Olallie Lake to Timberline Lodge

Olallie Lake Resort:

Olallie Lake Resort is another not so resort like place. More of an outpost in the middle of the woods.  It is one small building with a couple of items for sale and two refrigerators. One refrigerator had soda and gatorade, the other had beer. We sampled from both during our visit.

At the lake we met back with Turbo and Connie who had hiked ahead of us on our leisurely paced day. What made our visit to Olallie Lake special was Sam. Sam is the caretaker. Sitting at the picnic table in front of the store she brought out water for the dogs and fresh pineapple and cutting board for us. It is so nice to have fresh fruit on the trail.

Once finished with our soda we moved to the other refrigerator for our second beverage. Our options were limited to Coors light or Budweiser. At this time we were joined by Charlie (short for Charlie Chaplin) and Ranchita. As it turns out Ranchita was formerly Cowgirl. She was given this name for taking two weeks off the PCT to work on a farm. We, especially Tiffany, had been told about this "other" Cowgirl. Being that we were in front, Ranchita heard a LOT about Tiffany. Eventually Ranchita got her new name to avoid having the same name.

Back on trail with friends:

Beth and Shannon joined us for our hike from Olallie Lake to Timberline. After driving from Montana they got a ride from a friend who dropped them off at the lake. By late afternoon we were on our way. We didn't go far the first night.

The deal was that if they brought the chocolate and wine, Tiffany and I would carry it. After setting up camp, cooking dinner, and having some wine Tiffany and I got some lively entertainment. On their drive from Montana, Beth and Shannon re-wrote the words to Waterfalls to fit our PCT hike. It was hilarious in itself, but having them use their bachelorette party favor, the "pecker wacker", they brought along from Montana sent us rolling. I believe Tiffany posted the re-write on her blog.

The second evening we ran into a group of four friends Tiffany and I had not seen since they got off in Sisters. These 4 along with 7 section hikers camping near the same water source made for a lively evening. It was super fun to share the trail culture and camaraderie with our friends from "real life". We made a good dent in the 3 liter bag of wine and got Shannon and Beth to perform their rendition of Waterfalls again. All were impressed and entertained.

Berries! A wonderful bonus to this section were the wild blueberries and raspberries (I believe they were actually huckleberries and thimble berries). We thought we saw a lot on the last stretch, but this was crazy. There were so many growing right along the trail. We could pick them as we were walking by.

A new trail name:

If you are going to have a mishap on your adventure it is at least convenient when it is on the last day. This is what happen to Shannon and how she got her trail name. We had a road crossing! I am not quite sure how it happened, but as I came down the trail from signing a trail register I saw Shannon lying in the road. She was quick to remove herself from the traffic lane and Beth was there to help her move to the side of the road and inventory the damage.

It must have been the smooth even grade of the asphalt that threw her. When I asked her what happen she said she set out to run across the road, then bam! I looked at her and said, "there is no running in thru hiking". 

Further down trail while we were reminiscing the great fall and replacing another bloodied dressing on Shannon's chin, we came up with a few creative tail names. Asphalt Grinder, Biff, and Asphalt Emulsion are a few examples. Shannon didn't take to these, but eventually it was settled, her trail name is Road Runner.

We had two more road crossing before we made it to Timberline Lodge. Luckily both proved uneventful for all and we got Shannon and Beth back to their car with no further damage.

Happy Trails!

Trail Statistics 

Days: 126 

Miles: 2,107.3

Xena Days: 20

Big Lake Youth Camp to Olallie Lake

 

Our first night out of Big Lake Youth Camp we camped near a small pond.  It was here that Tumbleweed and Puma met up again after several months of planning.  They had met at the Saufley's (mile 450) and found they could both play the guitar.  Ever since then they had worked on finding and buying backpacking guitars, planning the pickup locations, and when they would be able to meet again.  It was here, about 1,500 miles later, that they were able to reunite with two guitars.  It was great to listen to them play together before we went to bed.

