Pacific Crest Trail Thru Hike: Castella to Crater Lake

Darwin Karch on October 9, 2014

The fires in the area fill the air with smoke. Castle Crags Park was not immune to the smokey conditions.
Dry, and hot best described The Trail between the Shastareuspply and Etna Summit.
The Trinity Alps loom in the distance as you make your way towards Etna, CA.
Looking back at Shasta. Since Shasta, we are no longer in the Sierra Range but rather the Cascade Range.
July on the PCT is VERY HOT! Distances between water sources are back to their desert lengths.
Fire smoke and sunsets mix for colorful combinations.
Epic Sunset just before Etna Summit on the PCT.
A few hours after arriving at Etna Summit, the trail was closed behind me due to the fires.
More fires in the distance as I make my way north towards Seaid Valley on the PCT
The Marble Mountains begin before the Oregon border.
Did I mention the fires yet? They were everywhere.
The Evil Eye calls to a mountain beast to guard me from spirits.
The Marble Mountains are low key beautiful, but it was so hot I couldn’t enjoy them fully. These mountains are best hiked in spring or fall.
Flower Lake on the PCT
When in the Marble Mountains, the Traiil tries to look like the High Sierra every now and then, but I was never fooled.
Fires would get pretty close and sometimes I would wake up with ash on my sleeping bag. It was another factor to consider when walking from Mexico to Canada.
Hikers relax at ‘Ed’s Place.’ Pictured: Rocket Lhama, The Bird, That Guy, Hot Pants, Sleeping Butte, Cinnamon Girl, Sideshow, Shuffle, others.
After crossing the Oregon Border by car due to fires, we begin hiking again near Ashland, OR, still in the smoke.
The distinct volcanic characteristics of the Cascades are seen in southern Oregon.
Oregon is very flat compared to the rest of the trail
One of the last fires I would see up close on the Pacific Crest Trail.
Compared to the rest of the trail, conditions like this making for fast hiking. We started to move, hiking over 30 miles a day easily.
Skeletal Trees before Crater Lake created by a past fire.

Published by Darwin Karch

Devin (trail name Darwin) is 26 years old, the founder of Travel and Trail, and is devoted to adventure and pushing his limits, both mentally and physically. Devin attended New York University, studying Media, Marketing, and Communications, and played as the starting center on the Men's Basketball team. After graduating in 2013, Devin used his new found freedom to hike, climb, paddle, and travel around the world. So far he has traveled to 35 countries on five continents, spent three consecutive months in the Patagonian wild, Thru Hiked the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada, and Thru Hiked the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine.

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