I have walked a grand total of zero miles, and so far so good.  The Mighty Columbia is rolling on, 50ft from my tent in the Rocky Coulee campground. It’s an auspicious place to start.

The sky is large and I hear the lapping of the water and the distant drone of trucks climbing up to the plateau from the river here at Vantage.

A good omen: Ten minutes after Chris left me, I was visited by this herd.

It reminds me what Gary Snyder said:

The wild requires

That we learn the terrain,

Nod to all the plants and animals and birds,

Ford the streams and cross the ridges

And tell a good story when we get back home.