where was your last vacation? pics if you got 'em.
8/20/09 - we were backpacking at 8000 feet in the sierra nevada mountains, miles from the car and people. trouble broke the first night when a mother & baby bear combo made off with 3 days worth of our food and dignity. hours of bad noise all night long, like two winos rearranging silverware with bad hangovers. it was nature at its finest. it wanted to show off. these awful demons were full of mystery, and we were lucky to meet them.
some basic survival level instinct kicks in and tells you not to move around much, as the young one was up our asses tentside and our scent was something new. we felt the big one on the verge of some dark and terrible mood swing with the wrong kind of move- it was unnerving on all fronts. worse yet was the sudden obsolescence of small firearm when there's no moon and its dark enough not to see your own hand, much less the enemy. it was rock paper scissors, and the beasts had won. the sidearm wasn't along for four legged animals anyway, but the ones with two.
the idea of arm wrestling the thing in total darkness over a few beef jerky seemed appealing - potential for comedy and instant youtube sensation - but recording my own death with flashlight & camera ultimately made little sense. so we retreated inward to happier thoughts- kittens, sunsets, learning to ride bike as a kid. at dawn we inspected the dreadful war zone, even the oranges had been peeled to near perfection. a half mile away we found our packs, cleaned out save for a camera and few dishes that had holes punched in them deep enough to ruin.
after the minor stumble the first night, the rest of the trip was quite spectacular, including a stop in yosemite on the way home. with a nod to HST, it is these moments in these places that remind what life was supposed to be like.
no decency. no decency at all.
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