Day 12

Fresh Bear Print in the Mud

Day 12- Dad's last big day.

Last night after I shut this book the French couple treated us to a game of 'pass the pig' where you roll pig dice and the way they land earns you a score. It was weird but a lot of fun. I taught them Euchre and they learned very fast. After on game it was plenty dark and everyone hit the sack. At 4am, a branch broke and I woke up DEFCON 4, rock in hand, ready for bears. Unfortunately, the only thing I scared was my companions so I slipped my trigger happy self back to sleep. Dad and I woke slowly, well after our new French friends. Last to leave out the gate. The morning was uneventful but good. Sunshine! Wow! Few sprinkles here and there but not bad. Summited 2 mountains. Past by Pastor Dave & Mikah. Past by a pair of biker looking hikers. Caught up to Josh, who I've named "Hipster" because he fell and hurt his hip. Weathered a storm at 1:00pm through about 1:45... not too bad but we're still soaked. Wound up at the deer park shelter at about 5. 3.2 miles left to Hot Springs. Dad thinks we'll just grab a bite and high-tail it for the hostel. 10 minutes later, we're knee deep in Mountain House (I <3 my Jetboil) and BOOM! [illustration of thunder cloud] The heavens open up. Dad takes off his shoes. We're stayin' here tonight. This shelter sucks, but it is dry. One more night in the woods for Dad. He's tired, we did about 15 miles today. The Roaring Fork shelter is not correctly located on the map. Pastor Dave & Mikah show up soaked. They say they were on the ridge during the storm. They were hailed on! They say 'Hell with it' and hike down to Hot Springs to get out of Dodge. Biker couple shows up, but they set up tents. Guess they're too cool for us. Hipser makes mac+cheese+ramen+tuna and enjoys it. I may have to try this later. Dad hits the privy and says it's nasty. So lets talk about poopin' in the woods. It's a game of chess, strategy, skill and sometimes luck. See, I know there is a flush toilet in town for me tomorrow, so I'll hold out. This morning, however, I hit the privy because I knew that although the comfort level was marginal and my need was not imminent, it may be better than the next privy. Well played for me. The alternative is digging a hole, which is liberating but takes a lot of time and energy. All these factors must be wighted to win the poopin' game:

Need
Imminent
Could possibly
Nah

Comfort
Padded Seat
Clean
Nastay

Outlook
Flush in town
Privy next shelter
Ass in wind


Tonight I have: Could possibly + nastay + flush in town. I'll just hold out for the diner.

3.2 Miles of triumphant march into the town tomorrow for some greasy food + 1.5 days of rest and dryness. Woooooooot!

*Yep, I planned my bodily functions around availability and possible availability of facilities. In the future, I'll just go for the 'Ass in wind' option. It's really not that bad! This was a pretty normal hiking day. Just a lot of walking, looking around and just enjoying being outside despite the weather. It was a good last big day for Dad.



Dad on the Trail



Our Crappy Shelter