Today’s milestone – we have passed 900 miles. We did 24 miles today taking us to 921 miles. The weather has been perfect for hiking and the snow is melting fast in the summer heat.

Now that we are back in California, we are meeting more and more hikers who, like us, have skipped all or some of the Sierras and jumped up to one place or another. Some are going north, some are going south.

We have gradually gained elevation over the day, and are now camped near some snow drifts. We expect to have 2 or 3 miles of snow to cover tomorrow, then it should be plain sailing for a couple of days down to Castella and Dunsmuir where we plan to stay a night in a motel.

First stop today was Burney Mtn Guest Ranch where we had some packages to collect and post onwards. While there we were able to buy resupply food items and treated ourselves to a second breakfast of sausages, eggs and waffles. The ranch is set up to serve PCT hikers and they had a church group there today for a maintenance working bee.

Next stop, 9 miles further along was Burney Falls and the adjacent campground. The falls were quite magnificent but the river was too fast flowing to allow for a swim so instead I paid a dollar for a 4 minute shower which gave me time to rinse my clothes as well. The hot sun quickly dried them on me as we waked on. While I was indulging in a shower, Rob took the opportunity to see the waterfall from a different angle.

(The photo of Burney Falls above was actually taken by my brother. My photos got lost with a glitch when I was transferring them from my camera.)

Instead of staying at the busy campground we walked a further 6 miles to a quiet spot in the forest beside a creek. It is only us, OG and the million mosquitoes here!

Milestone for today – we have completed a third of the total PCT distance.

Last night saw us get to Old Station after 11pm (courtesy of Johnnie and his rental car). We found some ground behind a gas station to quickly pitch tents and get some sleep. One reason we were later than expected was the abundance of deer on the road, requiring Johnnie to drive slower.

It was hard to say goodbye to the kids yesterday, and Johnnie this morning, but 6:30 am saw us (Ros, OG and me) back on the trail.

We climbed up to an escarpment called Hat Creek Rim, and almost all of the day’s walk was along the edge. There was an abundance of red, yellow, white and blue wild flowers, many butterflies, and always the magnificent Mt Shasta in the background.

Mega dandelions

Mega pine cones

Checking a trail register to see who has gone through

The area is very volcanic.

Today was the longest day of the year, and we used 12 hours of perfect hiking weather to walk 25.3 miles of mostly level /undulating track. As I write this it is 8:15pm and still quite light.

This morning OG arrived in his van and took us all back to Rhododendron where Johnnie had left their rental car. Then we said goodbye to Peter and Jo, and Johnnie took them to Eugene.

OG and Ros and I drove to Medford, as did Johnnie. OG left his van at his wife’s cousin’s place, and Carol generously had prepared taco salad for our dinner. Now Johnnie is taking us all to Old Station so we can start hiking northbound tomorrow.

Don’t worry if you couldn’t follow all those logistics – suffice to say we are keen to get back on the trail. We hope to go all the way to Santiam Pass without snow problems.

We have had a great time with our family and special thanks to OG and Johnnie for helping with the transport.

We have had a relaxing day in Cascade Locks doing not much at all.

As usual when we are in town, we eat up to replace calories used up hiking. It is strange to be scanning the menu looking for dishes with more rather than less calories.

The Columbia River marks the border of Oregon and Washington, and there is a PCT monument in the town.

We were walking along the lock at the river and saw a fisherman land a good size salmon.

We woke to the patter of raindrops on the tents and, after some deliberation decided to hike through to Cascade Locks rather than spend the whole day at the lake as previously planned.

After packing up wet tents we began a gradual climb out of the lake basin. Having started late we had to keep a steady pace to get to Cascade Locks before nightfall.

The skies cleared in the afternoon but it was a long slog to the town.

Rob and I were very impressed with the family who have now completed 50 miles of the PCT. We all felt that the cold drinks by the Columbia River were well earned and well deserved.

Sharing our PCT experience with family has been really great. Since we haven’t planned long hiking days we were able to sleep in this morning and eat a leisurely breakfast before breaking camp.

OG and Jean headed home to Seattle and we headed on north past Lo Lo Pass and up the hill. The path looked and felt very different from our south bound adventure a week ago which took us over snow while we experienced rain, hail and snow.

The views of mountains in the background and forested hills in the foreground then were hidden in mist and cloud but now, at a leisurely pace we enjoyed the views and were able to chat and share news with Peter, Joanna and Robert’s brother, John.

We have found a lovely campsite beside a peaceful lake and have enjoyed a hearty meal around the campfire. Hot drinks, chocolate and toasted marshmallows ended a near perfect day.

So the plan today was to hike the section we had missed out north of Timberline when we left the trail due to rain and snow.

When we arrived at the car park at Timberline we could hardly recognise it as the same place we had hiked south from only a week before. Today the sun was shining in a clear sky and there was barely any wind. Where there had been a foot of snow there was now dirt and rock.

Once we got onto the trail it was fairly easy going and despite some residual snow drifts, we had no trouble finding the path. We were excited to see bear tracks near the beginning of the walk but we didn’t see the animal that left them. We did see beautiful views back to Mt Hood and over to Mt St Helen and the place we stopped for lunch had open shady space as well as views to the valley below.

We took it slowly and made our way to Lo Lo pass by 4:45. OG’ s wife, Jean, joined us at the camp spot and brought in water, food and other supplies to make the camping more comfortable. We enjoyed good food and a campfire and spent time discussing plans for the days ahead with the family.

We left Bend early in the morning and went by bus to the town of Sandy. OG’s wife Jean joined us after lunch having driven down from their home near Seattle. After visiting a very interesting local museum we drove about 18 miles to Rhododendron where we again stayed in the same hostel as a week ago.

All of this was in preparation for the visit of our son Peter and daughter Joanna and Robert’s brother Johnnie. We have been looking forward to this visit for ages and it was great to see them when they arrived by rental car mid afternoon.

We took a drive up to the famous Timberline Lodge to check out the interesting construction and art work. What a contrast to when we were there a week ago – there was much less snow, and we are hoping it will be much more straightforward when we all start hiking northwards towards Cascade Locks tomorrow morning.

We will be able to do the 17 mile section we and OG missed before, and repeat the remaining distance to the Washington state border. It will be a lovely section for our family to get a taste of the PCT.