August 21, 2013
37 miles
Mile 2253
Behind on writing so I stayed in the office longer than usual. Orbit took off around seven. Won’t be seeing her anytime soon. In my opinion she is second-fastest female on the trail this year. All fast twitch muscle. She is quick on the flats and down. But her specialty is uphill, where her speed is of the now-you-see-her-now-you-don’t variety. She actually looks forward to endless uphill slogs, which is demented. In 111 days I’ve never seen her passed. If she didn’t need coffee hourly I probably wouldn’t be able to keep up. Though recently, and ominously, she’s taken to eating spoonfuls of it directly. The last throes of an addiction that will undoubtedly lead her to a 12 step program. She’ll be happy though, as long as the steps are uphill.
Out of camp by 730. The trail empty. Passed through some old growth including a whopper that had to be 20 feet in diameter. Grew bored with myself. Tried talking out loud but feared a slip into insanity. Internal dialogue is one thing but external solo conversation feels crazy right away. Then grew bored with the forest. 10,000 trees cloned. It would be five hours till I saw another human being. Just one of those days you walk into and have to walk out of.
Came to a highway where a local Buddhist temple had left a food cache and blessings. Never heard of monks giving out alms and blessings at the same time. I was impressed though the food had long ago been cleaned out. The patron saint of travelers and people resident in hell looked down on the cache from a shrine. A curious grouping. Perhaps indicative of a destination.
Caught up with Orbit and learned that we were one more day further away from resupply then I thought previously. Have to stretch what I have. Which is possible but psychologically challenging. Suddenly my mind settled on starvation and it’s possibility. Hunger pains began though my stomach was full. The brain is a pain in the ass at times. Luckily the path was in huckleberry season so picking fingers soothed the panic temporarily. How do bears survive on this meager offering?
Central glacier of Mount Adams basking in final light
Started a big climb to 6,000 feet right after lunch. Nodded off a few times but stumbled back to consciousness quickly. Turned to my radio to wake up but it died after 10 minutes. Stuck with me, which I guess is the definition of life. Entered a major burn area on the slopes of Mount Adams. The fire was in 2012. The land was raw and reeked of sour charcoal. A sign warned of falling trees, especially in windstorms. I kept my eye up.
Burnt trees of Mount Adams waiting for the ground
Mount Adams is a big one at over 12,000 feet. A bit annoyed too. I heard three major avalanches as I rounded her base. My goal was killen creek on the opposite flank. I reengaged with the PCT as all grew beautiful. A wallop of a sunset had Adams blushing at its charm. My pace lifted. Rock-hopped a glacial river in the last light. With two miles to go figured I was home free. A miscalculation. Out came the headlamp. The light illuminated a problem. The path was white sand with white rocks protruding. The white light couldn’t distinguish between the two. Progress slowed to an even slower crawl. Over 100 unutterables were screamed. My toes shortened.
A sunset in three acts. Act One.
Act Two.
Act Three.
Alpine glow post sunset
Finally a light. Orbit was on a ridge, high over the camping area, waiting. It seems all the people I didn’t see on the path were in the campground. No room in the inn. So we made do on the ridge. In return for our inconvenience, a smoke cloud rolled in and painted the globe moon orange. That’s what I call a fine consolation.
Peephole or moon shrouded in fire smoke
Steve Halteman
On the Pacific Crest Trail
Hiking the PCT for the Kids of Escuela Verde
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