September 12 - 14:
We left on September 12 and we camped the previous night in the car near the OR border. We made several stops along the coast as we traveled through Brookings on our way to Florence. Most every stop included time on the beach for Tilly to play.
September 14th:
Backpacking in the Cascades (Willemette, Waldo, and Deschutes Wilderness)
We left Florence and headed over through Eugene and over to the Cascades to backpack for 4 days.
The air was a bit smoky from a fire that was in the area, so we stopped at the ranger station for an update. It had started a day or two before, it was nearly contained (75%) and 30 miles from where we were hiking so I felt there was minimal risk to starting our trip.
Day 1:
The first day we only hiked 3 - 4 miles to Rosary Lakes and setup camp, because we didn't get started until 4:30 pm. The first night was smokey but the following morning and the remainder of the trip the smoke was minimal if at all present.
Day 2:
The following day we hiked about 13 miles, near Mt. Fuji. We didn't really feel we had time to summit and still set camp and enjoy ourselves so we passed up on the extra 6 miles it would have taken to summit Mt. Fuji. We camped at a lake which was a bit off the trail, called Lower Island Lake.
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| Tilly is about to slip off the log head first in the water |
Day 3:
We hiked to Charlton lake where we camped (about 12 miles).
Take note Laura pumping water and Tilly sunbathing... I think I was taking a nap. ;)
Tilly has her own bed and pillow...
Day 4:
The plan was to hike back to Rosary Lakes and spend the night with just a short hike out on Thursday, but we decided that with a chance of rain in the forecast we would hike all the way out (it had nothing to do with the fact we had no more wine). :)
The hike was a bit longer than we expected (19 miles which included about a 1 mile excursion when we missed a turn). The pace we set was very fast (5 hour of hiking with a short lunch break at Rosary Lakes), so fast Laura had 2 nice blisters to show for it and my feet were very sore... Probably not the best thing to do a couple days before I am supposed to run a 50K.
The picture below is of Laura and I enjoying a beer after the hike at Odell Lake Lodge, sitting with our feet in the creek.
September 17 - 21 (Bend OR):
Arrived in Bend and we hit the first of many local fine breweries to sample beverages and consume good food. 10 Barrel was probably our favorite, where we met a very local nice couple who were kind enough to share with us all their favorite hangouts. However, we simply didn't have time to try them all. :(
We spent one day hiking at Smith Rock.
Another day hiking up by Sisters... Well more of a rest day at the watering hole for Tilly and well maybe a beer at the local brewery in Sisters. Man they had some good flat-bread...
Oh I almost forgot I was coming here to run a 50k run. The weather was great for the run and things went well. Laura and our friend Emily were great to have there in support.
Thanks to Emily for the pictures of the race.
After the run we had beer and tacos at Crux Brewery where we watch the sunset.
Dog friendly establishments were the norm... Love Bend for that!!
