The Continental Divide Trail: The Road to Rawlins

The goddess and the gremlin

«I’ve learned one thing about how far I can walk in twenty-four hours and that’s that I don’t give a damn.»
—All of you

tThe road to Rawlins is long. The red line isn’t much of a trail at all, or so we read. We tried to test it for ourselves and found this to be true for the most part. Odd cairns and fiberglass posts still attempt to mark the path, but bushes hide the cairns and the posts are mostly down. As for a trail, there is none, just a self-made path through the cracked earth among the low, twisted sage. So the trail to Rawlins is long and most hikers take it. There are about twenty-five kilometers of paved road that ends right in the town.

Ice Cream and I walked as the sun rose over the low hills. Sometime after mid-morning we passed a tent, Ya’ll’s by the Hokas sitting in the lobby, and tried to sneak out without waking him. He had just attempted a twenty-four hour challenge, and if he was sleeping here now, then it hadn’t gone well. No surprises there; The storms had given life to the mud, which had stuck to our shoes as if it were bad karma.

We stopped to eat. A distant pronghorn was watching us as if it were a closed-circuit television camera. We passed the pot full of prepared salad mix back and forth until the food was gone, then we took the special vitamins Animal Cracker had given us and hit the road. Not long after the vitamins took effect, we ran into Ya’ll again, somewhere near where the paved road intersected the trail. The ground was becoming low and the ground was still wet, there were still small puddles in the ruts near the road and the mud still threatened.

“Do you think there will still be mud?” Everyone will ask.

“We took it and we were done,” I said.

«We’re done with this since AZT,» Ice Cream added.

And just like that, two hikers became three.

The road was long and straight. The sun was high. We were high. Everything was right in the world.

“How did your twenty-four hour challenge go?” Ice Cream asked tactfully.

«Man,» they smiled, «I’ve learned one thing about how far I can walk in twenty-four hours and that’s that I don’t give a damn.»

“My word,” I agreed.

Ice Cream said, «The storms were really bad. I think it started raining right after it started, right?»

«Damn. It fucking sucks.»

“Did you take that acid pill you said you could take?”

«Oh, no. I was going to, but I saw the clouds, heard the thunder, and thought, oh, no. Bad idea. I’m glad I didn’t take it, that’s for sure.»

We arrive at the intersection where the paved road finally joins the highway.

“Shall we go in?” I glanced at Ice Cream knowing the answer was yes. A woman of integrity, additional setbacks were rare for her.

We hit the road and everyone said, «Did you have any weird problems?»

«Not really,» Ice Cream said.

«Not on this hike,» I agreed, «but I’ve had some pretty fucked up problems before.»

They all looked serious for a second and then smiled. «Man, this time a while ago, a guy in a Volkswagen Beetle painted like the General Lee pulled up. He’d been there for like three hours, and this guy already had his window down. He leans out and just says, ‘I love having a load of hot cum in my mouth.'»

I laughed. Ice cream said: “Jesus.«

Everyone continued. «Yeah, man. I was like, I don’t like that, and the guy said, ‘How do you know if you haven’t tried it? You’ve never had your dick sucked? A mouth is a mouth.'»

“Fuck,” I said. «What did you do? Did you try?»

Everyone laughed. «I was like, come on man, you’re really reducing my hitchhiking scene. I’m trying to get into town to get some food. Then I tried to drive away, but I had to be on the road, so the guy just stood idly next to me and kept talking dirty shit until I started getting mad.»

“Did you punch him in the face?” Ice Cream asked. «I’d like.»

Everyone shook their heads. «I thought about it, but I’m not trying to involve the police in my business. In the end, the guy said, ‘Aww, fuck it. Come in. I’ll take you to town.'»

«And that’s it? He just took you to town. He left you alone?»

Everyone nodded. «Yes, and thank God, because I was really fucking hungry.»

I said, «Well, General Lee’s guy offered to feed you.»

“Jesus,Ice Cream and Ya’ll said together.

***

The road was busy. The constant Doppler hum of cars and big trucks roaring from behind and moving forward, the great gusts of air always threatening to knock our hats off our heads. You once lost his hat and chased him into a ditch. Like many hikers, he had a sentimental attachment to his cap. He had probably done all his big tours with it.

We saw some hikers up ahead, but they were too far away to be recognizable, just shapes and shadows. One stood still and grew larger and larger until we could make out who it was. It was Animal Cracker. «Hey guys! Long time no see!»

And just like that, three hikers became four. Now, like atoms in a beaker, we form several molecules. Sometimes a tetrahedron, sometimes pairs, sometimes a triad and a free radical.

The road was strewn with countless pieces of trash and debris and we entertained ourselves with them as we walked. I found an honest arrow and carried it around until I collected enough junk to make a bow for it. I then shot the arrow into the bushes to the golf cheers of Ya’ll, Animal Cracker and Ice Cream, then dropped the bow, leaving it to its fate on the side of the road where I had found its pieces.

At one point, Ya’ll was about twenty feet ahead of me, and I was maybe ten feet ahead of Ice Cream and Animal Cracker, who were chatting with girls and walking side by side. A truck flew by and a patch of asphalt the size of a baseball came hurtling toward us. I saw it first, but when I realized, the piece was right in front of everyone. Luckily, he saw it in time and was able to get out of the way. I had just enough time to step aside as he jumped off the pavement toward me, but not enough time to turn and warn Ice Cream. I turned my head to follow him. Ice Cream and Animal Cracker seemed to notice him and, like the Jedi, made the smallest, simplest changes to their steps to let him fly between them.

I looked at them both and then back at Everyone. His face was a light show. «Shit!»

«Shit!» I agreed.

Ice Cream and Animal Cracker just ignored the end of the walk like it was a bad Bachelor episode, while Ya’ll and I continued acting like Bill and Ted about how crazy it was. Bro, holy shit. Yeah, bro, what the fuck? Holy shit. Oh.

But the circus didn’t end there.

On the opposite shoulder was a black pickup truck with a wheel missing, with the wheel on our side. Before we could discuss the return, the truck roared to life, screeched and accelerated, leaving a trail of smoke, and was gone.

Once again, everyone and I got our fill of Bill and Ted, but unlike before, so did Ice Cream and Animal Cracker. What the devil? Shit! What just happened? Was that guy doing meth?

After that, the road was just the road. Lonely and busy, dirty and open. Animal Cracker and I ended up being a couple for a while. The conversation evolved from hallucinogens to Buddhism to relationships. During the Buddhism portion, Animal Cracker mentioned that he had lived in a Zen monastery for a while. Rinzai, the sect that uses koans (Zen riddles) as a path to enlightenment.

“Were they dead koans or living koans?” I asked.

«I’ve never heard that before. What’s the difference?»

«Dead koans have answers.»

—Then I guess they were dead koans.

We move from dead koans to dead relationships. Animal Cracker had just finished one and shed a few tears while talking about it. I tried to listen and respond as helpfully as possible, which often means not doing anything exactly the right way.

Then we were in the city. Lihat juga DFS4JSz. Everyone had already gone ahead and was probably enjoying a burger and a beer somewhere. Animal Cracker, Ice Cream and went to the local restaurant. It was good, but it also lacked so many elements that you’d think there was a Great Depression going on. Later, the three of us shared a hotel.

Taking turns for the shower, Animal Cracker was last, and when she came out, Ice Cream and I were sitting around making minor repairs and organizing our things. Ice Cream was in a sports bra, tall and strong, with her hair wet and tied up. I had a quilt wrapped around my body thanks to the cold air coming from the nearby air conditioner.

«You two are like a goddess and a pixie,» said Animal Cracker.

She was right. We were.