Lazy day today, no motivation to walk puppy need to get on with her training so she can go for walks again. I am talking about free roaming walks in the mountains, Saundra takes her on the leash in town, but I am anxious to get her back up in the hills. Rain and more rain, clouds and low clouds, we want some sun!!!
More from the mountains:
Day 10 Monday May 2nd
Well, the weather changes fast as usual in the mountains, woke up to a fairly clear sky and looked to be a good day. I hung out some laundry – not having washed it, just hung some things in the sun, I couldn’t find an ant hill if you remember my story about the old sheep herder and Lynn Wrights dad. If you don’t I tell you some time. Had breakfast and loafed around straightening some things out, just kinda waiting for it to warm a little, I loaded up old Betsy and headed down the creek to go up my steep powerline trail – wanting to get up on the ridges south of Boulder Creek to walk again. I went as far as I could and his Betsy under some trees and started for a walk up the ridge trying to avoid where possible the deep snow hoping to get out on the clear ridge fingers that ran south toward the creek, I walked for 2 ½ hours about all my feet and knee could tolerate, Found a spring and trough down in the trees, a diamond willow all dried up – none worth saving and some very interesting rocks. Lots of huge fir and ponderosa on these ridges. I could see all around – especially beautiful looking up into the Finley Basin (one of the places I had wanted to go, but way way to much snow). Ate some trail mix sitting on a rock looking across the country, saw a lot of Bitteroot’s in bloom and some Buttercups. One day 6” of snow and of course more than that right next to it, but the next up they come – got to take advantage of all the opportunity they can . I should ha ve found all kinds of antlers, it was an ideal place, but I just decided I was to. Had a great walk anyway and I am in it more for the exercise, fresh air, beauty and wonders of nature, and they are everywhere. Time I got back to camp it was hot so I set up my table in the shade and studied for an hour or so and then ate. Ok quit bugging me about to (to what about the antlers) Ok Ok up to high, down to low, or just to late, There’s the to, now let me get back to my story. I saw 2 sets of man tracks probably PAH’s – they went across high so I circled around the whole entire ridges skirting the edge of the trees and up and down canyons but to! This computer is only taking a partial charge – maybe cause off the battery? Will keep trying hope I can get all the info I want into it. Wrote more on book finished chapter 11, a little more pleased with where it’s headed now and will go on from there. Nothing like a good walk to open your neurons up to creative ideas. Did you know that electricity travels at 700 million miles an hour? I wonder how fast nerve impulses travel, will have to dig into that one, probably slower than that since the conductors (nerves) are not that long and the impulses don’t have that far to go. Maybe I should have asked I wonder how many thoughts we can have at once but only realize we are thinking of one thing at a time when in reality there are probably zillions of things going on at once. Hum! Something else to consider. Jaidens picture and thought had to do with my talk at her baptism – she said as I started out on my walks it reminded her of the story I told and then she painted a picture of me on a mountain. I am glad my granddaughters and grandsons love me – I sure love them and want to be with them forever. Well, battery low, best stop, will read in bed with headlamp. Need to go out in the suddenly cold night and brush my teeth. Oh by the way I found a tick today I hadn’t really been looking , but he was on my britches crawling along I knocked him off and he probably climbed right back on?
