Crazy Day; Thank Goodness these Guys Don’t Govern Manhattan

September 14th

I woke up smelling smoke.  This was not good.  One of my irrational fears is a forest fire and massively confused hiking.  I had no internet access.  Via satellite text, Helen was able to let me know there were no fires on trail.  There was one fire to the southwest and that was probably just blowing smoke my way.

Walking along the trail through woods, I turned off my headlamp once I could see the trail.  I came across a bow hunter in full camo.  I am sorry, but I still get a wee bit uncomfortable around a grown man in camo with weapons.  Still, he was a nice guy and had a good hike ahead of him before he reached his designated elk hunting area.

The trail became annoying.  Annoying because of rocks.  Everybody complements the Colorado Trail Association about their great trail.  However, for a good stretch of it, motorcycles are allowed.  I suspect it is the US Forest Service that makes these decisions.  I can’t fathom the thought process…

“OK.  We need to decide on who can use single path trails and who can use two-track trails. Any Ideas?”

“Yeah.  Let’s have hikers and horses use single track.  Anything with wheels goes on two-track.”

“No, no.  Lets put mountain bikes and motorcycles on the single track. They all use only  a single path.”

“But won’t motorcycles and bikes startle horses?  Don’t they move at a much  higher rate than foot or hoof traffic?”

“Naw.  Don’t worry about it.”

“In the winter, should we also put cross country skiers and snowmobiles on the same paths?”

Can you imagine if these folks also did traffic in Manhattan?  Applying the same mindset, they would have all cars, trucks, cabs, and buses go on the streets, while  pedestrians, bikes, and motorcycles would share the sidewalks.

Sorry for the tangent, but it is just a wrong way to divide natural resources.

Later in the day, Wash Pot caught up to me.  It was great to see him again.  He looked fit and relaxed after some down time in Colorado with friends and family.  He was hiking with a lady from Virginia whose trail name was Corbett.  Anyhow, we talked and hiked for while.  However, I cannot do both, so I let them cruise on ahead.

I tucked in to a level area  somewhere between Long Branch Baldy and Middle Baldy and just got my tent set up when the skies let loose.  In the vestibule of my tent, I propped my umbrella and had a cold dinner before heading off to bed.  It cleared up later that night.  Oddly, I heard grouse get startled in the middle of the night by something nearby.  Probably a coyote, but it was an eye opener to suddenly have a grouse’s wings thumping at 2:00 am.