May 6, 2016

We woke up stiff and decided to spend the day stretching and relaxing.

Thunderstorms are predicted for the Agua Dulce area today too, so it’s nice to be out of the rain for a change.

Oh but it is hard resisting the temptation to keep pushing. We both keep asking ourselves why. Why do we feel pressure to keep up with others? Why does it feel wrong to slow down and give our bodies rest? Why do we care where other people are? What are we racing for?

Laurie feels anxiety in her chest when she slows down. But this is why we are here – to enjoy and to step away from the rat race of life. These feelings are what we want to identify, confront and process so that in 5 months when we return to society we keep a sense of peace and serenity amongst the chaos of life and responsibility.

In the meantime we will continue to feel and identify. We talk about our discomfort and reassure one another that this pace is right for us, and in the end, this is all that matters.

We will meet our friends again (we hope) whether on the trail or after. In the meantime we will make new ones – who knows who we will meet tomorrow?

After all, this is the excitement of the trail!

Special thanks to Shushan (Andy’s mom) for the delicious food, Anait (Andy’s aunt) for the foot rubs and Grigor (Andy’s dad) for providing us with everything we need, mailing our resupply packages and keeping us entertained with jokes.

Tonight we are grateful for fresh fruit and yoga mats.