[pct-l] Oregon section F

[pcnst@oakapple.net (David hiking PCNST in bits)]

I just enjoyed four fine hiking days in the Mt Jefferson and Mt Washington
wildernesses, better than any I ever had when I was living in Oregon.
My timing was uncharacteristically good, as it started raining yesterday
after I was done.

I had thought (based on what I read here) that the crest of the wave of
through-hikers would be in Cascade Locks, but eventually discovered that
it was somewhere south of me, and the few I ran into were on the leading
rather than trailing edge.

Pictures will be forthcoming in the fullness of time, but some quick
observations:

There are a lot of unsigned trail junctions in the Ollalie Lake scenic
NON-wilderness area.    Always check a map if in doubt.    Trail signs seem
not to last long.

The first view of Mt Jefferson reaching Park Ridge going south was even more
spectacular than I'd imagined.   So much so that I managed to forget a bright
orange food bag on a rock that I had to retrieve after I noticed its loss five
miles later.

The danger season for Russell Creek seems to have passed.    Due to the
aforementioned mental lapse, I got to cross it at 11:40, 1:40, and 4:40
on August 17.   Undramatic in each case.    Wet feet were the only consequence.
Some kind of pole/stick for probing the milky water is very helpful though.

The trail is almost completely washed out just north of Milk Creek.   Not
passable to stock in my uneducated opinion, awe-inspiring on foot.    Not
a minor repair either - the supporting wire-and-boulder blocks have to be
completely rebuilt.

Milk Creek looks like a lousy place to camp - the sites I saw were hacked out
from high brush and looked like little jail cells.

There are at least a dozen trees across the trail between Shale Lake and
Rockpile Lake requiring detours off the trail.    Most were normal size but
one may have been 4' diameter.

There were several dozen trees across the trail around Mt Washington, some
up to 3' I think.   This got quite tiring.     Some horses had gotten through
but I'm sure it was no fun.

The smoke from the fires was very thick east of Crater Lake driving home.
Not the year to visit Crater Lake if you have a choice!

The rain may have taken care of the Marion fire and other northerly blazes,
but probably didn't have much effect on the big one in SW Oregon.