Tuesday. Sept. 15, 2026
- Start: Middle Sister Overlook (PCT mile 1971.7)
- End: End of the Lava Field (PCT mile 1990.3)
- Distance: 18.6 miles + 0.6 detour to Lava Camp
Although I had beautiful hiking weather yesterday, I woke this morning to overcast skies and the continuous threat of rain. The fall weather wasn’t my real concern, though. Today would be all about the crazy surfaces that would try to shred the soles of my trail runners. After hiking through some patchy snow, I entered the Obsidian Area, where giant obsidian boulders lined the trail and small chips of this volcanic glass glittered beneath my feet. I hit the northern boundary of the area about 3.5 miles into the morning and began the steep climb up to 6,900′ elevation through the lava flow and up switchbacks to a hidden pass. From there, the PCT continued north through the Ahalapam Cinder Field, with great views of the Central Cascades giant volcanic peaks. After a lunchtime stop at South Matthieu Lake, the PCT traversed the burn scar from the 2017 Milli Fire before detouring to Lava Camp, and I made a critical water stop before heading into the dry expanse of the black lava fields. The final 6.2 miles were the most tiring, as I seemed to climb endlessly up the lava flow toward Belknap Crater before racing the weather to one of the precious few campsites on the northern end of the volcanic fields.
I barely got my tent set up before the dark skies above opened up and poured for the next hour.
Highlights
- The moody overcast skies made North and Middle Sister look even more dramatic than normal on this mid-September day.
- The Obsidian Area is a truly unique feature on the Oregon section of the PCT. From Obsidian Falls to the giant glass boulders and sparkling black chunks of obsidian on the trail, there is nothing quite like it anywhere else
- I was surprised to learn that Dee Wright Observatory is a lava rock observation tower built by the CCC so visitors can take in the views of the vast lava fields. In the past, I’d always assumed it was some sort of astronomical observatory.
Challenges
- I had to hike across nearly 10 miles of lava between this morning and this afternoon, and it was tediously slow and tiring. What’s more, the sharp pumice rocks did more damage to my shoes in 10 miles than 100 miles of normal PCT hiking.
- I barely made it to my campsite at the end of the lava field before a heavy rainstorm descended. Over the next hour, cold rain pounded my tent, but a surprisingly dry, pink sunset capped off the evening.