Russian: Pacific Crest Trail

Klamath National Forest

(blue line, map link)

DAY 1  |  DAY 2  |  DAY 3

After the "easy" day that included pushing myself up a very steep hill for over 1000 feet to a big boulder strewn peak, I was looking forward to an actual easy day. Just 7 miles back down along the nearly clear (one tree down) Pacific Crest Trail. I didn't even go ahead and wander down some random amount of PCT north prior to going south. First I hung around camp a bit watching the newts. They were thick in the lake where the sun would get to them first.

There's 10 of the at least 14 newts counted in the nearby shallows.

And horror of horror, they were surrounded by foam. All the rain the day before had kicked up bubbles that hadn't gone away. You only need a freezer bag to be your bucket to be able to take water away and be safer with soap use. It doesn't have to be this way!

Little orange toes! (The whole underside is bright orange.)

Newt antics as they rummage through the lake bottom!

They don't move very fast. It's an easy looking existence, being a newt. Bet the newts know better. I packed up camp and made my way down. I tried to follow cairns down on the north side of the outlet, but didn't find much good trail there. There certainly could be good trail. There's clearly going to be some sort of trail.

There's lakes and ponds hidden away among those granite lumps.

The view from the worrying gully I'd noticed from the far side.

On down the South Russian Creek valley. It might be slightly clearer after the rain.

The trail was feeling less like a highway with all the footprints washed away by the previous day's rain. It was a good feeling.

Jackson Lake and a distant Mount Shasta gathering cloud.

Previously, it had been a continuous collection of footprints. As I passed more and more people going north and found a couple heading south, it was rapidly approaching that state again.

Trinity Alps Wilderness all the way to Salmon Mountain getting lost in that muck to the right.

Closer look at the tall mountains.

Syphon Lake seems to be gathering a cloud for today.

Following the trail along to the saddle in a couple miles.

I ultimately passed 10 people. Through hikers (with permits hanging on their backs) going both directions and one mum being shown Russian Lake by her son and excited to maybe chat with one of these (not so) elusive beasts that would try to pound out about 2600 miles of trail (and road). But that's what a weekend looks like.

The butterflies pair off.

*even more photos in the album*




©2023 Valerie Norton
Written 8 Sep 2023