I woke at 5am this morning. Just awake. It got down to 36 degrees last night and I slept like a baby in my fuzzy onesie over my clothes, under two blankets plus the 30 pound weighted blanket. When I woke I just lay there, eyes open for nearly two hours, thinking about life. Cold in the van, perfect under the covers. Heater still broken.
I’m 20 days out from my last supply run. I can see the end of things. Six pounds of ground beef left. The fun stuff is gone, string cheese, macadamia nuts, and the La Croix supply is dwindling. What I’m enjoying most right now is my coffee. Three cups a day, which I know is on the high side, but it’s working for me. Heavy cream always, and a heaping teaspoon of ghee in the first cup for energy. There was a time a couple years back when coffee stopped working for me and I went off it for a year and a half. I’ve actually done that a few times. I hope it keeps working. I’m loving it.
As supplies dwindle I feel an awareness that this is good for me. A healthy exercise. I’m targeting June 1 as my next supply day, which will mark a one month interval. Once I’m through the ground beef I’ll be doing the pantry excavation, going through every last corner of the van for tuna fish, sardines, beef broth packets, almond butter, that kind of thing. The freezer has changed everything about how long I can go between runs. Before I got it a couple months ago I was resupplying about once a week. But I’m still figuring out how to optimize. Things like coffee filters can become a serious issue out in the wilderness. There are a lot of things like that. You’ve just got to stay organized and on top of it. It’s just diligence.
The music keeps flowing. I feel I could keep it going but I’m giving some attention to video too, just finishing up a visual for one of the Hi-Fi Lonesome songs. I posted a new Chasing the Butter song yesterday called This Is a Feature. Having fun with that stuff. What’s emerging is that Chasing the Butter seems to have found a sound, this EDM dance direction. I didn’t see that coming at all, but it’s a thing. I notice a nice balance developing between these Roads entries and the music. Something is taking shape over there. But it’s not “the thing.” It’s just a feature.
Meanwhile Shannon slept outside last night in her tiny backpacking tent on a ledge overlooking the canyon about 50 yards from my van. She’s got a sleeping bag rated to zero degrees. I’ve never met anyone more into hiking and backpacking. I enjoy hearing her stories and her passion for it. I’ve learned a lot about that world from her. We’ve settled into a good routine. I’m basically in the van with the door shut until mid-afternoon. Then I mill about while still doing things. She keeps herself busy with her own pursuits. Most evenings we build a fire and sit around and chat. It’s been nice having a buddy, especially for this stretch.
My thoughts are starting to turn to June. The Grand Canyon through the end of the month, then southwestern Colorado. I’ll see Mesa Verde, the Four Corners spot. Then Durango. Packages waiting in Telluride and a friend I’m looking forward to seeing there. Friends in Grand Junction, Silverton, and two friends camp hosting on the eastern side of southern Colorado. Another nomad friend passing through that I want to connect with. And I want to make it to my old hometown of Boulder to see some dear old friends. A lot of variables, but I’m sure it’ll fall into place.
As I lay awake this morning a lot of my thinking was about the people I love. I’ve been caught up in these adventures and it’s time to make some calls. I’m going to prioritize that this afternoon. I know I typically don’t like calling people unannounced, and maybe that’s part of why I’ve been feeling out of touch. But I can push through that resistance and make the effort. It goes both ways, I know that. But I can pick up the phone. I treasure the people in my life. A lot of people have been very good to me.