Day 114
South Brown Shelter. Photo taken in the morning since I arrived here in the dark
I arrived at the South Brown Mountain Shelter last night before 10 pm and was surprised to find it empty. It's a pretty cool place, with a fireplace in the middle, plastic drape as a door. Since I was so exhausted and it was past my bedtime, I didn't bother having a fire. I could barely set up my sleeping area and hang my food so that the mice won't get it.
There are more thru hikers on the trail now; those who flipped (mostly to Ashland, Oregon) are now northbound. It's a rare opportunity to be all alone on the trail.
Surprisingly Oregon is pretty dry, requiring water carries of more than 10 miles. The water pump at this shelter was broken, further stretching the water carry to 19 miles. I was surprised to stumble to a water cache along with cold soda about 1/10 of a mile from the shelter. What a good way to start the day. The taste of cold Mountain Dew was refreshing. Bear Box and Cowboy also appreciated the cold sodas, as the extra kick of caffeine to start the day is always welcome. The first half of the day was through several fields of lava rocks. The contrast of small red rocks marking the trail as it cuts through the black lava rocks is pretty cool. They say that Oregon is pretty flat, well, not really. But I guess after going through the Sierra it is. After having dinner at Christi's Spring, it was another long water carry. I hiked as far as I can that night till I can no longer see with my naked eyes.
Pretty cool lava rocks, with a dirt trail going through it.