MY THREE DAY HIKE
(Bill Odekirk, two Grandsons, a daughter and a son-in-law)
Note: I have written a journal for about six years now, so because I am lazy and don't want to rewite this hike for the web sight, I have just copied and pasted it from my journal...Daily thoughts and all.
19. Saturday :
Jonthon.......Lisa.........Tim..........Sean...........Bill
We d rove to the Third Beach parking lot where the shuttle picked us up and drove us the fifty plus miles to the Hoh River , (which by the beach was only seventeen miles from the Third Beach ). We hiked into Hoh Head and over the bolder field, which can only be rounded at low tide.
On the path to Hoh Head and the Bolder Fields
What a shock getting through the bolder field was ...and a good break-in for what was yet to come.
Tim & Bill,
Coming out of the boulder field
That part of the hike was absolutely the toughest work out on my quadriceps (top thigh muscels) I have EVER experienced. By the time we were through the field they had gone into acidosis and literally would not work. The thirty seven pounds on my back did not help. After resting for five minutes they were working again, but very sore.
Lesson #1; Always hike with treking poles, they're like handrails on stairs. most of the seasoned hikers we saw had them. This would have taken a huge pressure off of my quadriceps, I soon found two driftwood poles, that worked fine.
We walked the beach for about another half mile and then had to ascend a very steep hill on a rope ladder with the thirty seven pounds on my back, by the time I got to the top again my quadriceps said, No! No! No!.
The 1st of seven rope ladders, this was
just the start, the summit was anothert 200 feet up.
After another short rest we continuned on, and for the next five miles, (that was seldom level), it was continually up then down, up then down, on and on, over places so muddy that at time it came half way up my boots.
Lisa & Jonathon ... yet another hill
At one of these mud hole I slipped and with all the weight on my back could not catch my balance and fell on my side in the mud. Like a turtle on his back, with all that weight on I had a hell of a time trying to get up. Only Jonathon and I were there, and after he got through laughing, he helped me up. As it ended up the only thing on me that was hurt was my pride. I did have highly skinned up knees, cause by the barnacles in the boulder fields. I was the only one wearing shorts.
Lesson #2; If not just walking the beach, always wear long pants.
Further down the trail this time with Sean, I attempted to set on the end of a log with the length of the log to my back, instead of in the middle, and again because of all the weight on my back couldn't catch my balance when I started to lean and rolled off the log and down the hill for a short distant. Sean helped me up. And yet again another small cut as a result of wearing shorts. I had numerous scratches on my knees from the barnacles, cuts from running into broken branches on fallen trees, and and now from falling off the log. By this time my quadriceps hurt so bad they no longer did the job again. I fell one more time that day, acidosis had set in again.
Mosquito Creek Camp Ground
We finally reached Mosquito creek at 2:30, home for the rest of the day. We had a camp fire, ate, put up our tents, Lisa gave me two Ibuprofen, cleaned off my knees and I turned in at about 6:00. My pedometer showed ten and a half miles.
Thought of The Day: One of the greatest irritations to a friendship, is thinking that because you own an item, it is superior to the next guys similar item.
. 20. Sunday : I got up at 5:00, was very sore all night but thank God no Charlie horses. Because all the wood was damp from the morning dew I finally had to fill my skillet with little sticks put the lid on and cook them until they dried out. I got a good fire going by the time everyone was up a little after seven. We had breakfast, then Lisa propelled herself down a cliff on a rope to the beach and left a message for God and all, celebrating the birth of her new granddaughter and my great granddaughter Lea, just two days old.
We broke camp and left at 9:30. In about a quarter of a mile reached the beach and proceeded another mile walking in soft sand where we stopped for a snack before we ascended yet another rope ladder up a steep hill to the high ground, and soon came upon two more rope ladders. So far the whole trip seems to be up then down, up then down. At Goodman creek we stopped and filtered water for our water supply. From there we took a wrong trail and wandered in the desert' like the Jews for about an hour before we realized that all we had to do was to ford the river where we got our water, which we did, to the not so obvious trail on the other side. We wandered through beautiful, lush green forest for another two miles to a very steep rope ladder leading to the beach again. In another mile we set up camp for the night. I was amazed and well pleased how strong my legs felt without hurting.
After dinner and two small bottles of rum and coconut I turned in for the night. We had walked a little over eleven miles.
Thought of The Day : The old body is an amazing thing. How very fast it recovers when one does not stop after a little pain. In only two days my quadriceps went from acidosis to feeling strong and powerful.
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21. Monday : Slept pretty good again. Got up at 5:00, Sean and Jonathon did not put up their tent and slept next to the fire. I was amazed when I got up, looked out my tent and saw flames. Sean had kept it stocked all night. I had my coffee and a small muffin stalling for breakfast with everyone else when they got up a little after seven.
I spotted three Oyster Catchers, and after many tries was finally able to get a pictures of one.
Oyster Catcher with bright orange beak.
After all were up and we finished eating, we broke camp and again headed north at 9:11.
We took a lot of pictures including Eagles and kept walking for about three and a half miles, where we stopped at a camp sight for a fifteen minute break and at 11:15 headed up yet another hill .
The overland route was again up and down, up and down for one and a half miles, then back to he beach for a short while, then up the hill again, down the hill and back to the beach. This routine went on for two more times before we left the beach for the last time.
We again ascended a hill and continued for 1.3 miles to the parking lot and our cars. It was two o'clock.
The last leg of our three day trek was listed at six and a half miles, my pedometer showed a little over eleven accounted for by extra walking brought about by picture taking, observation , etc. By the time we broke camp this morning, I had over a mile on my pedometer. The total three day hike was a little over thirty three miles.
We drove to Port Angles had dinner at The Landing, halibut and chips and two martini's. Man, that was good!! We then continued on to the ferry and on to Lisa's in Bothell, where Jonathon and I switched to my little Hybrid car and drove home to Kent, getting there at 9:00, just as Sally, Jonathon's mother was driving up. Jonathon was the youngest, not quit fourteen but a real trooper, I was the obviously the oldest at seventy two.
Todays Thought : When one gets to know people, don't try to make them what they are not. Some people are intellects, that are fun to have philosophical discussion with and others are not and should not be so engaged. So my big lesson for today is; Philosophically speaking; You can not make a shallow lake deep, by wishing it so'.
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22. Tuesday: (Recovery Day) I got up at 5:00. I felt very good this morning, weigh myself and was about five pounds heavier that when I left on the hike. I didn't eat that much more on the hike and worked my butt off so I don't understand why, but so be it. It was very good to be back home to my sweet wife.
I spent a couple of hours transposing my journal, (written on the hike on a little shirt pocket notebook), onto my computer. Carole and I drove down to work and then over to South Center to buy a birthday gift for Lisa at Linens and Things'. Would you believe bed sheets made from bamboo. We then went to Car Toys' and got me a new cell phone. From there we drove back to Kent and to the Apple' store and bought Anna a pedometer for her Nano Ipod. Then up the hill to the Hallmark' store for birthday cards and before going home we stopped at a Subway' for a lunch sandwich.
I took a nap in my recliner and later in the evening I programmed my new cell phone. 206-276-2014 Call me!
Today's Thought : Barack Obama is having a hard time attracting middle class white males and I know three such animals in my immediate family, that fall into this category. And it is obvious to me that the real reason is the fact that he is black, they beat around the issue like a moth around a flame, never really wishing to admit their prejudices