PCT: OR Section C - Mt McLoughlin and Crater Lake (Highway 140 to Highway 138)
Day 120 - 9/3/25 - Side Quest: Mt McLoughlin
Distance: 11.5 miles, + 3 miles off trail
Mile Start / End: 1774.9, 1786.5
Weather: cloudy
End Location: Christi’s Spring
Lessons Learned: Don’t underestimate mountains
Woke up around 6:30 a.m.
Packed up and chatted with Showgirl about the storm last night.
Asked if he wanted to do Mt McLoughlin, yep.
Builder Cliff bar for breakfast, new flavor vanilla almond, pretty good.
Coffee to go.
4 miles to the junction.
Junction around 9:00 a.m.
Lauren gave me some of her excess Cheez-Its.
“Mt McLoughlin fuel,” she joked hahaha.
Stashed unused items and put a mat over it in case it rains.
Started climbing at 9:30 a.m.
1.5 miles and 2600ft elevation, let’s get it.
Messed up, stashed gear too early😅
Lauren definitely went the wrong way, she’ll figure it out.
Showgirl at the real junction.
Was waiting for too long, apologized for my stupidity😂
Lauren passed, we laughed at our mistake.
Started climbing around 10 a.m.
Saw a new fire that likely started from the lightning last night, maybe 4 miles away.
Helicopters buzzed around it and brought ease to my mind.
Climbed.
Top around 12:15 p.m.
Sign logbook, used the quote Richie told me the other day:
“The most important step is the next one.”
Ate lunch and then left around 1 p.m.
Going down was almost more difficult than going up, harder on the knees.
Made it down around 3 p.m. - this side test took longer than expected.
Bushwacked from the junction to Freye Lake for water and a swim in the sun.
It was shallow and muddy but deep enough to lie submerged.
Immediately after dunking my head under, I felt revitalized.
Relaxed with a view of Mt McLoughlin across the lake, always feels surreal seeing the mountain that you were just on top of
Left around 5 p.m.
Goal is Christy Spring 7 miles away. Both Showgirl and I were cooked.
I underestimated the mountain. It was a proper peak.
Coffee and collagen.
80s music then Buddha Pod.
“Love all beings” - not just humans.
Views of World:
World as a Battleground
World as a Trap (have to transcend it, but Nirvana is on Earth)
World as a Lover
World as Self
Made it to camp at Spring around 8:30 p.m.
Hummingbird, the section hiker from yesterday, was there.
Congratulated me on Mt. McLoughlin. She’s so nice :)
Shouted for Showgirl. He was down a bit by the spring.
Followed him, joked it was like MTV Cribs.
Passed Spring and he showed me some incredible tent sites.
Set up camp.
Ate dinner together. Ramen bomb.
Discussed logistics of summiting Mt. Thielsen.
Then made cider with kava tea (snagged packet from Callahan’s).
Wisdom: let the opportunities come to you.
Fitting
Tv
Went to bed around 10 p.m.
Day 121 - 9/4/25 - Serious Hiking
Distance: 33.6
Mile Start / End: 1786.5, 1820
Weather: Sunny
End Location: Union Peak Trail Junction
Lessons Learned:
Woke up around 2:30 a.m., animals roaming about
Hit my tent and it scurried off, sounded like a deer
Woke up again just before 6:30 a.m.
Packed up, had breakfast, left around 7:30 a.m.
Gonna be a big day since Mt. McLoughlin took way longer than anticipated yesterday 😂
11 miles to Snow Lake
Left with Showgirl
Blueberry and Huckleberry break
Yum
Thought about my parents and the plan for when they come to visit
I did not need direction,
I have my own compass;
What I needed was support,
Someone to say:
“You are strong enough to go on”
And when I did not hear
Those words from you
I spoke to them
To myself
And found
That they were true
Listened to music
Then a daily podcast about Trump’s recent deals in business
What happens when a government becomes a shareholder in industries
Generational shift to a more socialist form of capitalism, will be interesting to see how it plays out with future governments
Investing question: should I invest now in companies that will likely be targets for this new US portfolio (Lockheed, construction companies) because it will make them more favorable to the US in terms of competition?
What happens when the US has an investment in a company that has a monopoly? Is this the start of a new capitalist form of communism?
Nice hiking, slight uphills and down.
Oregon is not flat hahaha.
Made it to the Snow Lakes Junction around noon, but too far down and had enough water so had a quick lunch in the shade and left shortly after 12:45 p.m.
6 miles to Honeymoon Creek, some water before but gonna try to push.
500 ft uphill after lunch.
Tile-paved floor.
Clouds gave reprieve from the sun.
Around 2 p.m., reached top of climb and got amazing view.
Saw the peaks surrounding Crater Lake in distance, headed that way.
Passed 1800-mile marker.
Passed Showgirl and Hummingbird at a scenic creek overlook the Seven Lakes Basin.
Pushing 3 more miles with no water to Honeymoon Creek, all downhill.
Hundreds of little frogs by the creeks, tried not to step on them.
Stopped around 3 p.m. at creek before Honeymoon because there were tons of Huckleberries.
Filled up peter and took off shoes, collected huckleberries in my slippers😂
And washed up.
Left just after 4 p.m.
7.5 miles to Jack Spring for dinner, last water until Crater Lake.
Honeymoon Creek was more like a dirty pond and did not have as many huckleberries around, was glad I stopped at stream before.
