Days 103 & 104 (1849.3 – 1867.3)

Day 103: Crater Lake Sunrise Breakfast, 2 months anniversary & Diamond Lake Resort (1849.3)

We got up at 5:35 a.m. and packed up. At 6:05 a.m we set off for the Crater Lake Rim Trail to catch the sunrise. We made coffee and ate granola with dried fruit overlooking the sunrise over Crater Lake which was incredibly beautiful. We are celebrating our 2-months anniversary, what better way than a sunrise breakfast in nature and a hike? ☺️

Sunrise Breakfast at Crater Lake on our anniversary

Crater lake really is stunningly blue and beautiful but I will not bore you with 30 more photos of it 😛

Afterwards, we hiked 8km along the Rim Trail, enjoying the views of Crater Lake. On the way, some lovely guys gifted us 2 cans of Coke and offered a yar of peanut Butter which we gratefully declined (way too heavy – we’re ultralight 🤣 (inside joke, we are not ultralight at all, we pack out beer and whiskey sometimes – many hikers take ultra light way too far and leave their tent or backpack at home, so we joke about it.)

Then we hiked another 8 km through a very flat forest, and reached Highway 138. From here we hitched 15 minutes to Diamond Lake Resort, which is a less common spot for PCT hikers to stop because there are no supply stores close by. We chose to stop here to celebrate our 2 months anniversary. A lovely couple in their awesome RV picked us up and gave us a ride even though they were going the other way. Turns out they were visiting Crater Lake to celebrate their 3 year anniversary. 🥰

We got to Diamond Lake and instantly loved the “rustic” vibe. It’s described as antique or something on FarOut, turns out it’s just a little run down and could use some love. But that didn’t smaller the awesome 70s vibe – the marina and lake access from the open air restaurant porch is one of a kind and we loved watching all the families relaxing and hanging out which looked like a scene from the 70s.

Dinner – all American classics – meatloaf and chicken pot pie

We had a wonderful dinner and enjoyed American classics – roast beef and chicken pot pie with salad.

Day 104: Maidu Lake 1867.5 3000km!! Marker

I woke up at 7ish and went to Diamond Lake to have a coffee and stretch. When I got back to the room, Iceman was up. I showered, we packed up and went to breakfast. I had scrambled eggs with toast and hashbrowns, nothing special but not bad.

After getting a ride at 9.45am with Elaine back to the trailhead, we hiked 0.57 Miles and got the most incredible trail magic. Barbara and Roy, with dog Clover, had brought a pickup truck with at least 6 ice chests full of cold drinks and food, a bbq, built a shower and bucket laundry and set up chairs in the middle of the forest. Everything a thru-hiker needs. Their son “Triple Thread” is hiking the PCT and told them the things most important: shower, laundry, food and his parents delivered. They are meeting him there on trail for a few days and bright large amounts of food for other hikers too. What a shame we ate. Roy made double cheeseburgers for everyone but I was too full to eat from breakfast. Meh! I had two sodas, a banana for potassium and grapes and plums from their garden.

The kindness of trail angels does not cease to amaze me. It’s not just the money, surely hundreds of dollars for food and drink but the energy, time and love that goes into preparing, building and hosting. Just incredible. These experiences not only make our day but also restore my faith in humanity. People are good, this trail has proven that over and over again.

We got vortexed into trail magic and didn’t really start our day till 11.20am or so. We had a cruisy 8mile hike to the next water, a beautiful creek where we had a late lunch, at 2.30pm.

Another 11 miles to the next water, cruisy again, mostly forest and some nice views around Mt Thiesen.

We passed the highest point on the PCT in Oregon and Washington – it’s downhill from here haha.

There are silver markers on the trees and people have been writing fun sayings on them – and Iceman marked a few of them with our names.

The next water is either 16 miles away which would’ve meant arriving in the dark after 9pm or taking 1mile off trail to Maidu lake so we did the latter. We still didn’t arrive until 7.30pm but managed to do 19 miles. And the lake is super beautiful! We got here just in time.

To get to Canada by the 25th of September we would have to do 23miles on average every single day the next 35 days. Today we did 19 Miles so we are currently 4 Miles short actually 5 Miles (because of 1 mile blue blaze).