RedDoug
Trail Wise!
Trail active, stand back.....
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Post by RedDoug on Dec 13, 2015 14:47:04 GMT -8
Chapter 5 Todd Rejoins the Narrative
I thought of adding more descriptions of the trail. But, what could I say. This entire narrative is taking place in the midst of some of the most spectacular backpacking country one can find. Mountains all around you, flowing rivers, waterfalls, and the colors! Just know as you read this is what is all around the narrative.
Todd from Wisc was an engineer with meticulous organizing skills. He had never done anything like the JMT before, but once he let his mind settle in on hiking the JMT you could tell from everything packed it was all thought out very carefully. I asked Katz, “If we go into town and do laundry, what do you plan to wear while your clothes are washing?” “I never thought of that,” Katz replied. I could see he was working the problem over in his mind. Todd would have foreseen that problem and planned for it.
When Todd pulled away from Katz and me after Forester Pass, he was on his way to meet a resupplier out of Independence, CA at a TH on the Kearsarge Pass Trail. He had a two hour window to be at the TH parking on a certain day and be resupplied. If not there during that two hour window, the one delivering the resupply box would take it back into Independence which was several miles out from the TH and the delivery fee would be lost. Todd was on a mission to meet that appointment and that is why he pulled away from us and we didn’t see him again for a few days. Katz and I had only planned on 1 resupply at Vermillion Valley Resort. Todd had planned on 4 resupplies. That is why he ate better than me and why I sometimes drifted over towards his cooking area, and how I got the trail name Mini Bear.
On the morning after our talk Katz was up early. Ahead of us was Pinchot and then Mather Pass. Some JMT hikers like to summit both these passes in one day. I started the day at least 12 miles from Pinchot Pass, so even making Pinchot that day was out of the question for me. As it turned out, Katz had no problem making the Pass. It was our plan to meet up at the end of the day below Pinchot Pass. However, there was more rain this day and as Katz got higher up, and probably wetter, he also got colder so he pushed on up and over Pinchot Pass in a hurry. Katz seldom lingered on any pass. Maybe 5 minutes and then he was off on the descent. He didn’t carry a camera, or seem to have any interest in pictures.
After crossing the wooden suspension bridge there was a sign that said it was 8.2 miles to Pinchot Pass. That seemed to me like the longest 8.2 miles on the entire JMT.
I was about 4- 5 miles along on this stretch of trail when Todd came up behind me. We sat down and chatted for a few minutes, looked at the trail map and agreed to meet below Pinchot at what was marked as a campsite with water- the place I planned to meet with Katz. I go uphill at about .8 miles an hour. Todd goes up faster than that. He was in camp and set up when I arrived.
Rain was threatening. It was a hurried set up and supper.
This is the place I picked up the trail name Mini Bear. I have written that story out already and one can look up the thread The Rise of Mini Bear 2 to read it. I am not going to post it again.
Todd and I in spite of the rain had a very pleasant camp time together. We ended up sharing that space with Moses and Pop Tart and who can ever forget them! What a pair. They hurried into camp on their descent from Pinchot Pass in a drizzle just before dark. They had been up and over both Mather and Pinchot that day which is a matter of goal of some JMT/PCT hikers doing this section of trail.
In the morning we again packed up and started on our way. We would have more nights together, but not every night. Some nights all three of us would be together. Some nights just Katz and I, or Todd and I, or just me if I fell behind too much and didn’t make the campsite agreed to by night fall.
Todd was set up to resupply at Muir Ranch and Katz and I weren’t. Katz did decide to make a quick in and out there and raid their hiker box- the box where backpackers leave unwanted food items for other backpackers. I stayed on the trail and kept working my way forward. But, the day before Muir Ranch had been eventful.
That day had been rainy off and on. Before I could catch up to either Katz or Todd the weather really started to look ugly, so I made use of a very nice campsite, set my tent up and got in just before the hail and rain hit hard. That had to have been around 3 pm. Since I was set up I just stayed the night there. In the morning I got up under more threatening skies and started nobo on the trail.
