Thursday, July 6
Start: 0.4mi north of Cowhorn Mountain
End: Upper Rosary Lake
Miles: 31.6
Elevation gain/loss: 3438’/4523′
I was up at 5 and out by 5:30am. There were horrible mosquitoes for the first half of the day. I was eager to get into the Diamond Peak Wilderness, since areas with snow typically had no mosquitoes. There was lots of snow and a bit of wayfinding but overall, it was quite manageable. I started to see long weekenders heading out, going south. It was very hot as usual, in the high 90s and 100+ in the sun in the heat of the day, but there were so many more water sources, all crisp and cold from the snow melt.
I was at Shelter Cove Resort by 2:45pm. It was a bit overwhelming, as it was clearly set up more like an RV park for tourists. The camp store had almost no selection of any kind of food. I had a panic attack trying to figure out my resupply; I ended up resupplying for an obscene amount of money – $40 for 3 days worth of food (~6000 kcal) and that was at least 40% candy. I kicked myself hard for not mailing a box but oh well. I recharged my devices though their hiker charging strips were out of service, since some fisherman had blown out the wiring; I had to get creative (like plugging in my battery brick to a string of lights 6′ up on the bathroom building). I felt the push to continue on without bothering with a shower or machine laundry. The shower and laundry were in another part of the campground, and it just felt like too much to deal with. I was excited to hike some extra miles and end at a mountain lake. I had town lunch, did some hand laundry and town chores, then left at 5pm.
I arrived at Upper Rosary Lake by 7pm, just after seeing my 3rd ever Pine Martin. I shared the large campsite with an older couple out camping by the lake for the night. There were almost no mosquitoes, with a lovely breeze. I went for a quick swim and enjoyed eating outside my tent for the first time all this trip. It’s so pretty, and I feel like the Oregon scenery is changing to be more like the Sierra and the WA Northern Cascade, moving away from the desert I’ve been dealing with for ~5 days. I’m so happy to welcome the additional water sources and the beautiful views (and less mosquitoes!).
Transcending Mountains 