Started at Wapiti Shelter
Ended at Woods Hole Hostel
6.2 miles and .5 to the Hostel
Our stuff was still wet when we got up so it was slow going. No one likes to put on wet clothing. Before dressing I made oatmeal, a great way to warm up on chilly mornings. After eating we reluctantly (mostly me) got the wet hiking clothing on. We said goodbye to the two others at the shelter and even the kids who love dogs were happy to leave the "beast" (said Harvey) behind.
The trail headed uphill so we cooled off perfectly with the wet clothing and difficult hiking. We had one awesome spot open up to partly cloudy skies and the valley below, but mostly it was like the picture (Pete is upset over our Energy Bar selection and didn't want to get in the photo).
A good portion of the trail followed old logging roads, but some sections were really slow due to rocks. We had plenty of snacks and time so we didn't push ourselves. The kids entertained themselves with made up stories about getting married.
When we got to the Woods Hole Hostel our friend Jesus was sweeping the porch! The kids were so excited and said "Jesus you waited!" He was a good sport about it, but the truth was he didn't feel that great and he was working around the Hostel/Farm to keep expenses low till his Dr appt. on Monday.
The hostel is great, very friendly owners and they promote organic eating. If I was hiking solo I would stay a few days too, this place is that great.
We had 2 boxes of food and some fun stuff from Amazon too. After opening the fun items (new socks and shoes for Mark and new water tight bags for the tent) we waited for the food boxes. They didn't have the food boxes! They were heading into town for a pig roast and would check the mailbox that was 1.5 miles away on a very unfriendly road. Even big 4x4 trucks were going slow (but the section we walked was not that bad). They agreed to bring back my boxes if they arrived before heading into town. I was very happy.
If my boxes didn't arrive I had no food, so they opened an old hiker box that was never claimed and sold me some bread and bananas. The old hiker box had some great food in it (lots of granola, dried fruit, mixed fruit, Indian dishes) but the food was old so we had to test it. A few things were questionable so I tossed them. The garbage was getting full and I felt bad putting the old food in it, but I would explain to the owners so I thought things would be fine.
Two boxes arrived and I checked the tracking numbers against the online tracking numbers I had. The special Saturday delivery box did not make it. USPS messed up and didn't deliver the guaranteed on Saturday box, but I had my food.
Before I could get my boxes out of the car we had to check for a rattlesnake. One was on the road and because he ran over it he was afraid it may have hitched a ride.
Once the food boxes were opened it was time to eat. Chips with hummus, lunch in a box, taste testing small ham sausages, anything we couldn't take we tried to eat. We even had the loaf of homemade bread and some cheese to go with our food.
We decided to eat the bread and cheese on the bunkhouse porch. I cut some cheese and some bread and was handing it to a kid when a chicken snuck up behind me and grabbed the loaf. Took the loaf right off the bench, but the loaf was so heavy the chicken dropped it. We were much more careful. But even that didn't help. Once a chicken jumped on the counter and was inspecting my cooking pot and cups. Another time Harvey was not protecting his food and the chicken took a piece of bread out of his hands, but left the cheese.
Full and tired we called Mary-j from the house phone and said goodnight. Once upstairs in the bunkhouse we heard a lot of noise coming from the garbage cans downstairs. One of the kids looked and said "A BEAR!!!!" We do have bears and it was getting dark, so it was hard to tell. Lucky for me, Uncle Jim had pigs, and when I saw it I wasn't so sure it was a bear. Even after shining a light on it I wasn't sure, but the hair (or fur, or whatever it is called) on a pig is different than a bear. I jumped down and ran off the pig. It had made a big mess and kept coming back. Pete was doing a bathroom check and got really scared when the pig came his way. Pigs are smart, so she just walked out one side and then went around to another entrance. I thought by cleaning up the trash the pig would go away, but I couldn't clean and run the pig off at the same time. Brave Sydney tried to help but the pig was bigger than her. At one point the pig ran toward the can and nearly ran me over! I was tossed onto the couch and the kids were yelling "Dad, are you OK!" Later they would say I was the coolest Dad for taking on a huge pig.
The funny thing is, the trash is not at all special. I wasn't protecting it like it was my trash and you can't have it. So again I ran it off and this time got the trash all cleaned up and even wiped the floor. I guess you need to be more careful with your trash in pig country.
The mess was cleaned up, but the pig was still on the loose. I walked around the bunkhouse to find the pig and saw 3 baby pigs. The gate in the fence was open and the pig got out. She was heading back to the little ones so after she entered the field I shut the gate. It was really getting dark now and my phone camera didn't get a good picture.
Around 10 the lady with the dog got to the hostel. I had warned the owners about the dog, but the owners had heard stories from other hikers and knew all about her. It turns out the beast had bitten a few hikers. The owners said no way was that dog off leash on the property and it had to sleep in her car (the lady started her hike from the hostel in early June and only covered about 40 miles).
No comments:
Post a Comment