SODIUM:1 Harbinger (6 page)

I called Bull over and pointed to where I had seen the rock tumble. He pulled a small pair of binoculars from his pack and looked intently for several minutes. I told him I was unsure of actually seeing anything and he gave me the old better safe than sorry line.

This time curiosity was getting the best of me, so when we donned our packs I took up the position in back. Every chance I got I would turn my head to look back. It only worked to wear me out faster and by the time we broke for lunch I was exhausted. I once again slipped off the pack, found a big flat rock in the shade and laid down on my back.

Fatigue was really setting in with the constant uphill climb. Susi was in the same condition as I was and was starting to grumble to Kyle. The joy of the journey was beginning to fade as the exhaustion set in. I looked at the others and Bull and Allie were actually chipper and showed no real sign of being tired. Of course, they were by far in the best shape of our crew.

One of the reasons Bull had invited us was so he would get a good feeling about the level of adventurer he could bring along. If Susi, Kyle and I could make it without too much trouble then it would open the door for a much larger pool of potential clients.

I really couldn’t tell what Kyle’s level of fatigue was because he was just not a complainer. Had I been throwing rocks at him from behind he would have shaken his head at me and then kept on going. Susi, on the other hand, had a little bit of me in her and would pipe up if something was a bother.

After lunch and a good rest Bull was once again ready to hit the trail. Susi and I both made our moves to lobby for an additional half hour of rest. We argued that we had made enough progress on the day’s hike to buy ourselves a reprieve. I could not have been happier at the time, but as it turned out the longer rest only made us stiff by the time our half hour was up.

I slid on the pack, looked back down the trail and we once again started moving forward. At first I thought, “one foot after the other”, but as we continued my muscles began to loosen up and I got my second wind.

The trail continued upwards, around and over boulders and fallen trees. In reality there was no trail to speak of. It was just a path through the wilderness that we had chosen. Except for the occasional appearance of it being an animal trail it was just as Mother Nature had made it; rough and rocky.

After a while, talk once again surfaced about a rest break. We were just coming in to flatter terrain and I still had the suspicious feeling that we were being followed. So, I ducked behind a large rock and stayed crouched as the others proceeded. I figured with the flat terrain I would easily be able to catch back up if they got too far ahead.

I waited a full five minutes behind the rock and then slowly peered around the sides back down the trail. If there was someone following us I was sure I would have caught a glimpse of them. After a few minutes of my spying I suddenly realized that I was all alone as the others were now out of sight.

It’s not a good feeling to be alone in the wilderness where there are known to be bears, mountain lions and possibly hostile people roaming around, especially given the fact that my only defense was a ball bat. I slipped on my pack and made my best time to get myself caught back up to the others.

Several minutes into my hurried pace I saw Bull coming my way at an equally fast jog. As he got close I told him of my spying game and that if anyone was back there they were doing a really good job of hiding themselves. As I reached him he stopped, took it in for a moment and then turned. We then made our way back to the others.

This time we took a half hour for rest and my first course of business was to get out of my boots. I wanted to get my tired hot feet into some cool mountain water. As always, the initial feeling was of bitter cold, but after a minute it was soothing. As I looked down in the shallow water I could see little bits of something glimmering up at me.

It was then that gold fever struck! I went over to my pack and retrieved my eating tin. I hurried back to the sand at the water’s edge and began to pan. There were real flakes of gold in there and I was determined to get them all.

I had been fascinated with gold panning as a boy as there was a good bit of prospecting still done in North Georgia. Most turned up very little gold, but every once in a while you would hear a story of someone finding a good nugget.

I was looking for my nugget, but all I seemed to get were tiny flakes. I dumped pan after pan of sand when nothing more than a smattering of flakes were visible. When I finally moved to another spot I took a moment to look up at Bull and the others. Bull was chuckling and Kyle had a grin on his face. So, I asked them what was so funny. After my initial gold fever rampage into the creek I did not like the answer I received.

