​August 17, 2017 

Charlton Lake – Mile 1947.69 (1922.61-1947.69)

25.08 miles 

Today was pretty uneventful. We started hiking, and soon entered the Three Sisters Wilderness. We walked through a burn area for a bit in the morning and got a view of what I think might have been the Sisters themselves, but other than that the part we walked through wasn’t overly spectacular. We were in the forest for most of the day, though we did pass a ton of really pretty lakes. I haven’t really minded walking in the forest lately. I’ve been enjoying just letting my mind wander where it will throughout the day. I haven’t even used my headphones at all for the past couple days. 

Lunch break at Stormy Lake 

We ate lunch on a beachy area of Stormy Lake, which was really nice, and a tiny and adorable chipmunk kept running up to us trying to snag a bite to eat. In the afternoon, we had our first instance of noticing huckleberries alongside the trail, and enjoyed picking and eating several handfuls. Soooo good. We honestly just spent most of the day walking through the woods, and there isn’t much else to say.

We’re camped by a nice cold creek, only two and a half miles out from Elk Lake Resort. We’ll walk there in the morning, where we’ll start trying to hitch into Bend for our zero. I’m so excited to get into town. We’ll get our first laundry and shower in quite a while, and we’re planning a visit to one of the many local breweries for dinner and drinks. Plus sleeping in a real bed of course. Definitely ready for some relaxation. 

We saw a ton of old PCT signs today!