Three Beautiful Things 08/08/19: About Hiking, Return to the Pulaski Tunnel Trail, Subway and the S & R

1.  The more I go out and take hikes this summer, the more my mind is focused on the trail and not so much on any destination. I read as much as I can about trails online and often hiking sites feature readers' comments or reviews of the hikes. A few weeks ago, I read a hiker's description of her disappointment in the Pulaski Tunnel Trail because when s/he reached the end of the trail, the view wasn't spectacular. I realized, upon reading this, that I don't think much about what I might find at the end of the trail. Okay. Yes. Arriving at trail's end to the sight of Revett Lake was astonishing. But, before reaching the end of this trail, the variety of sights along the way, the outcropping of rocks, the small waterfalls barely visible through the thick foliage, the grandeur of the mountains in every direction, and the multiple wildflowers in bloom made this hike rewarding before Byrdman and I ever reached the lake itself.

One of the benefits of my body slowly getting into better hiking condition is that, as I meander up a trail, I can pay more attention to the beauty around me. When I began hiking more in earnest this summer, my mind was mostly on the hike as a way to exercise, as a way to possibly ward off kidney dialysis, possibly lose some weight. This aspect of hiking remains very important to me, but more and more I'm paying attention to the sensory experiences on the trail. I love the relaxing sounds of water flowing, sometimes rushing; the various shades of green in the needles and leaves of trees and the brush and other foliage growing so thick around these trails; the sight of fallen trees, especially when they have dropped into the creeks or form bridges over the water; the cool mountain air of the mornings; the outcroppings of rocks on the hillsides and the way moss carpets black rocks in the creek beds.

Lately, I've had more energy while hiking so I can take pictures. Taking pictures slows me way down. My camera tames any compulsion I might feel to hike more quickly and dampens any feelings I might have that I must reach the trail's end. The sun is my chief nemesis on the trail. Sunlight saps me. I try to get going in the mornings before the sun directly hits whatever trail I'm on. Because taking pictures slows me down, often, when the sun begins to appear and warm things up, I turn around and head back to the trailhead not having reached trail's end and that's fine with me. I'd rather stay cool, take pictures, and enjoy my surroundings than force myself to reach a destination.

2. So, this morning, I returned to the Pulaski Tunnel Trail south of Wallace, about a mile or so up the road from where King Street turns into Moon Pass Road. When I started my hike, the sun was hidden behind the steep hills to the east of the trail so the air was perfectly cool.

The trail meanders along the West Fork of Placer Creek. From the trail, it's difficult to take unobstructed pictures of the water because the foliage is thick. But, in several spots, I was able to leave the trail and easily position myself at creek's edge and take unobstructed pictures and I got some decent shots from the trail itself. Taking pictures, trying to figure out how to deal with obstructions, turned out to be the focus of my hike today and I figured that I would not reach the trail's end before the sun peeped over the hills and the air started to warm up.

I took about 70 pictures with my 50 mm lens. Next time, I'll take either my kit lens or my Sigma 18-200 so that I can zoom in on shots more and see how that works. I was reviewing pictures I took in May on the Sweet Creek Trail near Mapleton, OR with my Sigma 18-200. I pretty much liked them. I'd like to see how it I do with that lens on the Pulaski Trail.

If you'd like to see the pictures I took on the Pulaski Trail, I posted them on flickr, here. Unless my pictures are terribly out of focus, I post everything in my flickr albums so that I can study the pictures I think work well and study my mistakes as well.

I also posted a few of my pictures at the bottom of this page.

3. It got hot today. I didn't have much cold food on hand, didn't feel like going to the store, and didn't want to heat up (or further clutter up) the kitchen, so I made an online order at Subway for a sandwich, a bag of Lay's Original potato chips, and a bottle of Coca-Cola. I drove down the street, picked up my food, brought it home and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Doing this, and driving down West Cameron Avenue, reminded me of how Mom used to occasionally treat us to food from the S & R Drive-In, located across the street from Subway. If I remember correctly, in those days, Dad wasn't crazy about take out food and Mom would treat us to an S & R dinner when Dad was working at the Sunshine Inn or got a call out to the Zinc Plant. I don't order from Subway often and this evening I felt some of the same thrill eating food I didn't prepare that I used to feel when we got to bring home food from the S & R.