8/14/12

   The mosquitoes struck back this morning with a vengeance. It seems that hundreds were waiting for us to get up and out of our tent. I didn't deal with them for long, reached for the deet in no time. Snausage was out of camp early and we left shortly after. Its honestly hard to enjoy camp with hundreds of mosquitoes buzzing around your face.
   Made great time to Windego Pass, where I met Just Bill. Hotshot showed up as well. We then had to decide weather to take the Crescent Lake alternate or not. Snausage did a really good job convincing us to take the alternate, promising less mosquitoes, easier trail, more water, and 7 less miles. We were sold. Today I Really enjoyed hiking with Snausage, Just Bill, and of course Groaler Bear.
   The alternate was alright. Flat for the most part, very easy miles. But the dust was horrendous. These trails are used by horses a bunch, I think they tear up the trail pretty good. But we had plenty of water and very few mosquitoes.
   I was exhausted all day today. I woke up last night needing to pee, eat, and drink water. Of course I waited for over an hour before doing any of that, so lost a lot of sleep.
    These days seem to fly by. I often get completely lost in thought while hiking by myself. I no longer think about the motion of walking, it mostly just happens. The miles fly by and I feel great.
   We made it to a campground around 7 pm. I think we hiked nearly 29 miles today. This campground along Trapper Creek has huckleberries everywhere. Groaler Bear, Snausage, and myself are paying $15 for this campsite. I would have hesitated but I was exhausted and tthe huckleberries are amazing. This is the most I have ever seen, and I will certainly eat my $5 worth of berries tomorrow morning.
    We have 77 miles to Bend. Plan to get there on Friday. If we do make it, we will have hiked over 325 miles in just 12 days. That will be a new record for me, and is amazing for Lauren too. Time for some much needed rest.