SATURDAY, Aug. 21^st

This morning at 6:30 AM, we all met at Mr. Waugh’s house. Even though it was early, spirits were high and after a short delay (one girl left her canteen at home)-we were able to hit the road.

The drive up went fairly quickly, with Mr. Bourdet snapping pictures through the car window of scenery and 6ur other two carloads of girls. We arrived at Desolation Wilderness at about 11:30 AM. All cars stopped at the Visitor's Center, and our SPL along with most adults went inside to register. Meanwhile, several girls practiced meditation in the parking lot while the rest of us guarded the cars. After registering, everyone piled back into the cars and drove to the trail junction where the hike was to begin.

This is where we ate lunch, savoring every morsel of food because everyone knew it would be their last taste of honest to goodness home cooking for a whole week. After lunch, Mr. Tucker and Ray moved a car to the point where we would end our hike. They had returned, a trail leader had been chosen, canteens were full, and packs were on when (No, Mary Ann and Pam I won't mention your names) two girls discovered they left their retainers in the car that had just been moved. Off came the packs, and off went a car to retrieve the missing mouthpieces.

Finally, everyone had returned and amid many questions such as "Why am I here", and "I must have masochistic tendencies", we were off! We only had five miles to do to day but it took us about four hours. This was because we had about a 1,500 foot altitude change, not to mention the fact that it was near 85 degrees F outside. We hiked at a slow but steady pace over hilly, basically rocky terrain.

We reached Lake Genevieve at 4:00 PM. Once there, we posed for a group photo and then scouted for a good campsite. One was soon discovered and we all moved in. Some people went right for the lake while other, more dedicated souls, did their laundry and then went swimming.

Feeling much refreshed, we were ready to cook our first meal on the trail (YEA!). Everyone did just that and following cleanup, sat quietly around the fire talking 'and smothering themselves with bug repellant to get rid of the hundreds of mosquitoes. The fire was a short one and almost everyone was tucked snugly in bed by 9:30 PM.
 
 

SUNDAY, Aug 22^nd

Awakening to warm weather and a sunny sky, our group arose with high hopes. It was our first real day out, and the adventure was about to begin (Little did we know what an adventure it would be!). Everyone took their time getting ready and at 8:45 AM. Mr. Waugh organized our "morning meeting." The highlight of this little get-together was the reading of a poem-song lyric sent by Jennifer Gotz. We took a few minutes out to think about all our friends and fellow scouts who weren't fortunate enough to be with us.

At about 9:00 AM, we hit the trail. With Mary Ann in the lead, we kept a good pace. While hiking, our group split in two: the fast group and the daisy-smellers." As we walked, view after spectacular view came into sights. After a particularly tough grinder, we came upon a large patch of snow surrounded by large rocks suitable for sunbathing. By standing on these rocks, we were afforded an overview of the entire valley. It was beautiful. Since it was 11:30, we decided to break for lunch. Coincidentally, we had also arrived at Phipps Pass-the highest point in today's hike-(or so we thought). The daisy smellers caught up with us and together we all enjoyed a 1 1/4 hour lunch. For our drinks, we took advantage of the nearby snow to make slush instead of our regular punch.

After lunch, we continued the hike. It turned out that we had incorrectly judged our lunch spot. We had not eaten at Phipps Pass at all but still had a long grinder ahead of us to reach that particular place. As we came to the crest and began our descent to Middle Velma Lake, the weather became increasingly foreboding. We were almost there when it finally broke. We were pummeled with hail. Mr. Waugh made us stop and cover our sleeping bags, backpacks, and ourselves with garbage bags and rain ponchos. We finished the days hike in a light rain. The sun came out slightly before we reached camp and we waited for our things to dry out before setting up. Most of us spent the remainder of the day sleeping, reading, and swimming.

Around dinnertime another hiker hiked in and set up camp near us. He went to bed but the "delicious aroma"-(he said it, not me) of our food got him up to cook his top ramen. Dinner over, we started a campfire and sat around talking about the Gipper and other such interesting subjects. Our group was treated to a spectacular sunset and watched it fade from gold to red to black. After scrutinizing the incoming clouds, most of us set up shelters and went to bed tired but happy by 9:30 PM.
 
