DAY 10- Mitchell, OR- 185.8 miles so far

Okay, Esty here... My first post on our website (but I've been trying to stay in touch on IG and, eek, TikTok. You can find me there @libertywalks25). Today was what thru-hikers call a "near-o" - a day of low-mileage (as in rhymes-with-zero: which would be a complete rest day.) Bob and I decided to take it a little easy, just a sweet early morning 14, because the sun in this glorious high desert is no joke. It's kind of deliriously happy-making to be done with the day's walk by 11 - in a shower by 11:30 - and now sitting with a iced tea and a cheeseburger at the fabulous Tiger Town Brewing Co. in Mitchell, Oregon.

We're staying a few nights with Pat and Jalet Falwell at the Spoke'n Hostel here. Their place is hard to describe in the best of every sense. It's a five-star refuge for travelers - completely donation-based - and utterly beloved of the TransAmerica bicycle folk. Quilts and blankies on every bunk, and a 20-oz tumbler of cold lemonade before you ask for it, before you've even pulled off your sneakers and laid down your trekking poles. Then: a dish of ice cream - "because you need those fats and sugars!" Oh yes, and feel free to do your laundry out back. AND - Spoke'n is also a church, Praise Church. This morning after our "near-o" I sat in the living room downstairs, close by the kitchen with its tons of free food and fresh coffee, and joined the small assembly. Pat was talking about restoration and hope and played a song that made me cry (Brandon Lake and Jelly Roll singing Hard-Fought Hallelujah). And then he prayed for us Liberty Walkers, for our safety, and that we can help restore hope and ease division. Holy moley people. This is it. This is it.

Jalet Falwell, visionary behind the Spoke'n Hostel, Mitchell, Oregon