When was the last time you did something for the first time?

Magic and love flows around Scout and Frodo’s home. It’s a well oiled machine within a well oiled machine. Their natural storytelling silences a garden full of excited hikers, filling us with wisdom right when we need the last few pieces for the adventure puzzle.

“When was the last time you did something for the first time?”

Scout prompts us to ask ourselves and those back home. I will proceed to think about this for at least the next 12 hours, as we all delve into a day of ‘firsts’ on the trail.

I rocked up to their home with a messy rainbow of colours on my body and on my pack and was christened with my trail name,  ‘Clash’. Perfect.

The ‘first day of school’

feeling passes and I realise that no one is intimidating, we’re all kind of stupid, and everyone is here for a really good time.

“Today was such a good day”

we say on repeat to eachother- we can’t stop smiling. We’re grinning from ear to ear as we splash around like kids in the creek that provides as our first ice bath. Our first dunk in water since leaving san diego a couple days ago, or has it been longer? Time is already lost to the miles of desert gold dust that gather up our hardening legs.

There are burritos for breakfast after putting in a 5 mile climb by 8am. There is trail magic at lunch with fresh fruit and beers. A snakey section where we have fear for only a few seconds, then proceed to sing ‘hey mr snakey snake’ as we hop over their cosy nap spots. By day 2 we have energy to use our stoves for the first time and cook hot meals. We play games at camp that give us belly laughs and are seen into a nights sleep amongst some singing frogs (i’m not the only one who can hear them, right?). Winds collapse tents and a few hikers are already hiding in the pit toilets.

The classy class of 2022, indeed.

“Today was such a good day” is passed around again. And again. We agree that we can all get used to this, and life is good. I wonder if this will be the title to episodes 4-100+ in this strange new reality tv show, where a load of random free spirited people are left at the southern terminus in Campo, with only a handful of instructions- to have fun, make wise choices, and walk to Canada.

The first laughs of the following day are into our frozen lipbalms and we wander off into the sunrise for another, guess what? GREAT DAY.

Peace out for now, lovers.