Shallow rivers run between us
Where a stone may never sink.
Though we taste, we are left thirsty
For a deep and soulful drink.
– Dan Fogelburg
We made it out of Great Basin nearly intact. As I wrote about yesterday this is an intense hike! I didn’t sleep great last night, but I never really do when I’m camping. My legs kept cramping up and I was stuffed into a mummy bag without much room to stretch them out. I unzipped a few times, but the temperature always forced me to zip back up quickly. Since I’d gone to bed at 6 and we didn’t actually get out of our tents until 8 I’m sure I got plenty of sleep in there somewhere. I also spent a good part of the night enjoying the tapping of raindrops on the tent, one of my favorite sounds.
Of course, the calming of rain in the night leads to wet everything in the morning. When there was a brief break in the rain we decided to cram everything into packs and get off the mountain. The skies were still gray and it seemed inevitable there was more rain on the way. We made a breakfast of leftover beef jerky, granola bars, apple sauce, and anything else we could scavenge from the bear can.
The snow on the trail we took down was steady, but less annoying than the way up. Fresh legs and a downhill trajectory surely helped. After we cleared the snow we came to a portion of the trail that would better be described as a river. We hopped from Bank to bank where possible, but other places resigned ourselves to just waking down the middle of the stream. When the river finally turned one way and the trail the other the rain started up again. We covered our packs, but with everything inside already being thoroughly drenched im not sure it made too much of a difference. I didn’t bother putting on my raincoat since it would have added heat I didn’t need.
After 3 miles and 1,600 feet Fred came into view. We’ve established a tradition of running the last bit of a hike and when Zoe and Ellie saw Fred they took off. A few steps later Zoe hit the gravel of the parking lot hard. We pulled her up with a bloody hand and knee as well as other smaller scrapes. Since we were only steps from the car it was easy to get her knee and palm rinsed with water. We cleaned them up with alcohol and put on a temporary bandage so we could get her to the visitor center for a more thorough cleaning. Molly was able to get her washed up while I tracked down first aid supplies. She’s patched up now, and although her cuts and scrapes will hurt for a few days she should be fine.
The afternoon was spent having a snack at the Visitor Center, drying everything, having a snack at the other restaurant in Baker, repacking everything, having another snack at the Stargazer, and playing a game. I even managed to sneak in a nap. We’ll head to Kerouac’s for dinner soon and then I’ll be ready for a good night’s sleep.
Finally, thanks to Molly, Zoe, and Ellie for making today a great Father’s Day! You’re the best family I could ever ask for and I’m glad I got to spend it with all of you.
