Journey Day 348 | CDT Day 11

A young buck approached our ranger station campsite.

6/22/87

Nature brings us a cold, wet good morning. A hurried breakfast, my first forest dump, then up to Badger Pass, then a day of descending along Strawberry Creek.

It remains cold well into the day. Hail as we begin, some sprinkles of rain, but mostly just cold and wet forest walking along trails pulverized to virtual bog. When wet, horse hooves make for an oozing soup. When dry, it's alternately hard and soft. Pick foot rests on a moon-like surface.

Leonard Adkins poling his way across a rushing creek.

Easy walking, several boulder hops. Learn pole technique for log crossing from Laurie. First day in awhile my boots are drier at day's end than at the start. In cold weather balaclava, polypro top and rain jacket stay on most of the day. Only balaclava comes off at all.

At intersection of Strawberry Creek Trail and CDT route's next trail, we break. I point an alternative to Switchback Pass, shorter and passing Gooseberry Park. So we head for ranger station and enjoy rest of the afternoon in porch area as sun appears for a sustained period. Amazing array of wildflowers on trail down to ranger station.

I nap, dry wet gear with others. Happy talk as overcast skies go away. Soon it's time to eat, and I munch tortellini in milk sauce. More talk of books, The Beats, etc. Old war stories - for me the PCT.

A young buck approaches, gets closer and closer. Carl's plastic scares it more than anything else. It cleans up Laurie's meal leftovers near creek bank, comes and goes. Another deer, this one a doe, peers at us from across the creek, where she stands in a clearing in the trees covering the ridge.

Our second ranger station site, this time we're more prepared in the likely event of rain. Carl and I with ground cloths, Adkinses with tent minus fly. After hanging food in box with pulley contraption, set up for the night. Write in this notebook, check map for orientations and read.