The Wonderland Journal

Miles hiked: 8.9

Mile marker: 1027

I’m not sure you can fit five beds in this room, but someone made it work. I feel like I’m in a dormitory of children’s home as I look around and see all of my group curled up on their beds. 

While the night was hot, the morning has thankfully cooled down. 

Our packs are somewhat contained as we go down to breakfast. The coffee I have is probably the best diner coffee I’ve had on trail — which isn’t saying much. 

I still find myself with the back of Rafiki’s hand on my forehead checking for a fever… something to do with the fact that I complain about the coffee at every breakfast spot I go to these days. 

“Christmas in Prague!” I say. “I can’t wait, guys.”

“Let me call my mom and ask if she wants to join. You guys would love her. She’s funny, spunky, and she likes her alone time if we wanted to go do something with just us.”

“Hey, baby,” Mom says on the other side of the phone. 

“Hey Mom. Do you want to go to Prague next Christmas?”

“What? Really? Yes! I’ll start saving now!”

“Luxy is from the Czech Republic and she can show us around!”

“How much do you think I’ll need?” Mom asks.

“A couple grand, but it’s for next Christmas anyways.”

Christmas in Prague! If I get to teach English abroad in France, this would be the perfect time for me to visit Luxy. I’ve always wanted to live in Europe!

I remove myself from the plastic red and white checked table and move on with the day. 

Soon we’re all behind the building — a store, lobby, and restaurant — and join the others under a white tent to rest for the next four hours when our shuttle arrives. 

The sun begins to melt us like chocolate left in the sun. We occupy the time with a game of Guess Who and a serious arm wrestling competition — Luxy and I draw, but she grew up chopping wood and has arms of steel. 

What’s the proper form for arm wrestling again?

Rafiki battles all the girls — some of whom cheat in an effort to beat him. The biggest challenge is by far his bout with Luxy. She’s strong!

2:00 comes finally and we pile into a 15 passenger van. It’s a windy road and a hot car, so most of the group becomes nauseous as we meander through the mountain roads. 

When we get back to the trailhead, trail magic is still there. I turn around to find Rafiki laid out on the ground. He’s never been motionless sick from a vehicle before, but today he is. 

We dig through leftover hiker food and I score some pop tarts and ramen. 

The hike begins uphill through a meadow that resembles something similar to what you might find in The Sound of Music. 

We wind through a path of wild flowers, giant rocks, and snow-capped mountains. The sky is bright blue with puffy white clouds and feather-like clouds. 

We’re all in a line going downhill through a dirt path with big rocks to step on as we discuss where we might meet after Prague. 

“Okinawa or South Korea,” Rafiki says. “In Okinawa, it’s a highly rated place for scuba diving and snorkeling. I love the people there! They’re so warm and friendly.”

Sounds fun to me!

A gnat flies into my throat and I spend the next twenty minutes coughing violently and hiccuping as a result. Oh boy. My eyes are watering and I’m being asked if I’m sick. 

No! No I’m not! It was just a bug!

We finish our hike with a small crowd of mosquitos. It’s not the worst I’ve been in, so I eat my leftover steak with some cilantro lime rice at the dinner table with the others — the dinner table being us sitting on gossamer gear pads or bear cans. 

We have a big day tomorrow with a lot of elevation! I get in my tent and am ready for some shut eye. 

For some reason, Luxy is brushing her teeth by my tent! Bumper, Savannah and I are all sleeping over here, but Luxy wanted a better spot so she moved to the space with other backpackers. 

“Luxy! What are you doing?” I shout jokingly. 

“I need to leave the scent over here so the bears won’t come to my tent!” she says. 

Welp. Maybe I’ll have a surprise visitor tonight.