I met Kharen on day four when she arrived at Terra Sol in Patagonia. Kharen is in her mid-thirties and is a nurse in Flagstaff. She’s done backpacking trips, knows herself, and works hard.
Kharen is tough and accepts whatever life throws at her. She is also my soul mate. I could always count on Kharen and would do anything for her. My commitment to her grew over time but solidified in Saguaro National Park. When I entered the park, I was hiking with Kharen and Jada. I typically walked ahead as Kharen doesn’t like ascending, and Jada was hiking through her leg injury.
Whenever I stopped, Kharen would soon catch up, as did Jada. That showed me that Kharen was a hiker. We coordinated stopping points such as water sources and campsites. That night we all camped together a short way up Mount Mica. The weather was going to turn for the worse, and Mica is 8668 feet high, so it would likely snow. I said I wanted to start early to try and beat the storm. Kharen agreed, and Jada thought about hunkering down and staying at the campsite.
In short, we all made it over that day and got caught by the storm. I was first over and descended into warmer temperatures. The weather still looked ominous, and I set up my tent off the trail under some tree to shelter from the sleet and have lunch. I was relaxing in my tent, and Kharen hiked past, noticing my tent. She called out, and I invited her into my tent to shelter from the storm. We chatted for a couple of hours and ate.
I decided to call it a day, but Kharen hiked on for a few more miles. She had a goal! I love that about her. She powered over Mica in sleet and snow and pushed on to her planned stop. I did a short day. Inspired by Kharen, I resolved to hike hard the next day.
Those events (and shared ice cream) endeared me to Kharen.
I committed to Kharen when we were in Flagstaff to hitch with her from the state-line campground back to Flagstaff. We also camped most nights together on that stretch, except one night when I hiked to Mather campground at the Grand Canyon, and Kharen did a shorter day. I kidded with Kharen about getting her to do a 30-mile day. I know she can do it, but part of our banter is always to push back. We did over 28 miles one day, but I couldn’t get her to budge and do two more miles. It was the principle.
Next: Whit