After an easy, slow, belly-stuffing morning at the NWSA center at Trout Lake we were back on the trail by noon today. It is a fine summer day. We caught a ride to the trailhead, up the 14 curvy miles on Route 23, with a local transport angel, Doug Anderson. Two other section hikers were along for the ride as well -- middle-aged, retired, insufferably talkative and annoying people, mildly autistic seeming, with no sense of personal space, etc. Conversations hijacking our minds. This ride was the polar opposite of the hitch we had caught down the mountain yesterday afternoon -- back of the pick-up truck, hair flying, the vehicle taking these blind country corners at 60 mph; Eliza's bandanna flew off and disappeared around a bend, Mt. Adams looming overhead . . .
Back in the woods, we hiked a quiet, easy 20 miles before setting up camp at a miserably buggy spot near Bear Lake. I furiously filtered water, swatting, swearing, generally suffering way too much about the whole thing, as Eliza put up the tent. We cooked up a double serving of ramen noodles -- damn, those things are good -- and in the process I scalded myself yet again on this outrageously conductive little tin pot we use. Mosquitoes were the worst they've been, storming the air around us, going after knuckles and ankles, crowding for a free space against our vital, but often ineffectual, headnetting. Finally, we were safely stuffed inside the tent, sipping spicy ramen broth, staring out at the ravenous wildlife on the other side of our mesh window wall.
It was early still and we lay awake talking and reading for a while, glad to have some extra time off the trail.
We ran into a pair of coyotes along the pathway today. Two good sized canines came trotting down the trail towards us, maybe 30 yards ahead of where we were. I stopped in my tracks, alarmed at how quickly they were moving our way.
"Eliza!" I called in a strained whisper, hoping she would see them as well, and immediately they bolted, scampering backwards and then scattering one from the other down into the darkness of the forest. Eliza did see them. The run-in had an interesting flare to it, the way that they were shuffling down the trail, one after another. They seemed to be hiking, enjoying themselves, headed somewhere just as we were. It is different than, say, seeing deer on the side of the road, their lives imminently in danger, clearly out of place. These coyotes weren't transgressing or trespassing; the trail is of an order far removed from the concrete, the engnes, the movement of our natonal infrastructure. It is one of the most amazing things about scenic trails -- how exceptionally low-impact they really are.
***
Trout Lake turned out to be a great stop for us. Coming down from the mountain, it suddenly hit us -- Summer. The heat; the basking, happy laziness of sun on your face; the crispy, soft greenness of a cool shaded lawn; the heaviness of gravity, lying down, barefooted, thoughtless . . .
After sucking down huckleberry milkshakes and a pair of ice cream cones (yes, both milkshakes and cones) at the corner cafe, we hoisted packs and stopped off at the market where we chatted with Warner Springs Monty who was in town re-supplying and scored some cashews and a big bundle of these all-natural "meal pack" bars from the hiker-box. We then made a quick stop at the Post Office where we dropped some stuff in the mail in an attempt to lighten our loads a bit -- extra socks, waterlogged journal, books, trail guidebook sections, etc. Finally we strolled over to the NWSA Mt. Adams center where we were welcomed graciously by the Residential Coordinator, Chris Nielson, with whom I've been e-mailing, trying to set up this visit of ours. She was all smiles and very quickly showed us around -- you can camp over there, kitchen is here, help yourselves, there's the commons building with showers and toilets, computers, tv, etc, make yourselves at home -- and she said goodbye, she had an appointment, and we were on our own. The Northwest Service Academy, an Americorps-funded environmental service organization shares the space with the Mt. Adams Forest Service branch. There are about eight dormitory style residential buildings, a dining hall, an administrative building, some large equipment and vehicle sheds, and a whole bunch of open space sparsely filled with recreational items -- a volleyball court here, a vegetable garden there, a horseshoe pit, a low wire for walking between two trees, a whole fleet of bicycles. I had been to the center last year around this time for a weekend gathering, summer celebration thing, a sort of coming together of the two halves of the organization -- the other being based out of Portland and Vancouver, WA (neighbors along the Columbia).
It was really nice to come back this summer along with Eliza. The members were extremely welcoming and interested in our trip, but also were laid back and unobtrusive. We didn't feel like we had to entertain or anything. After a nice dinner -- they all eat communally, taking turns cooking, we walked over to the inn which opened down the road only four weeks ago. We had a couple of beers and talked to a few locals, as well as more of the NWSA members and had a nice time. Good music on the jukebox, good conversation, good beer (it's great to be back in the Northwest!) . . . what more could a couple a ramblers want?
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