Claire and Big Spoon
What you are about to read is part of a chapter called “A Dream and Desert Snow” from my upcoming book on my Pacific Crest Trail and Pacific Northwest adventures.
I’m excited to announce the book should be finished by April. While I have gone the self-publishing route with prior works, I’m hoping to get a publisher for this memoir that tells the unique tale of a 25-year-old setting out to thru-hike the 2,650-mile-long Pacific Crest Trail. I met wonderful characters along the way and took many great and unexpected twists upon my path.
The book is based on the blog I kept during the trail and beyond: www.trailtraveler.wordpress.com.
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That night I had a beautiful dream. The ruby rock Big Spoon showed me by the fire triggered it. I was on the PCT alone, walking through mist and open meadows. I saw something shining from the earth. I knelt to find the object, sifted the soft ground with my hand. What I discovered was something remarkable—a dazzling crystal the size and weight of a chess pawn. I picked it up and examined it. The crystal emitted light like a lamp and helped me see through the mist. It had a perfect little hole at the top to string a chain through to wear it as a necklace.
I was trying to find a chain for the crystal so I could wear it when the frigid morning air woke me. It was dawn. Dark clouds smothered the sky and a thin layer of snow spread across the roof of my tent. I instantly thought of Big Spoon when I saw the snow. He slept last night without a tent. I poked my head out and looked his way. At some point during the night he had wrapped himself like a mummy in his tent tarp. The tarp was covered in snow.
We were at mile 235 in the San Bernardino National Forest, ahead of us a climb into the coldness of 9,000 feet. I shivered as I dressed, putting on my thermals first, followed by my pants, shirt, down jacket, rain jacket, fleece hat, and gloves. The Tallyhos put on every piece of clothing they had, too. Purple Princess and Donezo remained in their tent, saying they were going to wait until it got warmer before they headed on. Big Spoon, who woke shortly after me and quickly packed up, said to Purple Princess and Donezo it might not get warmer for some time, that it looked like more snow was coming. “You don’t want to end up trapped,” he said and got going on the trail. Saltlick took to the trail next, followed by Pandora. I packed up and started walking a few minutes later. The unexpected springtime snow started to rush down.
At first the snow was beautiful—a pleasant surprise to the senses after so many miles of dry, hot land. But the higher I climbed the harder it snowed, and the colder I became. The low temperatures provoked me to hike very fast for the sake of staying warm. I passed Pandora, who looked like a down sleeping bag in her many fluffy layers; and then Saltlick, who tramped up the frosty slope in the manner you’d imagine your grandparents did “back in their day.”
Soon after passing Saltlick I caught up to Big Spoon. He was looking all around at the white-dusted mountains as he walked up the ridge with his makeshift trekking poles—two long pine sticks he found in the forest. I quickened my pace to get to where I was walking right behind him. He slowed down at the sound of my heavy breathing.
“Beautiful, isn’t it? Who would’ve thought? Snow in the desert,” he said.
I stuck behind him, the land turning more powdery and mystical the higher we hiked. Mountains emerged before us like wild angels. I was very cold but in awe. My wonderment reminded me of my dream of the stunning crystal. I recounted the dream to Big Spoon. He stopped when I finished my narration, causing me to stop, too. Large snowflakes fell over us and gradually melted into our clothes. Big Spoon turned to face me, a peculiar look in his deep blue eyes. He unzipped his jacket and reached into the pen pocket of his shirt. What he pulled out and held before me in his outstretched hand I could hardly believe. It was the crystal from my dream.
“It’s a Herkimer diamond,” he said and let me hold it. “A quartz crystal that’s found in New York. My mom gave it to me not too long ago as a keepsake. Something told me to bring it with me on the trail.”
I held the Herkimer diamond up to my eye. Crude translucent prisms made up its sharp shape. It glowed on all sides as it let in and dispersed the bright whiteness of the surrounding snow. It was magnificent. The most beautiful stone I’d ever seen. The only difference between it and the one in my dream was that, instead of having a hole, this one had a silver loop attached to it for a necklace to be strung through.
“This is the same crystal from my dream.
Have you shown this to me before?” I asked Big Spoon, astonished by the sheer resemblance.
Big Spoon shook his head. “Never.”A moment of thoughtful silence passed between us. How odd, I thought. How very odd. I returned the crystal to him. He slipped it back in his pocket then started again on the trail.