June 30
Listening to: Sons of the East – Torn
I’d like to say I had an exciting amazing day, but I stayed in bed watching TV the entire day.
One of the best parts about the motel is that people left their Hulu, HBO, Amazon Prime and Netflix accounts all signed in on the smart TV (although Nancy apparently didn’t pay her Netflix bill).
As far as I was from the trail, the trail made its presence felt. The Hulu account name was “Thruhiker” and one of the top movies on Hulu right now is Wild. There was also a true crime documentary on HBO about Mostly Harmless, an Appalachian Trail thru hiker whose body was found in a tent on the Florida Trail and the mystery surrounding his death.
I love true crime, so there were a lot of movies and shows to catch up on. I napped throughout the day, but made a trip to the general store to visit my new friend Jenna and get some food. Another woman there said “honey do you like cherries?” I did. And she gave me a whole Ziploc bag full of fresh cherries.
The room at the motel was so comfortable, I just wanted to go back there.
I spent several hours looking at apartment listings in Victoria, looking at places on Google maps and saving all the places I wanted to go to – parks to take Marble for walks, trails to hike, places to eat at, Pilates studios to work out at. I was excited, and now that my visa was approved, I felt officially allowed to feel excited. I started making a list of all the things I needed to do – find an apartment, get a Canadian bank account and phone number, find a vet for Marble, register my car, get a social security number, research part time jobs.
I found a part time job listing for a zodiac skipper for a whale watching company, so I researched all the credentials needed and made a list of all the exams and courses needed. I’d need 3 credentials – Canada requires a license to use a VHF radio, what appears to be like a less intensive captains license, and then marine first aid.
I copied my school schedule into my calendar, and looked at how long it would take to ride the bus or bike to school from different neighborhoods. Now I’m officially very excited!!
Part of me wants to hike the whole PCT, start to finish, but part of me is excited about my new life. I’ve been really going back and forth about continuing on the trail, or maybe skipping parts and going up to Oregon somewhere and continuing North. My friend Lava is hiking Southbound and invited me to hike south with her, so I could possibly flip flop. Maybe I could go up to Victoria and look for an apartment. Maybe I could go sailing. I don’t know what I want to do.
I had ordered something from Amazon but the package didn’t arrive today. The notes on the USPS tracking were confusing so I called the post office and they told me there was some kind of small town drama with delivering to the motel, but that it would be delivered tomorrow.
I had also sent a box to Bridgeport with some food and other things, but the bus to Bridgeport ran only once a day also at the same time as the bus coming from Bridgeport so I wasn’t sure what to do or how to get my package.
Mono texted that he had gotten off trail and was in Bridgeport and was heading up to South Lake Tahoe on the bus tomorrow. He said if I was bored, they had an extra room at their Airbnb, but I was exhausted and didn’t want to leave my comfy bed. I had a crazy thought – could he pick up my box and drop it off in Walker via the bus when they passed through? I’d call the post office first thing in the morning and ask if he could pick it up instead of me. Mono said of course – I had shipped his ice axe home for him in Mammoth and he was happy to return the favor.
The trail provides. I keep thinking about this. It will all work out. I still feel exhausted – a level of exhaustion I am only just realizing.
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