Day 22: Gumby Has Fledged!

(Mile 278 to 297 = 19 miles)

Deer hike the PCT, too.

 So, I don't know if I had mentioned it before but this trip is my cousin's very first backpacking trip.  Ever.  I know, it's a bit of a crash course, starting your backpacking career with the PCT, but she's doing it!  And today, she did it on her own.

When we started this trip, I put together a loose plan for our progression.  I figured the first week was going to be slow, figuring out our routines and getting our hiking legs broken in.  I hoped by the end of the second week we would be through with the major aches and pains and moving forward with miles.  By the end of the third week, I figured it would be time for a little solo time.  And so it was.

We talked in Big Bear about splitting up during the day and catching up at night.  We did that part of yesterday, and most of today.  I'll admit, I was a little worried about her, but when she showed up at our water stop using her maps and her water report, I knew we'd done the right thing.  Before this, I had done all of the leading and navigating.  But it couldn't go on forever.  I am a driver, and I'm sure it's too much after not too long.  And leading all of the time is exhausting, as much as I like to drive the herd.

My first wild rose of the year!

And so I spent the first four hours of the day alone!  Well, without people, anyway.  I pished up an armful of birds at breakfast, praised the lupines sprouting up everywhere after the Willow Fire of '99, fussed over my first wild roses of the year, tracked a deer and Shutterbug, and admired the boulders the fire bared.  It was just what I've needed.  Some of what I set out to do out here must be done alone.  I didn't get far, but I get the sense that I'm on the right path.

And Gumby?  She's thrilled that she did the day on her own!  In her own words, she's "fledged."  Perhaps I have, too.

The nicest pit toilet ever.
And a lizard standing guard.

Trail art.

Sunset from our campsite.