Ok…First of all…it was a darkened sky with wind slamming the
Discovery left and right as we pulled up to a lone track leading to
a closed gate. When out of the rising mist and fog a lone light
shown through to guide me in.
Now, that the story part is done
Day one
Drove in, set up camp around 10PM (Thank you TR for having a list of
attendees available and a guard to let us in at such a late hour) at
Camp Mabey which now holds 2-3x more tents than previously and the
breeze was building (Thank you HLRC and TR). Cracked the first of 22
adult beverages consumed over the weekend and moved near the fire
pit. My friend, a first time Canadian (we'll call him Jordan for
now) brought out some $20 a piece, 3 inch thick White Tuna steaks to
be seared up with that natural flavor only a fire full of leaves and
dropped marshmallows could provide. After fumbling over using the
low cost patented fall apart portable grilling grate large enough to
fit no more than 2 Hebrew Nationals side by side, he managed to get
the nearly pound of tuna flipped. We were going for the single
smoldering log technique which fit tightly underneath the
rudimentary device. Feeling cocky, when offered the tongs the now
confident Jordan was forced with the final and most critical flip.
Upon inserting the serrated spatula, he caught just a little of the
fragile grate and..oh..yes… Humpty Dumpty…it took a big fall! Yes…
that's right first night we lost $40 of food to the ash. Low and
behold we were given an immediate water bottle and encouraged to
rinse those clean….you know, the old 10 second rule!! Believe it or
not, you can't get all the ash off a half seared Tuna. Not to let
all go to waste, we each took a healthy bite. Through the grit and
smokey garnish, the tuna itself was worth every penny. 6 brews later
and nearly a dozen compliments about my gay dog, yes it's a poodle!!
We hit the hay. Word was that a small squall was moving towards the
plateau. Low and behold 20 mins passed…and the trickle started…then
the lightning and the gale force winds…a small temperature drop to
the high 40's…or at least it seemed. Luckily it passed relatively
quickly, as it was only an overcast sky as the camp began it's
muster for the first full day of SCARR.
Day Two
Now, after having slept off the brew consumed the night before in
mourning of the prematurely lost Charley Tuna's, we awoke to a wet
ground and cold some crisp air. Nothing gets you moving between the
sleeping bag and fully dressed faster in my opinion.
A cup of coffee and a bio break later, Jordan and I were on our way
up to the first guided trail ride of the day. We met with a Finland
accented Arto from Texas Rovers who was going to lead us up through
our first of 2 guided trial trips of the weekend. We started with
the CB sync and a general overview of the trails we are going to run
this slightly overcast morning. We started going down through
Solihull, then on to Sierra Skyview and then up to Old Town Trio.
They were very pleasant and moderately difficult.
After which Orto lead us back to the Pavilion, where we could break
for lunch. Friday lunch was the only non breakfast meal we would
have to provide on our own. Jordan and I, in true outback fashion,
jetboiled water in Olympic 100 meter sprint time and dumped it into
an oh so dry backpacker meal. I had an unflavorful Chicken and Rice,
he a wonderfully unaromatic Red Pesto Pasta. Just about half way
through this bag of carbs, the rest of HLRC turned up. As they had
gotten a late start and were just finishing up their morning run. So
full, I even had to refuse one of Doug's famous gourmet salami and
gooey cheese sandwiches, but Jordan couldn't pass after I had talked
them up...and he wasn't disappointed.
At this point, HLRC packed up for some more exploring; Doug, Emma,
Chris C, Clay and Eli, Trey and Mel, Carlson…Dan Chapman from Virginia and his significant other, Tami, came out with us and I
honestly don't remember everything we did….hoping others can fill
this all in….I just know Clay and Trey owe a story at this
point. "In memory of the Diff"
More to come tomorrow…time to get some sleep….
Sam
5090 Richmond Ave. #313 
