My First Time

So as I look over the past month, I realize that there are a lot of things that I have done on this trip that I had never done before. What follows is a list of firsts:

First time to set up a tent on a platform (The picture is Bare Loon Lake in the Yukon Territory)

First time to hitch hike

First time to cross international border on foot

First time to go through customs twice in one day

First time to average fewer than 10 showers a month (and other unmentionable hygiene firsts)

First time to kill a squirrel (I killed two and Holly got one, too. Not something we're proud of)

First time to touch a glacier

First time to poach berries

First time to sleep in a stranger’s house

First time to to sleep more on a camping mat than a bed in a month (six nights in a bed since leaving Seattle July 13)

First time to see a train wreck

First time to drive a car onto a ferry (Did this twice, and Holly got to, too)

First time to shower on a boat

First time to ride the fast ferry

First time to split wood for kindling (this will take many more times to reach proficiency)