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I was able to make some good miles after an early start and moderate terrain.  The morning was mostly burn area, but the scenery was entertaining and kept getting better as the day wore on.  Most of the late afternoon and early evening was heavily forested.

Pat got up before 5 am so he could get me out on the trail before he had to go to work.  Molly was ready to play as usual, but we got ready and got rolling before 5:30 and I was out on the trail at my usual time at 6:20.  I saw several people within the first mile which surprised me.  In fact I saw probably two dozen people throughout the day.  It is the beginning of the weekend, after all.

The morning was all burn area.  Pat said that it burned the day George Bush showed up to town, so everyone blames the fire on George Bush.  Hilarious.  Three Fingered Jack was the first mountain to climb.  The top is very rocky and crumbly, but the PCT only went about half way up.  There were a few spots with trees and I found a good one with excellent rocks for sitting, so I stopped for first lunch there.

The next several hours were also burn area, but the scenery kept getting better as Mt Jefferson came into view and we also went around the side of it about half way up it.  The ponds in this area began to get bigger and a few snowmelt streams began to show up, too.

On my break for lunch number two, I ran across three brothers and their brother-in-law out for a weekend jaunt.  They were very nice and one of them I told him that he looked like Tim Tebow.  They laughed and then the conversation turned to football.  I saw them again at the next lake where they were all swimming and one of them invited me to camp with them.  I enjoyed talking to them so much that I would have, but I needed to do ten more miles since I’m on a time table now to get to Portland in time to fly back for the wedding in Pennsylvania.  They looked like they had fun when they got together.

I kept hiking until nearly 8 PM and found a decent campsite near a stream that had lots of blowdowns to sit on for cooking.  There are a few mosquitoes but not enough to make it annoying.  I cooked a black bean and corn dish, ate my usual tuna packet, had a few nuts, then mango cookies for dessert.  The feet were getting sore the last hour, but my left ankle was bugging me since about noon.  Taking time off always brings new pains.  I hope tomorrow goes as smoothly as today.