2026 PCT Day 20, 03 September 2026 (Thursday)
Overall PCT Day 136
"Making It Rain With Miles"
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Start Location: |
Shelter Cove, Odell Lake, Mi. 1908.2 |
Destination: |
Stormy Lake, Sisters Wilderness, Mi. 1936.8 |
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PCT Miles Day 136: |
28.6 |
Cum PCT Miles: |
2485.1 |
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Non-PCT Miles Day 136: |
1.7 |
Cum All Miles: |
2700.0 |
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PCT Miles Remaining: |
161.2 |
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Elevation Gain Day 136: |
3298 |
Cum Elevation Gain: |
423,911 |
The weather forecast this morning is definitely improved from yesterday, it’s even improved a bit from last night. So I am getting back on the trail. I am fairly certain I will still get rain here and there. And it definitely looks like it’s going to be cold, that’s one thing in the forecast that hasn’t really changed.
About a half hour before leaving this morning, I looked outside the door of my cabin. Although it was dark, I could detect no sign of precipitation. Of course, as soon as I walked out the door to start hiking, with no ability to get back in because I left the keys inside, it started sprinkling. Oh well, what kind of backpacker would I be if I couldn’t handle hiking in a little bit of light rain. But I am glad that when I was at the store yesterday, hanging out for most of the day, I had a lot of time to look around, and I saw some emergency ponchos in the fisherman’s section. It’s the kind of poncho they might give you on a wet amusement park ride; they’re not made to be durable or to last very long. But I think I only need to worry about rain for the next couple days, so as a precaution, I decided to get one.
While I have a high-quality rain jacket, it is at least seven years old, and some of the water protection has probably degraded. I didn’t want to test this theory on the trail, so I just thought one extra layer of impervious to water plastic might be a good idea. It’s extremely lightweight and takes up hardly any space, so no real penalty to bring it. I want to keep myself as dry as possible as long as possible today, so the emergency poncho got put to use right away this morning.
At the end of the day today, I will tell myself one of two things: it was a good decision to hike today or I’m an idiot, what was I thinking? When you’re in the middle of the wilderness, days away from any sort of protective shelter, it’s an easy decision to hike in the rain. But when you’re at a place with nice warm, dry shelter, and you decide to get on trail, that’s a completely different decision.
I talked to a fellow section hiker yesterday at the resort. She told me that the trail all the way up to Bend is in very good condition, it should be relatively easy to hike. Given the current weather conditions, I hope that is true. Today is the kind of day when you appreciate being able to do most of the walking in a forest as those trees do you provide some protection from the elements.
My ankle this morning feels the best that it has in the last week. There’s still just a little bit of swelling and there is a little bit of tenderness, but it definitely doesn’t feel like it’s going be slowing me down. However, my plan for today is to hike fast, but still stay somewhere in the comfort zone.
Today’s temperature ranged from cold to not quite so cold. The warmer temperatures were at the higher elevations and the colder temperatures were at the lower elevations. I’m no scientist, but I believe it’s because warm air rises and cool moisture-laden (heavy) air sinks. At one of my short breaks today, there was actually a little bit of snow falling to the ground. Then about an hour later, I saw a lot of blue sky.
The partially blue skies lasted most of the rest of the day, and it turned out to be a great day for hiking. The last forecast I saw this morning showed the highest probability of rain starting about 6 PM, so that’s the time I targeted for stopping today. This time just happened to coincide with a pretty good location, right next to the aptly named Stormy Lake.
I was really hoping to make it to this location while it was still dry out. Unfortunately, it started drizzling about a mile before getting to the lake. Luckily though, it stayed just a light drizzle. I actually was able to quickly find a really good location for my tent that is somewhat protected by the trees and seems to have good drainage in case the rain gets heavier during the night. And because I have had almost three weeks of practice now setting up my new tent, I was able to get it set up in record time.
I had a quick dinner, brushed my teeth, and got into my tent about an hour earlier than is average for me. Almost immediately after getting into my tent, it started raining harder. I hope it doesn’t rain too much tonight, but even if it stops soon, I’m sure I’ll be packing up a wet tent in the morning. I just hope that there is an opportunity tomorrow to dry out anything that is still wet.
Well, I still think it was a good decision to hike today. I got a fair number of miles in for the time I was on trail. As long as the rain stops before I get up in the morning, I should be OK. With weather like this in the Northwest, all you can do is take it one day at a time.
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| A useful directional sign when your brain might not yet have woken up in the morning |
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| A good view of all three Rosary Lakes |
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| Maiden Peak Shelter. There are not a lot of shelters on the PCT, and many think this is the best. |
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| Charlton Lake |
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| The burn section of today's trail |
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| It may be hard to see in this photo, but it looks like there's a lot of green ahead past this burn area, and some interesting looking peaks on the horizon. |
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| Scenery from the trail |
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| An interesting view of Taylor Lake |
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| A nice, scenic pond just off the trail |
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| Brahma Lake |
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