 

MONDAY, Aug 23^rd

Today was an….extraordinary one to say the least. We cross-countried, snow-climbed, and did one of our hardest hikes ever among other things. We woke up a little late and as a result didn't start hiking until after 9:00. We had only gone a short distance when Cindy's tendon started acting up. We continued and presently came to a large stream. Mr. Waugh made us all remove our boots and cross bare-foot or in tennis shoes. Reaching the other side, we stopped for foot repair. The whole thing took over an hour. While we waited, Cindy and Caroline decided they wanted to take the direct (3 miles) route to Lake Schmidell. We sent them, Ray, and Mr. Bourdet that way equipped with everything from topo map to a snake bite kit. (it was necessary considering a nearby fisherman had just killed a rattlesnake.)

After they left, we continued on our way. About 1 mile down the trail, we passed a Boy Scout troop who was also on a 50 miler. The thing that amused us was their reaction to the fact we were girls. The leader actually did a triple take! The scouts all warned us about bears in the area and we all agreed among ourselves to hang the food extra high tonight.

Soon, we came to another stream crossing and with Denise Harrington in the lead, all made it across dry. It was after the crossing that the trail became "negligible". No longer were we following a clearly marked pathway through a lush forest. Now, with our help, Denise was keeping her eye out for "ducks" that marked the way. Ducks are small piles of three rocks, one on top of another that mark the trail. We hiked, picking our way across the rocks until 11:30 when it was time for lunch. It was decided to stop at 4-Q Lakes.

After lunch, we attempted to find the trail again, but with no success. The paper we had said something about crossing over a log "bridge" to get across the lake. As far as we were concerned, no such crossing existed. It was nowhere to be found. Denise sent people up ahead to scout out the situation and a course of action was finally decided on. We found another way across by going around and tried to pick up the way on the other side. No such luck. We wandered around across the rocks looking for more ducks. But they got fewer and farther between. Soon, we were more than a little lost. In fact, we were very lost. We had been hiking across this huge expanse of boulders using the following routine, Mr. Waugh took the lead with Denise H. right behind him. When he found that he had taken a wrong turn, he'd tell Denise to stay where she was. She did just that and he would come back and try a different route. Anyway, we finally reached the base of what appeared to be a forest. It was here that Mr. Waugh pulled out the topo and the compass and attempted to orient himself. While he did this, the remainder of our group sat down next to the snow-melt stream that we happened to stop by and drank heartily . Mr. Tucker decided that the way we wanted to go was into the woods and Mr. Waugh went to check it out.

One would expect that the group would be generally depressed at this point. Not so, in fact we-(minus the adults)-were having a fantastic time. Eventually, he returned and said that we did indeed have to hike into the woods. Once among the trees the path was clear for a time. However, once again we were soon quite lost. So, the majority of us sat down on a nearby rock while Mr. Waugh, Tucker, Kim, and Denise H., all went "exploring". Half-an-hour later, they called for us and we went traipsing off through the undergrowth.

Presently, we came to the top of the hill-(and a very large one at that). From there everyone could see far off into the distance. The most prominent landscape feature was a huge red, snow-covered mountain peak off in the distance. Using that we were once again able to orient ourselves. I remember saying "Thank goodness we don't have to climb that". Well, making a long story short... I spoke too soon!

As we continued down the trail for about another hour, we were-forced to cross several very rapid streams. Upon reaching the other side of one of the larger ones, we began a steep grinder which everyone believed-(because the topo map seemed to indicate it was so)-was our last one. We reached the top at 4:45 and Mr. Waugh said that we had about a 1/2 hour descent to the lake. At the top, we took a Gatorade break for those people who were running a little low on energy.

The group continued, and after about 5 minutes-(much to our surprise and relief)-we spotted Lake Schmidell. Practically running to the bottom, we all congratulated each other on finally arriving. This, however turned out to be rather premature. We soon discovered that we were really at Leland lake. Upon asking two men that we met where Lake Schmidell was, they laughed and told us that we'd be well off to spend the night where we were! Well of course no one took them seriously and we continued on our way.

It soon became apparent that we were indeed going to have to climb that huge mountain peak we had seen earlier in the day. Two hours later, as the last of our group pulled themselves over the large, slippery, uphill patch of snow we were forced to hike over, we caught our first glimpse of Lake Schmidell. All the way up, everyone had been chanting "Where in the hell is Lake Schmidell?", but now they grew silent, all concentrating on reaching the bottom before it got dark.

The hill was extremely steep and there was no real clear-cut path but we somehow managed to reach the bottom! Mr. Waugh went circling around the lake calling out Ray's name. Finally, we saw Cindy running towards us. Carolina was with her and they said that they were very worried. They had been in camp since 12:30! It was now 7:00 PM and we had been hiking for 10 hours! Once settled, we immediately made dinner and some girls chose instead to go right to sleep. Everyone though, was made to eat something whether or not they wanted it.

