5 miles on the Oregon skyline alternate and Pct mile 1904 to 1919
Brr! The nights are consistently chilly now. We declared yesterday, 8/23, to be the first day of fall. I clambered out of my tent in the morning (making the appropriate “getting vertical” noises that now come so easily) to find a roaring fire made by the folks who camped nearby. What a delicious sight!
After quickly packing up, I sat down next to the fire and met Cyborg and his daughter, Hannah. Cyborg fell down an elevator shaft when he was 28, shattered his femur and leggy bits, and now has an artificial knee. He walked the Camino a few years ago and is aiming to section hike about half of the PCT this year. He was an interesting and energetic fellow, built like a brick house and grateful to be out on his own two feet.
It was hard to leave the fire, but Shelter Cove was calling! We arrived just at the perfect time when the sun had warmed the air enough that we no longer needed our puffys. Let me set the stage for you: This place is pristine.
Think about a large lake nestled into a valley surrounded by mountains coated in perfectly green pine trees. Now picture a dude, Hazel brown hair, strong jaw line in a polo with a salmon colored jacket tied around his shoulders captaining a 22-foot perfectly lacquered wood speed boat with an American flag waving off the stern. Picturing a J-crew advertisement? One has most definitely been photographed here.
As long as you didn’t look at the large number of long haired, dusty legged and bedraggled hikers, it would be picture perfect. My mind doesn’t appreciate exactness, and so I liked to call this place “Shady Grove” instead of “Shelter Cove.” Makes sense, right?
We charged our phones, texted our wives, updated blogs, and for the second time in one morning, pried ourselves away from a fantastic setting.
The afternoon was lake after pristine lake. Much smaller than shelter cove, but also much more secluded. Water was blue and green and you could see all the way to the bottom it was so clear. In the evening we grabbed water from a larger lake with two campsites and a fire pit looking out on the awesome view. We strongly contemplated calling it an early day, but what the heck, make it three times we pried ourselves away from a fantastic setting in a day.
