Day 12. Part 2. March 12. Grass Shack Camp (Mile 135.3) to Mile 153.5

Continued from Day 12, part 1. 

Day 12. Part 2. Sunday March 12. Grass Shack Camp (Mile 135.3, elev. 5287) to Mile 153.5, elev. 4020. Walked 18.2 miles, 4017 ft up, 5317 ft down. 

The views heading down from the high point were deep and vast. I so wish photographs could convey the feeling of moving along through such spaces. Photo 5 is my attempt to bring you with me. But watch your footing. The trail is steep with lots of loose rocks.  It's easy to get mesmerized by the surroundings and slip.

 

 

My feet were taking a pounding as we hiked down and not surprisingly requested I make an extra rest stop in inverted pose. There weren't many trees to lean against and where there were trees the ground around them was rocky or bristly. So I found this big rock that I could lean my legs against (photo 6.). It wasn't a right angle like a tree trunk, more a gentle slope, but my feet and I were happy. 

 

It was interesting to hike down to the rock formations and see them at their own level.  (Photo 7.)

 

Now I have to pick one photo out of a series I took of smoke in the distance. I became quite anxious that the smoke might be coming from a large, and growing, wild fire. I had little cell coverage but managed to contact both Chris and my Tucson host Anne to ask them to check for me. And fortunately I had another moment of coverage to get the answer that there were no reports of fire in the area. In the meantime, a young man hiker passed me. I pointed out the smoke and he said he hoped it was a controlled burn. I said wasn't he worried. He shrugged. "I can't do anything about it, so why should I worry?"  That seemed wisdom to carry with me on my pilgrimage. 

I did hike a mile or two farther than I had planned, hoping to find an area with less smell of smoke. So far, the smoke smell here is very mild and intermittent. I still wonder what all that smoke came from. 

Photo 8 shows the smoke. 

 

 

Seeing these bones beside the trail (a deer?) made me think of all the skeletons in the All Souls Procession and the Dance of the Dead. So - this photo is for Sandy, whose concept of service (with detachment about outcome) as a spiritual practice stays with me as I walk. As do all the dancing dead who walk with me and assure me that they share in my happiness and that I am serving them simply by being happy. What a concept. Photo 9 shows the bone-deer/person. 

 

Tomorrow I have a short hike (8 miles) to where I will meet Anne and Steve at 2 pm - or maybe a little earlier if I get cell service and can let them know, since I hiked a little further today than planned. A day of rest and a visit with dear friends, and then onwards on Wednesday toward Kearny (my next resupply stop, Mile 262.8).