Transition Days...

he says:

Transition days are the days when you emerge from the wilderness and re-enter the civilized world (or vice-versa). For any number of reasons, these days can be difficult: your own expectations may be unrealistic, or the mental gear-shift can be tough. Coming out of the woods, we have to plan our route of travel, get chores done (clean up, repack our gear in the car, do laundry, get supplies), and find a free place to camp that night on the way to our next target.

So, we spill out of the Trinity Alps, and find a picnic table at the trailhead where we unpack our gear on a big tarp. We sort and pack away our backpacking gear while we cook a breakfast of potatoes and salmon (from a can). Then we fill a bucket with water and give Mo a bath. He is filthy, covered with dust and a little stinky after days and days of swimming in mountain lakes.

Next we find a campground, about 4 miles from the trailhead, with $2.50 showers (unlimited time). We each shower and shave and shampoo until we see clean skin emerge from the dusty armor of a week in the woods. However, we are cleaner than usual, surely because of all of the swimming we did in Deer Lake.

So, three clean bodies pile into the car stinking of shampoo and soap, and head for the nearest berg... Weaverville, CA. An artsy little mountain town that makes a living off of the tourist trade. We hit the laundro-mat with a big bag of stinky clothes. While the machine works, we hit the grocery store and re-supply the pantry. Next, a quick $1 do-it-yourself car wash to take a layer of filth off of the car. Back to the laundry, to start the dryer. Then to the thrift store, where I pick up 5 used paperbacks for $8.

Then to Mamma Lamas, the internet coffee house in town. We email, pay bills, and check on the general health of the world. We plan our route, and hit the road.

We roll into Redding, CA in time for dinner, and we locate a chinese buffet that will allow us to do unlimited damage for $11. Perfect. We’re still in pain.

A quick stop at the pet food store, and we hit the road, east toward Lassen Volcanic N. P. Three miles short of the park, we enter the national forest. An immediate left turn onto a dirt road, and another left onto an old logging road, 20 yards later we are in a grassy stand of firs and cedars.

It’s twilight. Mo is sleeping, curled in a ball in the grass. Elizabeth and I sit in our lawn chairs, reading our books by headlamp... nearing bedtime. This has been a nearly perfect transition day!