You’re Dying, and Grit

Miles 10.7

Camped at Lake City, CO River Fork RV Park

You’re Dying. WAKE UP! My heart said.
My eyes opened. I couldn’t breathe. I thrashed around a little like a fish. I lay on my back. I sat up.
You’re gonna die. This is it. DO SOMETHING! My heart said.
SHUT THE FUCK UP AND CALM DOWN! My brain said.
I reached for my can of Boost oxygen. I was so scared. I couldn’t breathe. I put it over my mouth and inhaled, pushing the button.
Did it help? I had no idea. I was fully panicking. I still couldn’t breathe. Fucking altitude.
This is what your Dad felt like before he died from COPD. My heart said.
I clung to my can of Boost oxygen, terrified, and breathed in for 3, pause, out for 5, pause. Repeat until I was calm.
Somehow, sleep came again.

The mountains kissed the clouds good morning, and they all blushed.
I was tired.
Did you sleep well? Jeeves bounced up the trail like a little cottontail bunny.
Oh yes, I lied and smiled.
Just like that, she and her tramily were gone away over the horizon, like smoke in a breeze.
We came to a cliff edge and saw a herd of deer on a shadowed hill, silhouetted against another mountain which was lit by the sun. The buck swinging his antlers this way and that, checking for danger…
Shortly after, we met the danger. Some hunters on horseback with bows looking for deer to hunt. I hope they don’t find our little darlings.
Across vast tabletop mesas and down-down-down a steep and rocky trail landed us in a parking lot just in time to jump in the truck of a local trail angel who was the town hiker-shuttle for the day.
I dropped dead asleep in the back seat and quick as a flash, we found ourselves in the Lake City, CO Hiker Trail Center where we were welcomed by volunteers who made us espresso and let us charge our stuff and use the restroom and gave us half used rolls of toilet paper and tiny bottles of shampoo and conditioner to take with us to wherever we were staying the night.
We went to the post office and grabbed our box of food, and my new shoes which had been purchased by my mother-in-law and mailed by my husband who also sent me feather down pants and down booties to wear at night. What luxury!
I was so excited.
After eating chips and salsa and beans with Jillybean and Mojo at the laundromat, we grabbed our packs from the Hiker Center and went to the RV Park to set up our tents. The place was kind of a dump, but for $20 each, we could pitch a tent in a relatively flat space, do laundry, and get a shower with a towel and a washcloth, and charge electronics. Seemed fair.
Except the guy running the place was really pushing us to get our stuff in the laundry, so we changed into loaner clothes and Anji gave me a bag of stuff and I ran over and just dumped the whole bag into the washer and started it up, and only later did we discover her entire Electronics Bag was in with the laundry.
It was a disaster.
And then the guy wouldn’t let us go eat dinner in town in the loaner clothes because he was weird, so by the time the clothes were dry, we were really upset. Jillybean and Mojo just got a table when we had our hiking clothes on again, so we caught a nice dinner with them.
I just had fries and ranch, but who’s judging?
Plus I got to tell everyone about my new name. The other day, Anji had annouced in front of a group of hikers that she was officially changing my name to True Grit considering everything I’d been through and I keep going. She asked if I would formally accept my name. I agreed. Everyone cheered.
So I go by Grit now. And she goes by just Stone.
A Helluva Team