In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks
20 July 2010
Darlene left camp early again, saying the bugs were bothering her. I knew that my slowness was leaving her impatient and I can't blame her. All throughout this hike I never was able to jump up and go. I always needed to take my time, think over my plans, enjoy a breakfast and then slowly get started. Staying warm was always important to me.
So with Darlene gone I decided I was not going to let her rush me. I was going to take my time, stop when I wanted to photograph, talk with others, or simply to enjoy the scenery. Why rush through wilderness?
This was a wise decision because although the trail at times was nothing more than a path through a pine forest, in that forest was much wildlife to enjoy, from wildflowers and insects to a few distant vistas. I took more photos today than on any other day to this point.
This trail offered much diversity on a smaller scale. Not only were there many flowers here, but butterflies and lizards and gargantuan trees. Once over Bear Ridge the trail descended along the side of a mountain, until it eventually hit water again and the climbing began again in ernest.
I didn't see Darlene again until almost noon, when I found her sitting by a creek. She wanted to make sure I had a safe crossing. Today's creek were nothing like yesterday's whitewater.
We were going uphill along a creek that fanned out in parts. I liked this section. I talked briefly to a PCTer who had packed his Canon dSLR as well. He had hiked all three long-distnce trails, from the Appalachian Trail to the Continental Divide to now the Pacific Crest Trail. (Did this man have a job?!) He photographs nature and posts blogs of his trips, but claimed he didn't make any money off his adventures.
I was determined to tell Darlene today that I wanted to hike longer than her usual 2pm end time. I had had enough clean clothes and wanted to get some miles in. We weren't spending any time together anyway once in camp, and the hikes in the last few days were solo hikes anyway, so what difference would a mile or two matter?
My goal was to sleep at least one day on a pass and witness a sunrise over the peaks, watch the colors fade across the sky. Darlene's goal today was Rosemarie Meadows, two miles below Selden Pass and a pretty meadow in its own right. It reminded me of someplace in Bavaria, and I felt like yodeling.
"Is this place OK?" she asked me.
I was honest and answered back "I'd like to go a few miles more."
And with that she got up and said "I don't have the energy for another 2.7 miles!" but then did just that, ahead of me the entire way. I think we made a better choice here.
"It's going to be cold here" she said.
"It's not going to be that much colder than at the Meadow" I replied, noting that there was only a 500-foot difference in elevation.
Yes, my muscles were sore and I was tired, but I wanted to avoid another long afternoon with not much to do. Had I known we were going to have a lot of down time in the afternoon, I would have brought more books to read.
Our camp for the night was a pretty spot on Magie Lake. There were several other groups camped around the lake. I liked this lake, as one could see distant peaks toward the east, fading into the haze of the atmosphere. There were also several bumblebees nearby that had me fascinated. They looked like they were dancing around something sweet. What they were doing I don't know, but I crouched down and watched these bees for a while. Surely Darlene thought I was weird by now and was losing it.
Darlene was in her bivy when I joined her, and I quietly ate my meal near another rock. She seemed upset with me and we didn't talk much. I ate my Backpacker's Pantry meal and crawled into my own tent to wait for sunset. I am running low on decent food and can't wait to get to Muir Trail Ranch for my resupply.
It never got neither cold nor windy all night. Birds sang for quite a while. I had the best sleep since Day 2.
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