Wednesday. July 15, 2026
- Start: Santiam Pass TH (PCT mile 2002.6)
- End: Shale Lake boundary (PCT mile 2025.6)
- Distance: 23 miles
After patiently waiting a month to allow the snow to melt out of the Central Cascades, I returned to the PCT on my journey north. I could have picked up where I left off (near Elk Lake) and hiked north through the Three Sisters Wilderness. But I decided to skip that 50-mile section and begin at Santiam Pass instead.
This leap ahead was mainly because I was worried that the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness was at higher risk of fire closure later in the season. Nabbing the 100 miles between Santiam Pass and Barlow Pass in mid-July was simply a bigger priority if I wanted to finish Oregon this summer.
Today’s miles wound around the west side of Three Fingered Jack, through the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness, and took me to the southern side of Mt. Jefferson. A big storm blew in during the early afternoon, forcing me to set up my tent near Rockpile Lake and wait out the heavy rain for 45 minutes before hiking on.
When I reached my intended campsite at a magnificent exposed overlook with views of Mt. Jefferson (near mile 19.5), I reluctantly decided to push on instead of setting up camp. More dark clouds and lightning were moving my way, and this overlook at 6,500′ elevation wasn’t the safest place to camp.
Unfortunately, my search for safety at a lower elevation meant hiking another 4 miles because the next section (around Shale Lake) had restricted camping that required a Central Cascades Wilderness permit, not just a long-distance PCT permit. And that’s how I ended up hiking 23 miles on my first day back on trail!
Highlights
- I had epic views of Three Fingered Jack and Mount Jefferson during today’s miles. These prominent landmarks in the Central Cascades were simply stunning. I’d also hoped to see mountain goats near Three Fingered Jack, but they were apparently feeling shy.
- The PCT has tons of wildflowers lining the trail as I hiked north. Mid-July seems to be in the midst of peak bloom, and there were surprisingly few mosquitoes out. It was the best of both worlds!
- Giving the PCT a month to melt out and allowing the trail crews to come in and clear the blowdowns was 100% the right move. Today’s 23-mile stretch of trail had barely any blowdowns.
Challenges
- After setting up my tent for 45 minutes at Rockpile Lake to wait out a big thunderstorm and heavy rain, I hoped the inclement weather was over for the day. Unfortunately, it wasn’t. I battled on-and-off rain for the remainder of the afternoon and evening.
- In my haste to set up my tent and get out of the rain, I didn’t pay very close attention to how I threw my pack into the tent. As a result, the sports cap on one of my water bottles opened and spilled water everywhere, soaking the interior floor of my tent.
- I’d really wanted ot set up camp at mile 19.5 on the overlook with views of Mt. Jefferson, but this wasn’t a wise choice given the dark clouds and chance of more lightning. So I had to hike 4 unwanted miles to bypass the camping restrictions around Shale Lake before I could finally set up my tent for the night.