These hills were filled with gold, fool’s gold. I took a quick look at my latest pan and the disappointment was surely showing on my face. The flecks were specs and upon close inspection I could see that they were not actually gold.

Gold would have an irregular shape in three dimensions while fool’s gold or mica would be just as shiny, but very flat in one dimension. I had been duped, suckered and scammed by Mother Nature and now laughed at to boot. That area of California had been famous for its gold rush, but the creek we were on was dry.

With my personal gold rush over I made my way back over to my pack. I put away my gold mining gear and let my feet dry out in the warm sun. I had rinsed out my socks and hung them on my pack while putting on my spare pair. If anything it had done enough good to brighten my spirits and get my mind off my tired legs or any potential followers that had been trailing us.

Soon our rest was over and we got back on the trail. We still had an hours hike to our next campsite. I took note that Kyle and my sister had been having a quiet discussion between themselves. Every once in a while I would catch a glimpse of an angry face.

Susi had been with Kyle for more than three years and this was the first time I had ever noticed any contention between them. Given my track record with women I logged it as nothing unusual. It wasn’t long before the discussion had reached an impasse and it abruptly came to a less than happy end with both parties going silent.

As we walked, Allie had noticed a number of caves along a rocky outcrop on the other side of the creek. We decided it would be a good distraction from our constant uphill hike and made our way across at the first set of boulders that allowed us to jump instead of wade through the cold mountain water.

We walked up to just below the largest cave and Bull put his hand up as a caution. He and Allie checked the grounds around us and confirmed that this site was frequented by at least one bear. They drew their handguns and began to follow a narrow path up to the cave entrance.

I was terrified and kept looking behind us expecting the owner of the cave to be standing there with its arms crossed staring at me and my little bat. As I turned back again I was half expecting one of my friends to come rolling down the hill dead after being mauled.

When they finally reached the cave entrance and looked inside it was empty. The owner was out or had moved on. I hurriedly made my way up the path to the cave entrance to see. It was not a deep cave so you could see all the way to the back, but it had a smell that would curl your nose hairs. I turned and gagged and nearly lost what was left of my lunch. Kyle and Susi had followed me up and had a similar reaction. I then suggested that we might want to move on, just in case “Mr. Bear” was to return. We climbed down, crossed back over the creek and continued on with our day’s hike.

It was about 4PM when we reached Tilden Canyon creek. We found another good spot for crossing and made our way up through the canyon. The terrain was tight by the creek and we had to climb up and over many boulders along the way. It was only a short distance to a flattened area that had a small lake.

The flat terrain was our target for a campsite for the night. We came out of the tight canyon into a beautiful meadow that was full of summer wildflowers. It would be our spot for the evening and after slipping off my pack I was all too happy to call it home. For the next half hour we did our daily duty of gathering firewood and setting up our tarps.

As I walked and stooped picking up dead wood it occurred to me that we really weren’t all that far from the bear cave. So, I hustled up a load of sticks and hurried my way back to center camp. When I arrived with my bundle Bull and Kyle had just left to go back down the creek through the canyon to where the two creeks joined. Bull thought it would be the best spot for a trout or two.

I wondered out loud why not try the small lake right beside us and I was soon schooled by Allie that it was too shallow and was probably dry a few months every year before the snow started to fall. I was not about to argue with the expert so I held my tongue. The girls then left across the meadow to hunt for small game.

I dreaded being alone in bear country, so I decided I needed to make myself busy. My first job was to setup a fire-pit. I had watched Bull enough times to know how to stage a fire with the kindling and rolled up dry grass on the bottom. I was quite proud of myself when I had finished as it was my first one ever.

The sun was just above the canyon walls leaving plenty of daylight still in the day. My next task was to push some larger rocks around the fire for our front row seating. I then gathered several more large rocks and formed them into a granite lounge chair. I filled around the larger rocks with smaller ones and then topped it with coarse dry sand from near the creek bed.

