6:00 p.m.: 30 minutes ‘til I depart for the ‘Dacks.  I briefly survey the disaster that is my bedspread from behind my laptop screen, and decide that I should probably start packing.  Reaching to grab the cord to plug in my MacBook, I realize with a start that I can barely see it over the volume of clothing, food and gear that litters my floor and bed.  With only a half-hour before my ride arrives, I have a lot to accomplish.  Separating out the flotsam and jetsam, I tell myself that I probably should have realized that packing for two trips takes longer than packing for just one. 

It was pitch black out, even though the sun had barely set beyond the distant mountains. Dense cloud cover and even denser evergreens obscured the weak light of the quarter moon, making it nearly impossible to find secure footing on the slick rocks that studded the muddy trail. I had been hiking since 6 a.m. and now had no food, little water and was still three hours away from my car. I was beginning to regret not checking the batteries in my headlamp — the weak beam had faded away in to insignificance within minutes of switching it on, slowing my pace to a crawl as I squinted at my feet, making sure I wasn’t about to fall in to the winding Opalescent River.