a fair dinkum ramble

So it's well past real midnight and for some tomfool reason I'm still up... I'm in Mt Shasta, a town, surpringly enough, near the mountain called Shasta. Actually from the trailhead I had the option of hitching to Dunsmuir, Castella or Shasta; and I kind of felt it was like choosing between Scotland, Spain or Narnia. Clearly I chose Narnia.


I've been trying to make up some miles recently, which has resulted in some night hiking and some big days... the lack of sleep has not been assisted by some hilarious decisions, including sleeping on a rail way car (with head banger & happy whale) next to an inclined railroad with 60 car freight trains either clanking their way up the incline, or braking their way down. for some reason they felt the need to give their horns a real workout as they passed on a regular basis all night...





another night i searched for a campspot in a logging area using my head torch (harder than it sounds). i thought i spied a reflector on a pole and thought - maybe there's a road up there. as i walked towards it, i realised it was walking towards me. i was trying to get my camera out silently while trying to figure out what it was. it came right up to me, so that its nose was almost touching my stomach; a fawn, still with its spots, and these amazing huge ears - so beautiful. it stood there while i turned my camera on, but as soon as i focused and that red light came on it bolted - story of my animal photography career...

i've been sleepy while walking, which has caused me great amusement. (don't be alarmed, i'm being very safe, as always). i've just started listening to my ipod occasionally, generally i feel like this disconnects me from the world, but it's been really handy for having an audio quiet time. and listening to random songs...

i've had some classic over-tired moments when i've suddenly realised a song is really really sad. kev carmody's song 'droving woman', has some great lyrics about the contentment and beauty of living put in the wide open spaces, and feels very aussie and nostalgic; but mate, it's got to be one of the most ridiculously sad songs ever, especially the version with missy higgins, augie march and paul kelly singing. and despite having heard it heaps of times before, i'm walking down the trail saying 'no way, no way - that's too sad'... and 'only 19' - i feel like this song is one of those background songs for every aussie - it would be a bit unaustralian not to at least vaguely know it (although i'm sure mum and dad probably don't: they maintain they don't know 'how to make gravy', and for years i've been secretly scared DIAC are going to turn up one day and deport them to some island with other people who don't know what a leg bye is, or who invented vegemite). anyway - that bit about frank kicking the land mine, and then the screaming mess bit - well yep, when you've had repeated late nights and you're walking anywhere between 40 and 58kms a day that seems pretty sad, which somehow, in turn, is pretty amusing (when you're tired).

there's been something about the last few sections where i've had way more
of that exultant feeling of being in grand open spaces. i think walking alone, or only briefly with people i get more space to ponder. i'm really really enjoying it, far more than i expected...


i was pondering the other day that of all the places i've lived i feel no connection when i return to the town or city. the people have been fabulous, but the place doesn't feel like 'home'. but the nearby bush that i ran through, like the anakie hills or the gorge in nowra, the hill behind mum and dad's in howrah, canadian forest in ballarat, the escarpment in wollongong or the shearing shed in bourke (not bush and no running involved), these are the places i feel like i belong to - and when i go to those places i feel much more like i'm home... and i realised the other night that i'm starting to recognise northern constellations - ursa major, bootes, corona borealis, cassiopeia and the star arcturus and the lemur (actually annie taught me the lemur - she invented it, and to be honest i'm never sure which deformed square with a tail it is - there a lots of possibilities up there... anyway, it's funny how once the sky is familiar-ish, this place starts to feel more like home...

i shouldn't ramble like this when i've had no sleep, it'll just be embarassing later...



the first photo is of burney falls. these are fabulous. half the water comes spurting out part way down the falls - this place is full of volcanic tunnels and caves and underground water...


the second is the hotspring pool at drakesbad - a guest ranch thing in a national park - with spectacular hospitality.... it's a bad shot, but that's happy whale, chris, scout's honour ( i think), happy meal and hot rod in the pool...


it's hard to pick from the thumbnails, but the bush has been so green and leafy (in between 30 mile waterless, shadeless sections like hat creek rim - which was pretty spectacular with snow clad volcanoes both directions - lassen and shasta)... some of that leafiness has been a sinister amount of poison oak, but beautiful nonetheless...

my feet have taken a fair hammering lately. they're often not the prettiest things in the world, but with at least 3 toenails missing, and some gnarly ogre lumps they are looking pretty darn attractive at present...

and this is the 1500 mile mark... means there's something like 1154 to go...

i'd love to add more but it's now day - i've stayed far too long in this town, and i only have 6 minutes left on this computer... although bizzarely whereas 10 minutes ago there seemed to be a queue, now only one other computer's being used...