Jay's Pacific Crest Trail Hike 2012: Lighter Side #5

I’m lucky I survived. Our passage through the High Sierras was inconceivably brutal. Lacking any wilderness survival skills, I followed Jay’s lead as he scrambled over ridges and swam rivers. We slept under boulders and ate whatever we could find...mostly cicadas, grasshoppers, and occasionally trail food stolen from hikers if we were lucky enough to happen on a bearvault. When we found our first bearvault, Jay prepared to open it his usual way by smashing it on a rock. I intervened, however, and showed him how to open it properly. I also taught him to take only a little bit of food from each bearvault so the theft might go unnoticed.

Our lifestyle was so arduous I knew I wouldn’t be able to persist very long, so I desperately sought out easier alternatives. After a couple days, I realized that there was a foot path that seemed to be paralleling our northward migration. The path made travel much easier. After following the path for a couple of days, we came upon a little store called “Vermillion Valley Resort.” After kenneling Jay, I went to the restaurant for my first hot meal in several days. I met a waitress there named Olive. I guess I kind of spilled my guts to her about my unfortunate plight. Olive was very helpful. She showed me a barrel full of items discarded by hikers, and I was able to procure an old frame pack. I purchased a bunch of food and strapped it to the frame.

By the time we made it to Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite National Park, I had Jay pretty well trained. He didn’t seem to mind carrying our stuff as long as I fed him a Snickers Bar now and then. Although our situation had improved, I was still intent on getting out of the woods and returning to the comforts of my home. I made arrangements with a mule wrangler to employ Jay for the remainder of the summer. I planned to retrieve him in September so he could hibernate at home. Jay acted a bit strange when I led him toward the stables. Just before I handed his reins to the wrangler, he broke loose and began clawing the nearest tree. It wasn’t long, however, until the wrangler had Jay safely secured in a stable. “We’ll use him for packing supplies to our backcountry camps” he said. “I don’t think he would be suitable for giving rides to tourists though.”

So here I am, riding a bus towards home. I feel like I had some quality time with Jay. I’m sure he’ll be happy in his new home. At least he’ll be a lot safer there than he was in the wilderness. Anyway, my main concern now is how to handle Daniel when I get home.