Day 82 – Three Sisters

At mile 1972. Hiked 21.8 miles today.

I hiked through woods wearing raincoat and headnet against mosquitoes until I couldn’t stand the heat. After a climb I came out in this mosquito-free paradise. Time for photos and a rest break. This is South Sister, the 2nd highest mountain in Oregon.

Here are a sampling of the flowers I saw.

I had not seen this flower before. The petals have hairlike growth.

More flowers.

And this Indian Paintbrush just feet from my tent.

Here is South Sister.

This is a nice meadow enclosed by a lava flow on one side.

Here is the pond I swam in today. I had covered so much distance by 12:30 that I needed to take a long break so I wouldn’t be in camp too early. I set up my tent as a refuge from mosquitoes, took a short swim, ate lunch, and rested inside my tent safe from mosquitoes.

I entered the Obsidian Limited Entry Area and began seeing even more people than I had been seeing all day. A limited number of permits are issued for this popular area. 

Huge obsidian chunks and slabs all over and small pieces like this One littering the ground.

I camped here just above Obsidian Falls.