Big shout out to Alex's folks the trail angels! They drove Dan to the doc when he rolled his ankle near Big Bear, Ca, and put Joe and him up for a few days, in addition to driving all 3 back to near the Mexican border for the PCT Kickoff! Also a big shout for Joe and his wife. Joe arranged for Dan and Alex to be picked up and taken to his place in Oregon, making his poor family deal with two smelly hikers. Reports are Joe has a wonderful family who took care of Dan and Alex spectacularly.
Alex and Dan should be in Canada within 4 days. Unless, of course, a bear, wolf, psychotic mental hospital refugee or beguiling local gals delay their departure. Check out the GPS Spot postings and see when he reaches the border!
I promised a last post from me, sorry it has taken so long. I know why Dan slowed way down on the postings....it takes a good bit of time! The info is dated now by 8 weeks...but here it is. (I got to meet Alex one day in Drakesbad, but we were leaving as he arrived. All we got to share was a beer. Sadly, I never got to meet Joe.)
Read past the old photo for more recent events.
This hiking thing must be in the DNA. Below are pictures from the summer of 1977 with the old man (me, thankfully in the longer shorts) when I wasn't so old, a college buddy (do you recognize yourself Buck?) and Dan's grandfather (still kicking though not hiking much anymore) at a cemetary on Fort Bragg. Dan's grandfather was researching an article he wrote about a Civil War skirmish. We were on the way to a 4 day hike on the AT near Asheville, North Carolina. No comments about the shorts please.
The following pictures are all out of order and I mess it up worse when I try to fix it. Sorry.
This is a lava tube caused when an eruption created molten rock tunnels just before Hat Creek Rim on the way toward Burney and Mt.Shasta.
The guest hiker standing by a geothermal vent the sign said was a geyser. It was steaming hot and very noisy.
Below is a panorama of Hat Creek Rim - over 20 miles of waterless, dusty and hot hiking. Did I mention hot? We did some night hiking to avoid some of the heat. Very rough and rocky. Had to share the trail with some cows who were none-too-pleased we were there. Did I mention hot and dusty?
Dan a few miles before the lava tube. He met a lady in the post office who was a National Park campground host. She and her husband agreed to let us drop some of our gear with them so we could hike the Rim into Burney with less weight. Janice was meeting us in Burney and we came back 2 days later to collect our gear and give them some wine. What a nice couple, he retired from CHIP's and they live full time in the RV.
Then it went all "Old Faithful" on him...........that guy can move pretty quickly!
A closer pic of the boiling water.
Dan by the vent........ "Hey, I can't see your face."
Much better, your Mom will be happy.
A mile or so from the vent was this mud lake........gurgling, muddy, sulphuric steam. Hard to see, but it was boiling.
Here you can almost make out the boiling and bubbles.
We stayed in Drakesbad, which has a hot spring pool and a chow hall. They are fabulous to hikers: showers, towels and use of the facilities are free. They even wash your clothes for you! They give discounts on the meal, but wisely, not the beer. We soaked in the hot spring pool and drank more than a few! We saw these newborns poking out of a hole on the way from the chow hall. No they aren't chipmunks, California Ground Squirrels is the proper moniker.
Sunset on Hat Creek Rim.
Daylight view from our camping spot on the Rim.
I felt a bit nauseous so I decided to leave Sleepyhead and set out. I figured he'd catch me in a couple of hours. As I hiked, drank and thought....I figured since we'd already been doing over 20 miles a day..I'd show him I was still fit and see if I could make it 20 miles before he caught me.
Ah, testosterone induced competition!!!!!
I made it 18 and was pretty proud of that....he was only mildly impressed.
I wasn't very hungry because I still felt a bit nauseous. I opted for gummi bears and kept downing the water (I carried over a gallon as it was a waterless stretch and we'd left some gear with the nice RVers.) Dan caught me as I was resting in some rare shade on a pumice rock.We hiked a bit further and then I stopped. I leaned over and heaved mightily, tossing all the water I had just consumed. It was a pretty violent wretching episode but I managed to keep the splatter off my feet. I marvelled at the pieces of gummi bears shining like colored jewels as the sun shone on my puke. Red and green were the prettiest.
Dan was amazed I directed the stream so far to avoid my shoes. He chastised me for some reason I haven't yet fathomed.
We hiked on and I tossed a few more times, ending up with the dry heaves. We had about 5 miles to go to the road to Burney. Obvioulsy not absorbing any of the water anymore, I didn't want to risk the humiliation of getting dehydrated and having to be dragged from the woods. I knew that had the potential to dog me with the entire family and most of my friends the rest of my days (Bruce, Curt and Buck would all have had a field day!) ........... No thank you!
We crossed another road and opted to hike that road and hitch if we could. We hiked, but there wasn't much traffic.
It was looking bleak and I was fading pretty fast from not keeping any water down. Finally a nice guy in a Jeep took mercy on us and rode us into Burney. It took a yeoman's effort, but I made it in without puking. He dropped us off at a motel. After dry heaving a few times, we checked in.
I was feeling worse so I soaked in the tub..... feeling puny ......and pale.
About that time Janice arrived and sort of blew me a kiss. She seemed concerned I might be contagious.
"You look like a stray cat" she pronounced matter-of-factly. "A wet stray cat."
I'd lost about 10 pounds and really was pretty dehydrated by then. She apparently ascertained I would live, so she took Dan and went out to dinner. I wallowed in my misery.
The next day we picked up our gear and headed for the coast. We saw more than a few sights. ( I will spare you any pictures of restrooms...............the locations of which I kept an acute awareness.)
Here is a lighthouse that can be reached only at low tide. It had a bunch of kid's toys in the yard. Pretty cool to have parents who are lighthousekeepers.
Some offerings from the 3 Rivers Brewery...... an all women owned and operated establishment.
Great food and beer, although I am relying on Dan and Janice's word. Alas, me being the sickly one, my rice was served plain in a bowl and not fermented.
A redwood tree trunk hollowed and laid over. Amazingly huge!
Trail magic in the Redwood forest.
Janice by a giant trunk. Here Dan and J thought I was lost and dead. I merely went off in the woods to be sick by myself. They were none too happy.......... and I heard about it. I'd tried to call, but cell phones apparently don't work in redwood forests.
Burney Falls
Burney Falls!!!! Teddy Roosevelt called it the 8th natural wonder of the world!
Amazing! The river pops up out of the ground about a half mile above the falls because the aquifer meets hard stone and then it plummets over this falls. The pourous rock is the reason it has so many bridal veils on either side of the main falls.This is one of the many, mightily moving natural wonders we saw!
The stray cat and Janice.
I went to a walk in clinic and the doc said I either had a bug or bad water. He treated me for both and I recovered eventually, though the meds kept me from having any of the wonderful local brews and wines Janice seemed to enjoy at every restaurant!
We returned to the same spot where the guy in the jeep picked us up and dropped Dan off to hike on.
J and I left for Oregon and the Columbia River Gorge. It was great trip that included the Bridge of the Gods and the Eagle Creek Trail, both of which we hiked or saw before Dan arrived several weeks later.
This old man was transformed by this trip. If you drink a bourbon or two with me, I might even share how.
To anyone thinking about an adventure....DO NOT PUT IT OFF!!!
Adventures illuminate within and without. DO IT NOW!
Amen to the do it now! Tell stories to your grandkids about sitting behind a desk or going to the shop if you want.....life and work should best enable adventures.
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