Solo Again

12 July 2017

So It Goes
Jul 23, 2017 · 3 min read

I woke up with condensation all over my quilt. It was cool, not even 60°. Butters was packing up. We went to breakfast and Lazarus met us after a bit. I said goodbye to Butters, who was heading up to climb Shasta, and walked to the grocery store. Topped off my resupply. No string cheese or salami. Ramen for lunch.

I came back to my quilt drying, Necktie had already left and Butters had hitched out. Diggs was around and I chatted with her while I packed and sorted my resupply. Steve pulled up at 9:45. Picked up Lazarus a bit later. Necktie was nowhere to be found, I sent him a text wishing him good luck.

Turned out Steve was going to drop us at the top of the mountain so we didn't have to do the terrible climb out of Shasta. That was totally ok with me. I didn't care. Skip 12 miles to avoid torment my already destroyed psyche couldn't handle? Twist my arm.

We shook Steve's hand and he was gone. Looking at our maps, decided to do 11 miles before a short waterless stretch. It was already 11am. That was fine with me. There were lakes in 11 miles.

We were up on a ridge and I casually walked behind Lazarus. I didn't feel like I had to run like I did when I hiked with Butters and Necktie. The pace was fine, probably 2mph. He stopped on climbs. I was ok with that too. The views were spectacular. We passed two hikers eating lunch, Hazard and Victoria. Met them again at a water source.

A few hikers passed us that Lazarus knew. The Canadians, Conan and Stormback (?). Then a man named John. After a bit I wound up hiking with John on our way to the lakes. There's this thing about thru hikers, it takes no time for a real conversation to occur. I was telling him about my family, he was telling me about his.

The hike was beautiful. The lakes were beautiful. I got in and swam around, watching a nameless bird soar over the water. I wondered if it was an eagle, it was too hard to tell. I camped on a hill with John and we ate dinner together. He was only a bit younger than my parents, but it was probably the most honest conversation I'd had on the trail this year. I told him about what had to happen in order for me to go long distance hiking in the first place. I told him about the conflict in my heart this year. We talked about love and relationships. I told him about hiking with the rat pack last year. He told me the truth about men and what relationships are made of.

It was dark when I climbed into my tent. Today had been good.

So It Goes

Written by

Sometimes I climb mountains. AT '18 ⛰️🏕️🏞️🐻 Follow me on instagram @imonahike

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