As The Crow Flies

Finally, the road is plowed. Now, I hope things will get back to normal.  I would have thought that all the snow would have made people stay home, but instead everyone wanted to leave and ended up stuck.  Cabin fever, I guess.  There has been a lot of interaction with folks, lately.  It makes this sparsely populated area seem a bit crowded.

The road still hasn’t been plowed. Apparently there was too much snow for the grader, so he is supposed to bring in a dozer today. I was down at the mailboxes at noon and he still hadn’t come yet. There were still two vehicles stuck and those people were down there waiting for the dozer to come and pull them out. Then another neighbor got stuck and I had an opportunity to meet her. Most days on my walk I never see anyone. This is sort of weird, all this social activity on my walk.

This big bull was coming down our road. It’s open range out here, which means that the cows can go wherever they want. They can walk into your cabin, lay down on your couch, and eat your popcorn. This black cow can stand in the middle of the road at night and if you hit it, you have to pay for the cow. The open range laws are archaic, unfair and hard on the environment. There is only one family in the area that has free roaming cows and everyone hates them. Those people cut our fences and our locks on our gates. They drink beer and throw the cans on the ground. They are mean, ugly and rude. Reportedly, people shoot at the cows to get them off of their property so when the cows see a person they usually flee; it’s pretty easy to run them off. You would think a person would bring their cows in, in the winter. What’s this cow supposed to eat with snow on top of everything?

Cow tip of the day: When I see cows on my property I scream, flail my arms about, and run after them. If I can get one cow to run the rest of them follow and they all run away. Sometimes, when I see a bunch of people, I think it would be fun to see if it would work with humans, too.  Note: It’s not as easy when it’s just one cow. Someone told me I should be careful about chasing lone (rouge) cows.

On my snowshoe down to the mailbox, today, I saw four vehicles stuck: which is really amazing considering the few people who live on my road. Someone called a road grader to get everyone unstuck and plow the road. Even though I’m not using the road, I’ll put some money in, just to be neighborly. As I tromped on by, in my snow shoes, past all the stuck people, I felt very mobile. One person stuck was a nice neighbor and I stopped and chatted.

One of the stuck neighbors was a woman who last winter, when I was trying to hitch-hike out to go on a snow camping trip, wouldn’t give me a ride; I was hitch-hiking on the same sparsely populated road that we both live on! In the middle of winter! With a cold wind blowing! She didn’t wave or smile or anything, she never does.

Another of the people stuck was a fellow I speak to, sometimes, while waiting for the mail to come. He is forty years old and resentful that the local high school didn’t give him a diploma even though he stayed an extra year. He has a rubber cactus wearing a small pair of sunglasses, speared through his antenna. He’s usually friendly, but he seems always to be preoccupied by some slight the world has handed him, like once, he was upset about a catalog not coming; not just disappointed: upset, like maybe there was some sort of conspiracy afoot, keeping him from his catalog.

The final person, who was stuck, was this guy who several years earlier, suffered a regrettable episode of unneighborliness and waited in his neighbor’s house with a loaded gun. He went to prison for awhile but he’s back now. When I walked past him, he said, “Are we having fun, yet?”. That’s the first time he has ever talked to me. The funny thing is that the guy that hired the grader that will get him unstuck is the very neighbor he threatened to kill. I kind of wanted to hang out and see if he would get him out or just plow his car out of the way.

I try to deal in the mundane as little as possible but occasionally I feel I must venture into that world. If not for my sake for the sake of my heir. To get my affairs in order, I bought the computer program, Suze Orman Will & Trust Kit, and made a will, a health care directive and a revocable trust. It cost twenty dollars (now on sale at Amazon for 13.57). I followed the program and answered the questions; it’s easy to do . After that, I headed to a copy place to make copies and have it notarized.

When I bought the piece of property I’m living on, I bought it in the trust’s name. I just faxed the title company a copy of the trust; it was that easy. What it means is, when I die, my property will not have to go through probate. My son automatically becomes the trustee of the trust when I die. For anything that requires a title, like cars or property it would be wise to put it in your trust’s name so that your heirs will not have a problem settling your estate. No lawyers, no probate, no taxes. I once asked a lawyer how much he would charge for setting up a revocable trust: he said 700 dollars! The program lacks flexibility, you do it Suzie’s way or the highway, but there are other programs that may offer more flexibility. My point is you can get your affairs in order for very little time, money and effort.

It’s been snowing steadily since noon. This is great, having all this snow. It makes me feel really rich; new fluffy snow has such a feeling of luxury to me. I snowshoed down to the mailbox today and broke trail all the way. The road I live on is a private road so if we want it plowed someone has to pay to have it done. I would just as soon leave it unplowed and have everyone stay home, but some people need to get out and some people want to get out.  For me, nothing seems nicer then being snowed in.  Of course, since I never did bring my vehicle down to the road, I’m pretty sure I can’t get out even if someone plows.

