Krystal's Trail Journal: July 6, 2007

"Sonora Peak" July 6, 2007

Today was a beautiful hike through meadows of beautiful wildflowers -- lupin, mule's ear, columbine, red paintbrush, subalpine buttercup -- I'm still learning all the names. We climbed and descended past 9000+ ft. peaks, through saddles & down over small creeks, then back up again.

We managed to get an earlier start today & hiked 11 miles before lunch feeling good & strong. It got a bit hotter & steeper in the afternoon, so it felt good to have those miles behind us. Now we sit, camp set up early with plenty of sunlight left to write, read, cook dinner, & maybe paint!

I think I've decided to keep my trail name from last summer -- "Paintbrush." I paint when I can, I'm kinda spunky [or spiky? -- Cass], & the same name as one of my favorite flowers. That's what I've been introducing myself as, so I guess it's stuck.

We probably passed 20 thru-hikers today! Most of them are doing the entire 2600+ mile trail! Makes 350 sound puny, but almost every one of those hikers have raved about the beauty of this section. I think we can enjoy it better this way :)

The shadows are lengthening across the speckled sandy soil where we have made our home. Chipmunks chirp & chase each other -- jumping between pine cones & anthills, the scaling the bark of the Ponderosa pine who towers above our heads, sheltering us from the wind. A solid mound of creamy granite rises up to the north -- we are subtly changing our geology from dark volcanic conglomerates to exposed igneous granite.

I feel at home. The air is dry, the ground dusty, the wind gentle & soft. The golden sun is peeking at me through the trees -- the dirt on my fingers shimmers. I feel calm & present -- nowhere to be, no rushing to finish...

The ground is flat & soft, my body is strong & ready to relax, my mind is quiet & my heart is content. I can still smell the blend of sage, mint, & fruity alpine flowers. Gusts of cool wind plume though our tent...Sonora Peak proudly stands watch to the south...The clouds are shifting, they're almost gone...The sky is blue with early evening & canyon shadows carve the landscape into deeper angular peaks & bluffs. The mountains surround us, the pine needles cushion us, the sun warms us & the wind comforts us.

This is why I walk.
This is why I sweat.
This is why I breathe & live & love.

My nose is dry & stuffy, my shoulders tight & strained, my feet are covered in mosquito bites & my lips are chapped from the sun. Yet I lie in the wonder & beauty of our planet, and contemplate the vast intricate universe that we are part of, and can't help but be overwhelmed with happiness & gratitude, for being a witness of this magic!