Confessions of a nature guy
I'm known around the newsroom as "nature boy." In the last year or so, I've written about vernal pools on flat-top foothills, the least Bell's vireo (it's a bird, I think) and the potential to use gooey hippo sweat as a dandy sun block.
So you might not be shocked that I'm quivering over the opportunity to hoof it through Evolution Valley and gaze up at the glaciers along the spine of the High Sierra.
I love trekking. I love the easy ambling. I love the sweat in the climb. I love the thin air and the snow fields. The granite, the red fir, the erratics, the night sky. I even love the massive downed snags where parasites crawl in and out for centuries. Nibble, nibble, nibble goes nature.
OK, I'm kind of a nature guy, but I have to come clean here. There is something I must tell you.
I really don't like camping. Strike that. I mean, I don't like it most of the time. The rest of the time, I just put up with it.
It has taken me decades to get comfortable with tents, sleeping bags and whatever else I drag along on these treks. I've been doing this a long time.
I sleep just fine usually. I've slept through visits by marauding bears.
I eat just fine. I pretty much don't care what I eat, although I have learned pop tarts don't agree with me in the morning.
When I was young, I remember going to campgrounds. They were a lot of fun until I got a little older and a little less sociable with people who brought radios and small, whining children and cases of beer. Not that I'm against any of that, but I just wanted to be miles from other people. I can just go into my back yard if I want to hear screaming kids.
I now consider a good camp site to be a place somewhere near 10,000 feet in elevation in the vicinity of a lake that was created by the glacial retreat 10,000 years ago.
Even then, I'm not keen on dragging all this stuff with me, preparing in case a blizzard hits overnight (it has happened to us) and then packing it all up the next day to keep moving.
When I hit the trail on Aug. 22, I know I won't be doing a 77-mile day hike. I'm keeping my pack light, hoping the wind will be at my back and walking as swiftly as I can away from civilization.
If you want to find me, just wait until the sky fills with stars and look in the general area of a high-elevation lake in Kings Canyon National Park. I'll be the guy who left the rain fly off his tent because I wanted to see the night sky and because I just didn't want to hassle with all this camping stuff.
Comments
Mark: The Evolution Valley is one of the prettiest on the trail. Hopefully you will enter in from the North about mid-day for some great photo op's. The climb up from Piute Creek is a killer! Been down it but not up. As you head toward Muir Pass, the terrain is like another planet. You are above the timberline and with the winter snow we had this year, I am sure you will encounter remenants of it. Helen Lake on the other side of the pass is a great place to camp or stop for lunch and a dip.
Posted by: John | August 12, 2006 10:53 PM
Man I hope you don't have the mosquitoes we had in Evolution Valley. they were voracious. I still have a little body glued to my Muir Trail Guide.
Posted by: Ruth | August 13, 2006 01:19 PM
It has been a long time since I camped either. I do wonder about people who bring all the stuff of civilization with them... but they're camping and I'm not. Hope the clear spaces are just what the doctor ordered.
Posted by: ScottM | August 13, 2006 03:06 PM
Well it seems simple to me, don't take all that stuff. All you really need is a few rations and a warm coat. I've spent many a night out on lightning fires just like that. It gets kinda dirty, but it works.
Posted by: Dudley Robertson | August 13, 2006 05:28 PM
We hiked over Piute Pass, but in the other direction. That was because dogs weren't allowed into Evolution Valley. Our goal was French Canyon and it was a worthwhile goal. The place was beautiful. We'd become experienced backpackers and learned you can live clean and comfortably with just the bare necessities when you have to carry it on your back.
Katie-dog even carried her own doggie pack.
Posted by: Patti Ogden | August 13, 2006 09:24 PM
Hey (Old) Nature Guy...
I'll be thinking of you in August for sure. I just read the personals. You will be fine. Everything else will be fine. Have your wife meet you at the trailhead as you come out with all the Bee issues you missed while trekking. Let me know if you think of anything else you might need to help you get through and I will send them with your wife as well. For some pre-trip inspiration go to www.oldguysrule.com. Have fun!!
Posted by: "Yosemite Dan" Carter | August 15, 2006 07:21 AM
Camped at Evolution Lake July 30 and had a great breath taking body cleansing dip in the lake. Maybe it will be warmer for you. Make sure you check out the view of Evolution Valley from the lake's outflow on the southwestern edge. The headwaters of the Middle Fork of the Kings River on the other side of the Muir Pass is awe inspiring. Enjoy the stars.
Posted by: Dennis Hylton | August 21, 2006 09:42 PM
Nature Guy Grossi,
We visited unexplored (to us)wilderness this summer too! You will enjoy anything 10,000 and up. The solitude, stars, clean air, streams, rivers, lakes, weather, plants and wildlife are spectacular there, which reminds us very much of California. Have fun, see you Sept. 1.
Posted by: "Colorado Campers" | August 22, 2006 04:13 PM
You've woven great prose of a wonderful part of the world. Thanks for sharing it with us!
Posted by: Patrick C | September 17, 2006 08:56 AM