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Day 89
These unexpected mountains have us as excited as children. We hop from one side of the ridge to other, finding magical lakes and heartening views. We pass stark Marble Mountain, search for hidden springs, and finally come to rest on the long grass of Big Ridge. The wind sings us to sleep under a vast…
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Day 88 (Pete)
Good thing Dylan didn’t tell me we had gone eight miles before breakfast. I would have been irate. Seriously, we seemed to have a supercharged morning. I felt a little like my old self. Early on, today took shape as our time to heap on those extra miles. It also shaped up as a hot…
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Day 88
Graduation in the past, Pete dons his working threads and we head for the Marble Mountain Wilderness. At the top of a climb we meet a man who introduces himself as the UNIBONGER. Indeed he is, and it is quite a while before we are on the trail again – and almost out of water.…
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Day 87 (Pete)
I rounded a rusted outcropping of boulders to the tune of Dyl la laing out Pomp and Circumstance. It was silly but I felt the moment nonetheless. My face cracked a grin and I must say I felt proud of myself. We sat down at the cold spring there and enjoyed breakfast. As things were…
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Day 87
A momentous day arrives! Pete dons his flowing green cap and gown, which he wears for the rest of the day. We perform a simple ceremony, and walk 23 miles. Its hard to lend a sense of formality to such an unusual ceremony but I do my best. I feel proud of Pete and get…
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Day 86 (Pete)
At the end of a long shitty day my spirits rise so much as we stop that it is really hard to recount it in a proper negative fashion. My foot pain has been compounding due to the pack weight. It makes the rest of my sympathetically tired. Soon enough, the weight will be eaten.…
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Day 86
We are sticking to the crest, traversing southwest, then west, then north along various ridges. As we walk around a bend we spook a bear cub, which runs right up a tree next to us. We stop cold, and the cub hangs a Uee, runs straight down the tree, and disappears.
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Day 85 (Pete)
“Only ten days left of this madness.” That was the very first thing that popped into my head when I sullenly opened my eyes this morning. Dyl told me today, “You know, I came to the conclusion that if it wasn’t for me you would never get up in the morning.” He’s wrong of coarse.…
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Day 85
It’s clear now that I am the only one who still feels the need to walk all day. Pete seems to really be winding down, wanting to sleep late, not prone to walk farther than is comfortable. I don’t know what is driving me. Maybe I just can’t imagine ever stopping. Maybe I’m in denial…
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Day 84 (Pete)
“Just Tryin’ to get away from all the years inside the walls.” -John Prine Ken, as he had promised, left a note to the morning ranger to roust us out of bed and give us a ride down to the P.O. Her name was Jean, I think. She was young, talkative, boisterous, energetic. Energetic especially.…