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

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