Day 9-10: Overnight on the Ferry

On Monday, we boarded the Columbia and found a spot under the solarium. Other than a few people from a group at the pool hall the night before, we had our pick of where we wanted to set up. Jake, Leigh, Alex, and Josh dropped their stuff in the center of the boat close to the middle of the solarium. Jen and I decided on a far corner, a little more out of the wind but a little closer to the main door where everyone walked in and out. Being able to sit up in our lounge chairs and watch the water going by beside us made the occasional gusts of wind well worth it!

We ate dinner at the snack bar on the ferry, and as night fell, everyone found their own way to pass the time--taking pictures, playing cards, reading, daydreaming, napping. Keep in mind that the fall of night refers more to a figure of speech than an actual time, since "darkness" looks more like dusk in the Lower 48, and then the sun starts to peek its face out again.

Sometime in the night, I awoke to a cough, a slam of the door, or an uncomfortable position, I'm not sure. The clouds were hanging low in the sky, making the mountains we were passing disappear in places, and in others, it looked as if the mountain tops were floating on puffy, white cotton balls. I looked at the water, dark and mysterious, and wondered what was just below its surface. I thought if I stared at the same stretch of water long enough I could will a humpback or orca to show itself. I concentrated but nothing happened. I concentrated even more squinting my eyes and furrowing my brow, and again nothing. Good thing I'm not trying to make a living as a psychic!

And then it hit me. I thought of work and felt the most incredible tight feeling in my chest. I may have even asked it out loud: "How can I sit behind a desk after doing something like this? How are these people going to go back to being students after this?" Today we talked about it a little on the trail, but no one had any answers. I'm sure that's a question we'll struggle with as the trip goes on. At this point, June 30 and our return to NC just seems like some far-off abstract idea. And for now, I'm going to let it stay there...somewhere far off in the distance, something to think about on another day.