Robert Francisco

Destination: Cascade Creek
Starting Location: Lower Kerrick Canyon Bear Valley Trail Junction
Today’s Miles: 19.70
Trip Miles: 1001.20
Lower Kerrick Canyon (980.2, 7960) to Cascade Creek (999.9, 8975) ascent (3835) descent (2835)

When Pang & Sunny help the last person off the log at Kerrick Canyon the dirty (stinky) dozen broke into a huge applause & I am pretty sure I was not the only one with wet eyes. The applause was partially for Sunny & Pang and they certainly deserved it as they demonstrated acrobatic balance skill as they helped people across. But the real applause was for each other & specifically for one in our group who has a physical condition that impacts their balance. When that person departed that log they were beaming & we were beaming with them.
I thought about that crossing all night & listened for any indication that the water was dropping. In the morning the condensation inside my tent was nearly dripping as the pint of water I respired during the night clung to the ceiling & sides. If you touch anything you get wet. After walking up the hill for morning chores * went to the river edge & noticed that indeed the water had dropped by a vertical foot. Sunny, Rolling Thunder & I consulted and were confident that we could get everyone across safely but wet. We then decided to do some more scouting and that’s when we found the log. Getting onto it was tricky & crossing it was scary but the practice paid off and when I needed to stay on the log most I did. So did everyone else & the feared crossing was over at 7:40 a.m.
The next crossing provided Rolling Thunder (yes he did get his name because he has a lot of gas) an opportunity to show us a New Zealand technique for multiple people to cross together. This technique is excellent on heavy current even bottom rivers and takes advantage of stronger members while breaking the flow for others.
Bear #2 was getting a drink when we startled her & she took off. We watched her run a long ways until she reached a wooded area. Again cinnamon in color but much smaller maybe weighing approximately 250 lbs.
First thing in the morning we will cross the 1000 mile mark. So today I have been singing: I will walk 500 miles & I will walk 500 more just to be the man who walked a thousand miles to knock on Lucky Liz’s door. Several of us have our own versions & I am likely the worst singer of the group but I still belt it out anyway. A thousand miles is a long ways to hike until you think that you have to do 1650 more. Thinking that way is overwhelming to me & the day at a time approach is much more manageable.