The
hiking in this lake region was quite pleasant, although there were no vistas,
and most of the lakes and ponds on the right side of the trail were hidden from
view by the dense tree cover. Lucky
Man passed me and said he was headed for the campground at Brahma Lake. When I
arrived at the lake several hours later, I left the main trail to follow the
spur trail to the campground where I found Lucky Man just setting up his tent. I had expected to see a large
number of hikers at this campground, but tonight it was just Lucky Man and me. Knowing that I would be leaving
in the dark in the morning, I backtracked to the main trail, taking careful
note of marker points that I would need to follow to find the trail in the
dark. This was a good night
to have a tent, as the mosquito population was on the prowl for anything
succulent.
Before
noon on the following day, Lucky Man again passed me, after which I had the
trail all to myself. As usual, for this part of Oregon, there were no big
climbs or steep descents; mainly, the trail stayed on level ground as it passed
by a string of sparkling lakes. And always there were trail junctions
with signs that pointed in the direction of the lake.
From the
trail I was on, I could hear voices coming from a different trail somewhere
down below my position. Within a half mile, I encountered another trail
junction leading down to a lake, somewhere off to my left. Just as I
noticed this side trail, I came face to face with a large mule being ridden by
an equally large, middle-aged woman, who seemed to be very comfortable riding
this very large animal. In a loud voice, she shouted "Whoa" to
the mule and pulled up in front of me. Trotting behind the mule was a
very skinny lady, followed by a fast-moving black-and-white border collie that
was wound up tighter than a child’s spring-loaded toy. The woman on the mule
inquired if I was a PCT thru-hiker. I answered in the affirmative, and
she said,
“We love
thru-hikers," then offered to pack out any trash I might have with me.
I told her,
“I was
good; I’ll be to Sisters/Bend in another day and will dispose of my trash
there.”
She
informed me that she and her companion had been camping down by a lake and were
now headed to another lake, but she was not quite sure of its location.
However, she was confident the mule would know how to find the lake, and
with that she set off down the PC Trail that I had just come up.
The
skinny lady, who was striding behind the mule, indicated to me that her
companion didn’t really know what her location was in relation to the lake they
were seeking, but she dutifully trotted on behind her. The border collie
set off up the trail with me, but upon hearing a shout from the skinny lady,
turned and bolted like a miniature greyhound back to her. The whole scene
was rather comical and reminded me of a female version of the comedian duo –
Laurel and Hardy.
Because I
was entering the Sisters' corridor, which was a very popular section of the PC
Trail for weekend hikers, I encountered numerous day and section hikers.
From somewhere up the trail, yet still out of sight, I could hear the
voices of small children. When they finally came in sight, I saw that the
hikers were a mom and dad and two small girls, one of which was talking
nonstop. I pulled off the trail to let them pass, but they stopped to
chat. They wanted to know all the usual questions associated with
thru-hikers, and then the talkative eight-year-old asked me what my trail name
was. I told her it was Rabbit Stick, which made her giggle, and then she
proudly announced that the family had met Cookie earlier this morning.
Having
passed Irish Lake, I was now inside the Three Sisters Wilderness area, and the
terrain couldn’t be flatter. All day I walked beside small lakes and
ponds, the largest being Mink Lake, which I couldn’t see from the trail, but
took note of trail signs which point in the direction of the lake. About
midday, I stopped to take a whiz, and as I was leaning up against a tree, I
caught a fleeting glimpse of something furry in the rocks at my feet. The
creature moved, and for a split second came out into the open. I could
tell it was a miniature mink, no more than six inches long. Its
underbelly was cream colored while its top half was a dark brown. In my
walk today, I was fortunate to see two of these little fellows.
In the
late afternoon, I passed a trail that descended down to Elk Lake Resort, one of
the most popular recreational lakes in the Cascade Range. From the
guidebooks I knew they had a fine restaurant at the lodge, and I was tempted to
hike the mile and a half to the resort and partake of a fine meal, but
scuttlebutt on the trail had it that the meals were expensive, so I passed,
although they couldn’t be any more expensive than the twenty-four-dollar meal I
purchased at Drakesbad. As I was standing at the trail junction, Samba
and Tallywa showed up. They said it was their intention to hike down to the
lodge and have dinner at the restaurant; I asked them to be sure and tell me how
it was when next we meet.
Hikers
who go to the resort via the Elk Lake Trail do not have to backtrack on the
same trail to return to the PCT; instead, they can return via the Horse Creek
Trail which will put them a mile and a half farther up the PCT. When I reach
the Horse Creek Trail junction, it was time to camp, and I found a flat spot
just big enough for my ground cloth and bedroll.
Sisters' Mirror Lake marked the entrance to the southern portal of the Three Sisters
volcano district. It was a brilliant day today, with blue skies and no
clouds and the placid waters of the lake give a perfect mirror reflection of
the South Sister. Undoubtedly this was one of the most photographed
scenes along the Sisters' corridor.
Today,
the Sisters are named North, Middle, and South Sister, but when the first
settlers moved into the Bend area, these peaks were given the names of Hope,
Faith, and Charity, however, the names didn’t stick. Also, not all the
family is aligned along the corridor, for off to the west are peaks named The
Wife, The Husband, and The Brother.
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