Snow on Cacti and Fluttering Helicopters

Ice formations around telephone poles and in puddles looked like topography maps and there was snow on the cacti as we moved down the trail. We were on the PCT. After all the planning and calling and timing and stress and money well spent, there is no longer anything to do but walk. So walk, we did.

We wore all-the-clothes because it was so cold, but then it was so hot and we were sweating, so we took everything off and then there was a giant pile of clothes on the trail and we wondered how we were ever going to fit them all back into our packs. Anji took a picture.

They said there’d be water at mile 4.4, but it was a raging torrent and we had to take our shoes and socks off to wade across. The icy water took our breath away and we sat on some rocks on the other side and ate some of this and a little of that just to

lighten our load.

After all the shopping yesterday, I failed to procure any water bottles, so my water filter was rendered useless. So we both used Anji’s filter all day for water.

We sat on a lot of rocks by a lot of lovely little streams and laughed and visited, and marveled at the landscape, rocks placed here and there. Just right.

And then we were at mile 11.4 and my hips hurt and I had hot spots on my hips from my pack rubbing on my underwear line, and a blister on my foot and I’m pretty sure I’m going to lose all of my toenails, and there, conveniently, was our beautiful campsite.

We went to bed at 5pm after a hot supper, the fluttering helicopters of Border Patrol just overhead.