Those moose are eluding me! I have looked high and low but none, nada, zilch! I’m sure I’ve seen moose droppings and possible sighting of moose prints but no respectable sludge eating, swamp dwelling creature.

We entered the Holy Cross Wilderness today. What a perfect name for this section of trail. It has jagged peaks, many lakes, rivers and waterfalls and so much of Gods touches! We passed 150 mile marker today which means we are close to one-third of our way. Triple-Z could easily be half way done as she is a much faster hiker than me. But we signed a contract before we left, that what we start together, we are required to end together. No exceptions! So she waits for me regularly and finds perfect places to stop and rest.

One thing that we have to do periodically based on weather and dew from the night before is called “garage sale”. This is when your gear is soaking wet but you don’t have time to dry it before you leave at 5am. So you pack everything up wet and when a perfect rock appears that happens to be in full sun with not too much wind, you stop, pull everything out of your backpack and let it dry! It’s a bit time consuming but we usually snack and wait and sometimes I take pictures.

This was a tough day for me in the sense that I was a bit out of sorts. Backpacking is my most favorite thing to do but there are days where things just don’t go as planned. I was so enamored by the beauty of the lakes and peaks, that I wasn’t aware of the rock that jumped in front of me and I took a face plant down on my bum knee and busted my sunglasses. I can be such a klutz at times! It amazes me that I can hike as far as I do. Needless to say, Triple-Z got word from the trail runners that I was down for the count and had to hike back down the mountain to check on me. Luckily Jesus protected me and I dusted myself off, put duct tape on my one and only sunglasses, used up my two big bandaids and KT Tape to keep my knee where it needed to be, and off we went. Slowly…

What makes up for all the blood, sweat and agony literally, are these ridge lines, mountains that reach the heavens and a great friend who always pulls in the reigns when I’m a bit out of sorts. We made it to camp without anymore incidents and as I’m setting up camp, I hear Triple-Z calling my name. I head over and here she is, soaking her feet in the creek without we coercing her. I think she is warming up to the idea of relaxation after a hard day of watching over yours truly!

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10