I woke up the restart and decided to walk to two medications, since I knew that the general store sold pizza and we only had 15 miles of walking to our next camp.
We eventually achieved it together and headed to the field food area.
We found a glacier guide that was busy preparing food for your group and reached a conversation. She told us that her path was Highlife, and that she walked to Azt. We saw Droobie eat a tablespoon of mushroom powder, swallow of their water and balance the head from side to side like a rabid dog.
«You’ve been here two days,» the guide laughed.
«Four, actually!» Droobie said.
We arrived as a fast day, since it began to rain softly in the new pine forest. I felt grateful and amazed that my body had recovered so fast with the dream.
The day became progressively colder while the bushes through wet green plants with wide leaves and white flowers that reached my waist. The humid felt physically painful against my body.
Wet bushwhacking gave way to snow pieces. Not enough to get the microspikes yet, but enough to slide a little while we drive ourselves to the mountain. Finally we arrived at a real pass that required peaks, and left me feeling dizzy and living when seeing to what extent a person could fall.
We saw Zenco’s tracks in the snow and we are still grateful. The man was about sixty, a former military man with an intense aura and eyes to coincide. He had reached our camp the night before Rambo, wild eyes and sunburn, cursing the 26 miles he had made that day with a smile on his face. He could barely bear the 18.6 he had done. Keep in mind that it went a long time ago the next morning when we woke up around 6 pm
We went up to a lake that I could not name, and we marvel at how clear the water looked like. At the summit, we find two hikers that we immediately register as hikers. The man, in the late forties, wore a rain tunic. He appeared as Audible, and the women with whom he was herself appeared as Frenchie. They went temporarily north, since their permits allowed, ready to turn and start their true trip to the south eventually.
Audible took a cardboard of cigarettes, which the three observed hungry. I shook my cold and wanted to have some vice to temporarily distract.
«How is the path that way?» Audible asked.
«You’re not going to see much, unfortunately,» I replied.
He laughed, pointing to the thick fog that surrounds us. «There is no shit,» he said.
We go up, happy to be temporarily down. My thanks gave way to the resignation when we find a small crossing of water. My feet were already soaked and frozen, but an immersion of cold sneakers felt different. I opted to jump from rock to rock, while Beaker turned with full force walking directly in his shoes.
«I’m going to tell me that the cold felt good on my Achey feet,» he said through tight teeth.
I shook from the cold, my rain jacket covered the upper half of my body while my shorts were frozen and hit my thighs. My legs were bright red and tingling, hands so cold that I could barely feel them. I ate bars while walking, waiting for calories to help me warm up.
We made bets of how close we were with two medications, all unfortunately we realized as a sign of 2.3 miles to the camp. My heart sank. I thought we were closer.
Internally, despite the cold cold to my bones, I felt ashamed of being in such a beautiful place and hurrying for cheap frozen pizza.
The last mile was crazy and notified before the promise of peeling our soaked and dirty socks. We arrive at the camp around 2 pm, we reserve it immediately for the bathrooms. I entered and enjoyed the heat, then I found the two outside to discuss a game plan.
«We should hook ourselves to the general store,» Droobie said.
«It is 0.6 away …» I replied «and smells and we are wet, no one will come to catch us.»
I grabbed a ramen package, crossing the block into smaller pieces to eat raw. Finally we gathered and start our walk to the general store.
Droobie talked about her blister, how her big finger was bothering him.
«You have to cut it,» I said. A random passenger agreed with enthusiasm.
We arrived at the store singing and shouting, throwing our packages outside and running to buy sandwiches and hot breakfast coffee. We sat for at least four hours carrying our belongings and buying snacks. Parents dragged their children away from us if they approached too much, looking fear in our direction.
Droobie talked an interpretive ranger with a wolf skin outside. He entered worried, transmitting that there was an early snow front for our next ten miles, and that Ranger had discouraged us tomorrow.
«How serious sounds?» I asked.
«We will do it, it is your job to be next to caution,» he said. Without service it was difficult to obtain more information.
Two older hikers approached and warned them about recent news. The man reviewed his Garmin and told us that the weather should be fine from 6 am to 12 years.
I returned to Ranger to have a meter what I had to say and interpret it myself.
«Thank you very much for asking about the weather. I wouldn’t honestly. What team do you have?» She asked
«We don’t have our ice axes, but we do have picos …»
She cut me. «I am more concerned about layers and hypothermia,» he said, «as I am sure you know that we have a skeleton team at this time and do not have the resources to reach someone immediately … Besides, with self -conservation, people do not turn around when they need …», he explained. I thanked him and returned to my crew inside.
While we argued our options, he returned to tell us that he always remained too cautious, since in his 30 years of work he had seen the injured people ignoring his advice and that she and her co -workers felt haunted by some of the deaths they witnessed in the park. We thanked him and made a plan to leave the camp at 6 am and be 100% willing to turn if someone felt uncomfortable.
We talk about how it is perceived outdoors as a failure, but it is really successful, if that means keeping yourself already safe. I made a quiet promise to me to talk tomorrow if I ever felt that the risks we were taking were too much.
I started buying fries and cakes when a man approached, smiling, pointing out my belongings. «Wildaa came there!» asked. I showed my candy, still trembling in my frozen clothes.
«I walked Azt,» he said: «Are you walking on the CDT?» asked. I nodded.
«Let me buy this,» he said, «you two also take some snacks,» he said, pointing to Beaker and Droobie. We anxiously grab some snacks and follow the registration.
We walk back to the full and happy camp, a little nervous for the next day. Auto in coffee, I attended a nearby interpretive talk of a local man from the Blackfoot Reserve.
He spoke of collective responsibility, the stories of creators of his people and how they were stolen. He talked about how his God was found in the relationship with the world around him.
He invited us to make a spots ceremony, and forced myself to look at the fog turning through the glacier and irregular mountains.
«We all have our place here,» he explained, «none of us is better than the other.»
I felt my eyes unexpectedly burned with tears. It passed around a piece of braided sweet grass. In the AT, I heard a book about braided Sweetgrass. Here, for the first time, I felt it.
I feel ready for whatever I bring tomorrow.
