8/19/12

  As usual, I did not get a chance to journal on town days. We got into Bend on Friday the 17th. Walked 21 miles before 3 pm. Once again, the 3 Sisters Wilderness area amazed me. So beautiful with large mountains everywhere, and wonderful wildflowers.
   We got a ride into Sisters from the trailhead in no time from two trail angels, Pochahantas and Legasoreus. Then we got a ride all the way to Bend from another nice lady coming home from a business trip. She drove us right to a store, right across from Tree's home.
  We spent two nights there. It was so good to see Tree and d=rt. We also got to meet Sage, Tree's awesome dog. She has trained him to do tons of tricks. Sage can give hugs on command, can say "I Love You", and can even get a beer can out of the fridge. If thats not enough, he can also recycle the can once it is empty. Tree and d=rt are headed to the Tahoe Rim Trail next weekend. So good to see them both. Also enjoyed a brew festival and a lot of festival food. Thank you Tree for your hospitality!
   This morning Tree drove us back to the trail. We were hiking just after 9 am. I was really dragging all day. I dont sleep well in towns, and our sleep schedules are always thrown off. I also felt a bit down today. Not sure why. Maybe my body feels the seasons changing. We dragged ourselves through the day.
   At Santium pass we found trail magic. A cooler from CatDog with pepsi and beer. A nice touch. Then across the highway we found beer in a bag from Scarecrow. At the trailhead we found Garylecth and the tall Scarecrow with another cooler of beer and snacks. It was a real mood improver and good to see those guys! Before that we were  considering hitching to town for another night off. Innstead we hiked another 4 miles and ended with over 21 miles under our belts. Not bad. We will do better tomorrow. Its dark now and not even 9 pm. Summer is coming to an end.