Greg, Vickey, Tiffany and I started our trek this
morning with heavy packs and high spirits. Navigating our way through the
mountains, we crossed creeks and weaved through trees and giant boulders.
We
made good time and the miles seemed to fly by as we laughed and encouraged one
another. For a while, we lost the trail, but following our compass bearings and
the dried up creek bed, we found our way to our destination.
Having
arrived first, before the other two groups or Jeff (who was probably hiding
like a blue ninja somewhere in the trees along the trail, waiting for us all to
pass), we took some time to eat lunch and scope out a good campsite.
We
quickly set up camp, erecting our tent and laying out our sleeping bags and
tarp, which were wet from the frost the night before. We changed out of our
hiking clothes and into comfy camp clothes. We untied our stinky hiking boots
and slipped our feet into our hundred times more comfortable camp shoes. Vickey
and Greg gathered water while I washed clothes and Tiffany took a power nap.
Camp all set up, and still no one in sight. It was just an hour into the
afternoon, so we fired up the stoves and boiled water for some afternoon
coffee.
Not
long after, another small band of our ECOEE group made their way to us. They
set down their packs and started telling us all about their own journey. That
was when we heard a voice call down from the mountain…
“That’s
not Slab Lake!”
Upon
hearing this, the other group strapped on their bags and quickly departed.
Greg, Vickey, Tiffany and I looked around at our perfect little campsite, water
boiling on the stove, the tent set up and our belongings lying in the grass,
dry from the warm sun.
“Okay,
Jeff. We’re just going to finish our coffee and we’ll see you there later.”
So,
we drank our coffee, pulled on our hiking clothes, laced up our boots,
disassembled our tent and packed our belongings for the second time today. We
had another mile to go, but then again, what else is new? With ECOEE, there is
always one more portage to complete, one more mountain to climb, one more
lesson to teach, one more mile to go.
No comments:
Post a Comment