Adri and Me at the Fence!

Today is the day! Adriana Boylan and I are headed down to the border to El Campo, CA to the southern terminus of the PCT. Adriana thoughtfully described today like Christmas.
We spent all yesterday completing errands like  grabbing that last chunk of extra sharp cheddar cheese at Trader Joe's, purchasing a small backpack sized ukulele, stealing plastic utensils from the McDonald's in Mentone, CA, and raiding REI to find items like a watch and a silly sunhat with a fantastic flap in the back for sun protection despite the weather forecast predicting rain and thunder showers!!
Since I am up at High Trails (the outdoor school where I worked last year), where we show our appreciation for people by giving them "kudos", I thought I would mention a few people who have helped me out. Kudos Caroline and the Square House for hosting me! It has been so nice to see everyone again! Thank-you to Emilie, Callie and Anna for a wonderful reunion in Colorado and thanks to Ryan for taking his free time to drive us ladies to the start of the PCT. Finally, I just want to mention how fantastic it is to be planning this trip with another individual. As many of you know, Adriana is such a wonderfully positive and caring individual and I am so excited to start this adventure together. Adriana is also keeping an awesome blog about her experience www.whileshemoves.blogspot.com.
Finally, thank-you to people like Henry, Kristina, Evan, and Chris who are supporting our efforts to raise money for SheJumps.
I sign off for now and leave you with a poem by Robert Frost.

Desert Places by Robert Frost

Snow falling and night falling fast, oh, fast
In a field I looked into going past,
And the ground almost covered smooth in snow,
But a few weeds and stubble showing last.

The woods around it have it—it is theirs.
All animals are smothered in their lairs.
I am too absent-spirited to count;
The loneliness includes me unawares.

And lonely as it is, that loneliness
Will be more lonely ere it will be less—
A blanker whiteness of benighted snow
With no expression, nothing to express.

They cannot scare me with their empty spaces
Between stars—on stars where no human race is.
I have it in me so much nearer home
To scare myself with my own desert places.