It Only Hurts When I Walk

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY SEVEN

Today the desert was like a swamp, hot, muggy, sticky, disgusting. It made me wonder, not why I live in the desert but why anyone would live in some place where it's often hot and humid, like Florida. Last night's hike was a sweatfest and I started to get a little chafing on my thighs. I tried to treat it this morning but by this afternoon it had only gotten worse. Just walking became painful. It is not what one wants to deal with when you have a hike to do.

When I left the house to head up to the trailhead the moon was already up to greet me.

And while the sun was down there was still light coming from the West horizon.

Unfortunately, when I got to the trailhead the mountain obscured the moon and left me somewhat bereft of light. But since I was walking quite slowly and gingerly it didn't matter much. It doesn't require too much light to move at a turtle's pace.

After a while the moon made its appearance and the landscape changed. I could see! It didn't cause my pace to quicken but it did alleviate my fear of inadvertently stepping on a snake.

With the moon in it's full glorious glow I was tempted to start moving quickly to cover more terrain but my swollen and irritated inner thighs quickly said don't even think about it.

I love the desert landscape at night during the full moon. It's almost magical.

And I can't wait until next month so I can go out and hike somewhere footloose and pain free. I'm thinking Joshua Tree would be a good spot since it looks a bit like a moonscape. So put October 3 on your calendar. Full Moon Hike at Joshua Tree. You're all invited.