Camping, Day 4: Teh Good And Teh Suck
Jul. 10th, 2008 12:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elfsI didn't sleep well last night. My back hurts and the pillow I brought is too soft and doesn't support my head well in comparison to the hard ground-pad and sleeping bag.
Fried underwear Kouryou-chan had washed her one pair of underwear in the river last night, but it was so humid and cool last night that the cloth wasn't dry. Omaha tried to speed up the process by gently frying the underwear over low heat to drive the moisture out and it mostly worked.
Lena Lake Breakfast was a nutrition bar and milk, not filling but quick, which was good because we were getting out at our typically late rate and we needed to get out to the Lena Lake trail-head as early as possible. It was the longest hike of our trip so far, almost six miles total, and much of it promised to be uphill heading inward.
The map lies about the number of switchbacks it takes to get up to the main ridge: it shows only five, but there are more like thirteen, all uphill, all interminably dull. I mean, sure, there are chipmunks and birds and it's beautiful forest country, but it's still just switchbacks, walking back and forth up a steep hillside, slow ridge by ridge, until you reach the one high enough to get through the gap that holds in Lena Lake.
Lena Lake, Campsite The lake itself was very beautiful, and we walked all the way around to the north end, crossing over the creek that feeds it on your typical scary fallen-log bridge, until we stopped at a little unoccupied campsite on the far side with some relatively still water. The campsite was packed full of driftwood and the girls found great joy in pushing themselves out onto the lake on these huge, fallen logs like lumberjacks, only to have the wind blow them back to us. We ate PB&J sandwiches and trail mix and enjoyed the stillness.
Trail mix thief While I was watching the girls, this little chipmunk broke into my bag and stole my trail mix. He's cute, but he's a thief.
Omaha and Y-chan. We headed back while the girls chatted incessantly, making up stories based on the books they'd brought with them. It's cute, but really there's only so much parents can take at one time.
I have no idea what Omaha and Yamaraashi-chan are talking about in this picture, but it's a lovely picture of the two of them and I could hear the giggling from fifty yards away.
Dog-head rock. We stopped at a little wooden bridge crossing a dry creek and I spotted this rock shaped like a dog's head. The girls agreed, but Omaha thought it looked more like a pig.
When we got back to my car, we found a nasty surprise. Kouryou-chan was so happy to see the forest road after all those darned switchbacks, even going downhill, that she ran out to the car, then came running back shouting, "Daddy! Someone broke into our car!" And yeah, some punk kid smashed one of my windows and stole Omaha's iPod. They left everything else: two wallets, two cellphones (including Omaha's iPhone), Omaha's PDA, all the credit cards were still there. (They left my copy of Iain M. Banks's Matter! Don't they realize the book hasn't been released in the US yet? There are fans on this side of the ocean who'd give their right arm to have a copy!) We figured that had to be kids. One of the other people parked near the trail said that a window on their RV had been opened and whatever was in reach rifled through, but nothing was missing. Oh, and his windows were all turned. Damned kids. And I had worried about the chipmunk.
We called the sheriff and left a message. We also spoke with a park ranger who expressed surprise, since that was the first incident this year, and it wasn't supposed to be a problem area anymore. I did not point out that the weather had been less than helpful since Memorial Day and the season had started late.
Omaha spent much of the day in a funk, berating herself for leaving her iPod and pack in plain view to tempt the thieves.
We went home and made hamburgers, and then as the darkness fell we made s'mores. Yamaraashi-chan may have brought fourteen pairs of pants, but she didn't bring a single sweater. I loaned her one of my three warm shirts that evening, which was beneficial as it protected her when she set fire to a marshmallow and then immediately dropped it into her lap while trying to blow it out. She put it out fast enough and without injury. So my shirt earned a small patch of charred melted marshmallowy goodness, and she became cold again. She put on three layers of t-shirt instead.
Deep in the night, it began to rain, so Omaha and I had to do a quick toss of the rain-fly over the tent in the cold and the wet, but it worked well enough and we were dry until morning.
Fried underwear
Lena Lake
The map lies about the number of switchbacks it takes to get up to the main ridge: it shows only five, but there are more like thirteen, all uphill, all interminably dull. I mean, sure, there are chipmunks and birds and it's beautiful forest country, but it's still just switchbacks, walking back and forth up a steep hillside, slow ridge by ridge, until you reach the one high enough to get through the gap that holds in Lena Lake.
Lena Lake, Campsite
Trail mix thief
Omaha and Y-chan.
I have no idea what Omaha and Yamaraashi-chan are talking about in this picture, but it's a lovely picture of the two of them and I could hear the giggling from fifty yards away.
Dog-head rock.
When we got back to my car, we found a nasty surprise. Kouryou-chan was so happy to see the forest road after all those darned switchbacks, even going downhill, that she ran out to the car, then came running back shouting, "Daddy! Someone broke into our car!" And yeah, some punk kid smashed one of my windows and stole Omaha's iPod. They left everything else: two wallets, two cellphones (including Omaha's iPhone), Omaha's PDA, all the credit cards were still there. (They left my copy of Iain M. Banks's Matter! Don't they realize the book hasn't been released in the US yet? There are fans on this side of the ocean who'd give their right arm to have a copy!) We figured that had to be kids. One of the other people parked near the trail said that a window on their RV had been opened and whatever was in reach rifled through, but nothing was missing. Oh, and his windows were all turned. Damned kids. And I had worried about the chipmunk.
We called the sheriff and left a message. We also spoke with a park ranger who expressed surprise, since that was the first incident this year, and it wasn't supposed to be a problem area anymore. I did not point out that the weather had been less than helpful since Memorial Day and the season had started late.
Omaha spent much of the day in a funk, berating herself for leaving her iPod and pack in plain view to tempt the thieves.
We went home and made hamburgers, and then as the darkness fell we made s'mores. Yamaraashi-chan may have brought fourteen pairs of pants, but she didn't bring a single sweater. I loaned her one of my three warm shirts that evening, which was beneficial as it protected her when she set fire to a marshmallow and then immediately dropped it into her lap while trying to blow it out. She put it out fast enough and without injury. So my shirt earned a small patch of charred melted marshmallowy goodness, and she became cold again. She put on three layers of t-shirt instead.
Deep in the night, it began to rain, so Omaha and I had to do a quick toss of the rain-fly over the tent in the cold and the wet, but it worked well enough and we were dry until morning.
A few more pictures:
Yamaraashi-chan relaxes 
Lena Lake log bridge 
Lena creek, view from the bridge 
Omaha relaxes on some driftwood 
Mountain flowers. 
How Kouryou-chan Views Daddy
Yamaraashi-chan relaxes
Lena Lake log bridge
Lena creek, view from the bridge
Omaha relaxes on some driftwood
Mountain flowers.
How Kouryou-chan Views Daddy
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no subject
Date: 2008-07-10 08:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-10 09:41 pm (UTC)I just finished it. I'll be interested in hearing what everyone thinks of it.
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Date: 2008-07-11 02:10 am (UTC)Sigh. I so miss being able to hike up to gorgeous places like that.