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Pacific Crest Trail - Day 165 - Indian Heaven Wilderness

Pacific Crest Trail - Day 165 - Indian Heaven Wilderness

Start: Mile 2185.3 - Panther Creek
End: Mile 2208.4 - Blue Lake

Washington foliage is gorgeous.

We started the day with a steep 3000’ climb up through the forest out of Panther Creek. We climbed into a thick fast moving cloud which had us grateful to know that we‘d have wool base-layers in a few days. The damp, windy chill-you-to-the bone type weather that spurned Mark Twain’s quote that the coldest winter he’d ever experienced was a summer in San Francisco is not my favorite.

But the sun started peaking through.

These are called Conifer Chicken of the Woods. We don’t have a stove on trail, but I’d love to see what these taste like simply prepared some day.

2200 miles! 🚀

A small cavernous lava tube.

A fire lookout on top of Red Mountain.

Views of Mt. Hood looking south back across the Columbia River gorge.

I heard a noise above us on these switchbacks and spotted a spooked bear running away into the forest. He was in a big huckleberry patch on Berry (Beary) Mountain. Appropriate. Sorry for interrupting your dinner!

Forbidden pancake

More Chicken of the Woods. Spectacular.

Apparently professional wild mushroom forager is an actual occupation.