Blessings...

Out of difficulties grow miracles.  ~ Jean De La Bruyere

With the turn of a new day, comes lots of blessings... Teddy and I are so grateful for all that flooded into our lives over the past several hours and days.  So, the 300 mile diversion Teddy thought he had to take due to bad weather just outside of Crater Lake turned into a mere 144 mile section being temporarily skipped instead - WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES...

via google images

We both agreed that there is a reason why he was not meant to hike that section during that particular time - perhaps there was some hiker-eating monster up in the mountains, or another storm was brewing , or it could have been to simply allow him to take advantage of the great sale at REI on his boots... whatever halted his progress there allowed him to mentally and physically resupply, call home, and then move on.

Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit. ~Napoleon Hill

Teddy's trail angels, Lloyd Gust and Lloyd Miller picked Teddy up, as promised, and brought him into Bend, Oregon where he was able to purchase his new winter hiking boots, resupply his pack and call home with some positive news.  The information seemed bitter sweet - Teddy found out that just 30 miles from the blizzard like conditions he was hiking in yesterday, there was not an ounce of snow on the ground - the trail was untouched by inclement weather.  He was a bit disappointed that he had already traveled up the 144 miles, and wasn't able to jump back on the trail to only have to return for the 30 impenetrable miles - but immediately begun to be thankful for the safety and availability for resupply he was surrounded in now.  He said "Having to return to hike 144 miles is a hell of alot better than 300 miles."  According to his average daily mileage, he can bang that 144 miles out in  less than 6 days.
So, onward to his ever-changing newest plan of attack - he is being dropped off in Sisters, Oregon - mile 2,010 on the trail.   He will continue walking, hopefully with some new-found thruhikers, onward to Canada only 5 or so days ahead of where he would have been prior to the weather hiccup he experienced.  Once he reaches Canada, he will make his way back down into Oregon and decide whether he will hike that last 144 miles northbound or southbound - I guess it will depend on the weather at that minute... and once that task is done, he will have completed the total 2,650 miles that make up the Pacific Crest Trail.

I hope I didn't confuse anyone who is actually trying to keep track of all this mileage stuff - all I know is that the plan is better than the one we formulated yesterday, which in turn lifted Teddy's spirits, which in turn lifted my spirits, which in turn allowed me to sigh relief and breathe again, which in turn allowed my children to see the "positive, rational, closer to normal" side of me again... everyone wins...

So, he is back up and hiking... looking to be in Cascade Locks in a few days, hopefully with a cell phone signal so he can send some pictures - he entered back on the trail at 1,856 - exactly where he stepped off - this means he is days away from hitting the 2,000 mile mark.  He already has his candy ready to eat in celebration of the milestone.

There are no mistakes, no coincidences. All events are blessings given to us to learn from.
 ~Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Thank you for these blessings ~ thank you for the lessons...

~ The Thruhiker's Wife ~