We've Entered the Northwest

We left Ashland and headed up to Crater Lake, but not before we stopped by Callahans for the free beer and bottomless spaghetti dinner. We also met a bunch of amazing people in ashland who were so willing and helpful to us hiker trash. One women asked us if we needed a ride while we were sending off some resupply packages at the post office. It was great for us because the laundromat was across town and we were in serious need of clean socks. She not only took us there but gave us her number so she could take us back to the trailhead when we were done. Incredible.  The next few days after ashland were dull. We were stuck in a green tunnel (forested area) for what seemed like forever. We did get free ice cream from a campground store just off trail. We also came upon our first group of sobos (southbound through hikers) who were taking an on trail zero day. Instead of relaxing, they were filtering water for all of us north bounders which was awesome because the water coming out of the pump was brown and murky. Gotta love your sobos! The next day we took a break and ended up being joined by about 20 of our fellow through hikers. It was quite the treat since we've all been spread out for so long. Later that day we caught a helicopter dropping off some forest service workers about 50 yards from the trail. They were headed in to observe a nearby fire and clear some brush. We got into Mazama village (the Crater Lake campground) where we ran into tons of hikers and got a chance to resupply. That night we chatted around the campfire until hiker midnight (9pm). The next morning we were treated to breakfast by our friend Duke ' s mom who had flown in from Texas to help him, and us, out along the trail. We got up to the Rim Village and caught our first glimpse of Crater lake. Five minutes later, my camera died. We hung out at the lodge for the day, sitting on the porch drinking margaritas and looking out over the lake. We made it another few miles that day and were treated to some wine by some day hikers who had just bottled it at their grandparents vineyard. We celebrated the full moon over Crater lake in style. We left the lake amid sounds of thunder and clouds rolling in. It rained on us that night but, luckily, we had set up camp already.  We woke up to almost constant thunder and got hiking right as it began to rain. A few hours later the rain turned to hail and the lightning was getting closer. The marble sized hail pounded our heads and we took refuge under a large tree. The hail turned back into rain and we ventured on passing a ridge and the highest elevation point on trail in Oregon and Washington.  The lightning continued.  We had a brief period of no rain but it started to pour again hard just 20 minutes before we got to camp. Everything was soaked but because we didn't want to take breaks, we made it 28 miles that day, making it my longest day. We caught a lull in the rain the next morning and packed up quick. A few hours later the sun poked through and we took the time to dry out our gear. About ten minutes after we packed up again, the rain came down and soaked everything. It rained most of the rest of the day until we found a camp where a fellow through hiker gave us some beer and fresh homemade salsa. It was a great end to a bad day. We made it into shelter cove, a small lake resort, where we found a bunch of hikers. We also heard that the weather was supposed to let up so we dried out gear in high hopes. As we were about to pack up and get going, a man staying in one of the cabins came over and offered us some grilled salmon that he had caught earlier in the lake.  We ended up spending the evening around his campfire sharing stories. We even got to take a boat ride around the lake at sunset. Leaving later to head to the hiker campsite, I made it around the first horse shoe pit but the second one came out of nowhere and I toppled over, backpack and all. Surprisingly it's the first time I've scrapped up my knees on the trail. We took a leisurely day out and stopped by some lakes and a ski cabin. The trail was really busy the next day. We ran into a 100k race that joined the trail for bit as well as tons of day hikers and campers. Luckily the afternoon was much quieter. I pulled my first 30 mile day that day despite having to stop quite a bit for all the other people. We hiked into Bend the next day and planned for a zero day.  We got warmer clothes, lots of food, and are ready to get back on trail tomorrow morning! Mile 1989.5. Only 680 to go!