Peaceful night among the ghosts of forest service people of the past. Today is day 4 of 5, a 10 mile trail ride and 10 mile road ride back upriver.
Dropped back down to river and found Apple Creek TH @ edge of past forest fire. Hung the shower from the rain gutter and headed out to brush against poison oak. And there is lots of it. It poaches the trail edge making it hard to avoid. Ran into a biker heading upstream pulling a BOB that he said was training for elk season. He offered & I accepted a dose of Technu rubbed on my exposed skin some 1 hour 20 mins after perhaps first exposure. The time is important as the text books say that the urishiol bonds to the protein in the skin w/in 45 mins and it can’t be deactivated: if you are going to get the poison, you are on your way. Trail traveled up & down per normal seeking routes over rock faces, sometimes right on river itself. The 10 miles was still a hump.
Hit road and rode back on old highway that is overgrown and parallels the river until it dumps back onto main road. Nice road ride back.
Before I left for ride I heard a buzzing sound of wings from inside the van. I figured a moth like insect. Instead it was a humming bird that wedged itself against the front windshield. I tenderly grabbed its tail to help out and feathers flew. Next i managed a wing hold and released it to its freedom. May it grow its feathers back.
Oregon’s wild flying critters. 2 years ago on my previous visit I was camped @ Big Camus. I was sitting @ my desk w/ the side door open w/o the netting. I looked upon chance to see a bat in full wing spread flying into the van. I ducked while it made 3 round trips inside searching for the opening.
BLM has shut down the Tioga section of the trail, the lower most portion for trail maintenance, I’m screwed for the last piece. Solution: re ride Dread & Terror. And that is where I am positioned tonight: back @ Lemola Lake where I stayed earlier. Parked van in shade this time hoping for coolness, not really so, still too hot inside.
Mt Thielson looms over far end of Lemola Lake. I climbed it, my first mountain 40 years ago today as it was declared a national holiday celebrating landing on the moon. I look @ it and think of climbing it again. Maybe, just maybe.
I would post pictures if I had faster internet speed.
Drove down to Glide looking for a grocery store, it was quite a ways down river from where I parked. On way back up river i saw a water recreater hitching a ride. I surmised that he paddled down river and his shuttle solution was to hitch hike back up stream to his car. And that he was. Dropped him off @ his rig.
Tried to hit Toketee RS before closing to share Dread & Terror ride but they were closed @ 4:45.