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| Wild lilac. Smells amazing, beautiful, and nasty mean. Figures. |
I'm not going to
lie, today was a hard day. It was hot;
it was hilly; and the terrain looked mostly the same. And we just couldn't get the rhythm this
morning -- which throws the whole day off.
Late this afternoon was the first time I thought, "What am I doing,
again? Do I need 5 months of this, or
will 3 weeks do?" It was a fleeting
thought -- I knew as soon as we got rest, a meal, escaped the heat, and/or
bumped into some fellow hikers, all would be fine. I mentioned this to Melissa as we neared
trail angel Mike's place, and she had thought this numerous times throughout
the day. I've been waiting for it -- it
might be harder if you're not expecting it.
Either way, it is not fun.
 |
| Lizard eating flying ants as they leave the nest. Look at that belly! |
Meanwhile, we're
tucked in a little RV at Mike's. Mike is
not home, but Grasshopper, LT, Shutterbug, and Tim are here. We all had dinner, sat around and chatted,
and entertained each other 'til hiker midnight.
Our day DID get better. We're
exhausted, but we're on beds. And the
men all had just as miserable of a day as we.
Highlights of
the day included Melissa accidentally catching too much of a fellow hiker as he
rounded the corner, pants ventilating ... I missed this as I was having my
highlight -- successfully siphoning a watering hole to fill our bottles. I'm glad to have missed out. And my other highlights came twofold ... I
was dance/hiking to my favorite Jazzercise tunes when I almost stepped on/stuck
with my trekking pole a big ole rattler.
It was the first time I've ever heard a rattlesnake. Shook the afternoon up for certain. And then the terrain changed to boulders, and
my day, at least, got a lot better. Then
the men were here and also had rough days and ran into the same snake ... it's
amazing what a little comradery does for the soul.
 |
| This boulder field was another highlight! |
Tomorrow, we're up early to try to beat the heat and do it all again. Today ... well, there will be days like this. Just glad it took until now to have one.
Keep it up Dorothy! It's great reading about your adventures :)
ReplyDelete~Randi
Ha! Love the pants ventilating comment - funny Dor!
ReplyDeleteWe can't look at him the same way. :)
DeleteA thought to keep you going for the next few days. You could be here getting ready for the Mother's Day Event instead. It is going to be hot, mid 80s on Saturday and low 90's on Sunday! Lou
ReplyDeleteI know those days well (specifically, it was day 14 for me). They will come, feel like an eternity, and you will question so many things. Then suddenly, in a very short time, something amazing will come along the trail that makes your eyes well with tears of joy. It might be a Gatorade, a smile from a stranger, an amazing view you will remember the rest of your life, or possibly and encouraging message on your blog:)
ReplyDeleteI remember motivating myself by telling myself that it was days like these that made me earn the amazing rewards the trail brings. These days only make the good ones that much more amazing! Good luck, keep it up, and I hope it cools off soon!
Thanks, Erin! News from and messges on blogs help immensely. Reminds me that I'm not in it alone ... that there is a small army cheering me on. We're in Idyllwild eating Mexican. Things are looking up!
DeleteMissed you today Dorothy, lots pulling for you (were your ears burning?). Dylan and Steve Shrunk did really well today at Silver Falls. They aren't Dorothy but special in themselves, and great at what they do also. We still missed you. Pam and John
ReplyDelete