DEET-day?

Day 35 7/17
Mileage 24
Camped at mile 2203.8

Today's rolling hills and easy terrain made the miles fly by. Maybe it was because it was breezy (which felt awesome) or maybe because we actually have experienced the worst mosquitoes in the world (which is what I'm going with) but the mosquitoes were almost a non-issue today. The area we were hiking through was gorgeous. We climbed up to the Indian Heaven wilderness, which is an elevated stretch of trail dotted with many lakes. A steady breeze kept us wonderfully cool. It's starting to really feel like the landscape is changing. The climbs are more gradual, the terrain is less rugged, everything is more dry, and we've descended thousands of feet. Tomorrow, we even dip below 1000' for a while! That's nuts! The trail itself is changing, too. The soft ground cover of the last resupply is being replaced with little pieces of lava rock. The forest is becoming mossier and wetter looking, with more undergrowth. The final portion of today's hike was over a lava bed. Large, dark, jagged rocks were piled all around us as we meandered through a forest of short conifers. We met a few more people doing flip-flops up to the border and then beginning south from Oregon. I have realized that I am not going to run out of food, but in fact have a splendid overabundance of gorp that I've been cramming into my face whenever possible. I would just love to be finishing the last of my food as we roll in to Cascade Locks. The forest, so windy and dynamic earlier today, has now fallen totally still. My body doesn't really feel as if it carried itself and a pack 24 miles today, but I feel a general sense of exhaustion. Maybe because it's way past my 8pm bedtime. I hope I can continue sleeping like I have been. I think it's been instrumental in keeping my body healthy, healing my injuries, and keeping me mentally ready for hiking.