Down for the Count: VC Trip Day 3

I wake up Sunday morning feeling like a truck hit me in the middle of the night. On second thought, I'm not entirely sure I ever fell asleep the night before. Apparently that missing bandanna really did make a huge difference; my nose and throat are clogged like a bad plumbing problem.

The nearest lake is (we are told) a 40 minute hike, and South, the Green Lady, and Deer Spirit are eager to go exploring. While every part of me wants to go, my body is telling me to slooow down. Having previous experience with altitude sickness, I decide it is best to listen to it.

Sadly, Backpacking Girl must leave today in order to get back to her job (ha, the real world!) And, being hard core as she is- she did sleep outside the night before- she decides to hike the entire trail out on her own (if the mules take 4 hours, you can only imagine what the hike is for humans...) The 3 see her out to the main trail, where she leaves and they continue on in search of the lake.

South and Deer Spirit say goodbye to Backpacking Girl

I stay at camp, and surrender to the tent for a few more hours hoping to feel better. I make a Neti Pot out of a syringe that came with the med kit I brought. It makes for a decent, and if I do say so myself, rather ingenious substitute.

While it is hard to be disappointed when surrounded by great beauty, the fisherwoman inside of me is admittedly a bit sad that we are camped along a creek with only 4 inch trout. If I had my way, even in my sick and delirious state I would drop a line in a lake, fall asleep, and wake up to find dinner attached to my pole.

Dinner!

Sigh.


I quickly remind myself that, while I am the most avid fisherwoman you might ever meet, I am, sadly, also the least talented. One day I will catch the big one, I swear. For now I look more like a happy Charlie Brown when I fish.

This Big Sur creek did not yield any fish either, but man was I happy!

Reality

The ladies are gone for what seems like a long period of time. They return in time for dinner, bubbling with excitement and stories of "Goddess Lake." They describe an epic hike with a beautiful destination, and they share some colorful photos of their journey. We look on my map to find that "Goddess Lake" is actually called Return Lake, and is at 12,000 ft. These ladies climbed 3,000 ft today; not bad! I can't wait to see it.

The Green Lady along the trail to Goddess Lake

The explorers! South, Green Lady, and Deer Spirit

Goddess Lake

We go for an evening creek walk (I am still determined to find a lake closer, darn it!), and then settle in for a delicious dinner of chicken stir fry cooked by the Green Lady. More campfire silliness, and I am sure to medicate myself with Benadryl before heading to sleep for the night.

....Orrrr trying to. Just as the Benadryl sets in, I hear a distinguishable CRASH! outside the tent. Definitely metal hitting the dirt ground. My heart stops, and I convince myself that I must be hallucinating on these meds. Besides, I already had one embarrassing false alarm on this trip; I'm not about to have another. Then:

Green Lady: "Did anybody else hear that?"

Damn.

South: "Yeah."

It's so quiet in the tent you can hear the mosquitoes buzzing around outside. I sink down into my mummy bag.

Green Lady: "Did you hear that?"
South: "Yup."

Volleymeg: "What was it?"
Green Lady: "Footsteps."

You've got to be kidding me. A bear?!?!?

We wait anxiously. The Green Lady begins to tell us what we need to do in case of a bear. I want to pee my pants. Why do I have to be sleeping on the wall of the tent??? Somehow Deer Spirit is remarkably sleeping through all of this. Eventually the footsteps subside, and we breath a collective sigh of relief. We eventually laugh it off and decide we will find the tracks in the morning. And thankfully, the Benadryl still works.