Day 158 – Discomfort Is Where Growth Happens

The daylight woke me from my tent just before 7AM. I could hear the rushing of the river next to us. I was trying to perceive, based on sound alone, if the water was less intense than yesterday and if it might be crossable. It sounded hopeful. Nonetheless I was slow to get up. It was cold out and the process of rushing to ford a cold water crossing did not sound appealing.

I ate breakfast and realized Purple Pioneer was already up. She did not sleep well and had been reading FarOut comments about the water crossings today. I tried to reassure her the water would be lower today. I also 1/2 joked the longer we waited the lower it would get.

I ate breakfast and got more water from the river. It was indeed nearly a foot lower this morning. The flow had also seemed to abate some. Once we were packed up, I tested the water without my pack. I got nearly all the way across and decided it was a doable crossing so doubled back for my pack. Purple Pioneer was still apprehensive and decided to take a blue blaze around the water instead. It would be backtracking a little for her but I respect her decision. It wasn’t an easy call to make, because she had been purist like me up until this point.

Continue reading the complete update from Derek Witteman here.