The cow channel
It’s a mark of how relaxing a backpacking trip can be when you spend two hours sitting in camp watching the cow channel.
That was what was on last night as we sat across from a hillside coated with about a hundred head of cattle. We had soup and ate trail mix and peanut butter and jelly on Wheat Thins and watched cows move from left to right, down to up, bellowing so loudly it sounded like someone was being strangled in the next room. Who knew cows made so many different sounds–not just moos? There was the car horn, the scream, the pathetic wail when some cow fell asleep and missed her posse moving down the hill to the next feed spot.
Then the action really picked up when a huge thunderstorm moved in, and a lone cowboy and his cow dogs showed up to push the cows off screen for a while. Then the cowboy went back to his camp or the green room or wherever, and the cows he had just herded toward some sort of foresty shelter came right back and stood there in the rain screaming and honking and mooing.
So much fun.
Not fun was the fact that Bear treats cow pies as a snackbar, tearing off strips of dried turd like it’s beef jerky. And horse turds! Man, the delicacy! And they all come pre-digested, so a dog can just keep pooping and pooping all day. It was like a week at the doggie spa getting nothing but high-colonics.
But maybe I’ve said too much.
The backpacking was superb. We were in the West Elks Wilderness outside Crested Butte, Colorado, where we went almost three out of the five days without seeing another human being. That’s good times, as far as we’re concerned. Here’s a little taste of the scenery, with a mountain formation called The Castles behind us:
Backpacking is one of those methodical, rhythmic activities that allow your mind to wander all over here and creation. We’d hike for six to nine hours every day, and that leaves a lot of time for unencumbered brain play. I plotted my next novel, revisited a few hundred memories I’ve been meaning to dissect, got a lot of different songs stuck in my head and had to hear those from morning to night (why In Your Eyes? I have no idea).
And then the sweetest thing of all is to come back to civilization and take that first shower. I’d be lying if I said it was anything short of bliss. No matter how much trouble you go to to stay clean, your hair is still one big grease pit, and you feel like you’ve been conducting science experiments in your underwear.
But maybe I’ve said too much.
Then our tradition is to go out for a big fancy meal and savor eating something fresh and cooked by someone else–food without the extra twigs and dirt mixed in. And water that comes straight from the tap, instead of having to be treated or filtered. Whoever thought of that?
I wasn’t a camping girl growing up–it was one of those things I did to impress my boyfriend enough to make him want to marry me. Usually you stop doing those things once the deal is sealed (right?), but it turns out I actually love backpacking. I love the exertion and solitude and scenery. And let me tell you, NOTHING is better than falling asleep at night with a warm dog at the foot of your tent. Try it and see.
The thing is, idleness doesn’t suit me at all. If I’m home, I like to be writing, reading, e-mailing, catching up on people’s blogs, exercising, taking care of the activities of daily living–you know, the usual.
So to force myself into a different tempo, I have to do things like this–drive to another state, stuff a bunch of home-dried meals in my pack, go out on the trail with the husband and dog. Then I can finally stop all the regular chatter in my head, and make room for something else. (Why did it have to be Sting’s If I Ever Lose My Faith in You all Monday? I have no idea.)
I know backpacking and camping aren’t for everyone. Duh. My friend Michele is off on a 5-day yoga cruise to the Caribbean right now. Same sort of notion: get away from your routine, put yourself in different scenery, load up on a bunch of exercise.
Is it just me, or don’t you think that family vacations and trips to Disneyland and jaunts to New York just don’t give you the same thing? To really clear your mind, you need to get away from so much noise and conversation–even if the activities are amusing. Haven’t we all had that experience of having to rest after a vacation? We’re overstimulated by catching up with people we haven’t seen in a while, or by having to stick to some insane schedule just so we can pack in all the fun.
I want to know what other head-clearing activities are out there. Maybe it’s a day skiing, with the cold wind on your face, riding the ski lift with strangers you don’t have to entertain. Or maybe it’s taking a few days off of work just to sit home and read. I’m sure there are more possibilities than I know.
So enough about me–let’s hear what you’ve got.
Technorati Tags: Backpacking, Camping, Hiking, Colorado, Crested Butte, Dogs, Backpacking with Dogs, Cows, Recreation, Vacations
August 24th, 2006 at 9:44 am
Glad to see you back,Robin. I am so not the outdoorsy type but you do make backpacking look glamorous there:)
For my head clearing activity,just going out to a movie and/or shopping by myself does it for me. You get to take your time about it and not have to debate with anyone about being early for the show(hey,I like the trailers!).
