Mile 1629.9 to 1658.

As I lay in my tent with the rain pitter-pattering outside and occasional thunder rolling off in the distance, I couldn’t help but recall the podcast I listened to earlier in the day. It was the August 8th edition of  The Daily, which is published by the New York Times. It covered the impact of the civil war and Islamic state rule on Syrian children.

To be honest, it was quite a shock to go from listening to almost no news for the past 3 1/2 months to the current events being covered in this podcast. Dr. Rajia Sharhan, who treats displaced children from Syria, described how the children she sees are afraid to go outside because they think everything can kill them. That’s not hyperbole. They literally think that everything outside their home can kill them. As the lightening flashed and the thunder rolled outside my tent, I imagined that artillery was being fired and exploding in the distance. I remembered the frightening 40 minutes Bedazzled and I stood outside as thunder shook us and hailed pelted us. What if that was everyday of your childhood, but instead of 40 minutes it was all day?

Did you know that 50% of displaced Syrian abults know a child that has stopped speaking or developed a speech impediment? Dr. Sharhan talked about giving exams and vaccinations to children who show no feeling or reaction to receiving a shot. She is afraid that the country is losing a whole generation. That they are losing their children.

What am I doing out here? As I lay there listening to the thunder and sound of rain falling on my tent, I couldn’t help but think what a self-indulgent activity thru-hiking  is. Children are being shell shocked into silence and becoming shells of themselves. What is the world doing to itself? Where is the glassy eyed dreamer that we all had inside ourselves? S/he seems to have gotten lost in the 70 hour work weeks, cocktail hours, and race to build their own McMansion.

After a restless sleep, I awoke to a clear sky and mostly dry campsite. Bedazzled and I packed up and set off along the ridge. Funny how much a place can change in a few hours. Yesterday, we were running for our lives and today we were sauntering around.

As we came around a bend, we saw a sea of clouds in the valley down below and our breaths caught in our throats. Such beauty. Nature is and will always be my favorite artist.

Over the next 16 miles, we descended from our campsite at 7,000 feet to just above 1,000. Luckily, it was gradual and our knees weren’t punished too severely. We picked wild raspberries along the way and followed the Grider Creek much of the time. It was a peaceful section of trail that reminded me of hiking back on the east coast, where you are in a green tunnel much of the time.

As we finished the descent, the trail did something it hasn’t done much of. It turned into a road, and we road walked for 6 miles into Seiad Valley. As we walked along to the General Store, which is the only store in town, we couldn’t help but notice the State of Jefferson signs all over. I am not too sure what it is all about, but I think the people want to secede from California and form their own state. I say we let them.

After a liter of chocolate milk and a pint of strawberry ice cream, Bedazzled and I set off on a 4,500 foot climb and made it about 2/3 of the way up before pulling over at a campsite. Rhino, a female hiker from South Africa, joined us and we had some nice conversation. She told us about how she bought a van and toured the USA in 1992 for 6 months. She even stayed in New York City while sleeping in the van with her friend. She keeps coming back to the USA for the hiking. Her two favorite states are Utah and Arizona.

Tomorrow, we plan to cross the border into Oregon. To think that we have been hiking in California this whole time!