Day 5. March 19. Rest

Day 5. Thursday March 19. Rest and a short walk with Chris around Cascade Lake and to and around the grounds of Rosario resort. 

4.09mi. 456 ft ascent. 

Dear Trail Friends,

My feet didn’t hurt nearly as badly yesterday when I rested a lot and rubbed them with pain cream and aloe gel and did my inverted pose with my feet up on the ar and my butt and kegs leaning against a tree. But thru were clearly letting me know that 20 miles a day is too much. Especially because I hike so slowly it meant I wasn’t getting the rest I need - and the rest incidentally that is one of the things I love most on a long hike. It is always wise to listen to my feet. And here in their honor is a photo I should have included in the hike for yesterday’s blog, of my bare inverted feet just before beginning the Obstruction Point hike. Oh wait I can’t put that in now or it will be the featured photo for this post. But come to think of it I don’t have a photo I want to feature for today so why not?

Note the elegant diy blister bandages using pink athletic tape (stretches and flexes and sticks for days). 

As we started our walk I pointed out ripples of light from the lake reflected on a tree trunk. Could not get this on a photo so had to learn how to upload a video to YouTube so I could get it on this post. (It’s only 4 seconds - just watch the light moving down the tree trunks). Here goes:

Chris was delighted that I noticed and I was delighted that she was as moved by the ripples as I was. A few moments later I pointed out new leaves bursting out, then she showed me some others.  All this may seem very ordinary but I felt as if I was feeling the magic - that I usually only experience on solo hikes - as a shared adventure. I had the sense of a moment between us bursting into life like those little green budding leaves. A “here we are” moment like my “here I am” moments alone in the trail. 

That’s enough for today. Thank you for walking with me and praying with me. Greetings, gratitude, blessings - and goodnight. Tomorrow we will finish the hikeathon with some abbreviated version of what are usually two hikes (titles water and boundary crossings). The only thing I am sure of is that we are going to Doe Bay.