July 29th
Last night we suffered another mouse attack. For three months we have been mice-free, now we are targeted two nights in a row. Hmmmm…could they be following us??
The nights rest was restorative for the aches and pains of the feet. The swelling in my left “little” toe has gone back down, for now. And a new blister on the left big toe mostly drained away. It is amazing how the body bounces back each morning, and how the mind can forget the previous day’s pains.
The trail is scenic, but we are reminded throughout the day that it is not truly a wilderness area, even though it s designated as such. A mountain biker, the second one in two days, is out using the trail illegally. Two people are out on horseback, legally, but appearing to only be out for the day, likely to return home that evening. A group of at least 30 kids and 3 or 4 counselors from a nearby camp are all hiking in one “pack,” oblivious to the theoretical size restrictions to parties of 8 people or less. Cows come onto the scene later in the day, bells clanging and cow pies covering the trail. A sign says that grazing is allowed in this wilderness area, but it still doesn’t make sense to me. I mean, is there anything more domesticated, and less wild, than a cow?
Again we see, off and on, Sheppard and Little John through the day. The trail climbs higher, the crest line gets more dramatic and views keep getting more grand. Granite walls rising to gray jagged peaks, more like mountains of the Sierras, more steeply now and crests rising above timberline. Wildflowers are more abundant and diverse. Each day has become more hazy, especially so this morning. It seems like mostly wood smoke from fires, some marine layer and possibly some pollution. Tonight it turns the evening sky into bands of dusky rose.
We again catch Strut, Trainwreck and Tigger as they finish dinner. Tonight we carry water the mile and a half to the next crest line saddle, preferring to dine with a view and not wanting to stop so long that the feet get sore.
We camp on an open saddle, with only a very few mossies and now mice, but in the company of cows with bells. And with views down two valleys and a moon rising, maybe one day shy of full.
We try another new “recipe” for dinner: sweet tomato and onion rice with garlic cheese biscuit dumplings. Carrot likes it, so it must be good.
