07/15/2026 Hike

This was a good hiking day. I had a very restless night's sleep, couldn't get my head comfortable. I need a better pillow solution for backpack camping. Woke up around 4:10 and couldn't get back to sleep, so I lay there until a little after 4:30. I think that was the first time I got up to pee. Had a pee and came back to the tent to collect my #2 gear. Went and did my business, then I came back and packed up my sleeping pad and quilt. I thought I was ahead of schedule, but the others were up and starting breakfast. By the time I had organized my gear (and backtracked to the site to retrieve my spade again), I had to rush drinking my coffee and eating two packets of oatmeal. Finished the oatmeal while I was packing up the tent, then I gathered the stuff going into the food and smellables bag. I'm not sure where the time went. Anyway, I got everything packed up, and Joe had to take a morning constitutional as well. Jason got tired of waiting (I don't blame him) and walked up to the water crossing ahead of us. Mike and I followed, and Joe wasn't too far behind. We got there, Mike walked over to where Jason had gotten across and retrieved one of Jason's shoes for me to wear. He brought it to the first water crossing, the one where I had contemplated rock-hopping. The wading/hopping approach, with poles, was much safer, and I got over to the other side without getting my clothes wet. Changed back into my boots and put my poles up, I was ready to go well before the others, particularly Mike, who was not feeling well (altitude sickness?) on this day. We finally got going from this spot around 7:30. Flat for a little bit, then we had to climb out of the basin. Jason and I were out front and quickly gapped the others. We motored up the climb out of the basin, talking this time (more Jason than me). Got to the ridge and kept going until we started descending toward Purple Lake. We kept the conversation going down to the lake and paused by the lake shore to wait for Mike and Joe. It took them 15-20 minutes to catch up, we ran into a very talkative old guy at this point who had lots of stories to tell about backpacking. I was afraid we would get trapped by this guy, but I was able to break contact and get us going again. Another climb, out of Purple Lake basin, and we continued on the ridge, not waiting for the others. We walked until the descent got steep and waited there for over 40 minutes Then they showed up, they had paused for a break earlier. At this point I thought we were very close to the break point, at the bottom of Duck Lake. Nope. We descended for a bit, then started the climb up to Duck Pass. I started at the back after we found a good photo spot for the four of us, and Jason got out ahead. This climb was a workout, and I was going full-speed. We got to the lake about 10-15 minutes before the others and took a long break here. Ate lunch (I could have eaten more but didn't want any of that powdered peanut butter), dried out clothes, filtered water, and generally relaxed before continuing on. Mike was slow to get going again, not feeling well on this day. I motored up the next part of the climb, going about as hard as I could, and got to the trail split about 15 minutes before the others. Waited for them to catch up, saw a number of hikers along with a group of distance runners, male and female, from South Medford hauling ass up the trail to the pass. We paused for a break here, then descended to the trail along the north end of Duck Lake. We were looking for the nearest suitable campsite and found one one a small trail up above the main trail. We found a spot that Joe and I thought could accommodate both tents, but it ended up fitting one. Jason and Mike did a recon to look for better spots nearby but came back empty, then they located a spot that was okay near the one we had found. Joe and I put up the tent, they put theirs up and ended up moving away from a spot that had evidence of active chipmunk holes. After we set the tents up, Joe walked down to the water and took a swim. I walked down with him, and he dived in. The water temperature as "bracing." I wanted to rinse the lower half of my body off, so I hurried up and got my suit as well. Changed down by the water, then I got in while Joe took videos. It was cold, not freezing but not warm enough to stay in long. I cleaned myself up a bit and then got out. Luckily, there was enough sun to warm me back up. Jason came down later and got into the water, with encouragement and prodding from us. He stayed in longer and had less sun when he got out. We walked back to the campsite, and I changed into clean underwear and a shirt that wasn't damp, then set out my clothes to dry in the sun. Went in the tent, got out my sleeping quilt, and caught up on blogging, along with having a short nap. Felt much better after this. It was windy and cool in the tent but warmer outside. Mike had a longer nap and woke up feeling better. However, Joe was dealing with some gastrointestinal issues and also feeling off. I went out and sat with them for a while, walked down to the shore and filled water bottles to filter. This activity ends up taking a lot more time than you would expect, since water is needed for drinking, cooking (lots of dehydrated meals), and cleaning up. The wind was brisk but not gusty in the late afternoon, and the clouds ended up clearing out for the first time in our trip. Jason set out sausages, cheese, and crackers for a happy hour with Trader Joe's bourbon that he had brought. I told them some funny stories about our Vietnam trip, they seemed to enjoy them. Mike started being like his normal self, but it wasn't until Joe got some food in him at dinner that he started feeling and acting more normally. The evening was absolutely gorgeous, with spectacular Alpen glow around sunset. I had been a little depressed when I thought I'd lost my Amazfit charging puck, but I found it in my electronics bag and was in a much better mood after that. This day had the best weather of the trip so far, no competition. We kept thinking that stormy weather was going to come in, and it never did. Delightful! It was a long and good day for me, glad to listen to music for a bit before turning in.