[pct-l] OREGON SECTION E

[Scoutert38 at aol.com]

Greetings!
 
Last week the grandson and myself did a small section hike of the PCT from  
McKenzie Pass to Hwy 20.  There was still some deep snow pack in  spots.  
We had researched the area and thought that the snow was higher up  but it is 
patch at 4,000 to 6,000 feet.  We camped at Belknap Crater Summit  and then 
turned around since we could see quite a bit of snow (patchy) heading  
northbound.  It has been a week of temps in the high 60's and pushing high  70's 
so I am assuming that what we faced is by far reduced now. 
 
A WORD OF CAUTION:  I was informed by the Rangers, DO NOT MELT THE ICE  OR 
SNOW IF YOU SEE ANY PINK OR YELLOW DISCOLORATION AT ANY DEPTH!!  There  is a 
bacterium or algae that are growing in "old snow ice packs" that can cause  
serious health issues.  We saw a LOT of "Pink" snow, and no, it is NOT  
volcanic dust.  Evidentally it is a flowering algae and is poisonous at  best; 
someone must have found out the hardway.
 
We want to thank a "Trail Angel" by the name of "Shawn" that helped us with 
 water after my hydration pack punctured and my grandson left his water 
bottle  along the trail without my knowing it.  Also, my 10 year old grandson  
experienced some altitude sickness so we camped at the summit on the ice  
pack and we had to return early the next morning.  It was an awesome  time 
together and a great learning experience for both of us.  I'll post  some 
pictures on Trailjournals.com here soon.
 
Baldibear53