Thunder in distant 5 p.m.
Burnt hilltops with new grass and spruce.
Finished LOTR Book 1, fuck ya.
Music.
Made it to Jack’s Spring around 7 p.m.
Went to 2nd pond where recent comments said there was still water.
Showgirl was there.
Ate dinner, ramen couscous, and mashed potatoes.
Saved tuna for the road.
Nice sunset.
Left 8 p.m. with Showgirl, goal is 9 miles.
Pisstopher While Walkin - a play on words for maximum hiking efficiency, peeing while walking
Night hike was nice.
Entered Crater Lake National Park in the dark of night.
Signed trail reg around 10:30 p.m.
Put on Joe Rogan pod with Bono, actually great
They talked about Richard Rohr.
Made it Union Peak Junction 11:30 p.m.
Ate tuna packet and went to bed around midnight.
Was exhausted, that was a big day.
Day 122 - 9/5/25 - Crater Lake National Park
Distance: 29 miles
Mile Start / End: 1820, 1849
Weather: Sunny
End Location: Water Cache by Highway 138
Lessons Learned:
Woke up at 6:45
Left just before 7:30 a.m.
3 miles to breakfast
“Side Quest = Main Memory”
“She Moves in Her Own Way” by the Kooks stuck in mi head
Made it to Highway 8:15 a.m.
1 mile road walk
Smelled breakfast as I got closer 🤤
Made it to Annie’s Creak Restaurant around 8:30 a.m.
Showgirl had already grabbed a table, nice.
Ordered food
Breakfast burrito, coffee, orange juice
Split French toast
Saw Tunes, she joined us for a cup of joe
After breakfast, went over to Mazama Store and got a resupply box
Then showered and dried my clothes
Quick little cat nap
Went out front to join Tunes and Showgirl
Got Chicken Bacon Mac and Cheese for lunch
Started chatting about the trail with a guy named Jim that came up to us
He said he’d give us a ride up to the Rim, clutchhhh
Tunes and I rode in the back of the pickup, got to know her a bit better
Big reveal of Crater Lake
Went to lunch
Started the Rim Trail around 3 p.m.
Listened to some Grateful Dead as I hiked the rim around my head
Beautiful hiking
Cool seeing Wizard Island from so many different vantage points
Met a wonderful Indian couple, Mala and Sejah, who gave me Chai Tea and banana bread
The interaction with them truly made my day
It’s funny how I can have such an amazing view and the thing that affects me the most is the small kindness of strangers
“Song for Us” by Big Something
Then “Stacy’s on the Lake.”
Then “Stacy’s Mom” because fuck it , what a sequence😂
Almost bypassed Watchman Tower at 5 p.m. but decided to run up it real quick.
Dropped pack and literally jogged up.
Truly is one of the most amazing views of Crater Lake.
Met Beau (RV camper) and Catnap (SOBO) up top.
Hiked with Beau and bumped into Showgirl.
Went back up with Showgirl; he is going to stay up there.
I will travel on; want to get more miles in so I can do Thielsen tomorrow.
As I descended, I thought about my ex from college, I had done this hike with her years ago.
I really messed that one up, just hope she’s happy now.
Hiked the rest of the rim trail at sunset; come on, life doesn’t get any better than this.
Listened to some Greta Van Fleet.
The contrast between the vast and the small felt evident as birds chirped around white pines, unsure, in the setting sun’s light, whether it would storm tonight.
And made me think: what a beautiful life.
I don’t know how I took this place for granted before.
It’s such an amazing and powerful place.
I’ve taken a lot of things for granted…
Talked to some people pulled over at an overlook with 2 bicycles on the back of the car.
There’s a race tomorrow around the entire rim so asked them about that; apparently, it’s just a fun race.
“We’re just gonna try to finish.”
“Me too,” I joked, referencing the trail😅
Listened to Griz, chasing golden hour pt 4.
Airplane mode, yuppp.
Then switched to dirt road country.
The sunset was as smooth as Tennessee whiskey and Chris Stapleton’s voice.
Phone was about to die, so I stopped for dinner and charged.
Switched out gear for night hike and watched the earth turn away from the star that warms it.
Clouds like swan feathers turned pink and flapped over the volcanic mounds that lay ahead.
Gonna try to make it 10 miles tonight, where the trail intersects the highway and there is a water cache.
Rejoined PCT 8:15 p.m.
Joe pod
Nietschze trail
“For anything truly great to take place, there requires a long obedience in the same direction.”
“You can outlive god”
Book of 5 Rings - greatest samurai
“Once you understand the way broadly, you see it in all things”
Thoughts of evil and paranoia in the dark
does evil exist in nature or is it simply just human?
Pride is an act of being disrespectful, an act of putting the self over others
Pride of inferiority
Am I worthy to be here
So doubt is a form of pride, still place yourself at center but at the other end
What do we cling to? You will know when you start to lose it
Dying is a path
Do not improve or degraded yourself, you are fine as you are
Now to the Buddha, no fear because the earth will meet you
Signed Trail Register 11:10pm, just like arrived in Crater Lake yesterday, I left in the dark of night hahaha
Went 0.5 more miles, to dirt road where water cache is (thanks FarOut comments)
Arrive 11:30pm, was going to keep going but found a spot away from the other spaces and set up
Bed around 12:15am
