Another busy day that covered a lot of distance … walking and driving!
We woke up in our cozy cabin to Theresa already being chirpy and moving. It was nice to pack up inside (beside the necessary trips outside that were ruined by mosquitoes!). Matthew left early and we weren’t that far behind … The trail was soft and always in the forest, with millions of mosquitoes as well.
At one of our stops I made friends with this bird. He was getting really close looking for food, and when I started feeding him nuts he didn’t leave my side. He would pick up half a peanut, wait for another half and then fly into the trees to stash them. Then he would be back. He even took one from my hand. When we stopped shortly after at a pond we realized he had followed us and was trying to pick a hole into Loura’s ziplock with the nuts!
The day turned pretty hot and our speed decreased … at least it was a downhill to Charlton Lake. Theresa had decided to end her hike there and had contacted her partner to get picked up.
Loura and I decided to skip a few miles of more trees and mosquitoes to focus on the good parts: Elk Lake and Mount Bachelor, and the Three Sisters Wilderness.
So when we got to Charlton Lake, we hung out for a while, relaxing the feet and shoulders, and munching on snacks.
When Brad arrived, we drove down the highway to have some food, then got dropped at Elk Lake. After some looking around the (full) campground and closed store, we got permission from the camp host to pitch our tents in the “No overnight camping” section right by the lake. For free! Awesome views. We will try to find the pay showers tomorrow and then head out.
