Some everyday normalcies of trail life

A good portion of the posts Hybrid and I write relate to "how our day went" and I thought I'd switch it up and write more about some of the normalcies that have become an everyday part of my new, trail life.

I wake up usually by 6-6:30 in the morning. Usually don't need an alarm. Or a watch for that matter. I know it's an acceptable wake up time when I hear birds (other than owls) chirping. It's a really soothing way to wake up actually. It gradually gets lighter (no curtains to block out the sun) and I'm sorta of rustled out of bed by mother nature. We call her our trail mom out here. Ive learned - camping on ridges and mountain tops = amazing sunrises.

We do ALOT of hiking. Usually 8-9 hrs daily of walking up mountains, down mountains, over rocks and through streams. You throw breaks in there and we are sometimes "in transit" for 13 hrs a day. Takes a toll on your body. Hybrid and I loaded up on perhaps too much food and water before leaving the last town and it was brutal for the next couple of days. My pack had to weigh 45-50 lbs. Lugging that weight up steep inclines for 9 hours a day will give you zzz's more than any ambien.

No lunch hour is ever the same two days in a row. Both literally and figuratively. Literally, I never eat lunch at the same time every day, and if I do, it's by mere coincidence. I usually eat lunch based on how far I've gone, how hungry I am, or if I made it to a shelter between the hours of 11:30am and 3:30pm.

And while I may eat a similar lunch every day, depending on the week (this week it has been jalapeño, salami-turkey pepperoni cheddar wraps), it is always at a different location, usually with different people.

Take today for instance. I actually cooked a pasta dish instead of the tortillas (I bought too many). I left a little early this AM so I'm eating with my neighbors, the birds and the bugs. I'm standing here clapping my hands from time to time because I hear big footsteps off in the trees. Bears not allowed. Although I bet it's just sticks falling in the wind and my mind is playing tricks on me.

Noises in the woods at night used to wake me when I camped before hiking the trail and dare I say, cause the "fear of the unknown". It was like that for the first month out here too. I've since learned to sleep like the rocks around me. The scuffling in the trees around me have just become so commonplace that ive become used to it. The bear poking around our camp the other night did give me a startle however.

There are many, many more of these normal, everyday things which are so drastically different from my life not on the trail, but I'll stop here for now so I can devour the rest of this pasta lunch. Mmmmm. Trail cooking. I could talk about that for hours.

Thanks for readin!

-Mojo