One with nature...

August 15, 2008
Tonight Ron and I head out to Devil's Lake for our first camping trip! It's quite embarrassing that we have waited so long to bask in the beauty of Central Oregon via camping, but I guess life has its way of distracting us. This spring I agreed to pay Cole and Amy $100 if we did not pitch a tent before fall. This will be Ron's first trip... Pray for him??? We will hike up South Sister on Saturday (it's supposed to be 100 degrees- yikes). I've heard the climb is long and strenuous, but the vistas spectacular and worth the labor... We'll see.
In other great news- my sister is coming up Sunday for a long visit! I miss that girl!


August 18, 2008: WE MADE IT! The hike was probably the hardest thing we've ever done!

Setting up Camp!
We woke up bright and early to begin our trek.

The false summit near Teardrop Lake.

There are tiny dots in the background. Those are people! The final hour is by far the most difficult. You sink back two steps every time you put a foot forward. And - oh- the sun!










We finally made it to the top after about 6 grueling hours. A beautiful expanse of snow and glacial pools awaited us.
We were saved when a stranger filtered some water into our empty bottles!










Karl taking a rest. That's Mt. Bachelor on the right and Broken Top on the left.