The Unfortunate Blurring of the Days

PCT is the blue line on left side of map. The diagonal lines are restricted. We saw no smoke or choppers that day. 

If I don't blog everyday I forget some days. I cannot blog everyday because I may be too tired, it may be too late, it might be a massage our feet night, I may be rebelling against THE BLOG, I may be too busy just trying to stay dry while we try to put our tent up in the rain. I sometimes jot down a few reminder notes to jog my memory for that day. Like if I see the word frog, I'll remember the day fingernail sized frogs were hopping across the trail for a mile. We had to walk slowly and carefully to avoid crushing them. Frogs are not the fastest creatures around. I saw a big toad in the forest near Bobby L. It was docile, almost begging to be picked up and kissed. I might see the words dead white trees and recall walking through a burned out forest for miles amazed at the white skeletal trees stripped of every living thing that ever lived on them. They stood straight but with their tops blown off and their branches still pointed outward or downward. They shone in the sun and will remain so for hundreds of years. The perimeter of the fire is clearly marked. There was no gradual slide into life. Dead trees then live trees. I guess this reflects the strategies of fire fighters. They limit and contain fires. We walked through this whitewashed bone cemetery of trees for 2 hours. So I might not remember the exact date or the exact location but I do remember my exact impression. 

     With the above in mind let us return to date 8/11 and consider it memorable, not just because that's the date of Judy's birthday or now sadly Robin Williams death but that is the day our IPhone spent a cold night outside  propped against a  log all alone and forgotten. When we arrived at a place to camp TC touched her pant's pocket where she keeps  the phone and there was no phone. NO PHONE. Ladies and gentlemen, consider the ramifications. No phone equals: no GPS, no water report, no contact numbers, no blog, no communication, no easy way to make reservations or order more supplies etc. TC grew pale and sweaty. She was now connected to this device at a visceral level. It was like losing a friend, a friend who is a bit godlike, a friend who virtually knows everything. FC is not as connected or so she thinks. She is continually asking TC to do things which necessitate the use of that phone but thinks herself more removed than TC. Less addicted and needy, less dependent on that evil piece of technology. By virtue of the closeness of their relationship, (TC and FC) FC is now an IPhone user. They put their heads together and pin pointed the last place TC used the phone. It was at least 2 miles back so that's 4 miles round trip. The light was fading and their legs were wasted and whittled down to pegs. They decided that FC would go back at first light and find the phone. She had nothing to guide her except her memory of that spot and the approximate time it would take. They knew they had walked about an hour or so. Six o'clock arrived. By 6:12 FC was on her way back, not her direction of choice. She walked fast and interspersed that with running. She figured that by 7:12 she would be in the approximate vicinity. Because she was travelling so much faster she thought she would find it way before 7:12. Her spirits were high until time passed and she had not found the phone. She was looking over logs that looked vaguely familiar 20 minutes into it. A bit premature but she felt like she was flying. She actually stopped flying by her late forties but try to convince her of that! She started calling on her spirit guides, those heavenly beings that stay by her night and day. She looked at her watch and saw it was 7:00 o'clock. She wondered if she had missed the spot, gone too far. She decided to go on until 7::30 thinking the place was 2 miles back. 7.09 she recognizes the place but she had imagined the log a bit differently. This log was smaller than she thought but she peeked over the edge and there sat the phone, indignant at being left. FC thanked the heavens and her guides and all those beings she forgets to thank and started to run back clutching the phone in her sweaty hand. She stops suddenly, turns around and goes back to the log and jumps for joy one more time repeating to anyone or anything listening, "Thank you, thank you". She compared her feelings of joy and lightness on the return trip to her feelings of anxiety and uncertainty going toward the phone and contemplated that this incident encapsulates one of the unique attributes of being human - the incredible assortment of emotions we can experience within nanoseconds. The problem arises because we want the happy stuff all the time; we go to great lengths to be and sustain happy. What if we became OK with the unhappy, the anxiety, the fear? What if we just sat in anxiety and savored it, examined it, did not hate it? What if anxiety became not bad or something to avoid? FC is guessing the gift of being human is experiencing the full spectrum of feelings. 

   

South Sister

Middle Sister

North Sister

    Back on the trail with their IPhone we hiked towards the Sisters, three tall volcanos situated close to each other. It was rainy and misty so we only caught glimpses of parts of them. We walked in the rain for 4 hours staying dry and warm in our assorted rain gear. TC uses her umbrella while FC uses her poncho.This keeps them dry and cool. By 6::00 we were ready to camp. It was raining quite heavily but we put the tent up anyway. This was not the best idea  but we didn't know when the rain would stop. Our new tent has two parts- a fly and a free standing mesh tent. The mesh tent goes up first then the fly goes on top which allows ample time for rain to get in, which it did, all over the floor,but we didn't know at first. We got the fly on and FC crawled in to a floor of puddles. There must be a trick to putting these types of tents up in the rain which we are not saavy to. FC wiped it up, changed clothes and got into her sleep bag. She had gotten chilled and was incapacitated. TC remained outside arranging the camp, getting water,and setting the knapsacks under cover. FC is useless when cold and so loves TC's ability to keep on going when she cannot. It took FC at least an hour in her bag and some hot drinks (which TC prepared) to warm up and revive. She did reemerge to clean her teeth and get more water while TC prepared to sleep. Of course as soon as they were safely inside the rain had completely stopped.