#105 Old Orchard Shelter to Trimpi Shelter Day 44: ATMM 510.9 – ATMM 524.3
Medicine-Man replies in a concerned tone, “I’ve noticed that you’ve been slipping a little. To which I reply in a flat tone, “You have no idea.”
The whole camp seems to be in a big hurry to leave this morning. The word on the trail is that rain is coming later today.
Uncle Lody and I are taping the sore spots on our feet when Sparky walks into camp. He tells us about his bear encounter late last night. He camped alone on the bald about two miles back. Around four this the morning he was awakened by the sound of a bear grunting just a few feet from his head. He answered the bear’s grunt with his own startled grunt which sent the bear bolting into the tree line.
Sparky offers us a better tape than what we are using. In return we offer him water so he doesn’t have to trudge down to the water source.
My mood is changing, and not for the good. I’ve been thinking too much about my son and the events of the past couple of years. Mostly of recent trouble he’d gotten himself into over the past few months. Short scenes keep playing in my head like a movie set to loop. I can’t stop the loops. An anger builds up in me I can’t seem to control. The familiar situation where simple things becoming impossible to comprehend has returned. My mind shuts down in an attempt to block the visions. I am numb again. Rational though - impossible.