The Spirit of the Trail by Carrie Morgridge

Author:Carrie Morgridge [Morgridge, Carrie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: -
Publisher: BookBaby
Published: 2018-05-03T16:00:00+00:00

As we leave the officer, the armed guard, and the road blockades behind, we find that the fire road is steep and rocky. The sun is hot, but the clouds have started to form, and you can tell that rain is going to give the firemen some relief very soon.

We crest the summit at Continental Divide crossing #9, and are able to find a bit of shade in the shadow cast from the US Forest sign at the top of the Divide. To our tremendous surprise, we spot a gold truck in the distance—Barney and Krista. Barney received special approval to drive through the danger area in support of us. He said he sweet-talked the firemen and told them he would be personally responsible for our safety.

We never see or feel the heat from the fire, but the smell is evident and strong, and the quality of air is noticeably different. Of course, we know that where there is smoke, there is usually fire, so we descend from the summit quickly in order to ensure we don’t put ourselves in harm’s way.

The fire delay has set us back today, and after lunch it is already 2:00 p.m. We still have 38 miles to go with varying elevation changes in the topography ahead. Going down the trail, the rocky washboard road is brutal on our bodies as our bikes don’t have dual shocks. We have to use our brakes often on the downhill to avoid bouncing our panniers off our bikes.

At 5:00 p.m. we are still 17 miles from the campground, and the road continues to get rougher. Every muscle in my body now aches. We keep moving forward—silent and determined. I break the silence eventually to ask John if he is having fun. Struck by the silliness of my query, I burst out laughing, because this is not fun. Hard work is not fun, but the feeling of accomplishment is.

Upon cycling into Whiskey Grove Campground, we see our friends have been setting up camp, and it is perfect. The river is flowing in the background, Barney has the campfire burning, and Krista has a hot meal prepared and the picnic table set. They even manage to find my favorite bottle of wine, Rombauer Zin. We quickly take a bath in the ice-cold river and then pitch our tent so we can join our friends for the evening.

It’s times like this when we are overwhelmed with gratitude. We can’t help but reflect on how much we take for granted on a daily basis. Life is about the journey, and about realizing when special moments in your life happen.

I remind myself to make sure I acknowledge and celebrate the small things that make life grand. Today was grand in so many ways.

Ending day stats:

Start 8:20 a.m. Finish 6:15 p.m.

9 hours and 55 minutes

58.38 miles

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