On my walk, today, a man pulled over and told me that there are people tracking the mountain lions with dogs and killing them. He said we should carry cat poo with us when we hike and drop it where ever, to throw off the dogs. I don’t have any source of cat poo and I really wouldn’t want to carry it around even if I did but I thought I would pass on the advice.
Author: crow
Hermit, long distance hiker, primitive cabin dweller, seeker.
The most arduous journey yet.
It snowed an incredible amount last night and it was still coming down hard this morning. We probably got a foot of new powder. I put my propane tank in my backpack, strapped on my skis and headed down through state land to the little store to get it filled. I commented to the woman at the store that all this snow felt kind of festive but she said “No, it’s kind of fucked up, is what it is”.
I used my snow shoes for the way back. Man, I was tired. With the skis and full propane tank it was probably close to 50 lbs. Trudging up hill through all that new powder was so hard that I wanted to lay down in the snow and rest for awhile. By the time I got back, the propane tank had made a sore spot on my lower back. I need a pack board. I was looking at Luxurylite pack board. It’s really light but it’s sort of expensive. Cabelas has a pack board that might be a less expensive solution. They have packboards ranging in price from 70 dollars to 120.00.
Stale winter.
Well, here I am. Spring’s coming. A lot of the snow has melted but then the melt re-freezes. So the road is a thick solid sheet of ice. New dry snow fell today. It doesn’t stick to the ice. When I went for my walk I slipped and fell a lot. It’s like walking on cardboard across a waxed floor.
The Internet is seeming mundane and small. Watching movies sometimes feels like a chore. I’m antsy but not sure for what.
I’m only eating between 10am and noon, now. It’s for health and for a discipline. Every day is a mini fast and my body is responding well to it, although it seems to be filled with a lot of unfocused energy. It’s hard to sit still. Besides my 10-to noon eating thing I have also quit drinking coffee, for awhile, maybe forever.
My wood pile is really low; probably not another month worth left.
It’s been 3 months now since my truck has moved; I started it just to make sure it would start.
It’s been three months since I have washed my clothes or bedding. I’m looking forward to the day I can finally can get out and go to the laundry mat.
Modified Light my Fire Spork
This is one Light my Fire Spork that won’t be poking me in the hand again. I left it in a pot on the stove and before I realized it the tongs of the fork were melting down the sides. I think it’s an improvement.
Music for the long distance hiker
Sometimes I put my pack on and listen to Walkin’ Jim Stoltz’s “Long Trails” CD while I hike around my cabin, imagining I’m back on a long trail again. He has songs about the AT, PCT, CDT and other trails.
Keeping your GPS screen from getting scatched.
If you don’t have a case for your GPS, that protects the screen, I would recommend putting some clear packing tape over the screen.
Some people plant, some people gather.
As spring approaches I turn my attention to what this year’s adventure will be. This has been the winter of the blog and Netflix DVD’s. I’m thinking about this summer being yet another PCT thru-hike. When I start thinking about being back on that trail my body starts humming and vibrating. A part of me thinks that that would be the best thing to do this summer. Another part of me remembers how hard it is: the heat, the pain, the stinking horses and their obnoxious riders, the cold and the rain, bear worries, etc. How can something so hard be so alluring? I think it must be something in a person’s intrinsic programing that makes some people want to start roaming as spring nears where as others start thinking about planting a garden.
Rolling in spoons
It won’t be long before I’m sporting 12 new metal Chinese spoons. A reader, of this blog, pointed me to this E-bay seller that is shipping the metal Chinese spoon, that I like for backpacking and travel, to anywhere in the world.
Ear plugs
Because sometimes the world is a loud place, ear plugs are a good thing to have in your pack when you are traveling. Some hikers also carry them, to block out loud snorers in the shelters or when the wind is whipping their tent around so much that it is hard to sleep.
The best ones, in my opinion, are the EAR Classic Yellow Disposable Foam Earplug, because they can be washed or gotten wet and they still work; once the smooth foam ones get wet they will never fit in your ears right again. To wash the yellow ones just put them in your pants pocket and throw in the washing machine and dryer. I have been using the same pair, for when I use my chainsaw, for over two years. I found single pairs for sell in a drug store. They weigh so little that my scale with a 1 gram readability doesn’t register any weight for them.
When I get lost…..
Xena and me.
Once I took a “Dealing with Difficult People” workshop. The instructor told the following story, I don’t remember why he told it, but it made me so mad that he probably thought I was a plant. The story the instructor told was: “Two men and one woman were marooned on an island surrounded by shark-infested waters. There is a rowboat. The woman asks the men to row her away. One says, ‘no’ and the other one says, ‘Yes if you have sex with me.”
I loudly asked, “Why didn’t she just row herself off?” And he said, “Because, it was surrounded by shark infested waters.” I kept saying, “I don’t understand why she didn’t just take the boat.” And he kept saying, “Because she was afraid of the shark infested waters.” This went on for most of the class.
After that class, my next job was running a skiff back and forth to a barge that was anchored in the Columbia. It was the middle of winter and the water and wind could be fierce some days. When I felt the need for some courage, I would think to my self, “Shark infested waters, yeeee ha!” and plow ahead. Just like Xena and Tarzan have their cries, “Shark infested waters!” has been my courage conjuring phrase ever since because it reminds me of the cost of fear.
I hold all rights to the distribution of silver tea in North America.
Silver tea
For a delicious, healthy, hot beverage try a cup of silver tea. It’s cheap too, unless you are in Sweden, were it reportedly fetches at least the same price as a cup of Earl Grey.
My other cabin is water access only and I don’t own a boat, so if I would run out of coffee and tea I couldn’t go to the store and get more. I found that I was just as happy with some spruce needles in my hot water or even just a cup of silver tea(hot water).
Your money or your life.
“Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence”
is a great book on freeing yourself up financially and getting your priorities clear.
I read it about 15 years ago and it changed my life. It helped me defined what was important to me and think up ways to get the life I wanted. Instead of focusing on getting more money, like most financial books, this one is about getting a more fulfilling life.
At the time there was a simple living series at the community college built loosely around the book. The teachers were all people trying for a simpler, more self defined life and they would offer good advice like: “Personal grooming—do as little as possible but not so little that people take notice.”
Note: This is a really popular book. You should be able to find it at most public libraries. If not, used copies are plentiful.