 

On our second day out of BLYC we met Connie.  Connie is completing a section of the Oregon PCT and started with little to no backpacking experience.  How did she get on trail?  She use to read an online newspaper column written under a pen name.  As it turns out the author decided to reveal her identity at the same time of her book release, Wild.  Ah, Ms. Sheryl Strayed strikes again.  Connie read the book and decided to give the PCT a try.  I don't believe she had any addictions to work through, but after living a very comfortable life wanted to know what it would be like to give up some of those creature comforts.  Some might give some criticism, but I say good job Connie for getting way outside your comfort zone and giving it a try.  When we ran into Connie and asked her how she was liking the trail she said she was getting lonely, particularly in the evenings.  We said there was no need to be lonely, and invited her to camp with us.  So for the next two nights the three of us camped together.

 

Hello Mt. Jefferson!  Having lived in Oregon for so many years before this I am disappointed not to have discovered Mt Jefferson until now.  I loved the Mt. Jefferson wilderness area and the peak itself looks amazing. 

 

We were told from a south bound hiker, Grapenuts, that the camping around Scott Lake in Jefferson Park was great.  It did look great, but we were near a forest road on a weekend which meant the place was crowded!  You get so used to having the backcountry all to yourself, you forget how to share it.  I went ahead of Connie and Tiffany to find us a spot.  I found a decent one, then lead them back to it.  Just as we were getting there an older man was walking through the spot.  I asked him where he was camping.  He said "right here, we beat you to it."  I don't know why this pudgy weekend hiker that had probably only carried his pack 5 miles got under my skin, but he did.  I said, "no you didn't beat me here, I was here before and just coming back." I stormed off, determined to find an even better spot, before he had the time of day to respond. Ha, and writing this now makes me laugh.  Where was my trail Zen?

 

Hiking into Ollalie Lake we got our first views of Mt. Hood and had some unexpected snow fields.  This snow was fun.  The snow was steep enough to shuffle/slide down, but not too steep you had to worry about any falling.  We met Turbo on one of these snow fields.  He was avoiding the snow until he saw Tiffany, the dogs, and myself having so much fun running down them.  We thought he was named Turbo because of his speed.  He is fast when he isn't going the wrong way, but his name comes from the sound his nose makes when he is breathing heavy.  I love trail names.

 

We came into Olallie Lake mid day.  Here we waited to meet up with two friends who would hike to Timberline Lodge with us.

 

Happy Trails!

Trail Statistics 

Days: 123

Miles: 2,053.6

Xena Days: 17

Elk Lake Resort to Big Lake Youth Camp

Elk Lake Resort:

When we hiked into the resort we got there just before they finished serving breakfast. We split a breakfast sandwich and got two stouts. Then the disappointing news. They didn't have laundry. It had been 7 days and my clothes were starting to smell pretty rank. Oh well, we sorted our resupply, then ordered lunch.

At Elk Lake Resort we saw our friends Muppet and Stilts who we had not seen since Castella. It is crazy how long it can be before you see someone on the trail again.

Back on Trail:

We hiked out of the resort with Muppet and Stilts. That night we stayed in a meadow across from some weekend hikers. Watching them hang their food was our entertainment for the night. 

We hiked with Muppet and Stilts for the first few hours then they were off. We only had to make it to the "small lake", they had a few more miles. I would have considered our stop a small somewhat murky pond at best. Despite the questionable water source we had a pleasant evening. We camped with Tumbleweed who carries a backpacking guitar. After dinner he played his guitar and sang for us. Without our radio we forget how nice music can be.

We had a segment of trail which wound its way through the large lava fields around the 3 Sisters. The lava fields were amazing to see, but we worried about the dogs feet. I only had one set of booties for Xena. We decided to put booties on the front paws where most of the pressure is. This seem to work well a long as the dogs stayed on trail.

Big Lake Youth Camp:

This is a large hiker friendly youth camp just passed the 2,000 mile mark. We would have liked to celebrate the milestone with a frosty beverage, but apparently they don't keep this in stock for the kids. We settled for our resupply box, a shower, and clean laundry instead. In addition to this a were surprised with a care package from Colorado. We got a box of Twinkies and some twisted shots. We shared our Twinkies around the hikers picnic table with Ginger Beard Man, Tumbleweed, and Grapenuts. They were all impressed with the shots, but we decided to save those for later.

With clean clothes and full food bags we headed back out.

Happy Trails!

Trail Statistics 

Days: 120

Miles: 2,001

Xena Days: 14

Sent via the Samsung Galaxy S™II Skyrocket™ an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone.

