Mile 1566 to 1591
The morning reminded me of an early spring day in New Zealand. The strong wind from the night before brought in a little cold front and the morning walk was laced with dense fog finding its way up and over the mountain peaks. The views were even more fantastic than usual, and the morning fog lent itself to some great photos. The cool morning air helped me reminisce about our honeymoon driving the windy roads of the South Island in NZ and think of Fey, now a few time zones away. Today is our anniversary and I was lucky enough to find a small section of trail where the service was strong enough to call my dear Lizzy. Happy 3 years!
Hawkeye and I stopped for an unusually long lunch, eating copious amounts of oatmeal and lying with our feet above our heads while nodding off. We finally mustered the energy to pack up (we still hadn’t seen anyone from Slow Magic that day!?) and just before heading off two section hikers (Gatorade and Union Break) strode by asking if we had lost anything. Please, me? I don’t lose things!
He produced my beautiful, snuggly, oh so perfect green puffy jacket out of his pack and my mouth almost hit the ground. I bounded forward to give him a huge hug of thanks and have absolutely no clue how it jumped out of my pack. Day saved.
The other big development of the day was Hawkeye's decision to go ultralight. He has had foot issues (blisters, pains, rubbing, blisters on top of blisters) for the entire trip, and today was the tipping point. He has tried three pairs of shoes, multiple insoles, socks (he even took a knife to his 100 mile old boots to improve the ventilation, all in vain). So! He is ditching his heavy pack, his extra clothes, his bits of first aid not completely essential and dropping weight to try and give his feet a fighting chance. He has decided to get off at Etna and rejoin the trail in Ashland as a new man. Go Hawkeye Go!
That evening we took a swim in Payne lake, washed out our clothes and scrubbed the layers of dirt off our legs and feet. Animal Style was the only one of the group to show up that evening, and he brought news that the rest of the group was going to take a side trip into Etna and rest up a bit. It’s now Animal Style and Boom leading the charge into Oregon!
