Wednesday, August 3, 9:19 PM. Brewer.

We’re midway through the trip. We took it easy today, spent most of it resting and goofing around. No hiking. We needed the rest.

Last night we made camp beside a mountain lake, a black and white and blue mirror. It’s really too cold to swim in but that doesn’t stop the kids. They splashed around on the bank and shivered and huffed for ten minutes until Garrett like a fool dove in. Through chattering teeth he declared the water was fine. Not long afterward Claire plunged under. When she came up she swore it felt warm. It can’t be above 55°. Only Trevor had sense enough to stay out of it, though he paced the edge of the water and watched his older siblings like the world’s skinniest lifeguard, poking at the ground with a stick like an old Victorian squire.

I’ll never forget the sight of Garrett and Claire warming up afterward beside the fire, steaming like a couple of train engines, clinging to hot metal mugs of cocoa, with the sun falling behind the mountains. These are the times we came here for.