I woke up with that special stiff feeling that comes from sleeping on a plywood plank. I got up and peered out of the shelter. It wasn’t exactly raining, but it was close. I thick mist hung in the air. I fired up the campstove for some coffee and eggs. I hate to walk on an empty stomach. Maybe that’s why I like backpacking so much. I can eat as much as I want, knowing that I will burn up more calories than I am eating as I walk.

We walked and the mist hung in the air, muting the colors of spring that were all around us. The trail was lined with these little flowers. By summer they would be nothing more than undergrowth, but this spring day they were flowers. Flowers laid down to mark our way through the woods. As morning moved into afternoon, the mist finally began to burn off. Occasionally, enough sun would break through the clouds to cast shadows briefly. This would bring about a series of shouts to each other. Each of us noticing the sun and predicting more or announcing that it wouldn’t last. Around the halfway point of our walk was a nice shelter.

We stopped in had lunch. Beef jerky and cheese, with a snack bar for a dessert. The sun was nice enough to come out and warm the air while we ate. After eating we refilled our water and headed out.

The walk was uneventful. We walked a mile or two till we came to a significant climb. It was a steep, switch backing climb up the side of a ridge. It might appeal to a mountain goat, but the rest of us just grumble and keep walking. A climb like that can wear you out pretty quick. I decided that I wanted to get to the top as quickly as I could. I was beginning to get tired and I was concerned that if I took my time on the climb, I would wear myself completely. No breaks, I told myself and started walking. And I didn’t take a break until I reached the top. There were times when I might have moved faster had a took a break. But I kept plugging. One foot in front of the other.

Finally, I got to the top. I was hoping for a breath taking panoramic view. There wasn’t one. But there was a meadow sprawling across the top of the ridge. With a lonely tree sitting on the far side of the field from me. Not the kind of view you’d find on a postcard, but perhaps the kind you would find on an artist’s canvas. That is another part of these walks I enjoy. The great vistas everyone can get to. There are parking lots nearby and the tourist take a short hike up to see them. But in the course of walking I find spots of great beauty, places that most people never see. Place that may be ordinary one day. But at the moment I pass them, the light is just right and I know that I am seeing unique beauty.

I sat in the meadow and caught my breath and had a snack. After a while, my companions came over the horizon and into my meadow. After a time we continued to walk. We had another small climb to go and then we were there. I could here the rumble of distant thunder. I found new energy in my legs and picked up my pace. I hadn’t managed to dry all day just to get rained on now. As we got to the shelter, thunder rumbled and the rain came down. We sat inside and watched the rain. This shelter was a contrast to the last one. It was big and well kept. We set up our geared and waited for the rain to subside.

Concluded in Part Three