Right, we were sleeping outside the tent and that skunk jumped for Dave’s head, and then chased him around the campsite while he yelled himself hoarse. Five of us crawled into a two-man tent and spent 8 hours listening to the skunks drag our pots out of the fire and go through our packs. It’s not every night you get to wake up in the middle of a Stephen King short story.

There’s a wolf pack on Nootka Island, but I think it’s better behaved — Phil

You and I took a few hikes together as I recall. There was the Olympic beach hike where we pitched our camp in the middle of a nest of skunks. There was also the Lake Waptus trip. As I remember it “Lake” Wapatus was a bit of a misnomer. It should have been named Waptus Swamp. As we got close to the “Lake” the trail gradually disappeared under water. I guess we were determined because we kept going and spent most of a day wading aimlessly in hip deep water while holding our packs over our head. We wound up camping on a small rise in the middle of the “Lake” surrounded by water. To help take the edge off the situation it poured down rain all night and all the next day which gave us plenty of time to rest up in the tent. We waded back to the car parking lot the following day and arrived just as the weather cleared.

Those were good times…

As far as the Nootka Island thing goes, sure I’d do that. kk

Keith’s comment about his days as a ranger in the Olympics reminded me of the trip we took together for my brother’s honeymoon: For reasons that seemed compelling at the time, Dave and Hilary invited our Mom, myself and Keith to Shropshire for the wedding, a couple of days in a friend’s cottage in Wales, and (after out Mom flew back to Seattle) a hike through the Lake District. I remember driving our rental car through Wales while Keith sat in the back seat telling ranger stories, including one that involved a pristine wilderness lake, a hellicopter, an outhouse and a poorly tried lift harnass. He had us laughing so hard that I had to pull over to the shoulder for about 10 minutes until we all calmed down.

Keith — some summer I’d like to get a group together to charter a float plane and
hike Nootka Island
http://www.bcadventure.com/adventure/hiking/articles/nootka/nootka.htm

– best, Phil Austin

based on your attached graphic it appears I could have done more for the environment by pursuing a career in Pirating. Doesn’t that just fry you!? Why don’t the guidance counselors do their jobs and tell us about these things when we’re still young enough to take advantage of the opportunity? I hear it pays good too. jeeez

Hmmm…seems to me that Jimmy Buffet had something to say about that….

A Pirate Looks at Forty
Jimmy Buffett (1974)

“Mother, mother ocean, I have heard you call
Wanted to sail upon your waters since I was three feet tall
You’ve seen it all, you’ve seen it all

Watched the men who rode you switch from sails to steam
And in your belly you hold the treasures few have ever seen
Most of ‘em dream, most of ‘em dream

Yes I am a pirate, two hundred years too late
The cannons don’t thunder, there’s nothin’ to plunder
I’m an over-forty victim of fate
Arriving too late, arriving too late “