The View North

This view from somewhere above 6000' in the Three Sisters Wilderness was absolutely beautiful, especially as the sun got lower. In the foreground is Mt. Washington, Three-Fingered Jack behind that, and Mt. Jefferson behind that. Later in the evening I could also barely see Mt. Hood but it wouldn't show up in the photo.

South Sister

As I approached the South Sister from the south on Monday, August 31, I also passed through the wide open space of Wickiup Plain.

My Friend on the Trail

Here is a photo of my nephew Jakob on the trail this morning shortly before my radio interview with KGAL. Not pictured are Mark and Andrea. They all joined me on the trail this morning.

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.

Three Sisters Wilderness

I was hiking in the Three Sisters Wilderness for most of today, August 30. It's weird to be so close to home. On a clear day you can see the Three Sisters (a group of three mountains in a North-to-South row) from the house I grew up in.

Day 117

After the late and disorganized night last night, I decided to sleep in a bit. So I did until about 7 and it felt great. I finally did get up and headed to the resort store, which was pretty thin on options for breakfast. So I settled for a muffin and microwaveable breakfast burrito. They did have an espresso machine, however, so that helped!

As I ate I went over the maps for the next section and came to the conclusion that trying to do 94 miles in three days was just not in my best interest. So I had to pick up a couple extra items from the store.

After making a few phone calls and arranging a pick-up time with my parents for noon on September 1, I headed off to the trail at about 1:30. (I'm still not sure where the morning went.) I had a tall order in front of me because I really wanted to get about 20 miles in today so that I could do 30 each tomorrow and the next day and then follow that up with 15 the day I'm getting off the trail for a bit. So I headed off at a quick pace and found the trail to be a very popular place! I ran into more people going the opposite way today in about one hour than I did in one day on the John Muir Trail section of the PCT in the Sierras! Nevertheless, I was able to get to Charlton Lake, about 18 miles in. It's a great little lake and is pretty popular from what I can tell! The moon is about at half strength tonight and the reflection is nearly perfect due to the lack of wind.
So now it is nearly 10 pm and I'm going to try to get some rest in spite of the near-party going on a hundred yards away. Tomorrow I'd like to be on the trail by 7 so that I'm not hiking after sunset like tonight.

Thanks to Loren, Patty, and Mabel for the contributions today!

Odell Lake Overlook

As I left Odell Lake this afternoon, August 29, I passed an overlook of the lake that was quite impressive. This photo only shows about half the lake.