Day 16: Layover at Charlotte Lake
August 12: Late to bed, but not late to rise. Some of us have a lazy day ahead, but Pat and George don’t. They skipped dinner to get to bed early and are skipping breakfast to get on their way. But they won’t starve. Debbie gets out the lunch food for them to make sandwiches, and they have lots of their own trail snacks left. They leave by 7, and I’m sorry to see them go. They’ve been good hiking companions.
As to why they need to provide their own snacks, well not all of our resupply has arrived yet, plus we had a visitor in the night that really liked granola bars. Earlier, when I was returning from a visit to the latrine, I had found several granola bar wrappers on the ground and wondered who did the littering. I couldn’t believe it was one of our group; we’d all been very vigilant about “pack it in, pack it out.” When I mentioned the litter to Debbie, she said that she had had to scare off a bear in the night, and lo and behold, we seem to be missing a bag of snacks. Guess someone missed getting all of the resupply items into the bear proof boxes used for hauling and storing our food.
After a late breakfast, some of us do laundry. There’s a stream with easy access right by the kitchen and a couple of nearby trees that will not be in the shadows all day to string a laundry line between. Then, it’s time to sit back and read. Finding a place in the sun isn’t really easy here, you have to keep moving your chair as the sun moves.
Summers and his mules don’t leave until mid-day. I hope Pat and George don’t have to wait too long for their gear.
For lunch, Debbie fixes tuna fish. It’s a real treat to have something other than lunch meat or peanut butter and jelly. In the afternoon, various people go off to climb a nearby peak and/or swim in the lake. I believe a rest day is just for that—resting. I can’t even get motivated to walk up to the lake to take pictures, maybe because it is up—not much, but nonetheless—up. I do finish my book and trade it for another from Tony.
Sometime in the afternoon, Steve and Eric and the resupply train arrive—but not altogether. Steve is Dina’s husband; Eric Tony’s physician. They will hike with us for the next week, replacing Pat and George. Moving and organizing the food keeps Debbie and Harry busy for a while. Also, towards late afternoon, Vic sets up his electric fence around the feed for the mules and shoes some horses. (The electric fence fails to keep the bears out.)
All in all it’s a totally nondescript day. (I didn’t take any pictures or record any notes.)