Day 15 Mile 145-166 Tombstone to Suttle Lake

Tombstone Summit over Hoodoo Summit down to Suttle Lake

Stephen and I pushed through the toughest WFP day yet with not only the most miles but the highest elevations. We did 21 miles and pushed over Hoodoo Pass at over 4,800 feet. Stephen was a champ and we had lots of fun making up road games to pass the miles. We made up a game where we got points for how many people we could get to wave at you (of course you get more points for getting girls to wave) :-) On the Way over we saw Ella who I had met at American Dream Pizza in Corvallis. She recognized me and pulled over to say hi.

We walked through what Stephen calls the portal and you can actually see a distinct line where the foliage and rock type changes very rapidly from west coast lush to mountain and volcanic rock with pine tree instead of the evergreens.

We enjoyed our rest at Lost Lake where we got to visit with several families that were there to fish. We were tired already but decided to make the big push out and over Hoodoo. It nearly wiped us out as we had to do another 11 miles to get to our camp for the night. We walked through the burnt forests that fell victim to forest fire four years back. and when we got to the top we could see the peaks of all the Cascade range mountains. Once over the long hall down the mountain nearly killed our knees but we persevered and we came in sight of our destination... Suttle Lake.

We got to Suttle Lake Lodge just near dark and found ourselves at the Boat House Diner. They were just closing down the kitchen and they only had two entrées still available... the Lamb and the Pork. It was a beautiful restaurant and it was so warm and cozy but the prices were high for a walkers salary so I figured Stephen and I would treat ourselves and share a meal. What happened next is a remarkable example of the generosity I have encountered on this walk. I started chatting with the family at the table next to ours about Walk For Progress and how far we had just hiked. Dave came over and talked to us about some of his treks and Stephen and I enjoyed visiting with Dave and his Family who were staying in a cabin here on Suttle Lake. After our chat Dave decided to bless our journey and asked the host to put our meals on his room tab. He came over afterwards and told us that dinner was on him and that he recalled from his own travels how wonderful it felt to be treated to a good meal and that he wanted to do the same for us and bless our journey. Thank you Dave so much... After the Hoodoo push your generosity made our day so fulfilling. Our meals were great and your generosity inspired the restaurant to give us complimentary Hot Chocolates and Smores! Thank you Corbett and Teresa.

We went off and set up our tent in the dark using my headlamp to guide our way. WE slept so well and were so content form our wonderful meals.