Day 16: Service and Refreshment

We made a mistake last night. While camping by this beautiful river, we left our cooking gas outside. I, trying to give my amazing husband a rest after all his mornings of being the first up in camp, decided I would go heat the water to make hot chocolate and coffee. It was sooo cold outside! The leftover water from the previous night’s pots was frozen, and the mules were trying to lick it out of the pots. After chasing them away, I lit the stove. I waited and waited for that water to boil. When 15 minutes had passed, I went back to the tent. I went in and out checking on the water that just refused to boil. When 30 minutes had passed and I was chilled to the bone, my servant heart disappeared, and I marched back to the tent, giving up on the task. Never leave your gas cans outside in the mountains where it gets cold!

On a more positive note, we had a glorious morning of sunshine. We all took baths at the river and washed clothes. It was even sunny enough to dry them! Our tents really appreciated getting dried out before being packed away.

Unbelievable cold water, but very nice to be clean!