Gladys Lake to Meadow in Yosemite Wilderness: We left before 5am to go over Island and Donahue Pass. We lounged around at the top of Donahue and watched the raindrops fall upon the snow melted lake. BD made a snow cone with his Gatorade electrolytes. We took a celebratory photo, this time of our bare butts.
Despite getting the perception of a fairytale trail romance with BD, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something felt off emotionally open my part. I developed feelings for someone who I knew wasn’t the one and I started to experience a sense of overwhelm. I have always been a hopeless romantic and felt that when I looked into someone’s eyes, I would just know.
We set up camp a few miles north of the pass beside an extensive meadow and made some food. I felt a strong call to roam around and journal so I went to look for a cozy spot away from the crowd. I found some large rocks bundled up in the middle of the meadow and crouched in between the dirt. After getting situated, I saw some backpacks and articles of clothing scattered about. Up ahead were three girls playfully skinny dipping between the meadow marshes. A marmot perched on the rock next to me and we peeped at the girls together. Within a couple of minutes, a few chipmunks began chewing at their bags, so I went to let the girls know. While doing so, they invited me for a skinny dip, so I hopped in! It was the sublime refreshment of mind I was looking for.
