Posted by Mile 1933.2 to mile 1967.9 (34.7 miles, 55.8km)
What an absolute perfect blue bird day. The morning was quite fresh for a change. I knew Oregon nights could get cold and I was going to mail my warmer gear ahead to Cascade Locks but glad I didn’t in the end.
There had been a distinct change from the heat wave experienced in Northern California. Moving north the day time temperatures have lowered substantially. Hope it stays that way. Today was perfect. Sunny, with a breeze.
The morning was much the same as yesterday afternoon, passing many lakes and ponds, under cover of pines.
There was plenty of water about. I had enough for the morning and held out until lunch time for a rare stream in this section. The water was crystal clear, with a strong flow and cold. Yum!
Like yesterday I saw no one all morning, except south bounders, until lunchtime when I ran into a couple of north bounders at the creek.
Late in the afternoon the enclosed pines finally gave way to reveal open fields not unlike the meadows in the Sierra, although much larger and volcanic mountains on the horizons. A mix of red scoria cones and basalt still holding the last remaining patches of winter snow.
Today was awesome and I’m on a high. It marks three months since starting towards Canada and I feel like I’m making great progress. I can see the end in sight and think I have maybe three to four weeks to go after speaking with the south bounders.
My mileage is up but I don’t think I can sustain 35 miles a day, every day. 20 miles is super easy (I can do that by lunch time), 25 is cruisey, 30 is manageable and 35 takes quite the effort, walking from 6am to 7pm. Not sure that I want to even attempt a 40 mile day, it will just take too much out of the body. I need to look after it to see the end game through.
How is this for a sales pitch for the Sawyer filter. It is still going strong after 3 months. My last water source for the day was really cloudy (bottle on left), mainly silt from the volcanic soils being washed into it. Crystal clear (bottle on right) after filtering.
Mick Beckers 
Glad to see your mind ticking away about the number of miles to walk each day. When I saw “walking from 6 am to 7 pm” my immediate thought was – wasn’t this a walking holiday. I understand you crave challenges but you are working harder than you do in your District in Vic. Is there something between “25 is cruisey, 30 is manageable”. Maybe 27? You are nearing the finish line of this very long walk and we want you to come home happy and feeling great. We don’t want you coming home feeling beat up and bent over. Mind your body and mind your mind son. Lots of love again. Mum
Life’s journey is not to arrive at the grave in a well preserved body but to skid in sideways, completely worn out and broken, screaming “Fuck what a ride!”
I have to say what Maggie writes makes sense. 27 miles sounds like a great idea.