Don’t freak out at the title, I don’t know that this little guy was Rabid, but he wasn’t right in the head, I can tell you that. I don’t know if this is the West coast version of the fox squirrel that we have on the east coast, but he didn’t seem very bright. He ran on the trail for hundreds of yards just five feet in front of me and kept stopping and looking back. He looked like he was having a hard time breathing. I was finally able to get around him and motor on down the trail.
The cowboy camping session last night went well. It didn’t rain on me, I didn’t roll into the grass, and no little creatures tried to snuggle with me. I woke up, ate breakfast in bed, then rolled out about 6:15. The hiker hobble was bad, and it was all uphill, so it took while to get up to full speed.
There were some moderate climbs as the trail wound around pilot rock. This part of Oregon looks alot like northern California but with more grasses instead of just dead earth and rocks. There are hot open stretches, and pine groves, and stands of oaks as well. There was a decent breeze, and the all gray clothing was not hot at all. There were a few times where the sun was beating full down on me that I could tell the gray was a little hotter than the white, but it was barely noticeable. The hot stretches were only a few minutes and I never felt the urge to pull out the umbrella.
There were lots of hikers out on the trail today. I passed or was passed by about eight thru hikers and passed one southbounder who gave some good Intel on everything in Oregon. I also saw at least a dozen day hikers, which is about par for a Sunday.
I stopped for lunch a little early to try out the dehydrated refried beans. I added water straight to the bag without heating it. It took about fifteen minutes to fully rehydrate, but they finally did and they were pretty decent. I might try to rehydrate early tomorrow and let them sit in a zip lock for an hour while I am hiking. The burritos were good, but I’ll put more cheese in them tomorrow.
The terrain today did seem a little more level than the previous few hundred miles. Maybe there is something to the myth that Oregon is flat, but there are still plenty of climbs. It’s too early to tell at this point, since I have only been in Oregon for a few days. The mosquitoes are not bad yet, but I understand that North of Crater Lake they will kick in. I bought fresh bug spray in Medford, so I am ready for them.
I hiked until about 7:30, stopping at a saddle that I found some flat ground on. The next tentsite is three miles further, but since I didn’t really get rest in Bedford, I could use a little more rest tonight. I made dinner and had the beer I got from a trail magic cache last night. It was Caldera Lawnmower Lager. It was pretty decent, even warm.
With two long days, I should be able to make a short day to Crater Lake so I can resupply, get some food, and make the rim trail before dark. Camping is not allowed on the rim trail, so I need to be sure I can start it early enough to be clear of it before dark. I could have hit a resort today at about 5 PM, but it seemed weird thinking of taking a day off just one day out of town. It didn’t sound cheap, either. Better to just keep going and rest in Bend or Portland if I need to. Crossing my fingers that I’ll have some extra time to spend in Bend.
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