Skipping ahead, now I'm in Southern Oregon on my way to Crater Lake (feels like ages ago already). This was what camp looked like on the shores of Island Lake south of the Sky Lakes Wilderness. Other hiker's blogs and register entries describe this place as a purgatory of mosquitoes but again, I must have been there at the right time because it was gorgeous and the nights got too chilly for the bugs' tastes. A little too much solitute perhaps, but the day hikers took care of that.


Another day of hiking brought me to this view from the summit of Devil's Peak. (Lots of Devil's this and Devil's that on the trail, as well as maybe four or five Echo Lakes. I guess the people naming these places weren't very creative.) Here we see a wildfire with a helicopter right in the center of the smoke as it rages through the forest. The map said there were some awesome lakes in between me and the fire so after lunch on a beautiful ridge I descended to investigate.


AHA. Cliff Lake, and you can see the namesake cliff center-left. Might as well hang around here a bit, eh? Fire or no fire, I'm only here once and I'm going cliff jumping.


Oh well yes, that does look a bit ominous, but I'm sure it will be fine - those choppers and firefighting planes buzzing overhead know what they're doing, don't they?


And besides, there are thousands of absurdly cute toads ... err.. frogs ... err, froads.