Date: 7/4/16
Miles: 17.1
Total Miles: 1087.3
Like a kid on Christmas Eve, my mind was distracted all day today with thoughts not of the present but of the very near future. Tomorrow, our little hiking band rolls into South Lake Tahoe for nearly three full days of rest that each and every one of us has been looking forward to for several weeks now. But far more than that, as much as I've been satisfying an enormous part of who I am with this trail adventure, I've been missing out on the most important person in my life: Emily.
For two days anyway, that will change as she flies into town tomorrow evening. An all-too-short reunion, to be sure, but it will remind me that every step brings me one step closer to home and back to her. That fundamental tension—between wanting to live the trail life that has been a part of me for as long I've known and also wanting us to be together—is the undercurrent of this entire hike. Yesterday marked the beginning of my third month on the trail, and I can't think of a better time to relax, reflect, and to spend time with my best friend and my trail friends doing what we really do best: not hiking....eating.