Alaska: Day 15: 7-20-93: Last Day With Dave

Can you say "insomnia," boys and girls? (I knew that you could.) I did not sleep well at all last night -- I tossed and turned, my eyes wide open, until at least 3:30 a.m., before eking out a fitful 4 hour repose. (I hope this is not indicative of a typical camping night's slumber -- I will be spending 9 days in a tent during the Wheelchair Marathon!) Awakened by the sound of Dave unzipping the tent flap, I groggily followed him outside. Blessedly, the black flies of the previous evening had completely disappeared -- only to be replaced by mosquitoes. Damn! I really must have ticked off the Man Upstairs. As I made a mad dash for the repellent, I wondered whether the locust or frog plague would be next.

After an uninspiring, but filling, breakfast of peanut butter sandwiches and apples (washed down with all but the last of my water), Dave and I broke down the tent and were homeward bound. We left at 9:00 and arrived back at the visitor center at 1:00 (If you factor out our rest stops, we hiked at a pace approaching 4 miles an hour -- not a bad clip, considering the terrain.) Thankfully, the hazy sky, which had started threatening us again since the night before, did not rain down on us -- I was pretty sure that 12 miles of hiking through a downpour wouldn't be much fun. The only event of note on the return trip was that we both ran out of water and had to drink from the creek -- even though we had been warned by everyone that it was contaminated with parasites from deer droppings, which would invariably lead to intense diarrhea (as it had previously during my Glacier Bay excursion). We were so parched at the time that a little loose stool and backdoor discomfort seemed a small price to pay to quench our thirst. (Besides, I optimistically hypothesized, maybe I was immune now -- or not, as later events would reveal. I won't get into details -- some things are best left to the imagination!).


-----------------------------------A Scenic Waterfall-----------------------------------

Arriving back at the Waxman residence, I took a shower, threw in some laundry and took a much needed nap. Then Dave made some Chicken Le Orange and we chowed down . . . which brings us to the present -- it's almost 8:00, and Dave has just challenged me to another pool match (I hate to destroy any remaining shreds of this man's ego, but, of course, I took him on it.) I'll keep you posted on the results.

Well, we are back. Shamefully, I must inform you, that after a stunning display of mediocrity at the local billiard parlor, I split a 16 game match with Dave at 8 games apiece. By that time, after 2 1/2 hours worth of pool, we were both too wiped out to play a tie-breaker, so we shook hands and called a truce. I plan to end the night with a little quiet reading before drifting off into La-La Land.

2 comments:

Sue said...

I envy your vocabulary and grammar, I truly do. I suppose I would have as much skill as you had I furthered my education. I did not.

I feel as if I have journeyed with you, especially the part with the water parasites (been there too, my friend, I can sympathise).

I have convinced my husband to start planning a holiday in Alaska for our tenth anniversary (six more years), and also convinced him that if we save the money up sooner, we shall go sooner, sans children.

Sue said...

I wanted to clarify that I did graduate high school, I was just unable to attend secondary at the time. I still plan on doing so in the future, although I am not sure when.