I woke up at 7:30am and went to pee at
the Paradise Inn. It was a happening place full of people getting
breakfast, hanging out at the fire place. I still felt dizzy walking
around. I followed a ranger to the climber office that opened at
6am. He recommended I hike and backpack in the snow if I had gear.
I waited in my car and closed my eyes for a bit waiting for Visitor Center to
open at 10am. At 9:30am the sun was out and everyone was taking pictures
of the Glacier Peak in front of me. I saw lots of climbers leaving at the
trail head and lots of climbers also returning. It’s a perfect day to be
hiking in the snow. But I was in dire need of rest and sleep. My
head was still spinning. I just don’t think it’s safe for me to be
walking or driving in this condition or hiking in the snow.
At 11am I drive to Cougar Campground and noticed this new
system for paying. It is like a parking meter, credit card style. I
had to read and follow instructions. There are six loops here and you
have to drive through each loop checking each tag per site to look at dates of
reservations etc… This whole process took me an hour. I finally
finished pitching tent at 1:30pm. I ate even though I wasn’t feeling
hungry. I think I was too exhausted to feel hunger.
While I ate I saw a group of teenagers with gloves
picking up random trash on the campground. They looked bored and unhappy
without playfulness or humor of youngsters. I guess this activity isn’t
on their top to do list for the summer. I saw rice crackers would go to
them and so I chased them down to surprise them. The boy’s face lit up
like a Christmas tree and life was back in his youthful body. I told him
he had to share. He has never seen or had rice crackers before. I
guess I lugged that thing for him. Just to cheer him up and reward him
for doing good, in service and protection of nature. It was all worth
it. My fatigued body and mind felt a warmth, a glow in my chest, my
tongue tasted sweetness and my eyes felt peaceful and joyful. That was so
much fun.
I crawled into my sleeping bag and a mosquito somehow
made it in with me. It buzzed all over. I slept for three and half
hours. I got up at 5:30pm and I didn’t feel dizzy anymore. At 7pm I
convinced myself to eat a sandwich, I didn’t feel hungry but I needed to
eat.
The wash room here is dirty. The restroom had
electrical plug that was high up. There is no hand dryer or soap.
There is cloth hook behind the stall door. The right sink clogs.
The restroom is cleaned at about 11am.
Is it too late to drink tea at 9:30pm? This cold
weather required layers to stay warm including snow boots, so naturally a cup
of High Mountain tea was a necessity to complete this perfection. The sky
was clear tonight, I had hoped to see stars tonight. I missed them.
I sat and drank tea in the car to stay warm and out of attacks of
mosquitoes. I’ve got bites all over my face. I felt tension in my
body and I decided to meditate tonight.
