1997 JOHN MUIR WILDERNESS 50 MILER HARMONY'S JOURNAL
JULY 18TH 1997
This is my fourth 50, and the first time I've kept a journal. I started
one in 1995, on my second 50, but I wasn't a very faithful journal-writer
and the entries were pitiful, if not completely non-existent. I gave
up completely on this journal-writing business last Summer, and just left
the job to Emma, who wrote a very amusing journal, filled with the usual
Emma pizzazz.
The drive started out okay - Laura, Heber, Ann, an I in Heber's car.
We were grouped in cars according to musical taste, and apparently the
Moody Blues, George Michael, and Queen are "hoaky (hoky? hokie? I don't
really know how that's spelled!) musical groups. (At least,
that's what the Scouts in the other car claim. They were listening
to music Miss Molly would call thick stew.) Unfortunately, after
a while the road started to get curvy, and I felt more carsick today than
I have in a long time. At least Ann was kind enough to let me rest
my head on her knee, where I was able to sleep, and everybody knows you
can't feel carsick when you're asleep. (Actually, I guess you don't
feel much of anything when you're asleep; at least, you aren't aware that
you're feeling anything.)
Our camp is half-way set up at the moment: ground covers have been
laid out, but sleeping bags are still cozily stuffed in their stuff sacks.
I will probably finish setting up after this journal entry, and then try
to write a little more before I go to bed. Ann, Molly, and I are
sleeping in the same little nook tonight, and it should be cozy, since
it is surrounded by stately rocks acting as wind guards. I am lucky
tonight - I will be sleeping in-between Ann and Molly, which assures warmth.
The sweet stillness of the outdoors is broken only occasionally by
the blaring whoosh of a car, and the sky is an enormous, endless
blue.
Dinner was the traditional, nummy spaghetti with meaty sauce, and Oreos
with milk for dessert. Someone (wish I knew who to give the credit
to, but I don't - sorry) built a campfire with Nicole's permission and
somewhat obvious enthusiasm, but Molly, Ann, and I are already tucked in.
I guess I never was big on campfires - the warmth is great, but then the
world feels even colder when you finally move away. I hope
I won't be cold tonight. I shouldn't be, not with this nifty "expedition-weight"
thermal top I've got on. Of course, I'm not wearing socks in my sleeping
bag, and everyone knows why.
Molly just peeped her head out of her bag to tell me that she's stuck
with one leg in and one leg out of her thermals. It's okay, though,
she says she'll handle it. Oh, good! I just heard a triumphant, "I'm
in!" so I guess the problem is solved. The other good thing to report
on Miss Molly is that she successfully cleaned her belly-button ring.
Everyone but us is looking at the stars, but all I can see clearly
when I look out of my sleeping bag is the moon, all milky and radiant.
The moon has always held a certain fascination with me. Maybe it's
because every time I look at the moon I think of ice cream. Yes,
I think that's it...
JULY 19TH 1997
I was, just as I hoped, as warm as could be last night. (I envy
the way Ann and Molly radiate heat, but I don't mind sharing in their abilities.)
Molly told me this morning that she'd dreamt she was lost in the woods
and desperately called my name, but I didn't come—her rescue. It
must have been a pretty vivid dream, since she demanded to know why I hadn't
come to save her from the bears that would have inevitably been after her.
(I guess the problem was that without my contacts, I just don't hear too
well.)
Breakfast was really good - Egg McMuffins and orange juice.
The eggs were scrambled (my preference) and the orange juice was sweet
and tangy. We hit the trail around 10 AM with Nicole in the lead.
Almost the entire 3.8 miles was uphill, and all of it was on just about
the dustiest trail I've ever seen, or not seen, as the case was with my
contacts.
We are at Duck Lake right now, and Ann, Molly, and I are already curled
into sleeping bags. Molly, Shannon, and Nicole got into bathing costumes
(translation: swimming suits) and actually went swimming earlier, which
should earn them some sort of bravery prize because that water was cold.
Ann and I sat near the shore and sponged off with a bandanna, which doesn't
do much, but at least it gets through the first layer of dirt. I
will wait until the layover day to wash my hair and really get clean.
Laura lost a "dead" tooth today during lunch. I didn't see it
happen, but I guess it fell out on some jerky. She looks really cute
with her straw hat and missing tooth, but she has sworn not to give us
any toothy grins for the camera for the rest of the outing.
Today is Ann's 18th birthday! Her thoughtful sister Karen baked some
dee-licious brownies, which were enjoyed by everyone. (Thank you,
Karen!) Ann was presented a brownie with a little candle in it, and we
sang to her, and she blew it out. (Happy, happy birthday, Ann! Welcome
to adulthood...) Everyone sat around the fire chatting for a long time
tonight- a very long time, indeed.
JULY 20TH 1997
Oatmeal is not my favorite breakfast food, but then I suppose I'm probably
pickiest eater you'll ever meet, and the only thing I really enjoy having
for breakfast is Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal with ice-cold milk.
Can you guess that today was an oatmeal day?
