Back in the meadows, standing under The Nose

As we drove past El Cap Meadows, we decided to stop once more to gaze up at the big stone. The emotions were almost overwhelming as we looked up at the route we had just finished the night before. There was sadness that it was all over, and amazement at the immensity of the whole thing. But most of all, there was tremendous pride and excitement over having accomplished something so huge.

We stood there for a few minutes and finished our beers, then drove on to the housekeeping camp to take showers. I think I showered for at least half an hour. Dr. Bronner's magic peppermint soap never felt so good.

After cleaning up, we went to Curry Village to get a pizza. As a symbolic gesture of our dominance over the pig, we chose the most pork-filled pizza toppings we could: pepperoni and sausage. (We would have gotten ham too if they'd had it.) We devoured that pizza. Damn pig.