The Wonderland Journal

Miles hiked: 22.9

Mile marker: 988

“Where’s my toothbrush?” Rafiki wanders around. “I put it right here.” He points to a rock. “Tails, did you steal my toothbrush?”

“No,” I say as I pack my bag. 

“Something stole my toothbrush! Well. I guess the marmot with the whitest teeth is the culprit. I just got it three days ago!” he says. 

It’s a good thing he has a backup toothbrush. 

We walk through a grassy meadow with a meandering path. The mountain has a golden top from the morning sun and a shaded bottom. The line is cut diagonally across the mountains. The moon is just above the highest peak still. 

I’m walking behind Luxy. Our feet crunch loudly against the ground with every step. 

As I walk, the rocks next to me are so white it looks more like a snowy pyramid with some pine trees scattered over it. I walk along a skinny dirt path that my giant shoes don’t quite fit in. 

We pass a beautiful blue late with the same white rock mounds stacked around it. The mountains ahead have horizontal scars scratched across it. 

Our open walk turns to an enclosed forest with floppy green plants bordering the path. 

White rock with black stripes enter into the picture. The sky is bright blue with puffy white clouds. Small boulders are scattered next to us. 

All I can see is white rock! Mountains of it! Small broken rocks scatter the ground. 

We take a rest and fall out on the ground. Toady has been a ton of elevation gain so far!

We come to a river crossing and walk across a long log with a lot of trimmed branches. Rafiki begins to walk across it, and halfway through begins to skip flamboyantly with his hands flicking side to side like Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean. 

The lake we pass is like a mirror reflecting tall and skinny trees. 

We finally get to camp at Wilmer Lake. Im on my way to my tent from getting water. 

“Is there good water entry?” Luxy asks. 

“There is, but I was swarmed by mosquitoes. You’re not going to bathe in it, are you?” I say. 

Luxy giggles and runs off toward the water. 

That girl will take a bath in anything if it means being clean!

What a long day! I hide from mosquitos in my tent, and soon it’s bedtime. 

I let sleep take me away.