We had such a nice night of sleep at the Agape House. When we met the lady in charge, she tied a purple ribbon on the front door knob to ensure that no one would walk in on us during our stay. We removed it this morning and headed back to the trail.

Today we were walking the Red Mountain Trail. I had no idea what that entailed but it would be a little up and a little down. I felt great this morning and was averaging 2.5 miles per hour, which isn’t breaking any speed records. But I knocked out eight miles in about three hours.

Sabine took off and that’s pretty much the way it goes. Without Fearless hiking, I’m on my own. My first encounter was three hunters with two llamas. They were looking for Elk but had no luck at all. Didn’t even see one from afar. But they had two full-sized llamas who were each carrying a 75 pound load! I think we need llamas! Sure would make my pack feel like a feather. Oh, if only!

I walked through plenty of meadows with small creeks and streams. Most were dry but occasionally I’d find some water trickling. I had filled up this morning so no need to hunt for water today. Around 11am, I understood why the trail was named the red mountain. It is part of the CDT but rather than creating a new extension, many times it uses existing trails. No point of developing a new one when there already is a fine piece of quality maintained dirt!

Red rocks must have fallen from the sky or pushed up from the earth below. Most likely the latter. Suddenly I was walking among these colorful stones. They were scattered all about, big huge boulders and smaller rocks. It went on for miles. Around the eight mile marker, I sat down, had lunch and just leaned against the biggest red boulder protruding from the earth! It was so massive that it provided shade for me, Norman and my pack.

The red rocks continued for another couple of miles, then veered towards the road where Fearless was awaiting. The trail took an abrupt turn with many brief, yet steep climbs. Just when I thought I was done, I would find one more climb up a hill and through the forest. Finally, after a nice descent, I found my friends. Hogged Up was slumbering on her mat and Fearless greeted me with an icy cold sparkling water. This has been bittersweet having Fearless meeting us at the end of the day, rather than hiking with us. But we sure do appreciate all she is doing!

Jen found Hog Lake Reservoir and drove us to our evening campsite. It’s a large lake that was absolutely deserted. I can only imagine that during the summer, people would flock to it. But today, we were the only souls for miles. We set up camp and Fearless started collecting firewood. She has been dreaming of the day she could have a fire, and her dream came true!

It was so relaxing sitting around a fire, with a picnic table and all the amenities of a campground. At this point, I’m thinking, maybe Jen requires another week of rehab. I could surely get used to this glamping from place to place, getting cold beverages, good food and an occasional hot springs sprinkled in. This has definitely been one of the nicest week on trail! And our Holy Heavenly Father has made it clear that He is slowly healing Jen with his love and grace. Sometimes fire can show us His presence in ways we just didn’t even expect.

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” Isaiah‬ ‭43‬:‭2‬ ‭NIV‬