Day 32 – Wolves! – The walk

September 16 – Blue Mountains TrailNE Oregon

Sunglasses

The rainy and cloudy weather had completely passed and it was a beautiful sunny morning. Since I wasn’t in a hurry, I gave my tent time to dry from the heavy dew. Then I headed to the old forest roads. There had been a few bowhunters hanging around on ATVs earlier in the morning, but I didn’t see anyone all morning.

There was a section of the trail in the morning that was generally in good condition, except for one tricky spot. When the draw came in there were so many deer and elk trails that I went off the trail. Very quickly, I was far below the trail. I turned to exit the uphill trail and realized I had lost my sunglasses in the thick brush. The thought of being without them for the next few days was daunting, so I had to look for them even though it seemed unlikely that I would find them among these dense bushes. I left my backpack and carefully retraced my steps as best I could. And there they were, on the ground next to a large fallen tree that he had climbed. I couldn’t believe it!

Duck lake.

duck lake

Then we were back on the old trails towards Duck Lake. There is a campsite on the map next to Duck Lake, but it was just a scattered spot with an outhouse. It’s not really a campground, although it seemed like a good camping spot (although it doesn’t have a picnic table, ha).

After Duck Lake, the route got interesting. It follows a maze of old roads that appear to be maintained as ATV trails. A path that follows the trail on the map does not exist on the ground. I found the trick is to turn uphill at every junction. The maintained ATV trails slowly faded as I climbed, and the old roads were covered with fallen trees. The fallen trees weren’t bad, enough to remind me of Strawberries.

One of the twin lakes.

Peters and Jojo

As I approached the top, I heard the call of a moose. Turning around, I saw a bowhunter emerge from a group of fallen trees. I approached and we chatted. His name was Peters, and like all the hunters he had met, he was fascinated by the BMT. He was camped just in front of the main road. He encouraged me to stop by his camp and ask his friend Jojo for a snack. So that’s what I did.

Jojo was very welcoming. He gave me a cold soda and then pulled out some smoked salmon he’d been saving for a special occasion. It was the first salmon he had caught and smoked himself. I felt very honored! I learned a lot about his life in a short time.

Twin Lakes the next morning.

twin lakes

Then it was time to head to Twin Lakes Campground, where I planned to camp that night. (Not the same Twin Lakes where I had camped with David, in the Elkhorns.) A guy was fishing there and was leaving while I was choosing my spot. We chatted and he told me that his friends who were hunting that morning had seen some wolves nearby. Then he offered me the trout he had just caught. As tempted as I was, I had to turn it down because I didn’t have a good way to cook it.

There was only one other camper at camp, not too close to me. I spent a relaxing evening, enjoying the view of the lake and easy access to the clear water. I considered jumping into the lake, but instead I just dipped my legs in.

Howls

In the middle of the night, I was woken up by wolves howling from the other side of the lake. It was fascinating. It lasted about 20 minutes and then stopped. I feel asleep again until I am woken up again, this time by howling from somewhere quite close to me. Their howls began with a single baritone howl (the alpha?), then the others joined in, creating a chorus of howls that included tenors, alto, and sopranos. They would stop for a short period and then start again. This lasted between 20 and 30 minutes. Wow!

I was very involved in the return of wolves to Oregon over 15 years ago, and it was great to experience their presence in the wild firsthand. Mary later said that they were howling near me to thank me for my defense on their behalf. Which of course they weren’t. But it sure was a good idea.

My place at Twin Lakes CG. I’m always amazed at how much stuff I seem to have when it’s all spread out.

Elevation Tracker

Day 32: 3,219′

Total: 99,188′

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