It was raining when we woke up. I kind of hoped Ben would let us sleep in longer because of it. But no, we were moving around 7a. We broke down camp in a slight sprinkle and left experiencing occasional precipitation.
The climb out of the river was steep, but gave us some really great views of the river and city. Much of the first 10 miles were difficult. My pack was heavy and the weight wasn’t well balanced. The foodbag was too big for me to position it well. My butt and thighs burned during all of the uphills. Even having expected it, it still was uncomfortable.
We ate our protein bars at the edge of a dammed up pond. I watched the raindrops break the surface, creating ripples across otherwise still water. That was the most notable part of our morning. By 2:15p we hit the shelter, putting us at about 10 miles so far. Kirby was waiting for us and some of the others. Body Bag and her dog, Z, were also there. We ate chicken, french fried onions, mayo, and hot sauce all wrapped up in tortillas for lunch. Lotus and Atlas arrived as we ate. Hype was farther back on the trail still.
The shelter was small, creepy, and gross. The privy was almost filled to capacity. I had been warned, but truly, I was not prepared for what I saw. Although my experience with it was still more positive than one I had in a Michigan vault toilet last summer. So there’s that I guess.
It sprinkled a bit while we were there and then let up as we left. Atlas, Lotus, Kirby, Warthog (Ben), and myself formed a line. We played 20 questions and took turns choosing an item for the others to guess. Somewhere in there Hype caught up, turning us into a party of 6. The game made the last 4 (ish) miles fly by. We stopped to fill up on water about .7 miles from where we would stop for the night.
We are camped near the road. It’s something none of us are all that comfortable with. However, we are a group of 6, so we feel a lot better than if any one of us were here on our own. Near here is a “Mom’s” convenience store. It’s basically a brick building with some soda, frozen food, and old couches. They only take cash and apparently the man who runs it tallies your order on a notepad. Ben went to check it out, I’m okay that I stayed back.
We set up camp and then made dinner. Ben and I ate a “bomb”. Basically, a bomb is when you mix 2 or more things that don’t normally go together and eat it as one. For us, it was mac n cheese and pepper bacon instant mashed potatoes. I thought it actually worked together. Ben seemed to also.
We had another campfire tonight. We shared more stories about our homes and our lives back there. I like getting to know everyone on a deeper level, not just the trail version of who they are, but also where they come from and what makes them the person I know here today.
We stayed up too late again. I had neglected to check in with family to let them know we are safe and had 2 messages waiting for me when I got back to the tent. I’ll have to remember to send out my, “We are here and all is well” messages sooner. It’s not kind to let our family worry and it certainly wasn’t intentional. Simultaneously, I feel honored that so many people care.
Tomorrow apparently we have about 6 or so miles of difficult uphill pushes. I’m not overly looking forward to it, but I’m glad my pack is a bit lighter now that we’ve eaten a days worth of food. There’s no river rapids tonight for me to fall asleep to. It’s just the crickets, owls, and occasional road noises. I’m hoping sleep comes quick.
– ansel