Two Bits

She’ll Be Comin’ Down the Mountain, She’ll Be Comin’ Down the Mountain, She’ll Be Comin’ Down the Mountain When She Comes. To paraphrase the old folksong, I was comin’ down the mountain, alright, but I sure as heck weren’t  drivin’ no six white horses, I was drivin’ a blue 2007 Subaru Impreza, and I was about to get locked in the Heil Valley Open Space parking lot. But I’m getting ahead of myself…

The plan was to meet my friend at the rec center after work and go for a hike. The days are still warm, but fall is definitely just around the corner – the days are shorter, the nights cooler, and there’s that melancholy feeling that comes with the end of summer. ..

There were a lot of cars in the Open Space parking lot – mostly mountain bikers from the looks of them.  Some were still disgorging bikes and bikers. My friend got out his pack, I buckled up my fanny pack, and off we went. We’d gotten some serious rain a couple of days ago, so even though there were quite a few cyclists, they weren’t kicking up much dust. There were still a few wild currents on the bushes that line the trail. L. was not terribly impressed with them, but of course, I grazed my way up the mountain as we discussed wild fruit that we have known and loved.  L. was really getting excited about this topic, because he forgot to take his bagel and yogurt out of the truck back at the rec center.

At the 2 ½ mile mark, the Wapiti Trail meets the Ponderosa Loop Trail. I asked my friend if he wanted to turn back. I said that we would be hiking about 5 miles in that case, versus around 7 ½ if we decided to go on. He said that he thought that he would like to go further. We hiked another mile or so, and he asked if we could take a water break, so we chose a couple of comfy-looking rocks and sat for a while enjoying the scenery and the mosquitoes. 

As we hiked higher, L. remarked that the sun was sinking lower, and indeed, the long, dusty rays slanted across pine meadows in a way that left no doubt that night was falling. By the time we had gone roughly half way, it was clear to both of us that night was quickly coming on. I pointed out the obvious and mentioned that it was getting dark, and we were going to have to hustle. I think my exact words were, ‘It’s getting dark. We’re going to have to hustle”. “I can’t go too fast. I have a bad ankle”, came the response from behind me out of the gloom.

Rule # 1: Open space is open from sunrise to sunset, unattended vehicles left after dark will be ticketed or towed.

While I was aware of Rule # 1 in theory, there is a difference between theory and practice. Specifically, since I had never been at Heil Valley near sunset, I hadn’t given it much thought, even though I had noticed the gate. So we had several options: A) We could be eaten by bears; B) We could be eaten by mountain lions; C) We could break an arm or leg as we stumbled around in the dark; or D) We might have to walk back to town. (Or C and D. The other combinations were pretty unlikely.) Another couple jogged past us. The crickets got louder and louder. The stars came out, and the night was beautiful. It was very dark. We heard the couple ahead of us shouting that they saw two bear. When we were in the trees, we could barely see the edges of the trail. The rocks were indistinct black smudges. By the time we made the trailhead, we could hardly see at all. The Big Bear glittered in the sky. There is a narrow divide between wonderful and dangerous in the mountains, and we had crossed it. It happened so fast. But we were lucky - as we drove away, a huge, orange harvest moon rose over the plains.