Hwy 138 to Elk Lake Resort

We are both taking our dogs from Hwy 138 to Cascade Locks. The temperatures are averaging 20 to 30 degrees cooler and the distance between water is shorter than when I last had Xena. So far this has proved much better conditions for her.

I am happy that the weather suits Xena, but it seems to be awakening the dragon in Sleeping Dragon (her trail name).  The first night we camped just past Theilsen Creek in a flat spot on the inside of a large bend in the trail. While we packed up camp in the morning I let Xena run around. Both Xena and Lexi went zipping to and from smells around camp. They got each other super amped up. When they saw their first hiker rounding the bend they shot straight for them. They jumped all around them and barked. Aye yi yi! Tiffany and I ran after the dogs and apologized profusely. I think they were mostly super excited, but the last thing we want to do is have other hikers mad at us because of our dogs. Ever since then they get tied up in the morning until we are moving forward. They have too much energy when they are fresh.

On our fourth day we had two big thunderstorms roll over us. Lexi is terrified of thunder. I think she must be able to sense the change in air pressure when a storm is coming. Late morning we were sitting in the sun at a small creek under Diamond Peak. Before we left I noticed Lexi shaking and she started to whine a little. 30 minutes later we found out why. 

Rolling thunder and huge clouds filled the sky above. Eventually the thunder got close enough we decided to head down! The trail follows the ridge on Diamond Peak and we knew we had another exposed section ahead. We headed down a drainage towards more dense forest. We tucked ourselves under a cluster of smaller trees within a large area. The louder the thunder got the harder Lexi shook and the more she would pant. They both really disliked the hail. We covered the dogs with our sitting pads when it first started. When the hail got bigger we spread the Tyvek ground sheet out and held it over all four of us. Eventually the hail went away and the rain eased. We decided to hike out of our drainage.

The sky was lighter above but we could see more weather coming our way. A few miles later we decided to put the tent up and let the next storm pass. We had lost a lot of elevation and found a camp spot just uphill from a small pond. Once in the tent we covered Lexi with a jacket and a sleeping bag. This seems to help calm her. She hides her whole body in the sleeping bag. When the claps of thunder from the second storm came and the hail pelted the tent all you could see was a shaking sleeping bag in the middle of the tent. 

We waited out the rain of the second storm before hiking on. We only hiked a few more miles to our camp for the night. Needless to say both dogs were exhausted. Once in the tent, they did not stir till morning. In total we waited out 5 hours of bad weather that day. It was our forth day of rain since leaving the cabin. This is the weather that reminds me of why Oregon is so green. It also gets old super fast. I hoped the forecast for brighter skies was true.

On this stretch we brought less food per day since we knew our miles per day would be lower with the dogs. I am not so sure this was a good idea. On our fifth night out I was surveying my food bag for extras that would not take too much from the next two days of food. There wasn't much surplus. Tiffany was in the same situation. We settled for a couple spoonfuls of sunflower seeds. About 15 minutes later I fed Xena and Lexi some of their venison glucosemine treats. When I opened that bag it smelled so good. Hmm, this cannot be good. I tested Tiffany. I put a treat under her nose. "Does this smell good?" I felt better about myself when she said, "yeah, smells good, what is it?" I waved around the bag of dog treats. We both laughed at ourselves. Now our hopes for Elk Lake Resort were set high. We heard they had good food. Although from this little incident, it doesn't seem it has to be too good.

The night of the dog treat incident we camped at Lake Charlton. This is very close to a gravel road. There are huge family tents and people practically car camping. To further torture our senses, when we left camp that morning we could smell someone cooking bacon.

As we slow down our pace for the dogs we are starting to see other thru hikers pass. It seems like every day the number walking by during our breaks increases. The "pack" must be catching up to us.

Happy Trails!

Trail Statistics 

Days: 118

Miles: 1,959

Xena Days: 12

Sent via the Samsung Galaxy S™II Skyrocket™ an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone.

At The Cabin

Our rest at my parents cabin was 3 days and our longest break from hiking. The first night there were 8 hikers including Tiffany and I. My Mom insisted on cooking for us all. I warned her about how much hikers could eat.  She hoped they ate like cannibals. I told her I was not sure she really understood how much they could put down, but they would certainly eat whatever she put in front of them.

