We’ve spent two days off the trail. Although we’ve enjoyed resting our feet, visiting with family, and cleaning our clothes, by the time we hit the trail we’ve grown antsy. Our feet are craving movement. Our eyes are craving the visual stimulation of new scenery every day or even every hour. Nature is a luxury that I feel lucky to walk back into.
Around 1 pm, Uncle Eddie drops us off. We situate our bags and walk again onto the trail. It’s over 80 degrees. The landscape is rugged and brown. We are surrounded by canyons.
As we walk we walk amongst day hikers, they thin out the further we go, and we’re welcomed by blooming cactus. We find a stream where a couple hikers are resting. We resupply our water. It’s the most running water we’ve seen since begining our hike. The water is warm.
The wind and sand greets us, as bushes wave hello, welcoming us back into the fold. I breath in the air and sigh with relief. It feels good to be back in the real world again.
We continue up the trail, following the canyons, crossing dry river beds as we go. The hills rise up like they were pinched between two fingers, and we’re walking between the folds. The canyon walls close around us, and we squeeze through the trees, then the walls widen again. We’re like specks of sand passing through an hourglass on its side.
I’m reminded of our touch with society, as I smell the scent of laundry soap on my clothes. We are funny creatures in a synthetic world. It’s so weird to me what great lengths we go to simulate nature in our daily lives, yet how far we distance ourselves. As I step into nature, I feel like a dog after a bath. I can’t wait to wash societies scent of synthetic flowers from my skin.
We camp above a dry creek bed. I lay my head upon my inflatable pillow and it feels like home. I listen to the wind and slowly ease and fall asleep.
I read your big SEKI blog and going to complete that loop this summer. Looking forward to the rest of your trip!
Nice! I seriously loved that loop. I would do it again this summer if we weren’t on the PCT. Curious to know how you end up resupplying for your trip
That’s awesome! I hope you have a great trip. Are you planning a similar route as ours or doing another variation?
I somehow stumbled on this blog and didn’t bother checking when it was written, assuming that this was from a past season. I had a moment of panic when I got to this post and thought it was over! Pleasantly surprised to see that it was just from two days ago.
Keep hiking and keep posting, this is a great read.
Thanks for reading! Yes – our journey is just unfolding. Thankfully Jon is a diligent journaler!
Thanks so much for reading. We’re trying to post every week as we have service or time to post. If you haven’t already, you can sign up for the email list on the website. We send an email out to notify people when the new posts are up.
LOVE YOU GUYS! I stumbled upon your PCT trail blog by accident last night, and spent the whole night and today reading its entirety, and watching all of your videos! I have thoroughly enjoyed reading these entries, especially your beginning, your reasons. You are such amazing people! I intend to spend the next few days reading about all your other adventures whilst eagerly awaiting your updates from the PCT! Thank you guys so much for taking the time to share with us! Stay safe, and ENJOY BEING 😉
Thanks so much for reading, and your kind and encouraging words.
Thank you for reading! It makes me feel very happy to know people like you are enjoying the shared journey.