Our alarm rang at 3h30. By 4am, we were on the move again, through the darkness of the morning. Our breakfast spot on the ridgeline gave us a beautiful view of a dark orange sunrise. The straggly, burned trees in the foreground gave the whole thing an ominous tinge.
More walking through the burn today. Cookie is still hiking alongside us, which is really nice. It quickly turned hot again. Merlin and Marble are really feeling the lack of sleep. It was the first time that I realized they’re really at the end of their rope trying to keep up with us. Merlin has got an infection on her toes as well that’s giving her a lot of pain. I don’t want to lose these two as well. I pray it’s just the lack of sleep that’s been getting them down and nothing deeper.
Then, it is suddenly there, right in front of us, in the middle of the burn area: the halfway point. My excitement for reaching it had been steadily melting away until the point now where I felt slightly down reaching it. The achievement of hiking half of this gargantuan trail meant absolutely nothing anymore. All I could think was: ‘Only half remains.’ I realized then I would keep on hiking forever if I could, if it would mean staying with these incredible people.
I’ve been called mad for doing this, yet I now know for sure we’re the only sane ones here. We dared to dream of adventure, camaraderie and broader horizons and found all three aplenty. I’ve been soaking up and learning so much from all around me, it’s almost dizzying. I’m now sure that real life is out here, among the trees, the animals and the mountains, where the air overflows with the pure smell of life itself. Even though I swore to myself that I would not think of what comes after this and try to enjoy it as much as possible, I already know there will be a next one. After having lived the hiker life for 81 days, I don’t think there’s a way back anymore.
In Belden, Mash and me had bought a little care package for Fitz, consisting of a can of margarita and a bag of gummies, to congratulate her for reaching the halfway point and also hopefully motivate her to keep going hard to catch up to us. I put it under a rock in a hole and texted her some photos with the location.
Hiking lasted again until after dark. I was so ready for sleep after such a giant day, but as it turned out, my day wasn’t over yet. The campsite Mash wanted to stay was in the middle of the burned forest. Around the spots, burned stumps loomed dangerously. We’d been hearing falling branches and twigs from dead trees all around all day, so I wasn’t going to take the risk of camping here. I went on alone, my headlamp illuminating the trail. This was the first time I would camp alone.
I passed an old overgrown river bed that offered flat space far away from the trees. An excellent camping spot! Except it was private land and I technically wasn’t allowed to camp here. I pushed on, keeping in mind that if I didn’t find anything in 15 minutes I’d go back. It was after 22pm at this point. I didn’t get that far. In between the impossible thin and tall trunks, the light of my headlamp reflected glittering eyes from multiple large animals. Since even deer here have the boldness to ruin your night and steal your stuff, I wisely returned to the meadow and pitched camp there.
I was all alone. The moon shone brightly, painting mesmerizing patterns of light on the clouds. It took a while to fall asleep as I was so pumped from lack of sleep and the pure thrill of hiking alone in the dark and camping here. I did 32.1 miles today, smashing my previous record. Not a bad way to start the second half of this journey.
