Day 31 – Lunch at the Mirador

September 15 – Blue Mountains TrailNE Oregon

Good plan, bad execution

I had the right idea to camp facing east, but alas, I woke up in a cloud bank. A heavy one. There would be no morning sun to dry my tent. However, he was in a good mood. Today I would meet Mike and Donna at Hells Canyon Overlook for my final resupply.

Plus, I only had 60 miles left to go in the next 4 days. In fact, I was ahead of my planned schedule and was seriously thinking about finishing a day early. But in the end I decided not to do it for several reasons. First of all, the weather looked good for the rest of the week, so the hike would be nice. Secondly, Mary was meeting me on my last day and finishing early didn’t help much. I wouldn’t have anyone to pick me up. Therefore, I decided to finish at a relaxed pace, without needing to rush in the mornings and stop earlier in the day.

Hell’s Canyon Viewpoint

Today was a road walk to the viewpoint. When the road turned paved near the overlook, I was startled. Walking on the pavement felt very strange after being off it for the better part of 4 weeks. I’m guessing the entire route so far has only been about 20 miles of pavement.

I arrived early, as I have at all my resupply meetings. There were a surprising number of tourists filtering through the parking lot. Despite that, I was able to grab an empty corner of the parking lot to set up my wet tent and spread out my wet gear. The sun dried things quickly. He probably looked like a homeless guy camping out in the parking lot.

Mike and Donna not only brought me my latest resupply, but they also brought me a fabulous lunch!

Then Mike and Donna showed up and I got my last refill. The only disappointment was that I forgot to put clean clothes in my resupply container. Well, another 4 days in the same stinky clothes wouldn’t matter much to me. Donna made it up to me by giving me a 4-day supply of Peanut M&Ms to help me get through.

Then we had lunch. And what a lunch it was! They (and by “they” I mean Donna) had brought everything. Fresh tomatoes and strawberries from their garden, avocado, cheese, a whole roast chicken, and homemade cookies, to name a few. Also, a Terminal Gravity IPA. We sat and enjoyed the view while talking about the history of the BMT. Mike had also been instrumental in that story. Thanks for a great lunch, Donna and Mike!

An easy walk

As I headed towards the exit, they offered to carry my backpack to the next junction where our routes would separate. Of course I said yes! Which gave me a 3 mile walk downhill on a paved road without a backpack. It was very easy and fun, although I felt a little naked without my backpack.

At the intersection I had more of Donna’s delicious cookies and another TG IPA to fuel me, we said our goodbyes and I headed off the sidewalk (with my backpack on again) onto a back road that I thought might lead to a good place. And so it was. A large open spot with a tall Ponderosa towering overhead.

A beautiful campsite under the surveillance of an imposing Ponderosa.

Elevation Tracker

Day 31: 2,000′

Total: 97,969′

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