When we arrived at the cabin Mom had us draw cards for the shower line-up. In between the shower rotation we drank beers and Jimmy Buffet Margaritas. Mom set out a serving line for taco salad. In less than an hour it was all gone! Mom was delighted not to have to put away leftovers, but as hikers continued to snack throughout the evening she was amazed. Later she would say, "now I know what you mean when you say they eat a lot".

The fire danger was too high to have a campfire in the ring in front of the cabin. We all still migrated to the sitting logs around the ring anyway. Like usual we swapped some more hiker stories. Below is one of my favorite.

That's All I've Got:

A hiker has a bear wander up to his camp. He puffs out his chest, bangs his trekking poles together, and yells at the bear to go away. The bear pauses for a moment and looks at this odd human in bewilderment. The bear does not appear to be frightened like it should be. The hiker continues his bear scarring act, but a horrifying thought comes to mind. 'This is all I've got'. There is no bigger set of trekking poles or step two in bear encounters. Luckily for this hiker the bear lost interest and sauntered off.

Luckily for most of us out here usually only park bears are so casual around humans. All bears we've seen are scared away.

The first night we found a bed for everyone in the cabin. Between Dad and a few of the other guys, earplugs were the only way I was getting any sleep through the snoring. Although this didn't keep me from hearing T Grit's nightmare. In the middle of the night I heard a loud "Oh shit", then a thud. In the morning the household found out that T Grit had dreamt that a wall was falling on him. When he woke up under the pitched roof he yelled and thrust his hands to support the falling wall of his dream. Gavin in the bed next door suggested he turn the light on. When Grit came to a full awareness of his surroundings he said he was okay and went back to join the snoring choir.

The second night we were joined by Two Step & Split. I think the core cabin crew was tired from the night before. We enjoyed a more subdued dinner with the 6 of us and went to bed fairly early. The second night on a bed was even better than the first.

The 3rd and 4th night at the cabin was just Mom and Dad and Cowgirl and me. This worked out well for relaxing, taking the time to organize our resupply for Portland, and coordinating the upcoming hiking with friends. Cowgirl soaked her feet several times in an Epsom salt bath she hopes will help with her foot pain. I joined in a couple games of Boggle with Mom and Cowgirl. I play more for the entertainment value of others. After dinner the four of us also played a couple rounds of Rummy.

All in all our cabin stay was what we had hoped for. With Mom's home cooking we certainly made up for any calorie deficit we had and then some. Wednesday morning we had a leisurely breakfast and packed our bags.  To quote someone from our anti-campfire night, "the trail isn't all back flips and fireworks is it?"  We headed back to the trail.

Happy Trails!

Trail Statistics

Days: 112

Miles: 1,852

Showers: 25

Sent via the Samsung Galaxy S™II Skyrocket™ an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone.

Ashland to Hwy 138

To get back to the trail from Callahan's Lodge we had to cross under the interstate and walk about 1 mile of old Hwy 99.  Road walking is not so fun.  We heard Gumby and Double-It might have got on trail just before we did.  It was true!  About 2 hours into the hike we ran into them at our first water stop.  It is always fun to be reunited with friends you have been hiked with throughout the trip.  We hiked with them on and off for the rest of the day.

The 4 of us camped at a trail side camp near Hyatt Lake.  We were all disappointed by the condition of the lake water.  We had thoughts of swimming, but the water was murky and almost too warm to seem sanitary.  We settled for a chat at the picnic table and watching Double-It boil over his cooking pot twice.

Gumby and Double-It were taking an alternate route, walking a portion of the Oregon Skyline Trail.  We decided we would meet back up with them in two days and the four of us would partake in the all you can eat pizza at Mazama Village restaurant as described in Yogi's trail guide.  Hiking out of Hyatt Lake was one of our smokiest mornings yet.  It was super thick smoke that impeded any view we would have had.  Yuck!

In order to get to Hwy 138 by the time we told Mom and Dad we would meet them we had to book it.  We had a 29 mile day.  We came into camp just as it was getting dark and dark clouds were rumbling in the distance.  Sometimes we feel like our timing is so lucky.  Not 10 minutes after we found a spot and got all our things in the tent we heard rain drops.  Yeah, we made the right decision not to hike on.

