Pineapple’s the first one rustling – she’s so much better at this “actually listening to the alarm” thing than I am – but I’m not too far behind. Dirt Squirrel and Chili start to stir as we pack up, get a move on, but Butterscotch is still sleeping, barely starting to stir as we walk away. I wish I was him right now – the morning is beautiful, serene and soft – but walking early is the price I pay for not being as fast as my peers. Still, I take one last, longing look at the cloud-covered sky, and hope it stays that way to keep off some of the heat of the day. Continue reading →

Pineapple and I are up in the dark, moving by 5:15 – with shadeless stretches galore on the docket today, we gotta beat that heat as much as we can. So it’s holding our headlamps in our hands in an effort not to trip our way down the trail until it’s finally light enough to see. We pass the tent city parked at the Lost Creek junction practically before anyone else is moving. It might be a lonely day today, but at least I’ll have Pineapple. Continue reading →

I wake late-for-me at 6, and not a human is stirring yet. I made enough noise coming in late last night, and I don’t want to bother anyone on both ends of the sleepytime clock, so I eat my dinner for breakfast in my bag. I’ve never eaten in my sleeping bag before – I’ve been a bit wary about critters of the bear-y variety – but  I am sitting and warm and getting calories, and that’s kind of all a thruhiker can ask for. As I finish my dinn-fast(!), the other tents start to stir, so it’s pack up time for me. I apologize to Tumbleweed for last night’s late entry, then head out across the North Fork of the Feather and onwards. Continue reading →

The camp starts to move as one at 5:15, the growing light a call to our morning matins of hastily-munched pop tarts and languorously sipped coffee. Blessed is the Meerkat, I boast, for she is the bringer of coffee and consciousness. Six jokes about renaming her Coffeekat, but she’s so much more than that. Coffeekat is just an aspect of the wonder that is Meerkat. I finish as quick as I can to let her pack the pot I’m using, and then it’s packing up myself. I’m packed and up and out by 6:00, reveling in the glowing sunrise. Continue reading →

I try to sleep, but end up sweating the evening away until I’m exhausted and it’s like I never took a shower at all. Still, I’m up at 5:30, despite the five and a half hours of sleep. Pineapple and I manage to make our way out to Brenda’s truck by 6, we’re back to the trail by 6:10, and hiking by 6:30. Continue reading →

In the morning, we lounge – we only have 20 miles to Belden, and we’re not in a particular rush. Meerkat brings me coffee again, because she is a goddess among women. How have I survived this long without coffee? Or without Meerkat? Or both? Eventually, I drain it, and it’s up and out and onwards to town – and this rave we’ve heard so much about. Continue reading →