“Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one falls when there is not another two lift him up (Ecc 4:9-10).”

I was blessed by the Lord on my PCT hike in that I had no significant tumble or fall. I had a lot of foot pain on the Washington portion and had to get different hiking shoes. They helped but didn’t resolve the issue completely. God gave me grace and Tylenol.

One afternoon Strider (Jerry) had gone ahead to secure a tent sight for the evening at Blue Lake in the Indian Heaven Wilderness. (It should be renamed Mosquito Heaven Wilderness. I was reminded of Pippin’s line in LOTR when he said, “What do they eat when they can’t get Hobbitts?)

I was tired and limping toward the lake when I turned my ankle on a root and started to go down hard. I just had time to pivot slightly and landed on my left shoulder. As I lay there a little stunned, I took stock of my situation. My ankle was fine. My shoulder didn’t hurt. Everything seemed OK. Then I said to myself, “I’m just going to lay here for a while.” So there I lay in a heap on the ground. It felt good to rest.

Though Strider wasn’t with me in that instance, his consistant presence and patience with my somewhat slower pace was a comfort and encouragement. There’s an African proverb that says, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

A lot of people try to travel through life alone. Bad idea! My experience on the PCT convinced me that I couldn’t have done it alone. Thanks to Jerry for making it with me.