On the 4th day out of Ashland we met back up with Gumby and Double-It and made our way to the Mazama Village.  We were all excited for our pizza.  All excited for nothing.  We found out they have not had the all you can eat pizza for several years.  Damn you Yogi!  We settled for the all you can eat soup and salad bar.  We must have started to eat real fast and/or smelled really bad.  A restaurant patron sitting at the table next to us kept looking over at us as if we were a show.

On the last day before Hwy 138, the trail goes through Crater Lake NP.  You have an option to take the Equestrian (still the official) PCT or the Hiker PCT.  We opted for the Hiker PCT because it goes up to and follows the rim of Crater Lake.  Crater Lake was created thousands of years ago when Mt. Mazama blew its top and caved in on itself creating a huge hole.  Over time rainwater cooled the bottom of the crater, sealing the bottom, and filling it with water.  Nearly 2,000 ft deep, the lake is the deepest in North America.  It is also known for its clarity, being able to see as far as 130+ feet into the deep blue water.  

We got to the rim early in the morning along with Lodgepole, Maverick, and Gavin.  Luckily we had clearer skies and great views of the lake as we hiked around the rim.Once leaving the rim the trail heads straight north to Hwy 138 through pumice fields, dry forests and lots of down trees.  We had to step, jump over, and make our way around over 100 down trees in this short stretch of trail.  It seems that National Parks have both the best and the worst trails.  Any trail near the tourist hot spots are wide and well maintained.  Get outside of that 2 mile radius and you have some of the worst maintained trails on the whole PCT.  Or so it seems.

Cowgirl and I were the first to arrive at Hwy 138 at 4:15pm.  About 1/2 mile before we got to the highway Cowgirl had a wiggly waggly reunion with her dog.  We sat with Cowgirl's parents while Lodgepole, Maverick, Gavin, Gumby, and Double-It hiked into the highway junction.  As scheduled my parents showed up at 5pm.  We all jumped into the cars and were off for our 3 days of rest at my parents cabin.

Happy Trails!

Trail Statistics

Days: 108

Miles: 1,852

Days of Poison Oak: 15

Sent via the Samsung Galaxy S™II Skyrocket™ an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone.

Seiad Valley to Ashland

Hiking out of Seiad Valley is one long hot climb through a burn area from last years fire.  We were so tired from a long and late 32 mile day coming into Seiad that we wanted a little extra sleep, but also didn't want to get out too late to avoid any heat possible.  The forecasted high was 107 degrees.  We settled on getting up at 6am with a 7am start. The climb was hot as promised and smokey.  We did not know what fire the smoke was coming from.  On the way up we met two other hikers at our water stop.  With all the heavy smoke in the surrounding hills we asked them if they knew anything about the fires causing all this smoke.  They looked at us quizzically, "what do you mean, what fire?".  At first I kind of laughed, then realized they were not joking.  Hmm, sometimes I am not sure about the instinct of other hikers.  They did light up a cigarette during the break, maybe the air is all the same. 

As we have entered Northern California and even into Southern Oregon we have heard bells.  When we first heard them we thought someone was camping along the forest roads.  We soon found out these were cow bells.  For some reason I do not associate herds of cows with cow bells in the national forest lands of this area.  I feel like this should be found traveling through the alps of Europe.

On day 102 we crossed the Oregon/California border.  It seemed so far away and to take so long, but all of the sudden we were there.  The further we hike the faster time seems to go by.  I feel like it took us forever to get to mile 100, and now it seems like we pass 100 miles without thinking about it.  The desert, then Kennedy Meadows, the Sierras. As we hike on they slowly fade to the background and are becoming memories from miles past.  So as I waved goodbye to my native state of California, I walked into my home state of Oregon.

When we hiked into Ashland, I actually mean that we hiked into Callahan's Lodge.  Callahan's is just off of I-5 within Ashland city limits.  Many hikers get rides into Ashland to buy their resupplies throughout Oregon.  We already have our Oregon resupplies in boxes with Mom and Dad and we had a package waiting for us at Callahan's Lodge that will take us through our next stretch.

Callahan's Lodge is a hiker friendly lodge that offers showers, laundry, camping and a Hiker Dinner.  The dinner was an all you can eat pasta dish.  By the time we showered and ran a load of laundry we were hungry and ready to tackle the hiker dinner.  We heard of other hikers eating 2 and 3 plates full of pasta.  When our heaping plates of pasta came we dove in.  Sadly though, we cannot compete with other hikers and their hunger.  I ate my salad, two homemade dinner rolls, and 3/4 of my plate of pasta.  Tiffany almost finished her full plate of pasta.  I think our stomachs are actually shrinking.  We eat a lot throughout the day, but not all at once.

