Perched on a giant rock overlooking a desert sunset, all red and purples and blues, I realised how content I was. Content might sound a dull word, but how many can claim it? Happy happens in a burst and burns out, but content is the smile that plays across your face for days. Living simply, drifting where the wind takes us, a tent, a backpack and someone to share it with, it’s amazing how little we need and how the accumulation of stuff drags us down into dissatisfaction. When you carry your life on your back you cut out the clutter and are able to enjoy the journey.

We’d walked over 20 miles that day down into Elephant Canyon, challenged our fears passing through a cave that was more a fissure in a rock that kept on going down, stuffed with wobbly logs to prevent us slipping down and getting stuck and had some great conversations with hikers we’d met on the path. Despite the hike, recovery was much more swift than the exhaustion of a desk job, spirits were high. Campfire risotto and rosemary damper filled out bellies until bursting and the nights were getting milder.

Tomorrow the road again, off to Grand Junction to catch the train to California, goodbye desert and hello spring.