A perfect day. Not too hot, not too cold, beautiful views of Mt Rainier and challenging but well-maintained terrain. I ate berries, talked to Doggone (he used to be a teacher and is building a house for his wife next spring) and I found out the names of the other people in Bilbo’s group: Dash, MC and Jiggy. I thought we’d lost them by now, but we seemingly keep pace. Good thing too, they seem fun.
For some reason this part of the trail was the domain of dayhikers. A large number of them strolled up and down the switchbacks or laid down next to Dewy Lake. I don’t want to say that thru hikers are superior to dayhikers, but it’s not a coincidence that toilet paper on the ground is a lot more abundant here. I wouldn’t be surprised either if the noro outbreak was caused by a weekender emptying their bowels in one of the lakes.
I kept thinking back to seemingly random other hikers today: Wicked Dinger, Andy, Guardian, High Blazer, Monarch, Sensei, Robocop. All I crossed for a short period of time and all taught me something. The following Dark Souls quote came to mind:
‘At thy twilight
Old thoughts return
In great waves of nostalgia.’
The sun is slowly setting on this world I have lived in for more than 4 months. The people I met, the sights I saw, the acts of kindness, the hardships. It will all soon be a memory. And what a memory it will be.
