When I was struck down by sickness in Washington I made it to a clinic in North Bend. Just as in Castaway when Tom Hanks creates a companion, Wilson, made of a Wilson volleyball with a hand-print face, I created Winston from an inflated nitrile glove (courtesy of the clinic in North Bend) with sunglasses and a hat. He was my anchor. He was my inspiration. He was with Jonathan and I through the good and bad, the ups and the downs, and most importantly he weighed very little. His downfall was a tragedy, but he survived long enough to see me through my ailment. In case you're wondering, he lasted a little more than an entire afternoon and he popped on a bush.

Sometimes living in the woods makes you a little crazy (sometimes living around people makes you crazy, too). I'm not admitting to talking to this little inflated glove with a face drawn on it. What I'm saying is that while we hiked the PCT the journey wore at us in strange ways we had not expected. We looked for ways to blow off the steam and relax. This was one of them. Maybe we'll tell the story about giving our packs to a stranger so our hiking group could run a section of trail sometime.

Cheers,

Dan