July 25: Big Lake Youth Camp to cliff above Wasco Lake (PCT mile 1995.1 to 2010.9)

I got up early to get coffee brewing at the PCT hiker hut and finish the “in town” tasks , such as recharging electronics, back-flushing my water filter, and catching up on my blog posts. I accomplished all of them!

The other hikers dribbled in ones and twos. We all headed over to the mess hall for breakfast (cinnamon toast and veggie sausages). On the way over we found about 50 of those large moths on the side of a cabin. It maybe mating season.

I checked the spare equipment box and scored something I may need: mosquito net gloves!

I was tempted to stay another day (take a zero), but felt a stronger need to get back on the trail. So goodbye Big Lake Youth Camp and thank you for all the great things you do for PCTers!

Today’s hike is up 1,800 feet up and around the peak named Three Fingered Jack. Here it is from the front

And here he is from the back

Along the way I passed PCT mile 2,000 ! Woo ho!

I did not see many new flowers today, but I did find some tasty berries. I thought these were blueberries, but an Oregonian assures me they are a type of huckleberry

They tasted like blueberry to me!

I also found some tiny strawberries, although this is not a great shot

And then there was this berry that I did not try:

I also noticed that many of the Manzanita leaves have red lumps on them: probably due to a wasp that laid an egg inside the leaf- there’s probably a pupae inside.

The hike was mostly through more burn area

And finally I reached a great campsite:

Thanks for reading!