August 24th, 2006 at 1:01 pm
okay, let’s get one thing straight, you said WAY too much.
a couple observations on your recent recreational activities. who are we kidding?–”hiking” is simply a tarted up word for “walking around outside to kill time and feel all superior and smug about it.” backpacking is simply a tarted up word for “hiking with a bunch of s*** on you back so you can feel that much more superior and smug.” camping (ditto, fishing)is an excuse for being as lazy-assed as a person can possibly be (as your post so clearly demonstrates) in a socially acceptable, even laudable, fashion. all of these so-called activities disrupt the enviornment, bother the birds and put bears at risk for being shot, if they’re not fast enough to get you first.
you’ll have to excuse me if i’m just too considerate to in engage in, or condone, this kind of destructive and disruptive behavior. (well confession here, i do fish, but only as an excuse to drink, not to feel all smug and superior.)
i glad i got that off my chest, i’m off to the spa–ta!
August 24th, 2006 at 5:40 pm
Head-clearing activity, well now that reminds me of the 2 summers my partner and I participated in the RAGBRAI (Des Moines Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa) close to 500 miles biking in 7 days. Each year the ride starts in a town bordering the Missouri River and ends in a town on the banks of the Mississippi River.
To anyone who thinks that Iowa is a flat state, I say ‘eat it’. These were grueling days of riding up and down rolling hills in the middle of July in relentless humidity along with 6000 plus other bike riders. Why the torture? This was something I wanted to accomplish in my 40’s just to say I can do this.
Once I got into the rhythm of the day’s ride and accepted the fact that I would be one of the last riders into the designated town that evening and that I would always be taking a cold shower in the local high school or YMCA, then my head clicked into another gear. Yes, my butt hurt, my knees were stinging but I was free out on a country road and could think any thoughts I wanted to. I could ride next to another slow rider or just enjoy the solitude in my mind and think how lucky I was to have the physical energy to do this ride.
My partner and I started out together in the morning and we managed to eat snacks together along the way where gracious, friendly Iowans would put out a spread of baked goodies and cold drinks on tables in their front lawns and wave to us to stop in their yards. Yeh, we put on several pounds after 1 week, but how could we resist?
Back to the starting out together in the mornings, we road together until noon, then I rode the rest of the day with the slow riders and my partner cranked up his gears and covered the rest of the miles much faster than I. It was during those hours alone that I knew this would be an experience that I would draw on when I returned to the real world and was feeling whimpy or overcome by other challenges. If I could sit on this bike seat for 12 hrs. a day, then I could handle just about anything.
August 24th, 2006 at 9:23 pm
Robin, I’m really glad you had such a great time . . . BUT–
When you start comparing the wonders of nature to a TV show you really need to consider throwing the damn thing out. You have been INDOCTRINATED, girl!
But maybe I’ve said too much.
August 24th, 2006 at 9:39 pm
Your music selection beats mine. For some reason I tend to get The Apache stuck in my head. Try that one on for size next time you’re in the wilderness for a week and a half.
In New Zealand, you don’t have to treat the water. Cool, huh?
August 25th, 2006 at 8:08 am
Diana–what’s The Apache? And I never heard that you don’t have to treat the water in NZ–what a luxury! That place has been on my Life List for a long time. Maybe I need to go sooner rather than later.
BJ–yes, everything relates to TV. Sorry. I fully admit to the indoctrination. What can I say?
MJG–what a great experience! Thanks for sharing. I can’t imagine being on a bike that long, but the rest of it sounds great.
Annette–not feeling all smug and superior when I have to walk into the hotel to get my room, and I’m looking and smelling like the kind of person I avoid on the street. But now, sitting at home again, clean and dainty, yes–I feel awfully good that I did that.
And Lady T, I completely agree with you. Love to go to movies by myself, and especially need to be there in time for every trailer. The trailers are as much of the experience as the movie itself.
September 1st, 2006 at 10:48 am
Robin - Glad you had a great time! My “7″ day cruise was amazing. Doing yoga on a 245 foot sail boat is challenging….not to mention beautiful. The most memorable moment - sitting in spinal twist on the deck, looking over the ocean and seeing 100+ dolphins swimming along side us. Amazing - a vision to keep tucked away!
September 1st, 2006 at 10:51 am
Michele, that sounds too amazing for words. A real movie moment.