Any day you wake up in a bed and get to have a great breakfast is a great day. Coffee, eggs, bacon and donuts were my breakfast and it was a great change from the granola bars and instant coffee I usually drink. While folders instant coffee does the trick, it is not in any way as satisfying as real coffee. My cousins and extended family were so fun to see and hang out with that it was hard to want to leave their comforts. But it was time to hike again and my uncle dropped me off at the trailhead a little after 10am and the fight against the mosquitos began. I have bites on every inch of my body. These awful insects are undeterred by repellent and they are blood thirsty. I made a dent in their numbers and I cold bloodedly tried to kill them all, but they just kept coming. Views of lakes and Mt Mcgloughlin were nice, but they could not be enjoyed in the high pitched hum of the attacking bugs. Finally around Devils Peak the wind picked up and the mosquitos were gone, but only for a mile. In that mile I had to traverse about 30 feet of snow. They were my first steps on snow in quite a while. Where I camped the mosquitos were so bad that I made a smoky fire, just to fend them off long enough to set up a tent and cook dinner. My whole body itches from their bites, but tomorrow I will enter the magnificent Crater Lake and other fun side adventures await.
Miles 29
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