The Marble Mountains of Northern California bring to mind some of the beauty of the Washington Cascades. The white craggy cliffs above. The deep, alpine, glaciated lakes. The vast, sweeping, steep meadows of wildflowers cascading down from the barren, snow-pocked peaks. Distant endless mountaintops fading in monochrome blues.
We camped last night on a whim with three other hikers -- Jym Beam, The Rain Queen, and Beer Poet. They had all hiked together on the AT in 2001 and had randomly run into each other yesterday afternoon. It was a fun reunion. Sitting at a campfire, telling stories, reminiscing, it was really nice -- something we don't experience much out here, just the two of us.
Jym Beam and the Rain Queen are also known as "The Newlyweds." This trek is their honeymoon. They were married in late May and at the last minute threw together their things and set out on this hike as a celebration of their commitment to one another. Beer Poet is a performer, a story teller, a lover of adventure and beer. I wish that I had recorded some of his spoken word pieces and poems; he was quite good, very charismatic. We all sat together. They talked a great deal about the AT, recalling names, places, towns and bars along the way (they were all very much into drinking). Eliza and I ate a late dinner by the fire, joining in at times, listening, happy for the company. At one point we all remember the events of September 11th, 2001 together, each one of us thinking and speaking of where we were, what we were doing, how it effected us. It was an interesting evening. We felt a strange connection between us all.
Today has been very beautiful, and difficult as well. The terrain has turned out to be pretty tough. My shoes are giving me a little trouble as well. Hopefully, they are just breaking in . . .
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