August
5th
Nathalie
has come and gone. To greet her we did amazing miles in very
difficult terrain … but how beautiful! Pascal was thinking of
Adrien looking at those granite facades with over 1000 ft drops in
grandiose canyons. What terrain to go climbing in! And those rivers
flowing over the granite like natural slides for hundreds of feet …
 |
| Cabin at Echo lake accessible only by boat |
Once
again my feet are giving up, getting infected, and the horn not
growing properly. Pascal & I struggled over this, him getting
really tired of my continuous problems (he even called me “dog
meat” one day!) and me suffering through it to try to be up to the
trip … but the body does not follow. I have scars all over,
scratched legs but most of all it is the feet. Even with a pain
killer and antibiotics I can't seem to get over the problems.
Especially my front right leg. Pascal has finally decided that once
Nathalie is gone we will do very small miles until I grow out of this
… but Adrien has announced his arrival … so we should be doing 10
miles a day … which is little compared to what we've done but too
much for me right now.
 |
| Landings at North end Echo Lake |
Pascal
was happy to have company, Nathalie came like father Xmas with gifts
of many kinds including a sun-shower, memorable Tshirts and bearing
gifts from Susan of medecine for me.She drove 13hrs to get here and
as much to get back, what motivation! Pascal cried when he saw her as
messages had gone wrong and he though she would arrive the day before
… lots of anxiety about her being in an accident or something of
the sort. John even sent medecine by mail through Nathalie's friend
in Tahoe … but unhappily for me there seems no miracle medecine
except REST. Nathalie took extremely good care of me and made Pascal
continously aware of my needs … she asked him if it was because I
was a female that he had issues with me … a question that he
recognized was an interesting one. In all cases, having a woman with
us made the trip change rhythm, provided more relaxed times and gave
Pascal a chance to walk without having to lead us or be concerned.
Nathalie learned the ways of the trail fast but Pascal had to soften
the harshness of this way of life as Nathalie dealt with health and
personal issues.
He was really happy to have a friend come and share
his daily trail life.
 |
| Trail out of Echo |
Pascal
is finally ok with stopping but we have a new goal which is to meet
Adrien on time.
You
should know that Echo Lake is wonderful but the welcome is shabby.
Sure the store owner has to make money in the season, but they carry
weekender stuff not real hiker substantial items like fuel for your
unit, the cost is high, the quality is poor (root beer float out of a
can! No hot food) and there is NO place to get water, NO place to
wash hands even, just funky dry toilets that are not maintained
properly. Remember to note if you're a hiker that you are NOT allowed
to camp within 4 miles of the dam, and the water taxi to the end of
the lake is $12 one way … Basically, plan on leaving the place as
soon as you can and re-supply in South Lake Tahoe, a short hitch
hike, where there are plenty of shops and available supplies at
reasonable costs.
The
chalets around Echo lake are beautiful, obviously either old timer
families or very rich people … but they are trying to preserve them
from the “people invasion” which makes for conflicts of various
kinds. We camped illegally on the Equestrian crossing out of sight
for 2 days and Pascal took us to the dam each night to eat the
luscious grass there. Nathalie was a bit ancy as a $ 5000 fine is
posted for camping, but all went well and no one cared. Pascal picked
up 3 bags of garbage: glass, rusted cans, … and pieces of barbed
wire and other such items.
On
the PCT Pascal has imagined that every 100 miles there could be a
solar hot water source with a bath tub and wifi as well as
electricity. For the 1000+ hikers that pass by who represent a real
economical boom for backcountry small towns, this is a required
service. But they have a hard time keeping the trails maintained, so
what hope is there? We crossed once again areas where downed trees
and wash outs made it very difficult for us donkeys to progress. And
remind trail maintenance crews that our slave drivers tend to pack us
high and wide so when cutting a downed tree, please think of our need
for at least 2 yards width and headroom !
Did
I tell you that the first ranger we met in Tuolomne Meadows basically
told us to get OUT OF THERE as fast as possible … She was really
upset that we slowed down traffic a few seconds crossing the bridge …
The ranger on horse back was much nicer.
It's
nice to see young people and parents with kids, groups of “buddies”
or “the girls” out for an overnight hike. A few crazy runners
pass by and older folks out on a day hike. This “desolation valley”
area seems quite remote, but it's only a day's hike from many areas
in Lake Tahoe. When we first arrived in view of this lake it looked
so big that the Kit Carson types in the early 1800's must have
thought they had reached the ocean.
Did
I tell you that the donkey rescue in Chino Arizona we came from was
taken over by someone who apparently had half the heard killed? I'm
waiting for more definitive news but it seems we were saved from
disaster. Wyme must be very upset, not only did they destroy my
compagnions but also a life time's work building a haven for us
folks.
