Day 30 (September 15)

Fish Lake, our next likely resupply point, is about 46 miles away. Thanks to Sharon and Nick's generosity we have enough food to make it a leisurely 3-day stroll instead of the deranged 2-day sprint we'd been planning.

A fine picture that does not do justice

This means we have time for a side trip west to Ranger Springs, which had been highly recommended by Walt back in August. It's a long way down, but worth it: I've never seen so much water leap up from the earth with so much enthusiasm without being coaxed by a plumber. It doesn't leap too high -- just an inch or two -- but it's still fun to hear and watch, and very delicious.

We always pump our water through a filter; here, though, I'd been weighing the risk of tasting the unfiltered brew. The trail down has several signs instructing (even begging) riders to tie their horses a good distance uptrail to avoid contamination, but there are prominent clues, some extremely fresh, that many found the spring too tempting and refused to be kept away. So no unfiltered Ranger water for us. (This spring flows directly into the Rogue River, so now we know how those Rogue River pinot noirs get their distinctive flavor.)

We camp in a sweet spot just north of Devils Peak. The skies are threatening rain but they never quite manage to make good on it.