Thursday, 6/26 12:40pm

At 8225 feet going into Pueblano camp.

3:15 pm. At Pueblano. Jonas, oliver, Richard, Jeff H and Eric went up to Wilson Mesa without packs. When they came back they reported that the trail up to Wilson Mesa was a brutal trail. The worst yet. Loose rock. Lots of it. I'm glad I stayed down here at Pueblano. Apparently Richard and one of his sons pooped up on the Mesa. Going for some kind of stinky record I suppose. The nickname Peak Pooper was briefly discussed.

I asked Pueblano Spar Climbing staff if they heard about the dead burro we found. They heard it called in on the radio. Chris has promised to carry my day pack if I will go up Baldy with him so I guess I will go. Hike to Miranda Tomorrow. Tough hike. I'm sore all over but I've spent the past several hours sitting down relaxing. It's like medicine. I'm finally getting into the rhythm of this place now that we're at 8,000 feet in back country you can hear the occasional banjo, the sound of spar-pole climbing. Time stands still a chipmunk just ran by like 6 inches from me like the 3 does that walked right up to me the other night or the 2 bucks we saw on the road yesterday. Of course that burro carcass reminds us there is danger here from all those mountain lions. A quiet afternoon watching Chris, August and Danny playing crazy 8's. I went up on the staff porch and the staff gave me honey peanut butter and ritz crackers. A nice boost I sorely needed.

They call chipmunks "Mini Bears". We see a lot of them trying to steal food from our packs and we have to chase them away.

Pueblano Ruins is our best camp site yet! There is nothing ruined about Pueblano Ruins. Trees. Grassy meado, creek, bear line, sump and fire pit all close by. Pilot / Copilot with no walls. (Pilot Copilot refers to an outdoor toilet with less privacy than most are accustomed to).

Just beautiful. Tomorrow we climb 1000 feet to 9,000 feet to set up our base camp to assault Baldy the next day. Our hike is 40 % done. It's just great. Today was great. God is great. I can't believe how beautiful this canyon is. I have never seen so many plants and so many colors of green. Praise God!! Keep us safe up on Baldy and the rest of our hike. Keep Michele safe at chemo tomorrow.

I'm getting used to praying the rosary on the trail. It helps me focus on the beauty, forget the tiredness and get through the day but some times we go so fast I cannot breathe or remember where I am in my prayers.