Diamond Lake

It was actually pretty warm this morning because clouds had rolled in overnight. Once there was enough daylight, I headed down the side trail to Six Horse Springs, catching the sunrise over a distant ridge on the way. I heard something large crashing away through the woods as I approached the water so I sang loudly the whole time I was collecting and filtering four liters (water for the whole dry day) so whatever it was would know to stay away until I left.

I spent the morning climbing up to the trail’s Oregon / Washington high point at 7560′. The clouds thinned out for a while and I got some sunshine on the way.

Soon after heading back downhill, I hopped onto the Howlock Mountain Trail to head into Diamond Lake Resort to resupply and shower and do laundry. The seven mile side trail seemed to take forever but I was actually moving pretty quickly. It got confusing once the trail ended at a horse corral since I was nowhere near the actual resort buildings, but using my map of the area, and Google Maps GPS, I was able to find snowmobile trails and dirt roads heading in the right direction.

Rain had been threatening for a while, with a few drops here and there, so I decided to just get a room instead of further searching for the campground a few miles farther on. I got cleaned up and started laundry and was heading to the grill for dinner when Clark Kent caught up. 20.7 miles today.