Sometime around 1- 2 in the afternoon, before the cut off to Muir Ranch, coming down a nice declining section of trail there under some trees, I saw Katz’ tepee tent. And Katz standing beside it. He had on his burgundy water resistant nylon shell, his trail shirt and pants. He was completely soaked and shivering and a steady drizzle was still falling. He wanted to catch me. He had even turned around and come back to this spot to wait. I made my way up to him and I could see he was in a bad way. Not quite full hypothermia, but moving that way in a hurry.
“Katz,” what’s wrong I asked? I wanted to hear a response. “I need you to stay with me, don’t leave me,” he said. “Don’t leave me.” Fortunately his sleeping bag was dry. And the inside of his tepee was dry. I had him get into his bag, wet stuff off. I got out my stove and made him a cup of hot chocolate. I then set myself to building a fire. There was a fire ring already set up. The rest was easy. I know how to build a fire in the rain. I had just gotten the fire going when 4 backpackers, sobo’ers, came by. They were attracted to the fire. I told them about Katz and soon all four of them- 2 males and 2 females- were out in the bush gathering more fuel for the fire. They caught the spirit of urgency and soon we had a nice fire going. Nice enough to get Katz out of his tent and next to the fire to start drying off.
It is amazing what some good social interaction around a good fire can do for one’s spirits. Katz took to it very well, his shivering stopped and his clothes, now back on his body (did he ever take them off?) were drying. The rain began to let up, then stopped. The crisis was over.
The 4 backpackers, also warmed, moved on. I gave Katz time to recover. When he was ready we packed up and we moved north together. For the next three days Katz stayed with me. We were in camp together, walked most of the day together. We went over some passes together, but I am not sure which ones. I know all this took place before the cut off to Muir Ranch if you are heading north and a day or two past that cut off.
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Post by wondermonkey on Dec 13, 2015 15:33:41 GMT -8
I admire your ability to write.
I'm enjoying your narrative though I'm not commenting on each one. Sounds like Katz enjoys the suffering though it doesn't sound like he's having much fun.
The ability for people to show kindness on the trail is amazing.
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RedDoug
Trail Wise!
Trail active, stand back.....
Posts: 634
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Post by RedDoug on Dec 13, 2015 21:06:30 GMT -8
I'm enjoying your narrative though I'm not commenting on each one. Sounds like Katz enjoys the suffering though it doesn't sound like he's having much fun.
The night before we reached the cut off to Muir Ranch Katz had determined to leave the trail for sure. This was a day after his near miss with hypothermia. He was going to hike into Muir ranch and then either follow the road that runs into Muir Ranch out, or hopefully get a ride. His lack of adequate gear was wearing him down and he was becoming more and more fearful. Every dark cloud he was seeing as a personal threat to his life. During the night I spent some time considering his problem. The solution to his lack of adequate rain gear was simple enough in the end- simply use his tepee as a poncho. I shared this solution with him in the morning, we did a trial "run" and he was satisfied it would work so he changed his mind and stayed with me.
This lack of adequate clothing and rain gear actually contributed to a verbal blow out between Todd and Katz on Muir Pass before I arrived. Lots of drama in that story and I may or may not tell it. This is another side to backpacking that readers may not be interested in. I am thinking about it.
The second problem that was undermining Katz' trip was that he was outright homesick. He was close to 67 this summer and had never been away from his wife more than 2 weeks. We were not out 2 full weeks at this time, but he was missing home more and more.
I don't know how one can screen a potential long distance partner for this. On my way up to Muir Pass I met two men around 18- 20 yrs old. they were quitting the trail. One of the men was so homesick he was actually having physical symptoms and was close to tears when I met them. Katz wasn't that bad, but it was affecting his trail experience very much.
