Final leg of hike for 2014 - Summit Lake to Highway 58

This is the final set of photos from our PCT hike during 2014.  During the afternoon before we got to Summit Lake, I started to get a pain on the outside of my left foot.  It wasn't too bad when we started our hike toward Diamond Peak, but got much worse as we headed downhill toward the highway.  We were hoping we could make it to Odell Lake for the night, but it became obvious that I needed to stop and rest my foot, so we stopped at Arrowhead Lake - about 4.5 miles from the highway.  I tried to email Allison to let her know that we were quitting the trail and she didn't need to bring up our resupply food, clothes, etc., but I didn't have any cell service and my phone battery was almost dead.  I turned on my phone a couple times the next morning as we were hiking down toward the highway, but still didn't have any cell service.  Finally, as we got down to the road into Shelter Cove Resort on the west end of Odell Lake, I got one bar on my cell phone, so I texted Allison with my battery almost dead to let her know our location and she came driving around the corner a couple minutes later to end the hike.  Below are some photos from our last day on the trail.

For larger view of photos, click on one of them.

Summit Lake with Mt. Thielsen & Cowhorn Mountain.

A water break at Mountain Creek - just at timberline below the east flank of Diamond Peak.  Below are a few of the wildflowers that were still in bloom.

Tolmie Saxifrage

Cotton Paintbrush

Partridge Foot

Mountain Heather

The South and Middle Sister with Mt. Washington to the left.

Our campsite at Arrowhead Lake.

Looking across the lake from the PCT toward our campsite.

An American Three-toed Woodpecker I found near our campsite.

We're planning to start at Highway 58 in mid-August of this year and make it to the Columbia River this time!

Familiar territory! Windigo Pass to Summit Lake

After spending the night at Windigo Pass, we headed north and into a portion of the PCT that I've hiked on many times in the past.  So it was nice to see familiar sights along the way.

Our first view of Big Marsh and Odell Butte - an area where I've spent many days fishing and birding over the past 40+ years.

Our last look back at Mt. Thielsen - where we were just a few days before.

Our first look at Cowhorn Mountain - Jim Carlson and I climbed it in a day from Timpanogas Lake on 22 August 2002.  Almost 12 years to the day!

A closer look at Cowhorn Mountain from the south.

Crescent Lake with Davis Lake in the background.

Diamond Peak and Summit Lake, our destination for the night.

Sawtooth Mountain with Amos and Andy Lakes.

An immature male Red Crossbill.  We had a number of Red Crossbills coming down to our fire pit at Summit Lake for trace minerals in the charcoal.  We also had Gray Jays (camp robbers) trying to get food during dinner, and one did grab some oatmeal from my bowl before I knew they were around in the morning.

Staying in the Summit Lake campground was quite different than what we were used to with all the activity of a campground along a road and on a lake.  It kept us entertained watching everything that was going on in the afternoon and evening, but it also made trying to sleep more difficult with all the noise.
We had another PCT hiker stay in our site and share our table, given that the campground was full.  He was trying to give us extra food that he didn't need because he was resupplying at Odell Lake the next night, but we didn't want any extra weight given that we were doing the same thing.

Highway 138 to Windigo Pass

After a little help from Allison yesterday, we camped at North Crater trailhead last night and took off this morning on the uphill climb to Thielsen Creek and our first water stop.

For a larger view of the photos, just click on one.

After climbing uphill in the timber we finally came to a rock slide that provided a view.  Here's Diamond Lake with Mt. Bailey in the background.

And looking the other direction is Mt. Thielsen.

Thielsen Creek - water and time for lunch.  We were planning to camp here, but it was still early so we continued on.

The sunrise on our 9th day from the PCT near Tipsoo Butte.  Another dry camp last night.

Red Cone, just north of Tipsoo Butte, in the morning sun.

Looking down on Miller Lake from the PCT.

We spent our 9th night on the trail at Windigo Pass.