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The Trail Takes a Lot and Gives a Little

  • Writer: Cassandra Smith
    Cassandra Smith
  • Mar 11, 2023
  • 2 min read

Day 3

It was less than half a mile before we ended up back in a rock pit on the way up to the ridge this morning. I stood at the bottom of it, feeling somewhat defeated, wondering how Sawyer would get up it. The next moment he was already halfway up, bounding over rocks like they were nothing. I couldn't shake the feeling of his leg slipping though, and thought about how hard it would be to carry him out of here if something would happen. How, more than likely, the two of us would probably be injured in the process as well.

When we reached the ridge and began miles of the same hell as yesterday, I made a decision. Henry was hiking ahead of us, so I plopped down on a rock with Sawyer, gave him plenty of water and took a look at the map. From what I read, the next ridge after the town of Everett was even worse. I called Dad and asked if he would be willing to come pick Sawyer up in Everett. I felt terrible even making him go that far with the current conditions, but knew he could make it. I knew he'd make it even farther than that, he's never given me a sign that he wanted to stop, but my intuition knew not to push my luck. Dad said he could get there early that afternoon and I was so grateful.

I knew I'd see Sawyer again the tomorrow, so I wasn't too sad saying goodbye to him. I told him what a good job he did and to rest up when he gets to Gagoo's because he more than earned it. Stopping at the Sheetz in town, I downed a large frozen mocha and a pizza before heading across the street to Dollar General to pick up a little more food to get me through tomorrow. A 5 mile road walk out of town led us to our next mountain.

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Tenney Park in Everett

The weather was perfect as we climbed up the next ridge. Although it was steep, it didn't feel so bad with no thorns digging into our skin. We reached the top in time for a perfect sunset. The trails little gift to us for everything it had taken from us today. Our morale, my dog, my skin. The wind felt good on my sweaty skin after the big climb and Henry and I kissed as we watched the sun disappear, the sky changing colors every minute. We didn't hike for much longer before finding a brief, semi flat spot that would fit the tarp. Expecting rain tonight so Henry staked it down close to the ground and against the wind. This is the comfiest we've been so far, so hopefully we sleep good tonight.

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The perfect sunset to end a shitty day



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