Rampart Ridge

A good reason to spend the day in my sleeping bag!

5 PM – after sleeping and reading all day I finally did crawl out of the tent to, how shall I ever so delicately put it, ‘take a dump.’

Mica had to poop right by the lake, of course.  I'll wait awhile for it to harden, then ‘relocate’ and bury it. I know toiletry behavior is too frequently a topic of these journals, but if you are going to take dogs into the mountains, you must be willing to clean up after them. No one wants to be wandering around camp in the dark and stepped in a pile of dog poo.

That small snow bridge over my stream has steadily melted away these last three days. I no longer trust that it would support me and my pack as it did when we first came in.  This is the benefit of spending multiple days in one spot; you get to see a little of the rhythm of the area.

The disappearing snow bridge.

I have just finished a Volume 3 of the Science Fiction Hall of Fame, as well as reading Dragon Riders of Pern for the second time. That gives me two and a half days to read the third book that I brought on this hike. It's only about 470 pages, so no problem!

For a brief moment we were in a small pocket of blue sky and bright sunshine, but that didn't last long and it has now clouded over again.

A brief moment of almost-sunshine brightens up the scene.

I enjoy lying in my tent, alternately reading, sleeping and listening to the wind and the brook. This is heaven. A little cold maybe, but then it's hell that is supposed to be hot, isn't it?

Today marks the halfway point of this trip, so I started in on my second food bag (Lasagna tonight!) and the second pack of Swisher Sweets … the big fat ones! I have discovered that a cloud of smoke really does keep the mosquitoes at bay, and as the warmer temperatures melt the snow, there are a lot of breeding spots for the little bloodsuckers.

The fog has lifted but heavy clouds are pouring in from the west and it is definitely starting to look like we're going to get some rain.  I make the cloud ceiling it to be about 5400’ now. And as I watch the light on the nearby snow change as the clouds flow past, I’m pondering upon life and mountains. Our human life span is as fleeting to these mountains as is the shadow that momentarily darkens the ground then is gone.  Except for our destructive nature, we matter not.

Okay, maybe philosophy is not my strong suit.

– Continue reading.