We Struck Gold!
The 5 o’clock Shadow
While running the 100 miler, and other long distance running events, I had a recurring issue in the event and while training known as “The Wall”. It is when the body switches from burning glycogen from the liver for fuel to burning fat. That transition happens at about 18 miles into a run. I would, like clockwork, start whining, complain that I didn’t think I would make it, have to quit, etc…then, a mile or so further, it would pass and I would continue on for another 8.2, 30, or 80 miles depending on the run’s distance. The point is that it would happen every run at 18 miles like clock work. It is in the genes.
The 5 o’clock shadow, M and I, have surmised is in the genes as well. While living outside for an extended period of time, away from artificial lights, we have discussed a fleeting period, at the beginning of twilight, we have taken the call the 5 o’clock shadow. It is a time where the soul experiences moments of general unease, the heebeegeebies, or subtle waves of minor panic as the day shifts to night. The only thing we have come up with is a genetic evolutionary left over. Quick! Get inside! It’s getting dark! Something’s going to get you! And then it passes as suddenly as it came.
Thoughtless Choice
From a distance, the heart carved into the tree makes me first think of young love. A pair of starry eyed teenagers pledging their love for all time under their favorite tree, something right out of a 1950’s movie, ahhhh…
And then close up, I feel anger that someone would hurt a tree by carving into its skin. How could someone be so thoughtless and inflict such pain on another living being…
And ultimately I am sad that the tree, or any other being, has to endure something so painful that isn’t their choice, something that causes them to continually weep…
Making Camp
A gentlemen we met a few weeks ago commented that we make a ‘nice camp’. This got us thinking of the difference between camping and making camp. It is a small difference, but a very important one to us since we pretty much live outside. In order to “live on the road”, we need to make the places we camp our home and so far our system/set-up works. As long as we have a small flat’ish spot, we are good to go. If it is buggy, we put up the screen room; if it is windy, we put up a few green panels; if it is cold, we put up all the green panels and the woodstove; and if it is raining or too sunny, we have the awnings …I guess we do make a ‘nice camp’ and that makes it possible for us to visit all these cool little out-of-the-way spots (we are currently camping 7 miles up in the Elkhorn Mountains next to a freezing cold stream below the remaining snowpack).
All the awnings up and a green panel for extra shade.
We walked in their footsteps…
And were completely humbled
Hundreds of thousands of people
Desperate, hopeful, unprepared, running away, running towards, ever westward
2,000 miles
6 months
10 to 20 miles walked every day
Snow, rain, hail, scorching sun, wind
Plains, rivers, mountains, plateaus
Mud, dust, ruts, rocks
Rattlesnakes, buffalo, antelope, bears
Cholera
Indians
20% died…in some areas a grave every 80 yards
Dead and abandoned animals all along the way
These are the people of the Westward Migration, the Oregon Trail, the California settlement, and eventually the gold fever
Today, we visited the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center outside Baker City, Oregon. We actually walked a small section of the trail. It is mind blowing what they endure and conquered for a piece of land to call their own.
Credence! I Love Credence!
We are sitting in a beautiful meadow at 6,000ft wild camping. Yesterday, we had our down jackets on as a liner for our wool overcoats with spitting snow. This solstice evening it’s warm, the fire is going, and dinner is cooking. We put some Credence Clearwater Revival on as we wait for dinner. No sooner than the mellow tunes drift quietly over the campsite and we are visited by a mama mule deer. She strolls right into the edge of our camp, stands there for a couple of minutes watching us and listening to CCR! Then she turns and strolls back into the forest. We heard the echo of…Credence! I Love Credence!
We also hit the mother lode of pine pitch fire starter! We spent a little time this afternoon gathering oozing pitch from the Ponderosa Pine covering our little meadow. We then cooked it down into a soup can ready for our next years worth of campfires!
Moooooove Over
Driving through the beautiful valleys in eastern Oregon, we started noticing cow patties in the road.
Now we know why!
Quick Update on the Diesel
We are getting more used to the new diesel as the miles add up. The motor is getting broken in nicely. We just climbed to Strawberry Forest Campground outside of Prairie Creek, Oregon at just under 6,000 feet. I dropped into low range on the rutted, wash boarded, single lane dirt road up to the campground. The motor did get pretty warm on the way up, but no real problems. Just after we pulled into our chosen site another car came in behind us smelling like torched coolant and transmission fluid. I guess we did ok!
A Bit of Chill in the Air
The weather report says a bit of wind and cooler weather is coming our way, so we decided to drop down of the rim of Hole in the Ground where we would be more sheltered and have a greater supply of firewood. We found the perfect spot tucked back off a US Forest Service road.
Stranger Danger
If you listen to the news or read a newspaper, the world seems to be a pretty dangerous place, there are people killing each other, blowing things up, and other odd crazy shit. I know all of this is “reality”, but what they don’t report is how incredibly kind most people are. They don’t talk about the innate core in people that drives them to want to help each other, well most people, I’m not naive. But, over and over during our travels we have met incredible people who go out of their way to be kind. We have met so many people who just want to help, be it a tip on where to go next (or not go), a drive to a grocery store, or a new water source and I know, something that sounds incredibly weird to most people, an offer to take our garbage for us (when dispersed camping, this is actually huge!)
Right now, we are remote camping in the Deschutes National Forest about 25 miles outside of LaPine, OR at a place called Hole in the Ground (see previous blog). Within a 30 minute period today, we had 2 visitors arrive to view ‘the hole’. While here, they not only were incredibly fun to chat with, they offered to take our garbage back to their RV park and to give us water out of their rig because they were headed to a campground with hook-ups for the night.
These might seem like small things in the everyday world, but when remote camping they are huge, and in this case will allow us to spend a few more days in this amazing location.
I hope somewhere along our journey, we have been as helpful, and to everyone who has ever helped us during our travels over the past year…THANKS!!!!!
