getting sick in the mountains
January 15, 2022
It was still warm when I arrived in the Davies Mountains. I set up my tarp and sleeping pad and sat down to rest for a few minutes. I took my paper and pen and scribbled down this poem:
desert sunsets
lullabies
the song you sang
under the skies
a dream
you came with me
and then went away in the wind
a tumbleweed
the yucca trees
chollas
sotol leaves
blind prickly pear napoles
that was the song you sang to me
I fell asleep shortly after the sun went down. The wind whipping all around bringing cooler temperatures and reminding me that it was still winter. A noise shuffling on my tarp woke me up. I grabbed my headlight and shined the light. A skunk. About to crawl onto my sleeping pad. It picked it’s head up, looked at my light, and then turned around to scurry away back into the night.
The wind was still whipping around, but it was warm. A few hours of sleep and I woke up to start tossing and turning. I didn’t feel quite right. I had eaten dinner and everything was fine, but I noticed my head aching and my body starting to feel really uncomfortable. I continued to rest and close my eyes drifting in and out of sleep at times. I woke up again at four. Head spinning. I got up to move around a bit only to feel nauseous. I threw up. My body starting shivering and shaking. I felt so alone. Helpless. Afraid. Cold. Feeling so ill. And then I threw up again and packed my things. I got into the car and started driving to my next destination. Slowly. Ten minutes of driving. Five minutes sitting on the side of the road. Slowing going along just before dawn.
I called my best friend and talked it through at 7 AM after I made it to a parking lot exhausted and sick. I rested that day. Slowed way down. It took all day, but by the evening I was feeling better. I had slept. I had eaten a little bit. My thought patterns transitioned from negative to positive and I felt like I was once again on track to be traveling. My next stop was Big Bend and I was so excited. But, this sickness was a reminder to slow down. To take things slow. To be mindful of my body. To not panic. To grow.
