August 22, Day 153, Mile 2,800

Big Creek Canyon

I tried to find an open cafe but failed. Instead, I made a pot of coffee and ate some tortillas with peanut butter, washed down with coffee/hot chocolate.

Although I’d kept notes during the last days and worked on my journal last night, it still took at least three more hours to catch up today. In the background I was half-watching Jeremiah Johnson. Journaling, which includes photo selection and captioning, writing up the day’s events, and selecting quotes from the Lewis and Clark journals is a considerable task.

It was about 10 when I headed to the gas station for ice cream. A friendly and enthusiastic lady who I’d met last night at the Mexican place told me again how thrilled she was with my journey, and introduced me to her mother who worked at the register. My adventure clearly did not capture the imagination of her mother, however.

I walked to the library to use the WIFI to post my journal. It took another hour to cut and past my text onto my site and fix most of the formatting issues. I successfully posted it before it could suddenly evaporate, which has happened before on this trip. The thought of losing all those hours of work was nearly too much to contemplate.

I checked out the excellent Lewis and Clark murals on the outside walls of the Library and then headed down the road. After a few miles I turned off on a gravel road that traversed grain fields, farms and ranches. The strong, dry scent of wheat being harvested drifted in the cool breeze. And it WAS pleasantly cool today, some of the most ideal temps of the trip.

I made another horse buddy by scratching behind her ears after she walked to the fence to meet me. She followed for more. I obliged. I saw several whitetail deer. It was good habitat with a mix of rolling crop lands and forest.

Service berries were plentiful, along with an occasional wild apple tree growing along the road. I ate as many apples as I liked.
In the afternoon the quiet road slowly contoured down the sides of a scenic canyon, with steep grassy openings in the timber. With no guard rails I shuddered to think what would happen if a car slid off the road. At one washout on the canyon side I saw where a tire had hung half over empty space; asking for trouble, for sure!

A pickup stopped to chat. Someone had told him about my trip.

At about 5 PM and after about 15 miles I looked for a place to camp. The first two places were too windy. The third, a mile later, was beneath a ponderosa and a fir tree, where my sleeping pad and bag became my home for the night. Colter

Clark: Sunday 24th Septr. 1805 a fine morning collected our horses despatched J. Colter back to hunt the horses lost in the mountains & bring up Some Shot left behind, and at 10 oClock we all Set out for the river and proceeded on by the Same rout I had previously traveled, and at Sunset We arrived at the Island on which I found the Twisted hare and formed a Camp on a large Island a littl below, Capt Lewis Scercely able to ride on a jentle horse which was furnishd by the Chief, Several men So unwell that they were Compelled to lie on the Side of the road for Some time others obliged to be put on horses. I gave rushes Pills to the Sick this evening. Several Indians follow us.