Monday, July 19, 2004
Black Soot Mud and a Little Thunder, Please
07/19/04
What a day. We awoke in the clouds, I had three bits on magic in the morning, we walked into two thunderstorms, and we enjoyed a sunny dinner on some rocks. And the bugs were only really, really bad for 3/4s of the day.
Rainbow Pass was a great place to sleep. The Divide is so sharp there, we were lucky to find enough space for the two tents.
I don't think I mentioned this earlier, but I'm bouncing my tent. I prefer to sleep out, and Apple Pie offered to let me crash if the weather turns wet. So far, it's working well. I still have my w/b bivy and bug bivy, so in a pinch, I could manage a rainy night solo. It hasn't come to that yet.
It rained a little during the night, and we awoke in the clouds. Luckily, the clouds were breaking up and moving so I got peeks of peaks. For the first time, I was the first to be ready to go.
Although the clouds were lifting a bit, we decided against hiking the Divide cross-country. What use is being of on the Divide if your head is in the clouds?
I led the way on the trail, down to the first water. Before we got there, we saw a full rib cage and neck vertebrae, fleshless and white, sitting on the deep green bear grass on the side of the trail. The fact that the remains of deer or young elk was next to the trail was irrelevant to nature. Our government, businesses, or special interest groups could not shield me from the truth. I was reminded that if I were out here long enough, those could be my ribs.
The next highlight of my morning is somewhat of a puzzle. I found a possibly-worked, thumbnail-sized piece of obsidian. Did a contemporary human bring it here to live close to the land? But more interesting, did it arrive here long ago, and where did it come from? The volcanic West Coast? If so, that's amazing.
The next treat was at mosquito-infested Johnson Lake. I stopped to be eaten alive, glanced across the lake and saw a bald eagle sitting on a tall snag at the edge of the lake. I didn't learn anything from watching our national bird.
I think we left the Anaconda/Pintler Wilderness today, just so you know where we are.
The CDT maps we are using have the red route, the 'real' CDT, and purple routes, which are alternates. Since two organizations lay claim to routes, neither are finished, and there are many choices and trails. Walking the CDT is not as defined as either of the other two long trails. The vibe seems to be that as long as you have a continuous walk from border to border, and at least tried to stay near the Divide, you've done the CDT. And sometimes a continuous walk is not possible or practical.
We took a purple route today that cut out a pass-drop-to-forest-climb-to-pass cycle we've been in for a while. The purple route took us by a lovely lake, where we had lunch, into a cirque, up to a high, flat area with a great view, down a scree slope, and up a grassy slope to rejoin the trail at the next pass.
I'm sure it was much prettier and much more interesting hiking that yet another tree-filled valley.
On our way to dinner, we walked into our first thunderstorm. What would be the last local flash and crunch brought me to my knees as I ducked under a tree. A few seconds after the flash, a close and loud ripping boom moved to one side, then piled up above me and let loose. I wasn't praying when I dropped, just reflexively protecting myself.
It cleared up, and we walked into bug hell.
Bug hell is a particular kind of hell. The bugs in bug hell are mosquitoes and bug hell is thick with them. Bugs or not, we had a great dinner on a big pile of rocks with a view and lots of sunshine.
Our afternoon walking took us through a lot of burned forest, and we ended up camping on a burned saddle. Everything that touched the ground or trees would have been covered with black soot, but as soon as we started setting up camp, the thunder we'd been hearing all around us, moved overhead and unleashed a downpour that made the same items covered with black soot mud. Oh, and the downpour started just as the ground cloths had been laid out. I'm in Apple Pie's tent, and it's raining as I try to finish this entry so I can go to sleep.