Shannon led today - she kept up a steady pace as she led us up up up
to Scepter Lake, where we are now. It was (I think) an 8 mile hike
which started off with a cross-country climb along broken granite chunks,
and then continued through mosquito-infested marsh. I twisted my
ankle somewhere along the way, and the pain of impact was enough to bring
tears to my eyes, but it stopped hurting immediately after that.
We were soooo dusty when we got her that everyone took off (threw off,
maybe? ) their packs and put on aqua socks and waded out to a shallow rock
near the edge of the lake. Molly and Shannon actually swam (which
again should earn them some kind of bravery award because it was chilly
water and dunking one's head in it only produces a brain-freeze), but Ann,
Suzanne, and I just soaked up the sun on the rock and kept ourselves at
a comfortable temperature by putting our feet in the water. Eventually,
Laura braved the water, and came back drenched from head to toe, but looking
so refreshed that she convinced Ann and I to go dunk our heads in the water.
Let me tell you something: I'm not sure if the brain-freeze or the water
was more refreshing...
I can hear thunder now, and the clouds overhead are folding into gray.
Heber has been wishing for a thunder storm this entire outing, and he may
well get his wish before the Miler is through.
I just gave Molly a tattoo, which proclaims in bold letters across
her back, "Molly is the Messiah." Of course, she is the author of these
words, I am merely a tattoo artist. Now Ann is acting as a tattoo
artist, and has just drawn a gecko on my right thigh. It was a nice
looking gecko until she tried to give it sunglasses, and it turned out
to look more like an alien. Oh well, I kinda think it looks nifty,
my alien gecko...
We've finished dinner - Beef Teriyaki, my favorite. I ate lots,
which is a good thing, since tomorrow is supposedly the hardest day; Tuesday
is then layover.
The thunder storm that was threatening us earlier seems to have faded
without a drop or rain. That's a little bit of a disappointment to
me - I like rain, its relaxing and mending, and anyway, I've never had
the opportunity to hike in the rain before.
JULY 21st 1997
Today was supposed to be the very hardest day, but I didn't think it was
all that bad, especially since Miss Molly kept up such a strong pace.
It was motivational, I think. After doing some terrifying steep downhill
(at least, I thought it was scary- but then I don't feel secure on my feet
going downhill so sharply), we galloped through the buggiest marsh I've
ever encountered. Saying that we "galloped" was not an understatement
- Eve never seen us move the way we did through those mosquitoes.
They were so thick and ravenous that we just kept going and going at this
insane pace, and we didn't dare stop because we knew we'd be eaten alive
if we did.
Today's final destination was planned to be Pearl Lake, but things
got rearranged because Heber got his wish and there was a brilliant rain
storm, complete with thunder and lightening. We paused briefly to
put on ponchos and cover our packs, and then we continued on to Portal
Lake, where we set up a temporary, emergency shelter. We wanted to
wait out the storm in comfort, so we set up a stove and were served hot
drinks. Then, Paul and Heber looked for a campsite that would be
suitable for the night. They found one just about 20 yards away,
and that is where we set UD camp when the storm subsided.
Everyone was cold and wet, so we built a roaring, welcoming fire.
After dinner, we congregated around the fire and discussed alternate route
options. We could push on to Guest Lake tomorrow (weather permitting,
of course, and it would be 5.5 miles cross-country) and have our layover
there on Wednesday; or we could hike to Pearl Lake tomorrow (1 mile cross
country) and the spend the rest of that day as a layover; or we could stay
here (at Portal Lake) tomorrow for a layover. I wanted to push on
to Guest Lake, but was outvoted. So, it would seem that we are staying
here tonight, and laying over here tomorrow, and going on to Guest Lake
on Wednesday.
JULY 22nd , 1997
I was just summoned up the rocks to take a look at a breathtaking sunset
comprised of clouds tinted the color of "Benadryl tablets," as Nicole put
it. (It should be noted that Nicole has been on Benadryl for the
last couple of days because of a case of Poison Ivy she got in Steven's
Creek Reservoir before the outing.) I tend to agree with Miss Molly, who
called the magenta stain on the sky "unearthly" It's not just any day (or
any place) that the sky glows crimson this way. It was truly fascinating.
Aside from the sore muscles, there are the moments I relish on 50's.
This must be a way of making up for an entire day of drizzly rain.
Molly and I decided this morning we were going to stay in bed until
noon today- it was our little treat to ourselves for having had to get
up at 4 AM to build a shelter. I had woken then to the gentle pattering
of rain on my face, and my first groggy realization was that it was snowing,
but really it was raining, and pitch black, and 4 o'clock in the morning.
I woke Ann and Molly up, and Nicole, Shannon, Suzanne, and Nicole were
up directly afterwards. The chilly rain was a superb motivator, and
a shelter was up in just a few minuses. (Upon reflection, it really
was a convenient thing that all the Scouts were sleeping in a row that
night - it meant we didn't have to shuffle sleeping bags and belongings
underneath a common shelter.) Everyone scurried under the shelter,
and there was the sound of zippers being furiously zipped. Molly
and I "compacted" for warmth with our sides pressed together, a position
which made Molly dream we were Siamese twins. Anyway, I didn't sleep
well after that, and that is why I was in bed (bed?) until noon.
