July 20, 2022. 14.5 miles. Squaw Lake, 5840’ (mile 1781.5) to Snow Lakes, 6693’ (mile 1796). Gain 1850’. Loss 1030’.
This was going to be a shorter day than the last two so we had TWO cups of coffee before leaving around 8am in the morning.
It was a pleasant temperature on the trail, and the amount of gain and loss during our hike was going to make this one of our easier days. Again, we traveled through a great deal of dry Oregon forest. We noticed how there has been lots of beetle-killed trees but there were also many stands of very healthy forests; especially where the trees were larger and the understory was less dense.
As we walked along, we continued to discuss our hydration strategy for tomorrow. We would be 26 miles from Mazama Village at Crater Lake NP when we finished our day today. The “reliable” water source between Snow Lakes and Mazama Village was Honeymoon Creek. The notes on Honeymoon Creek were not wonderful –
Dogleggers on the Trail 