Full of pasta and beer we pitched our tent in the backyard of the lodge.  What a luxury to have soft grass and level ground!  I still had poison oak and went through my routine application of pink calamine over my calves, ankles, and feet.  I started to tape my heels and toes as these seemed to itch the worst at night and while hiking.  The tape seemed to avoid some of the aggravation from the shoes and kept me from scratching the skin to bloody sores.  That night we fell asleep with a thick smoke descending over the Ashland valley and Callahan's Lodge.  I could not say I was too excited to wake up and start hiking in that the next morning.

Happy Trails!

Trail Statistics

Days: 103

Miles: 1,727

Days of Poison Oak: 10

Bears: 5

Sent via the Samsung Galaxy S™II Skyrocket™ an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone.

Etna to Seiad Valley

Etna:

Yeah, a brewery! Etna is a small town just a 15 mile hitch from the trail. Cowgirl, Emperor, and I got a ride in the back of a beat up pickup truck. Once in town we checked into a motel and started town chores. The lady at the motel made our day when she offered to throw a load of laundry in for us in between one of the motel loads. This allowed us to shower and hang out in the room while the laundry was being done. Much better than walking down the street wearing our rain gear in the heat of the day.

With fresh clothes we headed to the brewery. Finally I had a stout! I also got a Ranchero BLT, this is a BLT with cream cheese. So good! On our way back we shopped at the small grocery store for a resupply.

That night there was rain off and on when a thunderstorm rolled through. We were delighted to be indoors watching trash TV and eating microwave burritos. My poison oak was still bad. So i enjoyed the burrito and tv in my underwear with pink calimine lotion smothered all over my legs. Reflecting back on this, I must have made quite the spectacle.

The next morning we slept in, then had breakfast at Bob's Café. I had French toast, then another half order of the French toast. Maybe hiker hunger is setting in.

Back on trail:

We got a hitch to the trail by 10:30am and were off. Our wildlife count was down until this stretch. We saw two bears on our first day out of Etna Summit. One was a cub running across the trail. We were a little concerned about where the momma was, but never saw her. We had two rattlesnakes rattle at us on the side of the tail. 

The first night we stayed next to an old creepy cabin. Poor choice. There were so many noises that came out of that place. I took two Benadryl to help with the poison oak. I was so sleepy and just told Tiffany to nudge me if she heard a noise she was concerned about. Bats living in the cabin took to the sky just after dusk. They seem to enjoy buzzing the tent. Sounds cool, but I got a nudge every minute. Finally I said only big noises. I got one final nudge before I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. Cowgirl was left to defend the tent alone. I don't think she slept very well. I on the other hand didn't move till the alarm went off.

Day 100

We survived the bats and curious deer!

Our second day was another long one, 32 miles into Seiad Valley. We decided to do this because Seiad is a super hot spot with a 6 mike road walk. We wanted to make sure we did the road walk later in the evening to beat the heat. We saw two more bears! Again one was another cub. I got to watch it climb a tree. Note, climbing a tree will not save you from a bear. They are really fast tree climbers.

We were pretty tired when we got to the road and it was super hot. At times we had a breeze, but it was not so satisfying. It was a warm furnace breeze. We were happy when we got to the Seiad Valley RV park at 8:30pm.

Seiad Valley:

Seiad is a small town of 350 people. There is a post office, small store, RV park, and small restaurant. We didn't stay long enough to visit more than the RV park. We came in, showered, and organized our resupply packages. We also had another wonderful care package waiting for us here. Incidently our friends sent us socks. This was just as I had punched my fourth hole through my two well worn out socks I was wearing.

Once organized for an early departure I tended to my poison oak. I was able to get the blistered patch on my left thigh to heal, but it had spread to calves and toes and somehow jumped to my right thigh. Not being able to shower and wearing the same clothes every day does not help in healing poison oak.

Trail Statistics

Days: 100

Miles: 1,662

Days if Poison Oak: 7

Bears: 5

Sent via the Samsung Galaxy S™II Skyrocket™ an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone.