I Felt So…Alive

Day 11

PCT Mile Marker 1229.09 – 1243.10

Miles Hiked 14.01

I felt good.  I’d made it through the worst, and I’d grown as a person.  I felt so…alive.

Sick of carrying extra weight, I put a good splash of whiskey in my coffee.  I went into the woods to do my business and when I came back, Double Cross was gone.

I cleared ridges and climbed around the small snow patches on the trail.  I refused to even touch the stuff.  As I dropped in elevation, fields of lupine and mule ears lifted their glorious faces to mine.  Electric Purple against Canary Yellow.  I listed to John Denver.  I wore only one earbud so I could also listen for snakes.  I cruised down the trail, terribly overgrown with big bushes.  The air syrup with millions of fragrant white flowers.

“HEY BEAR.  HEEEEYYYYY BEAR,”  I yelled.  My bear bell jangled on the back of my pack.  I’d rather see no animals at all than surprise a bear on the trail in this heavy brush.

Then wild dogwood trees lined the path.  With their Giant White Flowers.

After I was done being scared about invisible bears, I went back to being scared of snakes.  I put my sticks in front of me, raking the brush to alert the invisible snakes before my legs got there.

After a while I got tired of that too.

Ant Lions lined the path with their little upside down cone shaped homes, and I thought again how much I really like friendly black ants.  I hope the ant lions only ate red ants.

Enormous trees blew down this last winter, crossing and covering the trail.  I climbed over them, above them, below them.  So many of them.

I felt good all day.  When there were no blow downs on the trail, I cruised.  When I was ready to be done, the perfect campsite showed up.

Of course it did.  Just like always.

I had cell service!  I called my wonderful husband and my amazing Mom, and found out that my grandmother passed away in her sleep last night.

I lay down in my sleeping bag and pulled on my hat.

I tried to write.

I fell asleep after one sentence.

The pen still in my hand.