Wed July 25, 2007 - Day 33

Greetings from the trail,

I missed making an entry yesterday, but I think you'll soon understand why.

Yesterday was characterized by 3 choices. The first of those choices I handled poorly. When I woke up, I was still tired from the combination of too much reading and too much heat. It was too hot to sleep. Pam offered to take me back right away, or wait a few hours 'til she returned. My laziness kicked in and I decided to rest and read.

The second of my choices was excellent. I got into Trail a little before 10:00am and was planning to walk up the hill ~12km to Rossland. When I was the sign flash 33 degrees Celsius, I changed my mind and decided to hide in the shade and read. I crossed the bridge to the shady and cool Gyro Park and spent the afternoon reading in the shade. I finished the book a little after 6:00pm as I was also enjoying a live musical performance in the park. I can scarcely remember a more relaxing time.

My last choice was dangerous and could have worked out very poorly. In the end it turned out all right. I could simply have made my way back to the campground nearby and gotten an early start, instead I decided to try to press on with the temperature dropping and the sun still up. It seemed like a good idea at the time...

The sun set more quickly than I'd anticipated and the hill was steep and long. As time wore on, I grew increasingly concerned about making it and increasingly frustrated by the stupidity of the drivers who seemed incapable of grasping the concept of changing to the inner of their two available lanes.

When I finally made it into camp, I was very relieved and carrying my flashlight. Luckily, there was no need to check in, as it was getting late. By the time I got into bed, the night air was getting cool. It made for one of the best night's sleep I've had out here on the trail.

This morning I woke up later than usual, but pressed on to hike up the Old Cascade Highway. Another uphill stretch for 12km before reaching the summit.

Part way up I was getting hot and tired, so I stopped at the side of the road to lay down. When I looked up after a while there was a bear standing by my gear about 20-30ft away. I was very surprised and a little scared as I jumped up and grabbed a branch. The bear looked surprised as well and quickly ran off in the opposite direction. That one got my heart going.

I've now crossed the Cascade Summit and am camping at the edge of the Dewdney Trail. It's nice to be on a real trail again.

See you on the trail,

Joshua Ganes