Nature 2, Self 1

A mid-vacation post! I am partaking of my first internet cafe experience. Fortunately with the prevalence of wireless internet use it is now cheap cheap cheap. The place is actually owned by my friend and trail buddy N's parents (with whom we paddled the Mighty Mississippi).

Wilderness trip summary:
Self's trace left on nature: 2 Nalgenes, one headband
Nature's trace left on self: 5 blisters, countless scrapes, the worst sunburn I've ever had.
Summary: Nature 2, Self 1.

Friends K and F were excellent trail companions, v. compatible for wilderness travel. There's no other couple I'd like to be lost deep in the woods well down a trail that doesn't exist on the maps and miles from where we need to be .

There is nothing more indulgent than the slow pace of vacation. Breakfast is a luxurious affair, comprised of simple food arranged purposefully and eaten slowly. Running with no thought to the time is a invigorating and at the same time, relaxing. Evenings I've been working my way through a gorgeous bottle of white wine and a round of camembert.

Read so far: No Last River, an extremely dangerous trip down a river in Tibet, The way men act by Elinor Lipman (confirming that The Inn at Lake Devine is by far my favorite), Ethel and Ernest by Raymond Briggs (a cute graphic novel about a couple in 1920-1970 England), Perseopolis (a really good graphic novel about a woman growing up in Iran c. 1980s). In process: On death and dying by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross (should be required reading for life), Harry Potter, and The best American magazine stories 2004.