7/24/2023
Section: Milepost 2002.1 to 1996.1
Total Trail Miles: 943.2
Distance: 4.96 Miles
Moving Time: 01:52 hrs
Elevation Gain: 187 ft
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It was Amanda’s birthday today and what better way to celebrate than a float on the Deschutes river! We woke around 6 and I got up. I had a muffin that Amanda and Claire had brought back from the Bachelorette party followed by some of the custom monster mix I had made over the weekend. I am telling you, the Trader Joe’s mini peanuts really pop. Eventually Claire and John got up. Sheldon had come back from the Farewell Concert around 2 am so was still sleeping. John made some eggs and then left. Claire and I ran down into Redmond and got some coffees and by the time we were back, Amanda was fully up. I asked Claire if I could take her car into Bend and she said sure. Amanda and I got together some things that we thought we would need for floating the river and set off shortly after 8. The air quality was pretty rough - some fires on the western slopes of the Cascades were pouring smoke into Bend, degrading the air quality.
We made a stop at one of our favorite cafe’s in Bend - Sparrow Cafe. This place serves these Ocean Rolls which are cardimum spiced sweet rolls - they are the best. We got one each and then went to Big O Bagels for some protein. After getting our bagel fix it was about 11 and warm enough to float so we left for the “Park and Float” just a few blocks away. When we arrived we were devastated to find it closed. Because it was a Monday and because the air quality was pretty bad, the employees who rented out the tubes and ran the shuttle had been sent home so we went to Walmart to get our own and came back about an hour later.
We put in at Riverbend Park and mosied on down the Deschutes at about a mile an hour for one hour. At the end we rode the rapids down the Fish Ladder and got out at McKay park. I had managed to submerge my phone and Claire’s Subaru fob but both seemed to be working. From our departure point we walked back to the car and drove back to Claire and John’s house.
Back at the house, we took showers and started organizing our things. This took a little longer because all of our stuff had been distributed around their place. We did a last bit of laundry and by the time we had everything back in order, John returned, bringing with him the 6 freeze dried meals that I had left in his car all day. Once everything was together, we said goodbye to John and Sheldon and Claire drove us back up highway 20, through Sisters and dropped us off back at the trailhead. We took some selfies and thanked her for all she had helped us with over our 4 day hiatus then we all hugged and Amanda and I set off.
We hiked almost 5 miles to Big Lake Youth Camp who are extremely hiker friendly and offer a camping area for hikers. Once there, the camp doctor helped us find everything. We called the host to try and check in but no luck so some fellow PCT’rs helped us find the camping area. Once there, we found a gorgeous spot right on the beach and settled in for the night. I sang happy birthday to Amanda while she finished her Ocean Role, we did some yoga and then got some sleep listening to small waves lap the beach a few feet from our tent.
