Miles traveled: 19.5
Mile marker: 132
I’ve been awake for about twenty minutes before my alarm goes off at 5:00 a.m. The morning chill is in my tent as I pack and get ready for the day. Packing just got a little easier. I eat cold-soaked oats while I work. Tasty!
«Hello, Kate,» Dad says. I look up. «My food. The Sg will be here when you’re ready to take it.»
What a fool. Apparently I had his tent stakes in my bag yesterday, so he told me I could take his bag of food today too, if I wanted.
Although Dad and Rafiki wait for me at least ten minutes before I’m ready, I was still ready to leave in an hour. Faster every day! Dad rolls his tent over his body when it’s wet, so I tried that too. At least it fits in the store bag.
The hike starts uphill, and in just a few minutes I’m ready to take off my fleece. The boys continue as I take off my cloak and walk alone for a while. We’ve been walking into warm pockets. As Rafiki says: «Be bold, start cold.» I’ll have to start walking cold to save the extra step.
In the distance you can see the meadow we walked through yesterday. It is a sea of fog, the fog settled on the ground like a silver ocean.
As I walk alone, I realize that I am getting used to being alone. It’s quiet and I can rest with my thoughts. Mornings are special in that sense. There is no pressure to talk to people or entertain anyone. It’s a new day, a new beginning and a new cup of energy.
Next to the stream I meet Kevin, the painter. He tells me he uses gouache paint, which is pronounced GOW-AH-CHEY. He used it to teach students because of its versatility.
Dad is around the corner when I continue. We walked and chatted for a while until we ran into Rafiki, walking through the trees and low brush. The trees here remind me of Jurassic Park, with their bright green canopies.
In the stream we filled with water. When I take off my sock to stick a hot spot on the tip of my toe (the blister is gone), I realize that my Leuko tape has fallen off too.
While I don’t want to drain my blister now because it’s still cold outside and we can get some good miles in, I don’t have a better option.
Call the podiatrist.
With Dad’s guidance, I clean my vial and a safety pin. The blister has already healed at the bottom but is rising at the top. It basically crawls on my foot. I insert the needle into my blister. A warm liquid runs down the side of my foot. We stuck a Band-Aid on my food and then stuck Leuko tape on it.
Now my shoe fits so easily in my food!
The day from here becomes intense. It’s all uphill and it’s hot! Dad and I talked about one of my insecurities: that I feel like I’m not very smart.
“How old were you when you wrote your first song on the piano?” ask.
«Twelve,» I say.
Dad says I’m very intentional in life and I’ve learned a lot of really valuable skills from my approach to life. I guess people see me differently than I see myself.
It’s even hotter, so Dad keeps walking while Rafiki and I stay together. It’s nice to have Rafiki around. Without him today, I would have slowed down. We chat about nothing: about what we cook best and what our favorite things in life are.
This path is endless. It feels like we’re going round and round on this hill. Dad is waiting for us so we can all walk together. I almost fell off a cliff trying to unzip my pocket and then dropped my sandwich on the floor.
I try to clean all the gunk off of Bobo’s Maple Walnut Oatmeal Bar. I’m very clumsy here trying to walk and do things.
Afterwards, the three of us rested under a giant rock. There are so many rocks in this area. We all took turns listing words that start with ‘MAG’ like magnificent, magma, magazine, worm, etc.
Soon we will be on our way again. Dad jumps out of the shadow and I stay behind. We kept going up and down and around.
Finally we see a sign indicating Mike’s Place. It is a wavy line that points to the bed of a devastated river.
“It says that way,” I say.
“I think it means like this,” Rafiki says, turning the sign over so the writing is correct. We continued forward, turned right (thanks to Rafiki, because I’m directional-challenged), and followed a path toward a large water tank with hikers hiding in the shadows.
And a big pleasure here: Denis! He was in limbo for a while because we all separated, but he waited for us! I’m very happy to have him back. He’s a witty, confident, and goofy 23-year-old. A good addition to our pack.
There were some soft drinks and gatorades next to the cabin, but I arrived too late and it was empty.
Dad has an injured finger and we see him heat a needle to sterilize it. He sticks it on his toenail, which smells like burnt hair, and a yellow liquid shoots into the air. You have to squeeze out all the liquid, which really hurts.
We walked another five miles across rock ridges, but the view of the hills and mountains is beautiful in the golden sun.
Soon we are at a campsite, we eat dinner and camp like a plate of enchiladas. The sky is beautiful, the stars shine everywhere.
I quite like this night sky.
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