Field notes

Loose scraps from the journals — lists, sketches, and half-thoughts that didn't make the expeditions.

Marginalia from the fictional journals. Presented as found.

Packing list, third draft (Sky Islands)

• journal + 4 pencils (one for trading)
• compass (believe it)
• rope — do I need rope in a balloon? — keep rope
• tea. more tea.
• the ugly true map (NOT the pretty one)
• socks: 3 pairs, a luxury, earned

Things the trail has taught me (running list)

1. Listen before you shout.
2. Order matters more than distance.
3. Sound is a map.
4. The scratches are the calibration.
5. Tea is a room you carry with you.
6. —this page intentionally left for the next lesson—

Sketch: Committee, from memory

[A small drawing of a moth, labeled: “glow steady, patience unlimited, departed at dusk. not collected. thanked.”]

Overheard, copied down

• “Very slowly.” — Peto, on how the islands stay up
• “It’s Tuesday.” — Sarella, on everything
• “The islands drift. Do not trust the distances, only the order.” — the surveyor, forty years early

Unsent letter, draft

“Dear — the canyon repeated me back and I didn’t mind. That’s the whole letter. That’s the whole trip, really.”

Reminder, underlined

Resole boots (third time). Ask Sarella about winter routes. Write to Peto — seeds sprouted?? Draw the wren-that-isn’t (do not draw the wren-that-isn’t).

Source notes

Fictional marginalia from the original expedition journals. No real correspondence or notes are reproduced.