Mileage: 23.2 miles (470.8-494)
This is how I woke up this morning: "I don't know if it's just me, but I'm becoming a sexy motherfucker."
I said, "What?" and Maniac continued from his tent, "you know I'm all tan and getting long hair and shit, just like Fabio. Women love Fabio." I just laughed and he continued his monologue. After I laid in the tent some more, we leisurely broke camp and started out the day around 8am.
Maniac and I set off together because the other two still didn't have their tents down. We got to the first water source of the day pretty quick and actually saw an upside to all the rain: it had created fresh pools in the basins of the rock, which were perfect for scooping water. Without the rain we would have had to drink nasty cow water at the bottom of the canyon. There's an upside to everything.
Unfortunately, it kept raining and raining, and hailing and hailing. Torrentially. All day long. It got colder and colder until we both felt mildly hypothermic, losing control of our fingers and shivering, but with no other option than to continue walking to stay warm. Whenever we thought it might let up, it just kept going and going and then rained harder and harder. I continually checked-in with Maniac to make sure he was doing okay, but he just kept saying he was good and kept going.
I knew when Maniac's monologue stopped that he wasn't doing great, but for the first time I saw his more serious side. We talked about his son, who's just a few years younger than me, and who's getting married in June. Maniac will get off the trail to attend the wedding about the same time when I'll go to my college reunion in New Hampshire. We also talked about his dad, who was paralyzed from the waist down when Maniac was about my age. At the same time he was caring for his grandma who had Alzheimer's. I couldn't believe his story. Basically, at my age, he had three people totally dependent on him: his son, his father, and his grandmother. I couldn't fathom having such great responsibility, but also felt so grateful that both my parents are healthy. It also reminded me how quickly your life can change - his was turned upside down and it didn't get right side up again until a number of years later when he did his first long-distance hike, the Appalachian Trail (AT). Note: The AT is the most famous of America's three long-distance trails, wildly outpacing the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) and CDT in popularity.
I was fascinated to hear his story and amazed what a positive and hilarious person he was after all he'd gone through. Talking though was the exception, rather than the rule, with the water continuing to pour from the sky. It wasn't until nearly 4pm that it finally let up some so we could dry out some of our gear for a minute.
Of course, it started rain again soon after we laid out our stuff and we had to quickly pack up before it got wetter than it originally was. After another hour of on-again, off-again sleet we began to descend off the Mesa we had no idea we were on (...we came pretty close to cliff before we realized that's what it was!). It was pretty muddy and slippery going down, but we took it slowly.
As we descended, the weather finally cleared for good, yielding incredible views of the valley, mesas, and canyons below. Huge red cliffs and sprawling sand as far as the eye could see. We saw lightning way off in the distance and then we noticed what made our day: a rainbow right spread out before us. Not just one of those faint ones where you have to squint and tilt your head either - this was a legit, 100% bonafide rainbow. Absolutely brilliant. We must have just been at the perfect angle with the sun and the clouds. I'm not sure I've ever seen anything like it - it almost felt like prehistoric times, when dinosaurs walked the earth and all was misty and primeval. We literally could have been on the set of 'The Land Before Time'.
And then it got even better: a second rainbow just slightly fainter than the first appeared above the primary arch. It was an incredible display of color. Now I was sure I'd never seen anything like it. The colors were so vivid and backdrop just the perfect accent of burnt orange. Me and Maniac sat down and just looked for close to half an hour. Right as we were about to leave Karma walked up and we all reminisced about what a crazy day it had been. I thought we had just passed a test and were seeing the reward. We struggled mighty hard to get that view and that made it all the sweeter.
It was also incredible because we did all that struggle without any thought of reward. We did it to test our strength. We did it to test our will. To defy nature and show that though she is in control, that it will take a little more than some freezing rain to dampen our spirits. We did it because we could. I guess sometimes the best rewards are the ones you don't expect. Especially when it involves going from good chance of hypothermia to pure bliss in a matter of a half-hour. That doesn't happen too often.
I guess I learned some why I'm out here - to test my limits but to have the wisdom to know when to stop, to live fully and learn to accept what I can't control, and to experience our country freely, the way it's meant to be explored: on my own two feet, in the company of a friend.
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