8/2/2023
Section: Milepost 1891.7 to 1867.0
Total Trail Miles: 1072.3
Distance: 22.3 Miles
Moving Time: 08:23
Elevation Gain: 3281 ft
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Today’s stage leaves from Spring Camp at Crescent lake and makes it’s way up to Windigo Pass on the Oldenberge Lake Trail. At Windigo pass the popular alternate rejoins the PCT and continues south along a high ridge under Windigo Butte and Mule Peak. The end of the stage is at a saddle with Maldu lake on the west side and Miller Lake on the east.
We woke fairly early but, like many mornings recently, snoozed a fair bit. Eventually, we got up and had TEA! That’s right, we enjoyed a hot beverage this morning with a little bit of caffeine which was oh so nice. We were on our way just as the families who let us stay in the group site alongside them were starting to rise.
We exited the campground and got on the Oldenberge lake trail which climbed steadily up from Crescent lake. The Mozzie’s (as the Australians on FarOut call them) were out and about but we moved quickly enough to keep them off. A few hours brought us to the pass and we did the last ¾ mile on a Forrest service road.
At the pass we found a well stocked water cache managed by a guy named Devil Fish. Fun fact - I think this is the same guy who managed the caches south of Tehachapi - he is an absolute saint. We took off our packs at the cache and enjoyed a nice long break there. A few other hikers were there but they weren’t much for the talking so Amanda and I conversed amongst ourselves and watched the scheisty chipmunks try to steal food with smiles on our faces.
Eventually, the other 3 hikers left and we got our things together and did the same, heading in the opposite direction. As we were leaving, an older guy on an adventure bike pulled up and we talked with him for a while. He was doing the Trans-American Adventure Trail (TAT for short) and had started in Northern Carolina about 40 days ago. We swapped stories and wished him luck before heading on up the ridge.
We walked the ridge for about an hour before we ran into Spigot. For those who forgot - Spigot was with a group of about 7 people we started hopscotching with a few stages before Acton, CA and the KOA there. She recognized us and we caught up for a while. She had jumped off the trail around Agua Dulce and spent a week back at home somewhere in New England before restarting the trail at the California/Oregon border. She told us all about what the rest of the group had been up to and we swapped beta about the trail behind and in front of us. Eventually we went on our way. The smoke from the fire east of Eugene began to blow in as we made our way along the ridge. Amanda decided to put in her audiobook. We are really in the green tunnel now and the monotony is getting bad so she decided for the last few miles it would do.
The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. We met a guy named Stage Coach who told us about the saddle between Miller and Maldu lake before continuing on South, we saw a fat grouse and we also saw the guy who was helping in the kitchen at Grumpy Bears in Kennedy Meadows.
Another hour brought us to the saddle and we decided we didn’t have time to go on so we made our way down to the lake to get water. I told Amanda she had to take a rinse in the lake and I followed after her. We saw a big ol’ Frawg and some baby ducks and eventually eased back up the hill. At the top we said hello to “Solo,” an older hiker from Sweden and had dinner. We were a long way from where we wanted to get the next day so went to bed without delay looking forward to an early start the next morning, despite a late arrival.