Day 11 Tuesday May 3rd
Rain and wind in the night woke me a couple times it can really howl when it wants to. The first couple of nights I slept with the loaded 44 magnum laying next to my flashlight beside the sleeping bag. Then one morning I almost took off and left it lay in the tent, deciding that was not such a good idea I put it in the cab of the truck under some things and that is where it has stayed. I haven’t been getting up to the potty in the night like I do at home, I think I am drinking less, especially at night. I know we are suppose to have 210 cups of water etc, I think I am below that here, but there is a benefit of one I climb into the sack I can stay until I decide it is time to get up and since it has been cold and damp, that is a plus. This morning I got up and ate, wanted to charge the computer so I tried to get the plug arranged reaching over everything I have piled in the cab and I couldn’t get it to work. Yesterday, I only got a partial charge. Then I thought – you know I haven’t started the truck for a couple days, maybe the battery is a little low. Yea, not enough to turn the truck over. Great, well good thing I bought a new battery and brought it, I had to climb in the back of the truck and move everything to get to the battery and the tool box (I had all my food piled closet to the back so I could reach it). After I got it out I thought, you know rather than replace this it would be best to just get the truck started and save the new battery and charge up the old one, so I started trying to figure out ways to connect the two of them and get it going. I looked all over for wire and couldn’t come up with anything. I thought – why didn’t I bring the jumper cables? So I jumped on old Betsy and headed down the road to Maxville, there I found a couple guys cutting some big fir trees down back off the road. They had some big equipment and a couple pickups sitting there so I drove in. After they fell the tree they were working on I described my dilemma and ask if they happen to have jumper cables, they had a set each. I borrowed one ran back up the canyon and up the creek where I am and connected the two batteries together, the old truck groan and almost didn’t start, then it took off. I let it run for a few minutes to make sure it charged even the new battery a little then took the jumpers off left it run and locked the doors and ran the cables back, I left the truck run nearly 1 hour and then shut her down. After that I determined today would be a good day for a bath and laundry, it was cool and windy, but the sun shone on and off. Then I thought – I better go for a walk first, so I got my water ready (the water out of Boulder Creek is a lot cleaner than out of Wyman and the other little creek where I am at – there is a real mineral rust color to it – probably all the mines up high), Anyway I started heating some water, left the stove damper down and rode up the road for a great two hour walk up a south sloping mountain with some good sized openings where there was not a lot of snow. Lot’s of elk sign but no antlers (you know to as I said yesterday). Great rocks and good views and a pretty mountain – I climbed to a bench where the snow got to deep to continue on, I zig zagged up the left side going up and the right side coming down. I covered the mountain well and no antlers – PAH I am sure. Got back the water was still quite warm. I packed a cut log around the back of the tent and a floor mat, hung the towel over the clothes line and took of my duds, it was cold, the warm water and soap felt good though, except a couple places where I had saddle sores – after I put antibiotic ointment on them and they feel quite good now. After I had sponge bathed and dried I got dressed in clean clothes except my levis, gathered up socks , underwear and tee shirts and put them in my wash tub I had been dipping water out of to bathe. Then I proceeded to look for the little container of liquid laundry soap I brought and wouldn’t you know it I had to unload the back of the truck again, I found it in the last container I looked in. I did find some other things I needed though, before I am done I may just know where everything is. Then I added some more water and soap and wash wash by hand hard on my back I look for a clean dull branch to poke the clothes with and gave up wanted to get er done, so I washed up and down by hand. Then I thought – now I have to run to the creek for some more water to rinse this stuff in. Then it hit me, take the duds to the creek so I did and rinsed them good and cleaned out the bucket bringing them back in it and hanging them to dry.
Reminder to self:
1) Don’t run off without jumper cables
2) Don’t take a bath while it is snowing, it would have been warmer a couple hours before
3) Don’t do laundry so late in the day, it too is cold on the hands and the stuff may not dry for a week
4) Organize yourself before you come – I know you were in a hurry, but it would have been easier there than here
5) Fix the holes in the olre green tent at least some of them and repair the metal where the stove pipe goes out it is all coming apart – what do I want from a tent that was old when dad bought it in 1952, lots of memories, lots of holes
Well, enough of that, it is what it is. The weather is supposed to be nice tomorrow and A little of Thursday, then it shows stormy in Pburg closest town for the next several days. It has been in the 30s as I high part of the time at least the next week shows low 50’s with snow and rain or as the weather people like to say “frozen mix” , hum I thought that was what my laundry was today. Well, time for bed – wrote chapter 12 on my book – coming along – am spending about the right amount of time on it – not too much and not to little. Also studied 2 Nephi chapters 6-9 some pretty significant stuff there let me tell you especially chapter 9. To bed, to bed it’s cooled off in this ole tent even with a fire.
No comments:
Post a Comment