Beautiful hike, a Pika house, and my funny trail name.
"That's your new trail name!" Karen laughed. "Whippet. It fits you to a T. And it's funny."
While hiking this morning, I told Karen our mutual hairdresser calls me a whippet.
"It's apt, funny and insulting all at once," I said. "It makes me laugh." We decided Karen's trail name is "Compass" because she has an perfect sense of direction.
On the Pacific Crest Trail, traditionally thru-hikers have trail names. Either hikers make up their own trail name, or a trail name is bestowed by other hikers.
This morning, Karen and I hiked up to Marion Lake and Clara Lake. Flowers stretched high to reach the sun under tall trees. We hiked 3.7 miles with 1,236' of elevation gain.
Schools of small trout glided in the shallows of Clara Lake, 6,000', where we ate lunch. I packed out fishing line that fisherman left behind.
Surprisingly close to the trail, we ran across a big Pika nest. Pika gathered and mounded up nearby plants for winter food (Lupine, Indian Paintbrush, etc.) You can see the dark, round entrance to the left of the rock.
We were delighted to see a little Pika running around. Pika are an endangered species.
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Love your stories of nature.
What is it with people leaving stuff laying around the wilderness? I read a book, the name of which eludes me at the moment, about a guy who built a cabin for himself in the remote wilds of Canada. The only other humans were at a hunting lodge on the other side of the large lake he lived on, which was occupied seasonally by city people who came up to hunt. He was constantly finding discarded gear and food containers and parts of game carcasses they hadn't properly disposed of, which he then buried or scavanged for his own use. Pissed him off, and rightly so.
mordant
Level 8
July 25, 2019
1
I carry grocery bags in my pack to pack out people's litter.
It appalls me when dog owners leave their dog's poop in a plastic bag broiling beside the trail. What do they think, the Poop Fairy will magically clean up after them? I refuse to touch it.
@LiterateHiker That happens a lot on the walking trail behind our house. Have had exactly the same thought. In fact I checked to see if there was some social contract I didn't know about where the parks department would sweep through every couple of days and pick those up. The answer, predictably: no.
JeffMesser
Level 8
July 25, 2019
2
Yeah, I was thinking that too
More photos from today's hike.
Marion Lake, lower than Clara Lake.
Yellow Arnica flower reaches for the sun under high evergreen trees.
Red Quince flowers.
LiterateHiker
Level 9
July 24, 2019
1
I love your pictures and stories! So pretty ! I've seen a pika when I have traveled and hike in the mountains - but never knew about their houses.
Ohub
Level 7
July 24, 2019
1
@Chub
Thank you. Pikas live in rock piles and are perfectly camouflaged. They are about seven inches long.
I love the idea of having a trail name, kind of like a totem.
In hula, we are often given a hula name, like a totem, that speaks to our strengths or personality traits.
I rather like names that are given to us when we are full grown, at the crest of our potential, to remind us of those strengths and talents others have recognized in us. In this way, we feel we are the main character in our own legend!
Julie808
Level 8
July 24, 2019
3
Thanks for sharing this. I was born in Hawaii but our family left when I was 3.
Have you ever had a pica come up to you and rob food?
dalefvictor
Level 8
July 24, 2019
1
Chipmunks steal food, not Pikas. Pikas are related to rabbits.
Two years ago I met a college student from Finland who was hiking the Appalachian Trail (he covered the first 1000 miles in only 5 weeks). His trail name was Bambi Magnet because he was stalked by a deer when he hiked the PCT a couple years before. I have met a lot of thru-hikers on the AT with all sorts of unique names. Another one that stands out was Great Pee which was the name of a young man who said he had been resting beside the trail in Virginia when a Great Dane pissed on him. Whippet sounds like a good name for you.
ATDayHiker
Level 7
July 24, 2019
2
Buttercup
Level 8
July 24, 2019
3
Love your picture of a Pika! Thank you.
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