After dinner, the campfire was very brief. More to get warm and burn foil than anything else. Food was hung, and friends covered their sleeping companions packs. Everyone went to bed happy to be in camp but also thoroughly exhausted.
 
 

TUESDAY, Aug 24^th

Everyone slept well last night-because they had been so tired. However we did have 11 miles to do today, so a relatively early start was required.

After our (ahem) delicious breakfast, the group was ready to hit the trail. Since there was an overall drop of 800 ft. to Susie Lake, where we would be camping, no one was terribly worried about the days' activity. Still, 11 miles is 11 miles and it does cause quite a bit of wear and tear on one's feet.

The morning's hike was fairly easy with a medium to steep downhill grade. Unfortunately though, we seemed to be plagued with problems and so consequently made rather slow progress until lunch time. Lunch was eaten right after we made an easy river crossing, almost at China flat. As we ate, many people came strolling down the trail; each one carrying with him a different story of things seen and places visited.

After our meal, we began the long grinder up to and through mosquito Pass. Our pace was good and the only major stop along the way was to top off canteens with some snow. We discovered that Mosquito Pass had been mis-named. In fact, it was just about the only place where there wasn't any mosquitoes! From the pass, we clearly saw Lake Aloha. The special thing about this particular body of water was its size. It was enormous!

We hiked down "steps" and continued on for about another 1/2 mile and passed Heather Lake. Following the trail still farther, we came to what we thought was Susie Lake. A little investigation proved this to be false and we pushed onward. A mile more and we did indeed arrive at our destination. Unfortunately, it had just begun raining. Not hard, but rain all the same.

No one let the unexpected weather change their plans and over the afternoon's course, some went swimming, did wash and wrote in their journals. All the girls washed their hair. With all chores done for the day, everyone relaxed and joking, singing and friendly teasing were abundant. Several people even had a stone-throwing contest. (With the girls producing far superior results of course.)

That night around the campfire, we discussed movies, the days hike, HBO programs, and most anything else we could think of. It was our best fire yet. By 10:30 PM that night, with food hung and packs covered, everyone was asleep.
 
 

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 25^th

This morning everyone awoke bright and cheery at 6:00 AM. We ate our breakfast, had an extensive sick call, and began our hike. Today we were scheduled for about 2 miles to Gilmore lake and then an additional 3.6 miles up and down Mt. Tallac. Our largest elevation change for the day would be 2,000 feet.

Kim set a murderous pace up the side of the mountain and as a result we reached Gilmore by 10:40! It was decided to take a one hour break for lunch and then head off on our way to Mt. Tallac. Mary Ann, Pam, and Cindy all went swimming before lunch and somehow persuaded another girl-(no names mentioned)-to wade out thigh deep, book in hand, to read. Everyone had a fantastic just kicking back. Shortly before our departure, three guys came by holding the top of a bikini. It turned out they had found it in the woods-(one of our girls had dropped it while changing her clothes)-and were hoping to find a skinny-dipper. I think that discovering 7 teen-age girls was enough of a consolation so that they weren't to disappointed at finding everyone fully clothed.

Anyway, lunch finally over, all of us-(except Denise Duca who stayed behind reading an educational novel)-departed for Mt.Tallac It was a difficult climb but one which was full of spectacular sights and views. Wild flowers were abundant and once at the top, we were treated to a 360 degree view of the surrounding area. All of us saw everything from Lake Aloha to Lake Tahoe. It was superb.

About 1 hour was spent on top with the highlight being a group picture of everyone. The-trip down was much shorter than the one up and once back at camp, some people went for a walk-(or two)-around the lake. Others swam and did chores or slept.

One thing we quickly discovered was that many people seem to have a particular affinity to skinny-dipping! We noticed this by coming upon two different couples doing that very thing.

Returning to our site, we made dinner and had a wonderful Scouts' own put on by Denise H. all about nature. After the ceremony, we were allowed to "run loose" -for a little while. Some people went to visit with the youth group that had just come into the neighboring camp while others sat around talking about fish, and practicing self-defense.

Around the campfire that night, we told stories and jokes as well as sang songs.
 
 

THURSDAY, Aug. 26^th

Today was a five mile one with a basically down-hill grade. We got an earlier start than on most days and were out by about 8:45 AM.

As we were hiking in the morning, Caroline and Mr. Waugh got stung by bees. Luckily though, neither one was allergic. We took a short rest at the top of Dick's Pass where it was so cold and windy that wool shirts were required. From there, it was a gradual descent into Middle Velma.

