Miles Hiked: 23
Start Location: Mile 2323
End Location: Mile 2346
End Location GPS: 47.10647, -121.40329
We woke up not in a cloud, so we started the day dry and ahead of the game. Carolyn’s heels felt better after a good night’s rest and we were hiking by 6:30 up a steep but short slope to get over a mountain crest and descend down into the next valley.
The climb was actually a welcome morning feature. Working harder warmed the body from the cold wind comming in from the west. But we hadn’t even hiked an hour until the clouds and mist enveloped us again. The sun shown briefly before the cloud ate us, tantalizing us with its bright and warm rays that were there but just out of reach.
The clouds finally broke around noon, and we found ourselves a nice sunny spot to have lunch. Just a month ago we hated the sun intensely. But now, after not really seeing it for a week, we worshipped it like a god. Unfortunately this lasted all but two hours and later we found ourselves back in the mist and wind and fog, in a damp and dark forest where everything was soggy and wet and ripe with mud.
‘Will this weather ever break?’ I asked myself throughout the day. Nature does not care what I want. It is indifferent to my needs and wants and desires. It is merely there, going through its motions, a force with no motive or soul, a giant that does not know how big and tall and mysterious it actually is and doesn’t care to find out.
We happened upon a cabin late in the day; a snowmobile hut in the winter that hikers can use to get warm or dry during the hiking season. There was a fire going inside and the hut was fantastically warm. It was hard to leave but we wanted to hike a few more miles, and we eventually peeled ourselves away to get back out there in the frigid evening.
We are camped in a somewhat exposed location. The wind howls like a pack of wolves but we are low enough to only hear some of its song. I hope the weather is finally better tommorrow. I desperately need just one good day, with some sun and blue sky and a still breeze. Here’s to hoping.
