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8/99 Llama-Rama-Ding-Dong "They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them." Ps 104:8 "The Gang" "The guys" "The Gals" Day 1 Well the day I thought would never get here came. It's weird when a big trip like this finally takes off after so much anticipation. It's almost unreal. It felt very surreal, for one, because I was flying again. I didn't think I'd be flying so soon after my first time. The flight was good but the last part was in the dark. I've come to one conclusion...landing sucks. I just didn't like the "hanging in the air" feeling. I got into Reno on Thursday night and had until Saturday to do whatever I liked. I got to my hotel to find it was pretty bad. Two channels on TV and the air conditioner held in by duct tape. Friday morning I got up and just went driving. Nowhere in particular, just OUT.
"The Reno Skyline" Reno was so different in the light of day. There were hills all around the town. I drove down to Lake Tahoe and around about half of it. It was so blue and clear. There was snow on some of the mountains around the lake and I was
"Lake Tahoe" feeling the altitude. I drove back down to Reno in time to get downtown to the casinos for lunch. I had lunch at The Silver Dollar Casino. They had an all you can eat that was all gourmet for $7.95! Killer! Lost $20 over the course of the afternoon and drank free beer. I was up about $75 at one time but it all went back in the machines. Went back to the hotel hell and watched my 2 channels of TV and went to bed. Day 2
"Pyramid Lake" Got up at the butt-crack of dawn today to go pick Claudia up from the airport. Her flight got in 20 minutes late. I was nervous meeting her face to face. I always get that way meeting new people. Little did I know that I would be cured of that fear forever after this trip. After meeting so many people I learned that there is nothing to fear when meeting people that I already know so well. We went back to the hotel so she could sleep some. I drove out to Pyramid Lake for a nice drive in the desert. I can't get used to how BIG it is out west. Just when I said, "There's nothing out here." I saw a coyote cross the road and stand about 20 yards away and watch me...,watching him. I went back to the hotel to wake Claudia up and she was sleeping with a towel wrapped around her head covering her eyes. I tried and tried to wake her nicely. Finally I shook her and said, "Claudia, time to get up and got o work!" She smiled and said, "Great!", and went back to sleep. I was finally able to shake her awake and when she took the towel off I could see she had ear plugs in. Go figure! We went and got some Chinese food and waited for Lana's flight to come in at 2 PM. After Lana got in we left for Mammoth Lakes. It was a great drive. There was just so much to
see. Lana sat in the back saying in her angelic southern accent,
"Ya'll, this is so beautiful!" over and over. We were all
talking a mile a minute and every few miles someone, usually Claudia, would
yell, "Oh stop! Stop! We have to get a picture of that!
We stopped for quite a while at Mono Lake for picture
taking. "Nigal at Mono Lake" "Sunset Over Mono" We got to the condo and got settled in. Robert and his family got in to Mammoth Lakes and we piled in the SUV and went out to Mel's to meet up with everyone else. We had so much fun sitting around a fire talking. Mel is so nice. She is crazier in person than she is on Trail Talk. Day 3 "Lana at Camp" "Devil's Postpile" "Adam's Wilderness" Claudia and I spent the morning seeing Devil's Postpile and Rainbow Falls while Lana and Robert's family went to Yosemite. It was a great morning! I got to see some grizzly bear...Ok, from the tram to Rainbow Falls...Ok, it was the hind end of bears running from us...OK, it was just a glimpse but damn it we saw them! Lana, Claudia and I went to do some laundry and didn't get out to Mel's until about 3PM. Everyone finally got there about 4PM and we had our gear spread all over the yard and started packing. After we were pretty much packed we headed down to the group camp ground near the trail head. It was cool to get to check out all the cool gear everyone had. That night Cork and Phil made the group dinner in dutch ovens. We had chicken stew, tamale pie, and peach cobbler with ice cream. Now that is cooking'! [Later in the evening I would ask Phil to marry me to which he regretfully declined!] Day 4
The altitude isn't bothering me much today like it did the first day. I did well on the trip up Piute Pass. I think I was running on adrenalin. It was a bitch of a climb but I've done worse days in Shawnee. It was just a matter of getting your breath. Robert has a great deal of determination. Everyone got into camp and we got settled in and set up. It is so wonderful here! We could stay in one spot and that would be just fine enough for me. Cork caught three trout tonight and I caught none. I think she cheats! Day 5 I woke up in a shitty mood today and just feel like being alone today. Everything is getting under my skin. I left early and went up to the top of the pass alone. There was snow at the top and it was so cool to play in the snow in the middle of August.
