torso to the night and do a lot of quilt puffing. I am just starting to sleep good when the alarm goes off. Oh well.

I delay putting my shoes on til the last minute so I can sit in my quilt. But soon it looks like the Wanders are getting serious. I am ready to go at 5:15. The women will be a little behind me. The hike has three parts today: 6 miles to Six Horse Springs for water, 7 miles to a water cache, and 6 miles to a dry camp.

Sunday morning

It is 5:30 Sunday morning. The good people of St. Matthew’s are halfway through Mass. I recite as much of the Mass as I can by memory. I get lost in the Eucharist Prayer.

Unfortunately, the liturgy has activated my demons. I rehearse excuses for why I can’t finish the trail. Why do I do this? It is because I am hiking with several men, and some of them are not that pleasant. One is a coward. One has low self-esteem. One is lazy. They talk to me in ways that are not helpful.

But these are not the only men with me. There is the man that has friends. There is the man that loves the unexpected. The man that wants to do right and keep his word. And there is the man who wants to follow the simple wisdom his mother gave him as a boy.

Once a task has once begun,
Never leave it til it’s done. 
Be a labor great or small -
Do it well or not at all. 

As I remember this verse, I am suddenly overwhelmed with grief and joy for my mother. I can’t hold back the tears. It’s ridiculous: I’m hiking and sobbing at the same time. I cry for her and for myself, but mostly for her – my mother, a young woman who took her own life at age 35. She missed so much by leaving us, and I missed having her here for my own children. She taught me much, and now, 44 years after her death, her simple wisdom stays with me. I am glad that she was my mom.

Well, I’ve got to stop this sobbing and get going. If the Wander Women catch up to me now, it would be hard to explain.

Oh, Oregon!

It’s a good time to get lost in the sights.

Six Horse Spring

I reach Six Horse Spring. It is down a pretty steep side trail. I take just my water bottles. On my way back up, I meet Annette and Lynn. I told you the Wanders would not be far behind. We filter our water together.

I leave for the next segment before them. The trail looks exactly like I hoped it would in Oregon. You can say that it’s boring, but I completely disagree.

I discover an old PCT marker. I wonder how many years this has been here, lodged in this tree, marking on of the great trails of the world.

It’s always about the water

I reach the water cache and am amazed. There is over 150 gallons of bottled water here. I wonder what kind soul(s) placed it here. We all “camel up” again and prepare for the final segment. A 6-mile hike to a dry campsite. It is less convenient to camp where there is no water. You have to carry in the water you will need for the hike in, for camp that evening and for the morning. We each drink as much as we can stand and then carry 3 liters to last until tomorrow. Three liters of water is over six pounds!

We head toward Cowhorn Mountain. We will go most of the way up it and then duck around behind it to the west. As I approach the mountain I pause for a commemorative moment.

A milestone

It seems like I just started. But 500 is a lot. However, 500 is not even 20 percent of my goal (2650 miles). But if I keep walking, I will make it someday. For now, I just want a shower and an icy cold orange soda!

Cowhorn appears. It doesn’t look like a Cowhorn much. Maybe it does from the other side, like Devil’s Peak.

On the other side of Cowhorn is Summit Lake. We will be passing by that tomorrow. If we have time, I might jump in. And who knows, since it is the observed holiday (July 5th), maybe someone will offer me a soda.

Tomorrow’s Plan

It’s 23 miles to Shelter Cove Resort. This is more miles than any of us prefer to do, but we are motivated by the need for cell service, bandwidth, showers, town food, laundry and maybe meeting old friends. I have to get up at four to leave camp by 4:30. The mosquitoes are intense here. They are buzzing all around my face and shoulders. Only DEET is keeping them at bay. Could be another long night.

• July 4
• Starting mile: 1866
• Ending mile: 1885
• Daily PCT miles: 19
• Total PCT miles: 513
• Animal (partial): cow horn