Chap. 27 – Baden-Powell and the Bears Activity

Well, I finished my two liters of Mountain Dew first thing this morning…and I regret it. On the way to breakfast, I felt like I was going to collapse. The burping wouldn’t stop!

I started the day in a good mood. I had a nightmare last night that made it hard to get back to sleep, but taking a shower first thing in the morning helped a little. Last night I told everyone that we needed to put the sheets, pillowcases, towels, and pajamas on the front porch according to the check-out instructions, but only a couple remembered the next morning. I was ready to go out to breakfast at 9:15, but I had to spend the next 40 minutes removing the sheets, washing leftover dishes, etc. I felt a bit like the tram maid, which was not a good way to start the morning. Next time I’ll have to be clearer on the morning of before people start to leave.

Giant pile of dirty clothes

Boostie and I finally had breakfast shortly after 10 and I wasn’t very hungry. I ended up not eating until lunch! We returned to the trail and started hiking just before noon. I still wasn’t feeling very well, mainly due to drinking Mountain Dew first thing in the morning. My fault.

Once we reached the water source halfway up Baden-Powell, everyone felt ready to finish the climb. I had my leftover sandwich there and drank some water with my meal. We played a game where we came up with a jingle based on something in our packages. The Australians decided the songs and elements we would use, and mine ended up being Leukotape to the tune of Hey Jude.

«Hey buddy, would you mind
What if I stay a little behind?
It’s starting to look like a big fat grape.
I need to apply some Leukotape.”

All of us at the top of Baden-Powell

That’s what occurred to me. Brilliant, amirite? Anyway, after 41 curves (yes, I counted them), we reached the top of Baden-Powell. Our group took a nice break there to enjoy the views, although it was too foggy to get a good view of Los Angeles in the distance. I could barely make out the horizon. Still cool though!

The night felt much easier and before we knew it, we had arrived at camp. I had Fruit Loops as a pre-dinner snack and SPAM Idaho Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes for dinner. We heard there was a bear at this campground last night hanging around, so we all put our food in the nearby bear box. Let’s hope we don’t wake up to a bear at camp tonight…I have my fingers crossed. I’d like to sleep better tonight!

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