(Heber's weather report for tonight? Windy.)
Today was an unusual layover day: it was so cold and damp that
we didn't get the usual layover day chores done. Shannon, Molly,
and I washed our hair in just-melted snow water (yes, it did cause brain-freeze,
but the clean feeling afterwards was well worth it!!).
Ann and I came up with a theory about "gnomes," which is a code word
for cute, sensitive guys. We are searching this week for the "gnome
mobile," which is a special sort of car that you can program to lead you
directly to Mr. Right. All you've got to do is enter
in your ideal man's looks and values, and the "gnome mobile" will take
you straight to him. We are creative, aren't we? Well, it's just
like my Nana always says, 'I don't know where young people today are supposed
to meet each other, except in those silly singles bars."
Just an hour or so ago, we were struggling to get the bear bag rope
over the limb of a tree, and now everyone is sitting silently around the
campfire, writing in journals. That really was a tough branch we
had to throw the rope over, and despite our desperate pleas to the Force
of Jedi (or something like that), and Molly's worshipping of the Tree Gods,
we just couldn't get the rope over it. Finally, with Ann, Shannon,
and Nicole raising their arms to embrace the Force, and Molly on her knees
at the base of the tree, her head down on the ground, arms outstretched,
I threw the rock and it went over the limb securely. We were set
to put up our bear bags. Molly and I felt the need to do a little
dance of gratitude, so as not to anger the Tree Gods nor the Force of the
Jedi for their generosity. I couldn't have done it without their
help. (I mean, after all, if they had wafted much longer to help
me out, wouldn't we have had to put that bear bag up in the dark?)
This really is a weird campfire - everyone is silent, writing furiously
in their journals.
JULY 23RD, 1997
I am sitting close beside a cheerful fire, having just enjoyed the most
amusing fire building session ever. You see, we were having a difficult
time getting the damp wood to light on fire, so we started inventing methods
of coaxing the fire to blaze. Someone's (I don't remember who, but
whoever she is, she'd probably rather remain anonymous) idea was to use
those little baggies we have to stuff our "supplies" (you know what I mean)
in, and that worked okay, but we were already starting to get silly, so
why not get really silly? We decided to try something else along those
same lines: tampons. Tampons are made of cotton and cardboard, right?
Those substances burn, right? The men are out fishing, they'll never know
we got the fire started, night? I shall never forget Molly's careful syringe
demo, nor the way we laughed and laughed, and then laughed even harder
when the men came back and were wary of our fire. Lots of interesting
comments came up on the way, but they're probably better left unsaid.
I woke up at 6:40 this morning, misread my watch, and woke Ann up with
the announcement that it was 7:30, and why hadn't the leaders woken us
up yet? She corrected me instantly, and flopped on to her other side in
disgust. I took a look at the lake - it wasn't there. The fog
had shrouded the lake so completely that I couldn't see it at all.
(Well, I don't see too well without contacts to begin with, but...)
Just a few minutes later, the sky started to pour buckets, and an improved
emergency shelter took shape. All nine of us piled underneath it,
and we had some serious bonding discussing Sesame Street and Mr. Roger's.
When the rain slowed to a light sprinkle we could push on to Half Moon
Lake, while it was still partially clear.
Ann led today - she kept up a smooth, steady pace so that we could
all stay together. We left Portal Lake at 1 :15, so we made the seven-mile
trek to Half Moon Lake just in time for dinner and the campfire.
(By the way, we had Beef Stroganoff dinner, and it was, um, half-way edible.)
The plans for the rest of the outing are somewhat undecided at the moment
-everything depends on the bugs and the weather.
JULY 25TH , 1997
Last night Ann and I organized and executed our Scout's Own. We thought
it would be a good idea for us to do it, since we are the two graduating
Seniors, and this is our last 50 as Scouts. We both agreed that it
wouldn't be a heavy affair, that we would keep it light and just let people
talk if they had something to say. In 50's past, Scout's Own has
been more ~ "_- contrived, with no one speaking out of turn, and Scouts
only being able to comment when it was their turn in the circle to talk.
Last year, Emma changed all that, and Ann and I continued in her footsteps.
Of course, there was one really bittersweet moment: (when I gave Elmo
to Molly. this was Elmo's third 50, and I want him to go on many
50's to come, and I felt his legacy would be best preserved by Molly, who
is an enthusiastic Scout. Elmo's duties have included comforter,
model for photos, and, yes, even a "sleeping bag buddy. I hope that
he will continue to be a part of the Troop, and, Heber, please remember
to add him to the Equipment List, if you have the time.
We hiked out today, and had showers and pizza and flush toilets and
shampoo and shaved legs and sodas and car rides and in Heber's car we even
had "hoaky" music. (My favorite...)