Date: August 27 – 29, 2017
Miles: -
Health: Well rested.

After a good night's sleep under the sink in the small two-person motel room the five of us shared, we all have breakfast and then head out to wander around the city of Bend. Our first stop is visiting the local REI for some gear purchases. I need to replace my shorts as they’re pretty much destroyed at this point and I’m afraid they’ll rip apart at any moment.

We ride around town on Uber and spend all day in different outdoor shopping malls and restaurants. People here seem to enjoy outdoors, good food and beer. I could definitely see myself living here. The proximity to the surrounding beautiful mountains doesn’t hurt.

The Crux Brewery – one of my favorite breweries in Bend.

The Patagonia Strider Pro shorts are all sold-out at REI so while we’re eating at a taco place close to the city center, I visit the Patagonia store close by and find the shorts but only in size small. They’re a bit tight but have to do as for some reason the Strider Pro’s are sold out everywhere.

We spend the day doing nothing particular but it’s just so much fun to hang out with everyone again. To finish the day we stuff our faces full with burgers and milkshakes at the Five Guys next to our motel and then head back to our room to watch some Netflix.

On the left my old worn-out shorts, on the right my new ones.

The next morning Dandy, Fireant, Roller, and Roadrunner head back out to the trail. I’m staying back as I promised Sam and the girls I’d wait for them in Bend. It’s hard to say goodbye to everyone as it took me so long to finally catch up to them, but I also miss Sam, Indigo, and LL.

I decide to stay at the same motel for the next night as there are good stores for resupplying close by, and the Five Guys next door. I wander around town for a bit and meet some trail friends for lunch. In the evening I visit the Five Guys again and stuff myself full. With the milkshake to-go, I head back to the motel to rest and work on some blog posts.

Lunch with Yoav (one part of the Jew Grew).

The next morning I do a gear shakedown and get rid of some extra gear I have no use for anymore, like the Thermarest Z Lite sleeping pad. I don’t like how the Z Lite fits inside the Pa’lante so I’ve carried a torso length part of the 1/8’’ Thinlight pad since Sierra as my back panel for my backpack.

I don’t like how the Z Lite sits on top of my backpack so I’m opting to sleep solely on the 1/8’’ (3mm) Thinlight. I’m a little hesitant about how well I’ll sleep on such a thin pad, but the best way to find out is to have no other option.

What happens when I leave my camera on the table while visiting toilet. Topo and LL.

Soon I get a message from Sam telling me they’re on their way to Bend. Indigo’s family friend lives in Bend and they’ve offered to take us all in. They pick me up and we head to Jenny and Kenny’s place. They live a little outside the center in a beautiful house. While the others do all their off-trail chores, I take the opportunity to play with Jenny and Kenny’s dog Rico.

After everyone’s reasonably clean, we head back to town and visit the breweries and get our resupplies done for the next section. While we come out of the grocery store the air is suddenly covered in smoke. The wind changed its direction and blew all the smoke from the wildfires over the city. It gets hard to breathe and nobody wants to spend any time outdoor. We go to bed early and get ready for getting back on the trail tomorrow.