On 7/6/05 2:45 PM, in article , "Tom
Nakashima" wrote:


"Wolfgang" wrote in message
...
"I have never been lost, but I will admit to being confused for several
weeks."--Daniel Boone

Wolfgang
who, while no match for the peerlessly peripatetic explorer, has certainly
covered SOME of the same ground.
I used to work with Ron Baggs (electrical engineer), we called him the
"Mountain Man" Every year his wife would drop him off somewhere in the
Sierra mountains, and two weeks later pick him up at a meeting point
somewhere in the Sierra's. Said he had get far away from city life. No
tent, no mat, no money, just a sleeping bag and a little bit of food and
water. He always met his wife at the pick-up point.

*** The train was passing through the San Francisco Mountains in
northwestern Arizona.* The conversation was left to Mr. Muir, in
acknowledgment of his superior powers of entertainment and instruction.* It
drifted naturally on to mountain tramping, and Mr. Muir told of a walk he
took around Mt. Shasta several years ago.* "I was stopping at Sisson's" he
said, "and one morning I thought I'd take a walk, so I put on my hat and
started.* As I went down the path to the gate, Mrs. Sisson called after me
to ask how long it would be before I would be back.* 'O, I don't know,' I
said, 'not very long, I guess.'* 'Will you be back to luncheon?' she asked.*
'I expect so,' I said, and went on.* After I had got along a bit I concluded
to walk up to the timber-line and back again.* So I started off up the
mountain side.* I soon found that I could not go up directly, as I had
expected, as there were long gulches full of snow ahead, around which I had
to make detours before I could proceed.* I kept repeating this performance,
intent on getting up, until it was growing dusk before I realized what time
it was.* But I was used to being caught out so I simply got on the lee side
of a big log, made a fire, and went to sleep on a pile of leaves.* In the
morning I soon reached the timber-line.* Then I noticed some new snow
formations near the summit, and I concluded to go on up.* I made the ascent
and got back to the timber-line again by about nightfall of the second day.*
It was snowing, so I made a bigger fire and lay up closer to my log
shelter.* When I awoke in the morning I was covered with snow, but I wasn't
uncomfortably cold.* But I concluded I would work down to a little lower
level and continue on around the mountain.* By this time I began to feel a
little 'gone' from lack of food.* I've often spent two days without anything
to eat and even felt better for it; but the third day is getting toward the
point of being too much.* As I tramped along I thought I saw smoke.* I
stopped and watched it for a long time to make sure that it wasn't a ribbon
of cloud.* When I was sure it was smoke, I worked toward it, and in about an
hour I came on a Mexican sheep-herders' camp.* After a lot of signaling and
gesticulating, I made them understand that I was very hungry, and at last
they got me up a meal.* I spent the night with them, and the next day
continued my march around the mountain, taking some bread and coffee from
the camp.* For three days I went on without seeing anybody.* On the seventh
day I completed the circuit of the mountain, and about noon I sauntered up
the walk to Sisson's, as if I had just come in from a half-hour's stroll.*
Mrs. Sisson saw me and called out, 'Well, Mr. Muir, do you call this a short
walk?* Where have you been?* I've had a guide out searching for you.'* 'O, I
just took a little walk: I went around the base of the mountain.* But I got
back in time for lunch, didn't I?'* I had been gone seven days and had
walked a hundred and twenty miles.

From: "A Conversation with John Muir." World's Work [London, England] Nov.
1906, pp. 8249-8250.

http://www.siskiyous.edu/library/sha...nversation.htm