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[pct-l] Gonzo Thruhiking....'82 PCT

Strangest experience on the '82 PCT, one day out of Acton and just before
entering the Mojave, appropriately titled in my journal:  "But it didn't get
weird enough for me..."

"5/10/82

"Yesterday afternoon we pulled into Spade Spring Canyon and commenced
looking for some place to stay.  Up the canyon a ways we found two nicely
cleared and smoothed over oval areas, one at the end of the dirt road we
were walking, the other at the beginning of a fire break.  We wondered aloud
at the use of the oval cleared areas;  I suggested that perhaps they were
for the firetrucks, turn-arounds, so they could return down the road.  In
the middle of the former, there stood a shaggy shade tree, so we put up the
tent and placed it under the tree, just in case it rained.  At 1:45am, I
wake up to hear Harry and Ray discussing whether the noise they hear is a
D-9 Cat, or what.  When it pulls up next to our tree, we see that it's a big
truck.  Out of the driver's side steps a vaguely humanoid shape with a
voluminous, luminous, white suit on -- like a space suit.   It's even got a
helmet on!!  The lights of the truck and the rumble of the engine add to the
supernatural, celestial effect."

"Finally, Ray climbs out to go see what's going on;  after our initial
thought of a "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" event , now we're figuring
there's a chemical of some sort in the truck and that's why this guy has a
weird spacesuit on.  Turns out the guy has a truckload of bees!!  And
there's another truck in the other cleared area!  He had thought our tent
was a rock and so was surprised himself to see Ray pop asking questions.  So
we go back to sleep as he unloads the truck, and decide to high-tail it out
of there at 5:30 tomorrow morning before the little devils get active.  This
morning Harry jumps up and says "Let's go, boys, it's 6:00am already!"  He's
barely maintaining composure under the threat of hordes of killer bees
descending upon us, after having a dream where the bees were swarming on the
tent and we couldn't get out.  That is the fastest he's ever packed, I can
tell you!"

Take care,

Kelly

 
Kelly Flowers
kkflower@students.wisc.edu

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