Picasso hikes a bit faster than me, especially uphill, but doesn’t seem to mind waiting.
A new flower
And more beautiful views
It was a dry, hot day with water sources rather spread out.
We passed through a very long stretch of area that burned last year
At one place we hiked around to the north side of a peak that still had lots of snow clinging to its high faces. There were streams of water flowing down all along that section and I found one that resembled the flow from a garden hose. I removed my hat and plunged my head in — it was so refreshing!
We arrived at the rural Marble Mountain Campsite, complete with unused (abandoned?) ranger hut.
The Marble Mountains are a limestone outcropping from an ancient coral reef, I am told. This is the first non granite/non-volcanic rock I’ve seen. I was told that the mix of igneous and metamorphic rocks in the mountains in the Klamath area perplexed geologists for a long time until the developed the theory of Plate Tectonics that explained how they migrated from different places and are currently here. Or so I was told by an Entomologist we met on the trail.
The Marble Mountain Campground is Home to a group of young deer that have no fear of humans and have learned that can get salt by licking human owned objects. We had to scare them off several times to prevent them from messing with our stuff. I think this area needs a few more deer hunters.
Thanks for reading!
Dale's Pacific Crest Trail hike -- 2019 