Rattlesnakes Don’t Fly

Miles 7.5

Camped at mm 191.6

I couldn’t eat. Just the thought of food was so disgusting it made me want to vomit.

So we hiked on without it.

I was so sleepy I couldn’t function either. Whever we sat down for a break, all I wanted to do was curl up and sleep. I felt like I was hallucinating.

I walked along and the grasshoppers were in abundance. They pop pop popped out of my way and snapped their wings.

Listen to me! I’m a rattlesnake! They said.

You’re not fooling anyone, I said. Rattlesnakes don’t fly.

Hola, hola, hola they said. A million times over, they said.

I never knew grasshoppers spoke Spanish, I said. They laughed.

They popped like popcorn through the grass on a this hot like a kettle day. By the thousands. Acting all surprised that I was there. With every step.

Anji stopped to pee and I went ahead. I rounded a corner just in time to see a big black bear butt turn around and run the other way. HEY BEAR HEY BEAR I hollered at the running away butt. It kept running and disappeared into the forest.

Twenty minutes later I couldn’t stand it anymore. I set down my pack and laid down next to the trail, head on my pack, and fell asleep.

Anji found me at some point and told me to just keep sleeping, which I did. Right there on my pack on the trail.

Eventually I woke up and she suggested we make camp at the next available creek. We did, and I went to sleep at 1pm.

Anji is great.

I needed the sleep.