"Nigal at the top of the Pass" We spent some time taking pictures at the top of the pass and then went over into Humphries Basin. I went slow so everyone would go on by me and I could be alone. The rest of the group made a turn and Nomad came back for me. It made me feel kind of small at the time but I know he was just concerned about me and wanting to make sure the group sticks together..."bygones". We got to camp about 3PM and I found a great place to set up my tarp/tent. We sat around the fire laughing at each other until it was time to go to bed. These people are so much fun! I miss Kelly so much. Everything I do or see I think, "God, Kelly would love this!" I wish she were here. Day 6 This morning Mel's friends from the horseman's camp brought over massive amounts of food. Ribs, chicken, rice, taco meat, fresh fruits and veggies! We pigged out! After lunch we traveled to a lake across and above the valley. Maybe 2 1/2-3 miles. We got over there and fished for a while. Lana was the only one to catch a fish. I think she cheats! LOL! It began to look like rain, then it began to look like a storm. Nomad and Dunk were on the other side of the lake Mel and Cork went back up the way we came into the bowl/lake. Phil, Lana and I were still down in the bowl when the lightning let loose. Lightning was hitting the tops of the ridges all around us. Dunk and Nomad went out of the bowl over a shallow dip on one side of the bowl. Phil, Lana and I headed for this same low dip in order to get out and down to the valley without having to cross a high part of the bowl. It was hair raising...literally! We ran over the lip as fast as we could. Phil got a bearing on the direction to camp just before his GPS puked from being wet. It was raining and lightning was striking all around us. When we stopped I kneeled down and told Lana, "All I gotta do is stay lower than you and I'll be safe!" LOL! Then it began to hail and sleet. We did all make it back to camp at nearly the same time. By this time the rain had stopped and we were all feeling great for having went through some real Sierra Mountain weather. We spent the rest of the evening sitting around the fire drying out and cutting up.
"Freedom and me" "All Our Fish" "Phil and some dumbass" The best thing about the day is that my poncho kept my butt pretty dry. My Nebo tarp/tent was dry as a bone! Robert said he was feeling bad for me as he sat in his tent listening to it rain because he thought my stuff would be wet. Oh yea of little faith! 80) It rained and blew a great deal of the night. I had to reinforce my tarp a bit and stacked a few rocks onto the guy lines. I was able to do this from within the tarp and never had to get wet to do it. Cool! A nice dry night. Day 7 Today is the day we start out of the basin. A nice slow paced day ahead. We plan on only going as far as we did the second day out and we will camp at the same place we did on the way up the pass. My main feelings this morning are frustration. It takes so long for to get the llamas packed up and on the trail. I'm used to getting out of the bag, eat and be on the trail within 30 minutes when I'm by myself. I just need to be considerate of the group. "Beth and Mark" "Look Alive Claudia!" "Beth the Snow Bunny" Coming up and out of Humphries Basin took more out of me than coming in. It's so hard to catch my breath! Phil, Lana and I hiked out together because we all seem to have the same pace. Luckily everyone else was out of breath too. So I'm not the only one. I spent the evening casting around the lake we first stayed at and caught jack-crap. Dunk, Mark, Cork and Beth went across the pass and up to a small lake. They caught 3 fish. Again, I think they are cheating! By now I'm having bitter-sweet feelings about heading out of the pass. I'm very homesick but I'm having too much fun that I don't want to go home. Day 8 Today is the day we come out of the pass. the day is just flying by. The high steps that hurt coming up the pass hurt just as bad going down them. I'm ready for some time by myself as I've been with people for more days than I'm used to. We end up making it out of the pass a lot faster than we went up it. Everyone is anxious to get back I think. It was a hard day of hiking but it felt so good to clean up and put on semi-clean clothes. Once we were out we drove into Bishop and ate at a great Mexican joint. I ordered a burrito as long as my arm and "mucho beers".
"There's something special about the love between a boy and his burrito!" This was by far the greatest trip I have ever taken. It showed me how big this country is and that I shouldn't limit my trips just to the places that are within driving distances. I will always cherish my memories of this trip and will always be indebted to those who made it a possibility for me. [I would find this trip very hard to recover from. I went through the worst PTD (Post Trip Depression) that I have ever went through. While it was one of the greatest experience of my life it was very hard going back to my everyday life and to be separated from great friends. After about two weeks of depression I finally got back in the swing of my everyday doings. This would not be the last time I would go through this type of depression and would ultimately lead to my distancing myself from people I know and meet over the net.] |
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