By the time I was done I had impressed myself by having a king’s throne built beside the fire. My minions would all be sitting on flat stones to either side of me. I knew I would get laughed at when the others returned, but I didn’t care as the work was keeping my mind off having thoughts of ravenous bears.

I next moved over to our tarp area and began to build a small rock wall surrounding it. I had made it to about 18” high when Allie and Susi returned with a rabbit. I felt a small twinge of guilt over the death of the furry fuzzy bunny, but that guilt quickly faded when the image of it slow roasting over our fire popped into my head. I could see it being taken off the spit and handed to me as I lounged in my king’s chair. The thought made me chuckle and I got an odd look from Susi.

The sun had dipped behind the canyon rim and the temperature began to fall. We were at almost 8000’ above sea level and the thin dry air cooled quickly. I lit my dream fire and was again impressed with myself as it roared to life. Allie skinned the rabbit by the creek and was finishing just as Bull and Kyle returned. Bull had six good sized trout on a line. He was soon busy cleaning them before returning to the fire.

We pulled the last of the potatoes from my pack and made a pot of rabbit-trout stew that would have brought raves back home in some uppity restaurant. Allie had a few small bags of spice with her that seasoned the stew perfectly. After chowing down I sat back in my chair to relax. It was then that the ribbing came about, but I was prepared and did my best to laugh along with them.

After the conversation concerning my furniture died down I began to notice that a strain was still there between Kyle and Susi. I had no clue what it was about and did not want to get in the middle of someone else’s squabble. But this was my sister and my soon to be brother-in-law and I really liked both of them.

So, I opened my big mouth and asked what the issue was. All it did was start another argument and this time they did not have the privacy they had while on the trail. Again, being without a lot of tact when it came to relationships I laughed and asked for the juicy details.

My question brought dagger eyes from my sister. Kyle rose and walked over to the creek. Susi followed after him and they had their discussion in private. Dusk was approaching and from the looks of it this argument was not going to be resolved anytime soon.

After getting a bit too loud it ended all at once as Susi turned and made her way back over to the tarps. Kyle followed a moment later, grabbed his sleeping bag and for some reason he picked up my bat. He made his way back over to the creek and then across it.

Bull and Allie got up with solemn looks on their faces and went about with their own quiet conversation standing over by the lake. The king was left alone at the fire sitting in his chair with no villagers around to keep him entertained. With the argument over I did the only thing that came to mind. I picked up a stick and began to poke at the fire.

Kyle had been gone for half an hour and the darkness was beginning to set in. Bull made his way across the creek and up towards where he had seen Kyle walking. Just as the night became pitch black Bull came upon Kyle sitting on a ledge that looked straight back down onto Rancheria Creek.

Bull sat with him for a while to talk and then made his way back to camp after not being able to convince him to return. Kyle said their argument was very personal and he needed an evening alone to cool down. Bull had carried an extra blanket roll with him and left it with Kyle on the ridge.

Kyle could see the glow of the fire from his viewpoint and was not concerned about his safety for just the one night. He after all, had my bat with him. When Bull returned he sat down at the fire and just looked at me. I told him that I knew I had screwed up and stuck my nose where it did not belong. I added that it was my patented and trademarked way of dealing with relationships.

I just didn’t seem to have common sense when it came to dealing with touchy subjects. It was like a part of my brain was missing. I had wondered if it was partly to blame for the dissolution of my marriages, but I could not for the life of me figure out why.

Bull didn’t laugh at my pun, but instead just turned and stared at the fire, poking at it with a stick. Allie had been offering Susi her sympathy and some quiet personal conversation. As the fire died down Bull and I made our way over to the tarps to turn in.

I first apologized to my sister who was not in the mood to hear it or even to look at me. I had made my bed and it was now time to lie in it. I was tired from the day’s hike and sleep came fast that evening. Around 2AM I was awakened by what I thought sounded like a bear’s roar.