Note: this entry didn’t upload on time so consider it a blast from the (very near) past!
Trail updates! I’m at trail mile 444, having jumped back on with my current trail family, or “tramily” after a Memorial Day climbing trip in Bishop. I’ve seen twelve snakes, eaten six tuna packets, drank three beers, and bought two pairs of toe socks. I’ve shed my ukulele and my dry sack, replacing them with frankincense incense and a well-loved copy of Tuesdays with Morrie. I’ve swam in one river three times in two days, and stood naked in a waterfall. I’m always hungry and reliably tired by the time the desert’s dusky blue sky rolls around in the evenings. I harbor much greater fear for squirrels and mice than for rattlesnakes or poison oak. Life is good.
I’m often happy when I’m hiking, no matter how hard the terrain is. This is a surprising realization; I truly thought that I would struggle with the physical aspects of this trail more than I feel I have. That said, I still struggle along the journey.
I struggle to generate momentum for what I like to call the “administrative” parts of hiking, sometimes even finding them to be daunting. It’s amazing how difficult it can be to find a good place to wash your clothes, how long you may have to wait for a hitch into town, or even locating the next water source along the trail.
But then, it all works out. A single mom smiles at your outstretched thumb and pulls over, flashers on, telling you to hop in the truck bed. Day hikers give you a surprise mandarin from the trunk of their car. You decide to search just a little higher and finally find the drip, drip, dripping spring behind ferns that look like something out of a fairytale. It all works out, because it has to, and then you wake up and do it all again.
I love this simple little life I’m living.