The Wonderland Journal

Dear devoted readers,

I do apologize for my long absence. I have spent long days on trail that have exhausted me. Out here, the trail should always come first, so I needed to prioritize my rest. I will be posting consistently after today, so get ready for some more blogs! You may find my style has changed slightly as I had to catch up on my writing. Don’t worry. It will be back to normal soon enough. Thank you for reading!

Miles hiked: 21.8

Mile marker: 739.5

Before I left for the trail, I was in good shape. It seems that everyday I’m out here, I am weaker than the day before. 

This is not true, of course, but I do struggle on these dusty paths everyday. Every hill, every sunny afternoon, every heavy water carry. It’s hard work, day after day. 

Another thing that’s proving to be difficult is my bear can. It’s like learning to pack my bag all over again. I futz with it for five minutes before swearing under my breath. 

“Need help?” Dad asks.

“Please.”

It’s just now getting bright outside. The others start to leave as Dad and I finish with my pack. How has everyone managed their bear cans so well?

My theory is bag size. 

Dad has a 35 liter pack, but he’s more experience at packing and has low volume items.

Everyone else has a 55 liter pack. 

Me? 45 liters. Which means I struggle while I stuff my rain jacket and pants into my bag and press down, willing all my things to fit beneath the frame of my pack so my bear can has something solid to support it. 

We get moving and immediately start through a grassy meadow. This is pretty new to me, on this trail. We haven’t done much meadow walking. 

It’s still chilly out here as we walk along, soon reaching some trees. 

I don’t know what happened between today and yesterday, but we are no longer in the desert. 

No scrubby bushes. Barely any lizards and horned toads. No Joshua trees. 

We’ve entered into the Sierras. 

The rocks are huge and tiny all around us. Some even look like they have faces carved into their cold structures. 

We reach an ascent. 

It’s long, hard, and we have a new adversary: elevation. 

My muscles feel weak. My breath is heavy in my throat. My head feels light. 

Walking uphill in heat in elevation reminds me that I’m not strong. That this hill is bigger than me and this is just another day to toughen me up. 

Thank you, Sierras. 

We’re on a mid-morning snack break when we spot a marmot. First one of the trip! He’s got scruffy reddish brown hair with a face of a rat — or a beaver. His front teeth poke out of his mouth as he looks around the area. 

I wonder how happy he is, how content he is. This marmot gets to wake every morning and look out at this beautiful landscape. No problems other than find food and run from predators. He’s just here, enjoying his home. 

We finally reach the top of the hill and admire the snow capped mountains and pine trees that have been scenting our way this morning. 

The trees out here are phenomenal. They grow in swirly motions, like a braided donut. Some tree bark looks like fur. Some have the most intricate satiations. Some have warts made of leaves. 

The rocks look like mashed faces as we walk past them. The sky is bluer than blue. One tree goes high in the sky with gnarly branches poking out from the trunk. I bet that would be fun to climb. 

Many of the trees out here are moody enough to be in a Tim Burton film. 

Snow flowers are everywhere! They’re not as vibrant as I’ve previously seen, but there are so many of them! The alien-like red succulent flower grows tall like soft serve ice cream. If you’re luck, you can see these antenna-like blooms swirling around them. 

Dad said he only saw four of these on trail last time he was here!

We stop for lunch at a creek. While I try to nap, ants crawl all over me. I can hear another hiker talking loudly and endlessly to someone else as I try to rest. 

Both Savannah and I even get bit by horseflies when we went to the restroom. 

This is awesome. 

At least I got to enjoy my cold soaked mashed potatoes with tune and ramen bone broth. 

We start moving again, and it’s another huge ascent. 

This elevation is kicking my butt. I plug in some music for the ride. I’m exhausted and taking small steps as I move forward. 

The clouds are white puffballs in the sky. The trees are tall and skinny, standing over me like citizens of a village who have finally let me through their kingdom gates. They welcome me with friendly smiles into the Sierras. 

I push on forever. F16 fighter jets whoosh by. We hear their roar before we see them. We all pause and stare at the sky like toddlers looking for an airplane. When we do spot the silver birds above, we watch as they flip upside down and barrel roll. 

It’s our uphill entertainment!

We finally reach a lookout point. Salt lake is ahead of us. It’s completely white and look like snow or sand. It’s not. It’s salt!

We keep moving through our friendly trees and find Rafiki lounging on a log. As I continue to walk, the trees ahead are blonde and pointy. 

Luxy and I discuss foods, what types we like and want to cook. We’re both quite hungry. 

I’m down to a few sips of water when we finally reach the junction. We set down packs and walk what feels like half a mile to the water. The mosquitos swarm us. 

The girls decide to stay and clean up on the river. But when Luxy turns around, her back is covered in mosquitos. 

I have hydrocortisone if they need it. 

Even the walk up to the campsite is exhausting. We were planning on another mile but I’m glad we’re staying here. 

Dinner is ramen and beans. Yum! I think my ramen bone broth is what’s making it so tasty. 

I walk on Rafiki’s back with Savannah’s help. Note to self: walk sideways. Not forward. 

I’m wearing my mosquito net for the first time as I put my extra stuff in Rafiki’s bear bag to hang — we all have our stuff in here. Today is the last day we can hang our things. Tomorrow I’ll have to fit everything in my bear can. 

I’m in bed now. The mosquitos are collecting on the side of my tent. I hope they don’t find the holes in my netting!