To make this lightweight backpacking brush, I bought the smallest hair brush I could find and ripped the little rubber head out of it. It weighs .45 ounce or 12 grams.

Yesterday I found a card and ornament tied to my gate. It was from one of my neighbors.  So, today I made a Christmas tree to hang the ornament on.  I cut boughs of pine and fir, stuck them in a can, hid my red LED headlamp in the branches and hung the ornament.

Lots of new snow is falling.  Maybe I’ll try skiing down to my mailbox, today.   It’s very steep in places and I don’t actually know how to ski so it might be an adventure.

Turkeys came right up to my cabin this morning but my camera battery was charging so I didn’t get a picture of them.

My skis came today. They came to my neighbors house, two miles away. I put them on and started to ski home. It was all uphill so it was pretty slow going. Soon it was almost dark so I took them off, strapped them to my backpack and hurried home. The skis are really short and fat. They have skins glued to the bottom of them and metal edges. You don’t need boots; I wore my running shoes with them.

Most of my Netfix selections have been documentarys. One I found particularly good was called “Country Boys”. It follows the lives of two Appalachian teens from the age of 15. After watching it, I went to the PBS/Frontline website for it and found the entire, 6+ hour, documentary available online for free. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/countryboys/

1.If you carry hiking poles, collapse them and put them away. Make sure they won’t scratch or poke a hole in the car’s upholstery.

2. Tighten all your compression straps on your pack to make you pack look as small and tidy as possible.

3. Stand in an area that has a space big enough for your ride to pull over, safely.

4. Push up the brim of your hat and take off your sunglasses, so people can see your eyes.

5. Stand up straight, smile and look the driver in the eyes.

6 Don’t just stick out your thumb, actually thumb a ride over. Read the book or watch the movie “Even Cow Girls get the Blues� to get inspired.

7. When you get the ride, thank them for stopping, introduce your self and tell the person about your trip. This serves as a way to start humanizing your self. Ask the person if they are from around there, if they are, compliment the area that you are in. Be polite, entertaining and upbeat.

9. Don’t ever give up control. Emit an aura of direction and authority over your life. If you feel creepy about a ride grab the door knob and say “thanks for the ride. This is where I get off.� I like to keep my pack in my lap. Most people who pick up hikers are the very nicest of people.

8. When your ride drops you off, thank them profusely, and say, (if you have enough money), ‘I would like to contribute some money for gas� and hand them 2-5 dollars; ninety percent of the time they won’t take it.

Note: It’s much easier to get a ride when hitch-hiking alone.

This is what is what I carry when backpacking:
Neosporin. I apply to any wound or infection. Someone told me that if you put some on your urethra you can prevent urinary track infections.
Bandaids Most blisters, I pop with a needle, put some Neosporin on them, and cover with a bandaid. Some bandaids work better than others. If your bandaid keeps falling off you can duct tape it on. In the beginning of a long hike you may need lots of blister stuff. After I have been on the trail for awhile, I don’t get blisters very often. Second Skin is also good for blisters. It’s sort of heavy but in the beginning of your hike it may be worth carrying.
Pain relievers, -Ibuprofen is my personal favorite though I often bring a variety. Don’t rely on aspirin as a your main pain reliever as it increases bleeding and puts you at and risk in the event of an accident for excessive blood lost. Some people in addition carry some heavy duty prescription pain medications, like Oxycontin/Oxycodine, or morphine in case of a break or sprain. A good idea if you can get them.
Aspirin- just a little, good for your heart. Don’t take too much as it will increase bleeding in the event of injury.
Benedryl- not only good for allergies but also good if you are having trouble sleeping. -not just good for airborne allergic reactions but also plant and insect bite reactions.
Claritain. Good for allergies when you don’t want to be sleepy.
Decongestants- also good if you need to stay awake to hike out in an emergency. These are sold without a prescription but apparently you have to ask for them, now.
Emer’gen-C good for replacing electrolytes in the event of dehydration.  At an advanced wilderness first aid course, the instructor said that heavy doses of Vitamin C can prevent and even cure urinary track infections by making your urine so acid that nothing can live in it.
Tums or some kind of antacid. Sometimes trail food can cause acid indigestion and make for a really horrible night.

I carry a needle in my dental floss case to pop blisters. I carry duct tape wrapped around one of my water bottles, not just for repairs, but also for taping a splint made from my pad on if I needed to. Every thing is kept in a plastic ziplock.

On my last hiking trip, I pulled a thigh muscle and a hiker I meet gave me her ace bandage. Later in my hike, I met a woman with a sore knee and I passed it on to her. I’m thinking of starting to bring an ace bandage with me. It does offer some relief.