August 6:Out From Sisters, OR

Instead of heading out bright and early, we stayed at the Best Western to partake of the continental breakfast. We got a hitch from a guy who saw us sporting the "hiker to trail" bandana and turned around to pick us up.

We weren't on the trail more than 20 minutes when it started to rain. We had heard on the weather channel that thunderstorms were predicted for the next three days, so at least we were prepared. It rained for most of the morning and then, beautifully, the sun came out. It was blue skies everywhere.

We were headed toward Mt. Jefferson, and the reports for THIS mountain were that it was "treacherous" and that an "ice axe and crampons were recommended." We figured that there would be a bit more snow than around the Sisters, possibly with a few more steep slopes; however, we weren't too concerned because we were with a big group and we had maps as well. It couldn't be worse than anything we'd already done. And it wasn't. We did hit some snow, but only had one place where we really had to fan out to find the trail.

Just as evening was approaching, the sky began to darken and rumble. We began to hike a little faster. Our goal was Shale Lake, not too far down the trail, and we wanted to get our tents up before the heavens opened up. Just as we got there, a few drops began to fall. We found a spot, set up the tarp, and started digging a trench around the perimeter of the tarp to funnel water away from us.

It didn't take long before the rain came...and boy was I glad we had a trench! It filled up quickly and soon there was a steady flow out both ends of the tarp. And then the hail started! It was small hail, but since the tarp leaves a small opening around the bottom it would hit the ground and bounce in. It was actually kind of fun, even though we were frantically trying to make sure everything was staying dry.

It all only lasted for 10 minutes max. We actually fared pretty well; many of our tenting friends ended up in a puddle! Luckily that was the end of the rain for the evening and we were able to get a good nights sleep after wiping down our ground cloths and sleeping pads. Oh, what an adventure!

Total Miles:2029.5
Miles Today:22.6
Camp 101:Downpour and Hail

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