R&R

Days 118 & 119 - zero miles in Bend, OR
Day 120 ~ miles 1989.5- 2003.2

Our goals in Bend included rest, sample Bend beer, and get Moonshine's back feeling better. We coincidentally ended up in Bend during their annual Brewfest, a 3-day festival devoted to tasting craft beers, mostly from Oregon.  I'd say we definitely achieved our Bend beer-tasting goal.  But we had to remember that Moonshine needed to rest his back, so we had to find a balance between rest and play. 

Even with plenty of relaxation and bedrest, Moonshine wasn't noticing any improvement.  He decided to see a chiropractor, and after calling around to several who were all booked, was finally able to make an appointment.  He returned from his appointment looking defeated.  The chiropractor didn't bother to hide the fact that he was highly offended by the odor of Moonshine's shoes and clothes (some of our clothes maintain an odor even after washing).  He barely touched Moonshine, and didn't even perform manual adjustment, but instead used something called an activator.

We checked out of our second overpriced hotel room, wanting to stay another day to ensure that Moonshine was in hiking shape, but not wanting to pay the ridiculous hotel rates.  Back to the Brewfest we headed, scoping out potential camping spots in the city park.  We chatted with a super generous guy, Kirk, at the homebrew tent, who extended an offer to stay the night at his home.  We took him up on it, and were treated to amazing hospitality.  Kirk had 4 homebrews on tap, and we talked late into the night about our adventures on the trail and homebrewing. 

The next morning, Moonshine's back was feeling better.  After enjoying a homecooked breakfast, Kirk drove us a little closer to the trail so we could hitch out from there.  So long, Bend, it's been fun!

The route to McKenzie Pass from Bend took two roads, so we had pretty good luck getting two hitches.  When we arrived to the pass, Chef and Jerry Can were cooking up delicious burritos and Windsong was making margs.  We sat with some other hikers, ate and drank, and headed onto the trail.

We looked out into the endless lava rock field that we painstakingly walked across.  We passed mile 2000 with Jambi, and I really didn't care about the milestone.  Camped in a burn area, hope no snags fall on us!