Carne Mountain to High Pass

Monday, September 2, 1990
Day 2, Box Creek

C&G on the Rock Creek Trail

We are camped between the two branches of Box Creek on the Carne Mountain-Leroy Creek high route.  "We" being C&G, their dog Schmoo, myself and my dog Mica.  Micki is at home, retired from the trail.  Arthritis and old age have set in and she is content to stay in town and be pampered by her dog-sitter.

For those of you who don't like dogs, or think they have no business on mountain trails, go read something else.  While I agree that people should not take their pets up and let them chase the critters, poop all over, and bark at the neighbors, Mica Eiger is a well-behaved and experienced trail dog with an attentive owner who cleans up after her and buries her waste.  I have spent considerable time training Mica to voice command and good trail manners, and I get bloody sick and tired of hearing sanctimonious people who leave a trail of gum wrappers, toilet paper and other assorted garbage in their wake whine about dogs.  My dogs have packed out more beer cans, food tins and miscellaneous plastics than I can recount ... none of which WE packed in!

Mica Eiger, all dressed up with somewhere to go!

Anyway ... here's the recap of day one:

We hoisted our heavy packs at the Rock Creek trailhead and set off in bright mid-morning sun.  The weight of the packs was miniscule in comparison to the burden of surviving the numbing, soul-sucking daily grind in town.  There's nothing like a trail in front of you to improve your attitude toward life.  Suddenly there's an additional spring to your step.  Everything appears brighter and clearer.  The pungent scents of earth, pine, fir and grasses assail your city-deadened olfactory senses.  It's sort of like slipping into a hot tub -- you can feel the knots and cramps relaxing as a wonderful feeling of contentment seeps into your entire being.  Life is good on the trail!

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