At the trail junction, we were passed by a group of inexperienced horse-back riders-(P.U.!). They were slowing us down so they said we could pass them. We did just that and stopped for lunch a little farther down the trail. (About 2/3 mile from our lake).

During lunch, we discussed whether or not to go an extra 3 miles today and stop at a stream or just do all 13 miles tomorrow. We decided to wait. When we got in camp, most people took a nap and completed the evening by doing a variety of things. After dinner, the girls and women-(one to be exact)-played a game where they got tied in a knot and then tried to untangle. The Middle Velma Rockettes were also formed. Later that night, we sang songs and discussed some strange songs we knew. For example, fish heads and dead puppies! Most people went to bed fairly early because we had a very long day ahead of us tomorrow.
 
 

FRIDAY, Aug. 27^th

This morning, Kim woke everyone up at about 6:00! (we actually got Waugh used Ray to instill terror into the hearts of girls who didn't want to sit still)-we were ready for an opening. Because it was so cold outside, a warm opening was chosen. Namely "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes", and "Tony Chestnut". We made our best time ever getting ready to leave this morning and were out of camp by 8:30,

Denise Duca was the trail leader for the day and under her skillful guidance-(and desire for a shower)-we moved very quickly. The trail was basically level with a slight downhill tendency. It made for excellent hiking-the kind we do best on. The first 8 miles were done in 3 hours. After 8 miles, we seemed to be slowing down and so Mr. Waugh called for a lunch break. This seemed to refresh everyone and so we soon continued along our merry little way.

Eventually, we reached a fire road. Following this for about 2 miles, we came upon an old man and his dog. We also ran across a squirrel who didn't look so good. He was pulling himself up and over a rock. The only problem was that his two rear legs were paralyzed. Mr. Bourdet said that he probably had bubonic plague.

Finally, five 1/2 hours after we started, we came to a paved road. It was then that we discovered we had taken a wrong turn somewhere and had about another 1.2 miles to walk to the park headquarters.... along paved highway! About half an hour later, we reached the building. The woman working there said that we had wrong campsites and assigned us new ones.

Mr. Tucker drove his car to the sites while the rest of us were forced to walk the extra distance. When we were finally settled in, a group of our girls went into the bathroom and were so overjoyed to see a --fush toilet that they started screaming! After all the adults retrieved their cars, the girls went into the showers. Everyone emerged from them with both looks and state of mind much improved. We all sat around talking until it was decided to go get pizza for dinner. Mr. Tucker led the way to a Round Table pizza parlor and we all piled in. Mr. Waugh was amazed at how efficiently 7 chattering females could organize an entire group of people and not only get the correct orders but also the correct amounts.

After eating an enormous dinner and monopolizing the juke box with Journey songs, everyone went next store to look at tee-shirts. This was when several of us learned quite a bit about a certain ranch. Then, everyone went across the street to Shaw's and ordered ice cream. We ate the food in an adjoining gift shop.

This was when the two cars separated. Mr. Tucker took Mary Ann, Pam, and Cindy casino sightseeing while Mr. Waugh took his occupants to the grocery store to buy the next day's breakfast supplies. About an hour later, everyone met back at our campsite and attempted to light a campfire. Ironically, we had a hard time doing it for some reason. Half the people were in bed and the other half on the way when it started raining. Like the true Girl Scouts that they are, Kim and Denise took advantage of the natural resources around them and promptly moved into the bathroom for the night. Denise D. and Bug, on the other hand sat in Mr. Tucker's car doing puzzles and reading until the downpour ended.
 
 

SATURDAY, Aug. 28^th

Everyone was planning to sleep in this morning but things just didn't work out that way. Denise and Kim were woken up early by the morning bathroom crowd. (After all, they were sleeping on the floor!) They got up and began fixing everyone a delicious breakfast of eggs, French toast, milk, orange juice, Danish, and fruit cocktail. Several other people also got up to help and as a result we wound up getting an earlier start than we had all week.

After breakfast, we had a brief meeting and then drove to a store called "The Sportsman" to try and find an appropriate tee-shirt. The only sporty thing they had though was some purple, heart-shaped underwear. What followed was a 1 1/2 hour search for a shirt everyone could agree on. Surprisingly enough, it was Denise Harrington who finally found one. She had gotten lost and was going into all of the stores looking for us. It just so happened that one of the ones she entered was having a sale on just what we wanted. She somehow managed to find us and bring us back there.

Shirts bought, everyone- (somewhat sadly) was ready to go home. Mr. Tucker and Ray went the long way while Mr. Waugh went the short one. All cars stopped for lunch on the way home.
 
 

THE END