bear spray – backpacking over the hill

To the Edge

July 28th. 2018. Stealth camp to Whistler Canyon Trailhead.

Immediately, I could tell it was going to be a hot day. I cruised downhill through a ranch. Some cattle, instead of running, treat you like a rock star. This herd started coming towards me so I thought they were going to crowd me.

This morning I could choose between a quiet public road for 5 miles or an official quiet public road plus a trail that gained and lost 700 feet over 10 miles. I chose the former.

I met an older lady on her way downhill to a Saturday morning yoga class. She loved living up high in the woods.

Eventually, I came to an area where the road walk and official trail met. For the next ten miles I’d follow a trail a group of local horsemen had developed. Up high, it was hot and sunny. For the first time, I got to the point where I just found a shady spot and took a power nap. I awoke refreshed. Within 100 steps, I looked back to see the PNT hiker from Bonaparte Lake.

We hiked together for the next few hours as the trail descended to the valley where Oroville awaited. He was young and enthusiastic about many things. He was going to hitch in to town. Knowing I had two nights of reservations ahead already, I opted to camp at the trailhead on the edge of town (technically 2 1/2 miles, but to a backpacker that’s an edge).

Though smokey. You could see the valley below.

Nearing the bottom, there was a sign mentioning an alternate trail with a water crossing and then a connection to “W.C.” The main trail was just to connect to “W.C.” While I am not British, I could not figure out why trail signs out here would suddenly reference water closets. Still, I needed water and cut over to the alternate, wishing my fellow hiker good luck. “W.C” stood for Whistler Canyon, the local trail name.

Just a few yards from the main trail, the alternate revealed a gurgling stream. There were a couple teens there trying to make out. I awkwardly blurted out “I’m just getting some water” and went past them upstream 30 feet. As the Dad of daughters, I fought hard to keep from asking the girl if her Dad knew she was up here with this loser.

With enough water to rehydrate and get me through the night, I descended. I was surprised the trailhead was so spacious. I found a place on the fence near an apple orchard. I propped up my backpack and opened my umbrella to create a shady spot in the 96 degree heat.

For amusement, a herd of mountain sheep went up and down the hillside in front of me. The younger ones even came down to eat. However, when the dominant Male returned, they just watched me and even when I got in my tent he would not let any of them come down.

The younger ones came down to feed while adults remained up high.

Once the alpha Male returned, he kept the herd up high looking down on me.

Days slipping away

I am now in final throes of packing for my 5 month backpacking trip. As a natural born procrastinator, I am in my element.

Food: Introducing Speltmeal

I am making and sending almost all of my trail meals. There are roughly 120 of them. Although I’ll rotate through about 7 different dinners for variety, breakfast is pretty tough. I basically have two breakfasts that are quick, easy, and nutritious. (note the absence of the word delicious…)

First up is good old granola. I found some ancient grains brand that I like at Costco. I package this with a small zip bag of powdered whole milk. In the morning, I’ll add water to the small bag, mix, and then add to the granola. I’ll let that soak while I pack up and then eat the granola while walking (due to my ungraceful nature, I will proceed slowly since doing anything in addition to walking pushes the limits of my abilities). I keep the whole milk powder separate for two reasons. First, I want to make sure I can get the powder and water to mix well enough to resemble the texture of real milk. Second, let’s face it, powdered milk is not the greatest tasting thing in the world and I may get sick of it.

My second breakfast choice is a combination of spelt and rolled oats. I add in cinnamon, a little sugar, a pinch of both salt and powdered butter. Unlike the Granola, I do add powdered milk to the mix. I bag portions up and throw in small bags with various treats to break up the monotony. Examples are freeze dried fruits, chia seeds, or nuts. At night I open the pouch, take out the treat, add water, and let the “Speltmeal” rehydrate overnight. In the morning, I’ll add the treats.

Spray versus Spray

I have been testing all my equipment. It is important to make sure things work and that I know how to use them. This seems obvious, but my usual instincts are to just go ahead with something and figure it out on the fly. There can be unfortunate consequences. Everybody knows what bug spray is, right? I have this small pump-spray container. It works better on my thinning hair than a lotion. Well, on this trip, I am also bringing bear spray in the National Parks as a safety precaution. However, I need to to emphasize that bug spray and bear spray are quite different. It turns out bear spray is not applied topically. (Well, it can be, but it is ineffective against bears and very effective at repelling humans.)

Store Runs

Finally, I have a few last store runs to complete. I need to get a few small items at REI. On top of that I need to visit Trader Joe’s for some dried fruit to ship out. The likelihood that I will enter these two stores with a short, fixed list and emerge with only the items on the list is close to the odds of winning the lottery.

Did squeeze in a quick hike yesterday.