Surprisingly, I wasn’t sore or tried after yesterday. Maybe I wasn’t at my most energetic, but I got going.
Today would have few water sources, and the stretch to Crater Lake’s Mazama Village Campground would be a 15 mile stretch, from a questionable water source.
The morning was uneventful. It put me through some forested hillsides, like yesterday, and some burn areas.
The last official source for water before Mazama was an unreliable spring almost a mile off trail. But, I’d heard there were several unmarked ponds much closer to the trail, so I bushwhacked my way to them via GPS.
The first one had me concerned — it was surrounded by mud, was shallow, and was full of muck. Very difficult to collect from.
But, a bit further off trail, the second pond was deeper and easier to collect from. So with a full complement of water, I set off for Mazama Village.
And, I walked. That was about it, really.
Mazama Village was absolutely packed with backpackers, many of whom I didn’t recognize. But, I didn’t have time to chat, I just got food at the store (tuna sandwich and a quart of whole milk), did my laundry, and went to bed.
