the un-packaged vegan: The Decent Begins

I left the Sunrise High Sierra camp after some fantastic conversations with some really nice folks. Word on the trail was that water was scarce, so I filled up myself and all the vessels with water from the spicket in the camp. As I left the camp and turned the bend in the trail, vegetation changed and the trail began to descend.

Two good lessons. 1) Down really is harder than up sometimes, especially on the knees and toes. 2) I will never ever give up my water pump. I know a great many ultra-light hikers are into using stiri-pens or drops, but when the water is scummy or the flow of a stream is low and you will collect just as much sediment as you do water.... I want my water pump. Also.... I really like the taste of wild water and do not appreciate the taste of those chemicals or iodine. There was one stream I passed and decided to get water. Several light hikers in need of water had to pass it up due to a lack of having a pump. (yes, I offered, the guys said no; the women said yes) So, no, you will not separate me from this great piece of gear. Oh and have you ever watched the little fish swim around the intake filter?

I was headed to Cloud's Rest, or at least the campground that is at the trail head to the top. Then the stories about the momma bear and 2 cubs that were gathering food from there changed my mind. Bears only really seemed to be a problem when one camped where everyone else camped. Bears are smart. They know where the food is, its where the people are, and almost everyone that comes and goes up or down this trail seems to stop at the camp.They all left with a good bear story. Bear tip: throw pine cones NEAR the bears no at the bears, and they will eventually be annoyed and go away. A group of boy scouts once threw rocks AT a bear and killed it. They are no longer welcome in Yosemite park ever again.

I knew that I was just a couple days from the end of the hike, so I started reflecting on what I had experienced leading up to this journey, what I was learning by being out this long, and what I wanted to take with me. And I couldn't help but think about the resistance ecology conference and all the great speakers. The theme for most of the workshops I went to was on intersectionality. So every time I saw two seemingly unrelated things, I tried to find where they intersected. Parttrice Jones gave some great talks not just on intersectionality, but also on not using militant tactics in trying to liberate animals, humans, the earth... It did not take me long to develop a deeper appreciation for this insightful and compassionate person. There were many more people that presented at the conference, and one of the topics I will cover when I finish with this trip.

So as I moved ever closer to the valley, I ran into more people. It wasn't too bad, but they were appearing with an ever increasing frequency. And so did people getting confused by seeing me on the trail alone. More on this in the final wrap up.

As I finished a major descent, I encountered a male/female couple who had had encountered the Cloud's Rest bears. The family had played soccer with both of their bear canisters. His ended up lodged between two boulders. Hers got a claw puncture wound right where you press in to turn the canister open. Proving these bears are getting smarter and smarter! It won't be long before they figure these out, and we'll have to figure out a new system. GO BEARS!

With this in mind, I came across a slow moving stream and a small camping area, and decided to call it a day. Little did I know just what kind of reward this choice was going to be!

As I un-packed and set up my little yellow tent, kitchen, and pumped some water; a fawn came wondering into the area munching on various leaves. Then it's mom came by. The fawn was probably a couple month old and finding some independence, but was quick to find mom when loud hikers cruised by. These two lovely friends hung close to my site all evening, and I found them there when I awoke. In the middle of the site was a ginormous boulder that I climbed up on to cook, write, read, and meditate. Nearly every time I looked up, there were my companions. I reasoned that as long as this momma was cool with her baby being here, then danger was not close by... so maybe no bears or coyotes. Probably not true, but like a good human, I can occasionally indulge in a false sense of security.

The evening came to an end and I settled in too. I wanted a good nights rest for the final drop into the valley. My feet were tired, my lungs sore from the smoke, and I was getting excited to see my friends and the ocean.