Day 118

I woke up on the shore of Charlton Lake this morning feeling pretty good. I was a little tired from the fireworks and other noises the neighbors made last night, but not too bad. The terrain for the day was very mild--lots of little ups and downs but nothing sustained. In fact I pretty much stayed between 5000' - 6000' the entire day. So I was very disappointed that my feet felt as if they had lead weights attached to them. My hips were sore too from the weight of my pack. I had wanted to do 30 miles today, but ended up at 28, but for good reason.

While having lunch I had just turned my phone on to see if I had a signal. Turns out I did because it rang just after I turned it on. My sister, Andrea, and her husband Mark wanted to meet me at Elk Lake and take me back to Bend for the evening. The Elk Lake junction was still 13 miles away, plus another mile to the resort, so I really had to book it to get there by 7. Ends up I didn't make it there until 7:30 or so, but we were still able to get into Bend in time to pick up my cousin Amanda and go to Red Robin. (Haven't been there in ages!) We ended up staying at Amanda's and visiting with her for a while. I'm just now getting to bed and it is after midnight! But the good news is that I'll be able to travel very light tomorrow and the next day. Mark and Andrea (and Jakob) are joining me in the morning for a bit before heading back to the car. I'll continue on to McKenzie Pass where Mark will meet me in the evening with most of my gear. The next morning Mark and I and my other sister Kristin will all hike the last 15 miles to Highway 20 together. This will be so good for my feet to get a bit of a break from a heavy pack before the final, long push to Canada, still about 750 miles away.