5/14 The trail was relatively gentle today, elevation change relatively minimal. We hiked mostly through small and spread out forest, though we did have a long stretch in the afternoon through an open field, where shapes that could only be called volcanic layered the view. I was lost in my wonderful book, Fire Season, and …
5/13 We slept without an alarm, not rousing until the sun was beaming down on us. We lounged in sleeping bags for an hour, talking, then made dirty chai lattes with extra coffee and talked more. At some point Crusoe set out breakfast, granola and flax milk and fruit, and we all rotated through turns …
5/12 The morning dawned strangely humid, and as gaps in the trees offered views out to the parallel ridge lines, they revealed banks of clouds filling the valleys, as though they’d been piped full of whipped cream frosting. Most of the day I listened to Fire Season, an enchanting, lyrical, deservedly-award winning book by Phil …
5/11 No carcass-eating visitors in the night- phew. The hill in front of us would lead to the long ridge we’d follow the crest of, for miles, to the confluence of the Gila alternate and our main route. At the same pain-staking pace, we picked our way up between volcanic rubble and tussock. We were …
5/10 Our perfect camp was front row to the sunrise, after which we resumed our route. It’s indescribable, the difference easy visibility and no wind makes. Like stepping into a parallel universe. While we still had plenty of water, always carrying at least an extra liter each from every source, as the miles stretched and …
5/9 While my leg held up admirably well in the crazy footing yesterday, last night it took its due. I woke up at 1:30 and tossed and turned and tried not to wimper until the alarm went off 4 hours later. I’m not a morning person, really, even in the best of times. The climb …
5/8 We were on trail by 6:30, a record for us this trip- and a lovely time of morning to be out it was. The pastel light softened and blurred the greens and golds of the land, and wispy clouds streaked the sky. At the Adobe Ranch entrance we were instructed to not stray any …
5/7 It was warm last night, and the sky was already light when the alarm went off. Time to move it 15 minutes earlier. We cooked oatmeal on the trail after a three mile warm up, and little did we know that would be the high point of the day. It powered us through another …
muddy shoe memoirs 