And while he would tell me about this homesickness one moment, another he would talk about hiking the AT. He thought that would be nice. Would I be interested? Absolutely not, I told him. Which is true. I have no interest in the AT. I have about 2/3 of the CDT done and if I am going to do a thru hike of a major trail, it will be the CDT. And I do not plan to backpack with Katz again. I also know there are some who will never backpack with me again. Picking a long distance hiking partner is like a marriage in many ways, and opposites on the trail don't attract each other very long.
3rd problem. Katz remembered me from 17 years ago when we hiked the South San Juan Wilderness together. I was up early, hiked all day and at a pretty good pace. He couldn't figure out what had happened to me. I don't think I ever got the same energy level back after radiation that I had before radiation. Maybe that is a crutch I use, but it just seems that way to me. My legs are flat energy wise since radiation. Back then I was the assertive leader on our trip, expert with map and compass, and always in the lead. Cancer has changed me some. I am slower and I am much more willing to let others do what they want, I mind my own business, set a pace I am comfortable with.
So 2 men who hiked together 17 years ago get together again and hike the JMT together. But after 17 years we are not the same men we once were. I have hiked with other partners, all of them were self-sufficient and fully capable to take care of themselves. It is something I just expect in a hiking partner. Katz was having trouble adjusting to all this, I think. Years and cancer have changed me.
A 4th contributing factor that was minor before Vermillion Valley Resort, but would grow in its influence was that Katz had no idea how to do a long distance hike. I just assumed he did. Back at Horseshoe Meadows while we were loading up at my van I asked Katz if he had any money with him. I saw him tucking his wallet under the seat of my van. "No," he told me. What for? You may need some, I told him, and bring your CC with you. It turns out he did bring some cash, but no CC. His cash was inadequate for the town days we would have. He left the CC behind because it didn't fit into his idea of what a ultra-light backpacker would carry. He told me on the trail that he never carried any ID or wallet with him- it was just extra weight. By the end of the trip, after Vermillion Valley, which is expensive, and Red Meadows and trip into Mammoth he was about broke. He had no CC so I paid for his hostel in Mammoth. Later I found out he was down to less than $20. He had no idea long distance backpackers needed money on the trail.
I should write this in a book, but who would read it? As I write I am also taking a look back to help me understand all this. It has been insightful to me. When its all done I may go back and edit it all out. It is not my intent to harm Katz in anyway.
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rebeccad
Trail Wise!
Writing like a maniac
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Post by rebeccad on Dec 13, 2015 21:45:40 GMT -8
RD, I think that not only is this report interesting reading for backpackers, it's useful insight into what a long-distance hike is about, and where a person can go wrong. You aren't harming Katz, though I suppose if he reads it he might take umbrage. But none of us know who he is, or in fact care. He's an Everyman, at this point.
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RedDoug
Trail Wise!
Trail active, stand back.....
Posts: 634
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Post by RedDoug on Dec 13, 2015 21:54:15 GMT -8
Rebecca, thanks for sharing that. Katz doesn't use any social media, and I expect he would never see these posting, but I am sensitive to his feelings nonetheless.
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Post by wondermonkey on Dec 14, 2015 5:06:19 GMT -8
For myself and others I learn quite a bit from blog posts, forums like this, and so on. Most times all you hear is about the good stuff and a smidge of the "not sunny". I like to hear about the mental aspect which is everything to me. As a small point since it had been a great while since I'd done anything more than an overnight solo I was wondering how I'd do? Twenty years ago has little impact on "now" sometimes. I interacted with a fellow that quit a three day trip because his hiking partner bailed before getting on the trail and he could not handle the solitude. I chatted with him about it. I'm alternatively a social creature and a quiet guy, like many, so I gave all that some mental cycles. I didn't let it create fear, I just explored. It turns out I had no issues with the three day trip I did.
So... I tell you that because I personally want to hear about actual things that happen on the trail. Real things. The blowup between Todd and Katz is something I'm interested in. Not because of the drama but because of any lessons that I may learn.
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