 |
| West Tensleep Lake is located adjacent to the trailhead. While walking along the east shoreline leaving the trailhead, I noticed a man who had wadded out to fly fish on this beautiful day. |
Today, after a couple of false starts down the wrong trails, the three of us hiked 7.5 m (12 km), gaining a maximum elevation of 650 ft (200 m) before camping about 1 mi (2 km ) from the trailhead. The trailhead is at 9,100 ft (2,774 m).
Before leaving the trailhead, Daniel and I grab all the water bottles and walk down to the creek to fill them. Uh oh. I say. "What?" asks Daniel. My water filter appears to be clogged. We don't have another. Stay here. I have the solution. I walk over and grab a syringe to backwash the filter. After a couple times, the filter begins operating again. I look at Daniel and say it isn't working as well as it should but should improve the more we use it. Daniel nods. Fortunately, after several minutes, we had the 6 quarts (5.6 liters) of water and returned to Aidan.
Aidan (left), Daniel (right), and I pause briefly near the trailhead for a quick photo. Aidan heads down the trail, with Daniel in tow and myself enjoying the beautiful scenery. A few hundred yards (meters) later, we encounter a junction. The trail diverges into three paths. The two on the left head toward West Tensleep Lake, and the one on the right stays on the ridge. Aidan checks up at the junction and looks back. I point right, and off we go.
We resume our hike, but it doesn't take very long before Aidan informs me that he has a headache. We stop, and I perform the standard checks to assess his state better. I tell him to keep drinking water, take his baseball hat off to cool his head, and then we'll see how he feels. We continue down the trail. My nephews' pace has slowed even more despite the minimal elevation gain. After gaining more elevation, I checkin with Aidan and Daniel. "My headache is worse," says Aidan. "I'm a little better," says Daniel. Alright. Let's reverse course and lose some elevation, then we'll go from there.
I have hiked without a map for a while now. Maybe it isn't the best thing in the backcountry, but here we are. It doesn't take long before I whistle at my nephews. This isn't right. Mistymoon Lake lies due north of West Tensleep Lake and we should be following the drainage up. This trail is turning east and skirting the mountain ahead of us. "Do we turn back," asks Daniel. That is one option. Or we can hike west through the trees and down the hill to the other trail. "I prefer we stick to the trails and not cross country," says Aidan. I can get behind that. Let's double back, I say.
"I hope we can find some mushrooms that we can eat. I've never eaten wild mushrooms," says Daniel as we pass the first of several kinds of mushrooms. I used to forage for wild mushrooms in the Pacific Northwest. I frequently ate hedgehogs, chanterelles, puffballs, and oyster mushrooms. The oyster shrooms were my favorite, I tell my nephews. "What are those mushrooms," asks Daniel. I'm not sure, and my Seek App cannot confirm the species. However, even though they look delicious, most mushrooms with true gills, like this one, are unsafe to eat. I eat only mushrooms that don't have gills. It is too easy to make a mistake with poisonous ones, I reply. "I want to find morels," says Daniel. I think we are too high for morels but we can probably find some safe mushrooms to forage on, I tell him.
We continue down the trail. The pace is slow. I find my nephews frequently stopping and taking breaks. With our late start, my hunger and 1 O'clock sneak up on us. Let's stop for lunch. I say. "Sounds good. I am hungry," says Aidan. As we grab lunch, I chuckle to myself. Walking all these miles (kilometers) all over Europe has made me much more patient than I once was on backpacking trips. I used to be so focused on getting to my destination that sometimes, I forgot that the journey was just as important.
It's a good thing, too, because we are not making good time today. Fortunately, the hike is only 5 mi (7.5 km), and the grade to Mistymoon Lake is very gradual. "I have a headache," says Daniel while eating lunch. How much water have you had to drink today? I ask. He lifts his bottle and says, "I already finished the other bottle," he says. My stomach sinks. I know that headache and nausea are classic signs of altitude sickness. Okay. Let's take an extra long lunch and give you a chance to acclimate, I say.
"What's that? A squirrel," asks Aidan as he points to a small furry animal scampering through the boulder field. When I hear the distinct "Beep" call, I respond with, that's a Pika. "What's a Pika?" asks Daniel. It is a small critter that lives in boulder fields. They are related to rabbits. Notice the round ears? "They are cool," says Aidan.
I find a shady spot on the way back to the trailhead about 10 minutes later. We shed our packs and sit for a while. After 30 minutes, I check-in and learn that neither of their conditions has improved. It's now after 4 pm. We still have yet to reach the midpoint of the hike. We are going to play it safe and return to the trailhead. Once we get there, we'll reassess, I say.
About a mile (1.6 km) from the trailhead, we cross Tensleeep Creek again. Once we reach the other side, I turn to my nephews and say, how about we find a place to pitch a tent near here? Then, we can reassess how we all feel in the morning. They both nod in agreement.
Finding a place to pitch a tent was a bigger struggle than I had anticipated. Let's spread out and find a place for the tent. Neither of my nephews wanders very far. The three of us gather in a circle, with Aidan and Daniel sitting down.
Okay, guys. We need to find a place to set up the tent. I've located half a dozen places, and none seem to suit you. You haven't suggested a single site, I say. My words seem to fall on deaf ears. "What is going to happen tomorrow? Are we going home? What if Aidan feels better?" asks Daniel. That isn't something we need to worry about right now, I say.
Time passes slowly as my nephews engage in a series of conversations unrelated to resolving our current dilemma, like what will happen tomorrow, video games, or how their parents will react if they return early. I've learned through the years that giving people time to process things is important, and getting frustrated and angry does little to help the situation. Finally, after bringing them back to our task for the 3rd time, which is needing to find a campsite, I say, Guys. None of the questions you are asking or topics you are discussing matter right now. At this present moment, our task is to find a campsite. The other things will fall into place when the time is right. Be present with what is occurring here. You've spent about 40 minutes sitting here talking in circles about things that are not helping us with our challenge of finding a place to sleep.
This time, they seem to snap out of it. We had camp set up a few minutes later, and dinner started. The previous events seem to have also snapped my nephews out of their zombie-like states, and we spend a lovely evening conversing about many things before Aidan and Daniel call it an early night. I find myself a rock and meditate as the sun fades into darkness. I watch the stars light up the sky and wait until I can identify some of my favorite constellations.
Today was a struggle. I am disappointed in myself for overestimating my nephew's abilities. However, I am pleased with where we ended up today. My goal was to spend time with my nephews. The trip is important, not the destination. Unexpected things happen all the time when backpacking. We'll see how they feel in the morning, adapt, and see where the day takes us. 😁
Comments
Post a Comment