4 Horses and Beaver Water

Miles 11.2

Camped at mm 347.1

We keep getting up at the same time, but the sun keeps sleeping in later and later.
“REE” said the little pika, hiding in her hole.
“RAA” said another one, standing on his rock. I wanted to tell him to curl his tongue and touch it to the roof of his mouth.
“Try again! REE!” I said to him.
He ran into his house.
Pika pika everywhere. They are my favorite. With their little screams that make me giggle, and their scampering and hiding and so much REE-ing. What a freakin’ crack up.
One incredibly hard pass after another. Each more beautiful than the last. Mountains layered and layered all over themselves. A cake just for us to see. The green growing from the surprise water spouting from the sides of the mountain, and the sprawls of rock from annual avalanches. It was all there. All strewn all over the place. So much to see that I didn’t know where to start looking. I just knew I had to look up from my feet. But therein was its own problem. My shoes no longer have any tread after this many miles on trail, and my wonderful mother-in-law purchased some new ones which are waiting for me in Lake City. I felt gratitute wash over me.
To be in this place. At this time. And see this sight. And have the comfort of knowing new shoes are coming. What joy!
Hikers were calling these 4 passes, The 4 Horses of the Apocalypse. It was so hard.
But my eyes filled up my heart.
We made camp with a bazillion million other hikers. Jeeves and her trail family (“tramily”), so okay maybe like seven people, not a bazillion million but whatever.
Anyway there was a moose in the beaver pond and she was beautiful and swung her head back and forth in the pond and brought it up chewing away. Chew-chew-chew while her face dripped Yucky Beaver Water off of it.
But it was so beautiful.