Ashland to Bend

So I ended up taking a zero day in Ashland highlighted by a picnic in the park with about 12 other hikers put on by spuds parents (mr and mrs potato head).  The next morning snausage and I got a ride back out to the trailhead and we both managed a 23 mile day to make it to Hyatt lake, where they have a great campground with flush toilets and everything!!  The next couple days Oregon lived up to its reputation of being 'the green tunnel'.  The tread was great and I was shaded most of the day.  After 4 days of hiking we arrived at crater lake and had the treat of hiking along about 5 miles of the r with magnificent views of the lake the whole time, although it was a very populated part of the trail this was definitely a highlight for me!  After crater lake is a long dry stretch and my friend Chris wanted to come meet me somewhere, so I talked him into doing a little trail magic and he met me and 3 other hikers at a road crossing that night with 30 gallons of much appreciated water!!  It was great to see Chris again, he did the first 5 miles with me that morning then ran back to his truck.  We hiked by mt. Thielson and numerous lakes for the next couple days and were treated with great views and a lot of swimming!!  On Thursday afternoon I was picked up off of the trail outside of bend and made my way back to etna for the 1st annual Nick Gordon memorial mushball tournament, where I got to see a lot of old friends and play a little mushball:). Now I am going to head back to the trail with my friend Jaclyn who will be doing the next 3.5 day stretch with me!!