The Long List - Erin Hamilton, GY

A long list of what we Ioved or learned to deal with during our first 10 day hitch in Pinedale, WY:

Long car rides with a Jersey driver, amazing views, south park quotes, mosquitoes, hot days, enormous rocks in the middle of the trail, pb&j every day, mosquitoes, teddy grahams, story time around the fire, mosquitoes, developing a language only our crew understands (‘my water has Narnia’, ‘ you’ve been aubbed’, and ‘cow-bear-bush’), questions of the day during stretch circle (if the world ends in 2012, how would you hope it happens? If you could shrink any animal down to Chihuahua size, what would you chose?), mosquitoes, realizing no one remembered bug spray, falling and bucking trees with cross-cuts, crossing cold streams, pack mules, Josh surprising us with bug spray and twizzlers, fire hardened trees, bent picks, broken wedges, nicknames for everything and everyone (gonzo, she-hulk, aubination), the sound of the grouse, inside jokes, mosquitoes, and lastly the great feeling of accomplishment after a long days work.

The Senses - Brady Wiegand, GY Expedition

I see a trailer and our rig. I see the outdoors the way they are suppose to be seen. I saw a woodchuck on the way to the bathroom a few moments ago. He just stared at me and as I stared back I felt…good

I can feel the roughness of the ground that I sit on. My Carhartts are warm and worn and feel almost like leather. My shirt is a part of me. I don’t even notice it touching my skin.

Flies buzz around my head as a bird squawks in the distance. The creek can be heard but I have been habitualized to its constant roar so I normally take no notice.

When I close my eyes my nose can smell the fresh clean air of the wilderness and if you try hard enough you can even pick-up your own stench.

My taste buds are consumed by the gram cracker that I just ate. If I try hard enough I can detect the faded trace of the chili-mac we had for dinner.