Camping - R.I.P
07/07/06

“Wouldn’t it be sweet if we all went camping this weekend?” “Yeah! That would be awesome!” “I’m down!” “Me too.”
This is a replay of the conversation from our Fourth of July get together. Granted, most everyone had a couple drinks in them, but it was doomed from the start. I told Ladene “Just watch, everyone will back out.”
First, as deference to the wishes and location of the others, Tinkham and Denny Creek were named as potentials. Not usually my favorites, but it beats nothing at all. I then began looking at campsites along the coast, such as Kalaloch and South Beach.
Bit by bit over the week the excitement faded and fizzled out. Call me Nostradamus if you wish. I guess the disappointment was tempered by the accuracy of my prediction.
I’ve thought about joining the Mountaineers or something like that so I can meet others who get their kicks by hiking and camping, but had a poor run-in with them once.
On Little Si over two years ago, I was hiking up the trail and was blockaded by a train of novice hikers. Nobody let me pass, though I’d come charging up behind them. I felt like I was driving in the left lane and one of those idiots who is completely unaware, decides to go ten miles under the speed limit. They are quite frequent around Seattle, and in the woods too, I guess. Anyway, I finally found a wide spot in the trail and passed the dolts. The man who appeared to be the group leader said “the mountain will still be here tomorrow,” and the party laughed and resumed huffing. Finally, I reached a little vista just shy of the summit and sat down to eat lunch and look at Mt. Si proper, the mountain my great-grandfather loved and looked up at everyday. A woman walked by talking on her cell phone, then I heard the herd approaching. Of course, they all decided to bed down where I was eating my lunch. Lunchables, Capri Suns, and various fruits appeared and were consumed. I noticed a small group of them off to the side staring up perplexed at Mt. Si. Don’t they know to stay with the group! Predators lurk just waiting for mistakes like that. The logic puzzle they were trying to solve was this: why aren’t any trees growing in that huge rock field near the summit of Si? Was it the elevation? Maybe not enough sun or rain? There is such a thing as a dumb question, and it was asked of their leader. To his credit, he correctly attributed the lack of trees to the rockslides, due to the geology and geometry of the mountain. You’d think the rocks would give them a clue. I giggled quietly to myself, then asked “who are you guys with?” With a snobbishness I haven’t experienced since growing up in Bellevue, he peered down his nose and replied “the Seattle Mountaineers,” and looked away. “Hmm. Ain’t too many mountains in Seattle, are there?” I quipped, and headed to the summit.