PCT: OR Section B - Highway 5 to Highway 140 (Fish Lake)
Day 118 - 9/1/25 - Back on Trail, Pilot Rock
Distance: 22 miles
Mile Start / End: 1720.8 - 1742.8
Weather: Sunny
End Location: Little Hyatt Lake Outlet
Lessons Learned:
Peaks Bagged: Pilot Rock
Woke up at 6 a.m.
Went to Ray’s for a breaky burrito and dirty chai
Blog
Shuttle at 11:30 a.m. with Richie
Started the trail just after 12 p.m.
Caught up with Richie
Met a SOBO hiker and chatted with him
Hiked with Richie
Made it 4 miles to Pilot Rock Junction around 1:30 p.m.
Convinced Richie to climb it with me
Top around 2 p.m., pics and snacks
Left at 2:20 p.m.
Back to packs around 3 p.m., good side trip
Break at the spring around 4:30 p.m. to fill up water and have late lunch
Had a little charcuterie, sausage, cheese, apples, and sweet and spicy pickles (doing the pickle challenge for PCT Bingo)
Met a section hiker named Jared, who told very good hunting stories
Told us to look for his Polaroid at Fish Lake, his brother and his caught the same fish with two different baits
Left shortly after 5:30 p.m. with Richie
Uphill then nice downhill
Lots of black oak, red cedar, and the green fan-like leaves of white trillium versed the forest floor
Switched our glasses and got ready for night hiking around 7:40 p.m.
Another beautiful smoke-saturated sunset
The night hike was fine
Went along a nice open grassy hillside and caught a view of the city lights of Ashland
Went 7.5 miles to Little Hyatt Lake Outlet
Made it there around 10:30 p.m.
Richie was there
I set up the tent and made dinner, went to bed around midnight
Day 119 - 9/2/25 - to Highway 140
Distance: 33 miles
Mile Start / End: 1742.8, 1774.9
Weather: Sunny, H: 83°
End Location: Fish Lake
Lessons Learned: Push yourself
Woke up around 6 a.m.
Packed up and left around 7:20 a.m.
Goal today is 33 miles to Fish Lake Junction
2 miles to Hyatt Lake for a quick breakfast
Made it to the junction just in time for the privy
Debated whether or not to hike the 1.4 miles into the resort for breakfast, couldn’t figure out when they opened…
Talked to a guy in side by side and got an unclear answer, “they’ll probably be open by the time you get there”
Thanks…
Decided to walk in, how often do you get breakfast on the trail?
Walked across the dam, view of Mt. McLoughlin which I will be attempting tomorrow
The wind made the smell of the lake more fragrant
That smell always reminds me of summer and brought back memories of lake days in FL
Delicious breakfast at Hyatt Lake Resort, very happy I stopped, got chicken fried steak with eggs and hash browns and 2 pieces of French toast
Packed out coffee and left just before 9:30 a.m.
Instead of backtracking and resuming the trail, I decided to take the road towards Howard Lake where it intersects the trail in 6 miles or so
Road walk
White pelicans sat on the edge of Lake Hyatt
Even pelicans go to the lake for summer vacation
Got a hitch for the last few miles of the road walk, nice gal named Christi who was heading into Ashland for dog food
Probably saved me an hour of walking
Resumed the trail just after 11 a.m.
23 miles to Fish Lake 😁
Crossed Grizzly Creek Aqueduct at 11:50 a.m., smell of sulphur.
Nice hiking, clear dirt paths through Doug firs, sugar pines, and gravel roads.
While I walked, I thought of how I can use my skills to serve others after the trail.
Thoughts of becoming a rescue swimmer or joining the Coast Guard.
Made it to spring around 1:30 p.m.
Met French SOBO hiker gal, Crazy Chicken (got her name because she was attacked by a mama grouse and was screaming at it hahaha).
Filled up water and ate lunch, salami and cheese tortilla with pickles (doing the pickle challenge).
Chatted with her, nice gal!
We both took a little nap.
Left shortly after 3 p.m.
8 miles to Brown Shelter Hut for water.
Looks like it might rain, that’d be kind of nice.
As long as lightning doesn’t come with it.
Passed NOBO Friko.
So many trees and mushrooms.
Shrimp mushroom.
Milk Cap with yellow milk and spores, I broke off a piece of the cap and chewed it to see if it was spicy.
No, not a pepper cap.
“The job that is never started is hardest to finish” - LOTR
Made it to cabin just before 6 p.m.
Filled up water and washed shirt.
Ate some snacks and made night hike gear accessible.
Friko came and joined picnic table.
Checked out cabin.
Left just after 6:30 p.m.
10 more miles to target camp at next water.
Sign said Canada was only 800 something miles away… finally starting to feel tangible.
“Strawberry Wine” by Deana Carter, just a banger.
Huge Doug fir, probably close to 200 years old.
The trail got rocky, red volcanic pumas scraped together under my feet.
Nice sunset, less smoke to west than the past few days.
Break at sunset, 7:40 p.m., to eat snack and prepare for night hike.
7 miles to go, should be done by 10:30 p.m. hopefully.
As I walked along the volcanic rocks, the tiny eyes of black spiders sparkled in the light of my headlamp.
Lil snake, western boa?
Cool night view of McLoughlin… tomorrow.
Made it to highway around 10:30 p.m.
Some folk were still awake.
Showgirl, the Bostonians, and Richie were all there.
I was on mission to eat so set up and make food so said hi and left to set up camp.
Set up camp and made a ramen bomb by the creek.
Bed at midnight.
A storm rolled through during the night.
Lightning struck close by, and loud thunder followed, waking me from my brief slumber.
Heavy rain fell, and I heard Showgirl, who was cowboy camping, scramble to set up his tarp.
Went back to sleep.