---------------------------------
To remember -------------------------------------------
Well,
pictures tell the story. Pascal during the winter is planning to
create a slide show and a book with very few words but hundreds of
pictures that tell the story of our treck on the PCT. He'll tell you
more about it once it's done. If someone reading this is a printer
please send him a line if you can provide economical printing and
distribution services for those who might be interested.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------`
 |
| Workshop on the trail building leather panier |
Have
you seen the multitude of flowers we have along the path? When I
think that Veronique tries to get Lupins to grow in France and here
they come in all sizes, grow like weeds and sometimes are as tall as
us. There is still fireweed but most amazing is the variety that
grows at 8000 feet. Sometimes I feel I'm walking in a garden. Since
leaving Tuolomne meadows the country has become tamer but the variety
of landscapes remains amazing, from volcanic baren mountains to
luscious valleys and nestled lakes with old growth trees twisted from
the winds, the snow and the lightning. I wonder how it will evolve
going north. We will stop at Squaw Valley and hopefully can pass by
Clair Tapaan lodge from the Sierra Club where Pascal worked as an
assistant cook to go skying on weekends while in high school. Then
we'll cross Highway 80 and start the northern part of California
which should take all of august. Hopefully Joe and Lynn can join us,
possibly for the Marble Mountains area, that would be great.
------------------------------------
STOP ---------------------------------------
Well,
REALITY has caught up with us. My foot abscess has finally opened up
and Pascal was appalled at the damage within my foot. The whole
interior of the foot is “rotten”, that is it has not constituted
a hoof structure and there are whole areas of unstructured matter
that smell bad and indicate a long decay. Pascal in doing exploratory
surgery with his knife opened up the space and now with soaking in
salt water and alternatively baking soda, we have managed to clean up
the whole area. The treatment seems to be working, I no longer have
the insistant pain and with a hoof boot I'm able to walk, albeit with
some hesitation, but enough to get back on the trail.
HOWEVER,
this means I need 6 months of full recuperation before I can really
walk normally again. Pascal has come to this realisation and now will
slowly get us from Dick's Lake, a wonderful spot where we've been the
last 3 days, to the Eagle Falls trail head, 10 miles hitch-hiking to
South Lake Tahoe junction 89 and 50 where he can arrange for us to be
repatriated.
The
decision, Susan is ok with this, is to have us back at Dreamchaser
for the next 6 months in order to heal and then to resume the journey
from there. Pascal seem relieved since he has taken this decision and
is much more appreciative of my condition. He was so frustrated while
it appeared all was well with me yet I kept limping and having
difficulty walking. Now that the reality has come through, he can
deal with it and make the decisions that are required.
Susan
is the HERO here, she organized a complex situation at the ranch to
be able to drive the 13+ hours required to come and get us in under
12 hours! A woman with such a dedication to animal welfare needs to
be supported and accompanied. Please GIVE to Dreamchaser what you can
of your tax deductible dollars.
This
makes Adrien's coming an issue, really too bad that it could not have
been a few weeks later. Pascal looked so much forward to sharing this
way of life with his son.
For
those who have been following the blog, please know that we will
continue reporting on progress and insure that you are implicated
regularly in the healing process. Anyone able to help us out is
welcome to send us a word.
------------------------------------------
stay tuned ----------------------------
So
tomorrow is the last day of the PCT for this year. We will head for
Eagle Creek Falls trail head and arrange my repatriation rapidly.
Meanwhile,
I recommend Dick's lake, a wonderfully nested lake, clear and
transparent as ice melt created lakes can be and though there is a
lot of hiker passage at this time of year. The calm, the
resplendissant colors of the sunrizes and sunsets on the surrounding
hills are a wondrerous beauty. The daily swim in ice melted water is
revigorating for Pascal, as for me I just barely wet my lips once a
day to drink this delicious water. Pascal has been inspired to
compose a song and is making a leather Panier to carry our things.
LIFE IS GOOD.
Living
at a donkey's life rhythm is a real lesson for this trip. You CANNOT
expect to do what you want when you have the responsibility of
animals, on whom you depend as much as they depend on you.
Responsibility is acquired when you pay attention to the needs of
those with whom you share your life. A lesson you learn when you
raise a family.
What
is wonderful is that this expected 6 months delay is not a problem,
this is what the liberty of living free of constraints brings. Just
like the pioneers who came to this country, you just have to adapt to
the terrain, the events and you live and die with the conditions you
meet.
More
next week on our rappatriation to the Arizona heat and …
No comments:
Post a Comment