Project Eveningland

7/5/2023 Wednesday

I was on the trail by nine. No rain in the forecast but plenty of heat. There’s still enough moisture in the ground (and in the trees) to keep the humidity nice and thick.

But there were some real highlights. Here and there we got to walk backcountry roads for a bit. Those shady byways!

From one road crossing I could hear the sounds of children playing in a pool. I think I heard a lifeguard, voice amplified by a cheap megaphone or similar.

Some kind soul put a little refrigerator with soda and one of those Gatorade coolers full of ice and water right in their front yard. I stopped to chat with some of the younger folks who’d just passed me.

After I’d finished my cold Sprite, the trail began a loop around a large wetland full of birds and other life. I watched a redwing blackbird hide among the tall reeds. A large area of the water was cleared of reeds and pads and the like. It might be a runway for landing birds. Pink thistle grew at the edges of the water. The sun beat down.

The noon hour seemed to elongate. It took hours to pass. I started berry blazing. I filled my little handkerchief because my hands were too sweaty. I most enjoy the berries that’re not quite as ripe as they could be. The in-between berries have a merlot color and a nice tart taste. Another hiker worried that we would eat too many berries and not leave enough for the bears. “They can get the berries that grow back in the brush,” someone said.

I reached my planned destination, 13 miles out, at four. There’s an ice cream place down the way. As I was contemplating my options, an Australian guy called my hat—with its attached sun/bug protection which wraps around—“fucking terrific.” Or something like that. I forewent ice cream.

I decided to push on three more miles to cut down my mileage to the hostel tomorrow from 15 to around 12. I want to get in some extra miles and not have to take a rest day the day after tomorrow. Though I might need it anyway.

The extra three miles opened with a steep rocky climb up the “stairway to heaven.” Ana had warned me and she was right to—it was a heck of a climb late in the day. I arrived at the pickup point pretty wasted, though a Snickers bar and a cold bottle of water from the grocery store helped.