april 23 - greasy creek hostel

There is a very satisfying feeling that comes from building a good fire. When admiring a magnificent fire that was created by oneself, one cant help but think "Ah what a magnificent fire. Something so beautifull surely has been born only of my G-dly loins". (So as not to offend those who worship other beings, "B-shly" is substituted for G-dly by some. one.) Either way, fire is nice, it makes heat, and light. Which is useful for lighting things and heating things. Usually one or the other. I made two fires tonight. One when i set up camp and cooked my dinner, and the other when i came back from checking out the hostel down the somewhat abandoned jeep road im camped out on. I almost set up camp earlier, and by set up camp earlier i mean go back to miss janets house for a day. I took breaks today, and walked walked slowly-ish so as not to upset my ankle who is already on bad terms with me as is. Yet after my half hour long lunch/take-care-o-blister break it hurt very much to walk. So i called miss janet, who told me she'll be there in an hour at the road i had stopped at. To pass the time while waitinhg for miss janet i decided to workout. I hung my rope over a tree and did some bodyweight rows, and stuck a branch through the straps of my backpack and curled it. It was kind of entertaining watching all the passing cars rubbernecking to look at whatever the hell some crazy hiker was doing on the side of the road. After that i was kind of tired, so i laid down for 20 minutes or so. My ankle had stopped hurting while i was exercising, and i didnt want to leave the trail unless i had to. So i called miss janet back to tell her ill just continue down the trail. She told me of a good campsite not too far in. When i got there i was still feeling good, so i decided to continue until the road the hostel was on, and camp there. I realized quickly that i had less water than i thought i had. It was While walking up a hill and getting dizzy, then trying to drink from my camelback and bringing up as many air bubbles as water. Not good, dehydrating, and hot, and slooooowwww. My paced slowed, i didnt want to sweat too much, so i did my best to keep it easy. The uphills were bad, id get a little nauseous as my heart got faster. I finally got to the campsite about a half hour later than i thought i would. It wasnt late though, only about 530pm. I began hiking at 915am this morning, so it was a decntly long day. But slow, and i liked it more for that. I went down a side trail at the campsite for water and filled everything up with my slow as hell filterpump. Hikers came by and began walking down an unmarked dirt path. Turns out that the road i thought id get to shortly after the campsite was by the campsite itself. And it was a defunct looking jeep path. I walked down it to find a campsite closer to the hostel. I wanted to go there in the morning to see if they have work for stay and/or a ski cap or other winter cap. I lost mine sometime in the past 2 days, and ive hear that theres a storm coming. A storm wouldnt be so bad, except that a storm in the town is going to be between 50-65 degrees. That means that where i am now at 4000 feet, its going to be closer to 45. And tomorrow when i go up to 6000 feet, it'll be around 40. Soaking wet and 40 degrees is a very uncomfortable combination. Especially when the rain itself will probably be having an identity crisis and coming down as ice instead, or freezing rain. Freezing rain is loads of fun! So a warm head covering will be necessary, i didnt have it last night and it was only slightly uncomfortable. It wasnt very cold last night. High 40s i think. Low 50s in my tent. But i was dry too. I ended up getting one at the hostel. The greasy creek friendly. The owner, connie, gave it to me. I became friendly with her very quickly after arriving at the hostel. Affter walking down a rocky, muddy, wet dirt road. I helped her with her very drunk friend, paul, who i have renamed Havoc. Paul is a very funny, very drunk, sixty something year old man. He greeted me as i approached the hostel by saying, "you have a very beautiful face" and trying to convince the hikers there of how beautiful i am. It was very obvious that paul was drunk, im not sure if it was the mumbling, the stumbling, or the general inabilty to do anything in a straight line. But either way, he was entertaining, and i almost got to drive his atv back to his house, but we couldnt get it started. It took us a while to coax the key from him, he didnt want to go home. Finally when we got the key the machine wasnt working. It was pretty late already, after 9. So it was dark, except for the full moon, but i had to walk a half mile down aforementioned road.. so i said goodbye, and asked connie if she had an extra winter hat i ccould have or buy. First place to look was a box of things hikers had left behind or she doesnt really need. No luck, so she checked her things and came out with a black ski cap woth the fender guitar company logo on it. Worked for me. I thanked her and walked back to the campsite. While walking i realized how low my headlamp batteries are. Ill pick up new ones in 3 days in roan or elk park. I finally got back to the campsite and i saw that there were still a few red coals in the firepit i made. So i piled some more wood on top and got the fire restarted. Its unlikely, but id like to have a fire in the morning for breakfast. I dont plan to go too far tomorrow, maybe 10-12 miles, but i want to have a hot brekafast. I have cinnamon oatmeal and dried fruits that have been asking me to eat them. The temperature has dropped pretty quickly. It got very windy after i got back to camp, which dragged the temp down. Hopefully itll just be windy and i wont need to worry about storms. I dont like being wet and cold. On the plus side, there are frequent shelters between here and the next town. On the down side, the plague is still out there, and crowded shelters are virus playgrounds. Ill be alright, i have been thus far.