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[pct-l] Oregon, Partial section C trip



Hello,

I just got back from a 34 mile, 2 day jaunt thru the Sky Lakes wilderness.
I started at the Cold Spring trail head and headed North to meet up with the
"highly recomended" PCT alternate route on the Sky Lakes trail.  This later
joins the official PCT near the Snow Lakes and the Devils peak area.

Both days consisted of beautiful weather with clear skys and temps in the
70's.  There was plenty of patchy snow above 6,000 feet but the only trouble
spot was the descent from the Devils and Miller peak pass.  This was a fun
glissade down but a hard time was had relocating the trail.

Mosquitoes were plentiful and it seemed that no amount of DEET would keep
them at bay.  The ones that really tormented me were the ear buzzers.  My
first night I camped at picturesque Cliff Lake.  A smoky fire at night
seemed to keep the skeeters away but when morning came I could not leave the
area fast enough.

The next day I headed down to Stuart falls, described as a side route in the
guide book.  This is a very pretty area, with a great camp site and very
little mosquitoes action.  It adds a bit over a mile to the official route
and a somewhat rocky descent.  I had lunch there and than headed back up to
the PCT and hiked into Crater Lake NP.  My stopping point was hwy 62, where
I called in my ride.  The last few miles were in the early evening and the
mosquitoes came out in force.  Even on the highway, while I was waiting for
my ride, the little creeps were relentless.

All in all, a fun little trip.  I only met few section hikers and no thru
hikers.  The bulk of the thru hikers should be arriving in 2 - 4 weeks and
hopefully the bugs will have calmed down a little by then.

Best regards,
John