DAY ONE-OH-EIGHT, August 25, 28.1 Miles
At mile 2327.3
Cruised down to White Pass to pick up my resupply box. It is amazing. Almost too much food in it, I fear it may be the food intended for Stehekin but for the moment I am happy with my Ashland-self. Plenty of junky food at the store, some wonderful, some instantly regretted, completely forgot to get some Dr Pepper or Ice-cream! Oh my! About ten thru-hikers there most were going into Packwood, the nearest town, so as quickly as I got into a cluster of thru-hikers, I'm right back out on my own again. I am almost starting to prefer the extended periods of solitude and I always end up coming across someone during my day. The trail head was ultra confusing and wasted my precious time. The start of this section takes you through lake littered, flat forest. Beautiful, but almost identical to previous sections. Although Sand Lake did captivate me momentarily. As I made a big, slow climb, the trail brought me out of the forest and up into a sub-alpine wonderland. I guess "best/most beautiful/favourite so far" are overused to the point of meaningless but, well. This trail is amazing. The clouds playing around Rainier in the afternoon sun was a joy to see. Ran out of time, and camped before my planned destination at a very nice spot.
To slow down or not. An almost universal thru-hiker dilemma. I can do these miles I'm doing, I can finish early September, under four months, a nice tick in that goal box. Or I could slow my pace, relax, take an extra couple of days. Or weeks. But I like hiking at this pace, and thru-hiking, for me at least, is different to, say, an overnight. My body is so very accustomed to this, and I enjoy the daily physical challenge. And it's so big, too big, to "appreciate" everything. I hate the idea of "appreciating" anyway, it's almost as though you're trying to hard to enjoy what is simply enjoyable. Being here is enough.
No comments:
Post a Comment