July 10

My old journal has been returned to me by Sage, here at Tuolumne Meadows, a wonderful gift to be able to write in this now. A wonderful two days spent resting and exploring Yosemite like a tourist, after 200 miles of exhausting travel over nine High Sierra passes. I swear that Yosemite valley is the most gorgeous thing I have laid eyes upon, the embrace of its conifer canopies and the strong shadows of granite towers. Despite the tourists and the stores, I felt something lunge out of me while I was there.

My group of fellow hikers has turned out to be a solid bunch. They have all provided me with the assistance necessary to get through the most difficult stuff of my life: crossing windswept cornices, climbing straight up snowy ledges, keeping a sense of humor on long wet cold sloppy snowy pass crossings. We roll across this land, keeping each other in balance and helping to mainatin ourselves to keep our northward pace.