Dear Walking for Walden Supporters:

To date, I have hiked over 1,000 miles.  My 2007 PCT hike has been an amazing sojourn.  I am not burdened at all to know I have over 1,600 miles yet to hike.  I still wake up every single day eager with anticipation about how my day might unfold.  Thank you all very much for your kind and supportive emails.  In time, I plan to respond to each and every one of them.  Also, thank you for the birthday wishes.  I will hike north from Sonora Pass tomorrow with my eyes wide open, my ears perked, and with a full heart.  May God bless you all!

June 23, 2007

I woke up at the Walker River Lodge at 7:00 a.m.  I sauntered up to the Best Western to collect my re-supply box from my husband.  I purchased a box of Tide at the Laundromat and walked back to room number 42.  I laundered my clothes in the bathtub and set them on my patio to dry.  I then went to the bakery and ordered two glazed donuts which were good, but not as tasty as melt-in-your-mouth, Krispy Kremes.  I bought a large vanilla malt from a roadside cafe which was awesome.  Then, I opened my re-supply box.  My husband had shipped me an entire carrot cake and had even included birthday candles!  Since my hiking buddies, Fireball, 30-30, and I are temporarily split up, I ate the entire cake myself, guilt-free!  It was delicious!  Thanks sweetheart!

I walked over to the car wash and gave my backpack a good cleaning.  I used the soap and rinse cycles, but opted not to wax my backpack.  As I was finishing up, I realized a car had been waiting in line.  Oops!  I walked to the sporting goods store and purchased some Permanone to treat my clothes.  The tick and mosquito repellent offers protection for two weeks.  I watched the Giants-Yankees baseball game and spoke to my family.  It was nice having conversations with my husband and three children without worrying about my calls being dropped.  Neither my cell or my satellite phones have been reliable over the past several weeks.  Also, I phoned Bob Williams to set up my ride back to the Sonora Pass trailhead.

I took a very long soak in the bathtub and ate another Marie Callender's frozen dinner.  I studied my guidebook and maps, long and hard, for my trip north.  I fell asleep at dusk, but this time on a real mattress with a pillow under my head.  The air conditioner served as my sound soother.