Clearly my new Indian name needs to be "Walks with Wolf Bone Collector". Last year, my Indian name was "Runs with Bighorn Sheep", but I am officially changing it for 2023. If you remember reading my story from December 2022 when Josie the Wolf dug up a deer leg out of the snow and proceeded to carry it along with us on our hike, you will enjoy today's story as well. But let me start at the beginning.
So I have been having Spring Fever! I am feeling officially done with snow and just wanting to feel some soil beneath my boots and to start watching wildflowers bloom. This last week as it has been snowing every single day at my home, I have been racking my brain for where I could go to get away from the snow for this hike. I needed a break from the white stuff, much to the Arctic Wolf's despair. Luckily, I could feel God nudging me all week in the right direction of which trail to get out on. As I drove closer toward this hike however, it started to rain. Not a little sprinkle either, but a full out downpour of giant wet drops that I knew would soak us through within minutes. I did not allow myself to grow discouraged as I felt that the rain would surely end as we drove farther east into the Gorge. Generally when you hit Hood River, that is the dividing line where rain ceases. But cease it did not. In fact as I passed the small towns of Bingen and Lyle, the rain surge actually increased. When I finally pulled over into the trailhead parking area and turned my engine off, my heart was indeed discouraged. My truck was so nice and warm with the CD player belting out some great Aaron Lewis songs. It was all I could do to force myself out into the cold, bitter rain. I really just wanted to take a nap in my warm cocoon, and I knew the girls did too. But God was whispering into my heart that I needed to get miserable to experience the beauty and joy to come. "I trust you God", is all I said as I stood in the rain strapping my gear on. I did move my gun straight into a dry bag on my tactical belt to protect it from the onslaught. Within a mere mile from the trailhead though I was rewarded when I found my first treasure pushing up through the damp soils and grasses.
The very first wildflowers of the 2023 season were here! Be-still my heart I thought!! I have found what my soul was longing for already. Feeling lighter in the rain from this simple discovery, we continued our ascent up onto the plateau's and cliff's overlooking the canyon of the central Columbia River Gorge. As our elevation increased during our climb, the rain briefly turned over to snow. I swear I could see the wolf smiling. But then I realized that she had something else on her face besides the joy of seeing snow flakes.
That little black dot on the side of her face is our first tick of the 2023 season. UGH!! It is too early for ticks I thought. They plague us something fierce during spring hiking, despite the fact that the girls take monthly tick preventatives! But knowing that I have to embrace the good with the bad, I picked the little bugger off before he could dive down under her thick coat of fur and we continued on. One of the best views was about to come and I didn't want to miss it through the stormy clouds and tick picking distractions.
As we climbed higher and higher up from one level of plateaus to another, the trail snaking through the grasses, the weather took a toll on the path at our feet. What is normally a wonderful firm path that meanders gently through grasses and trees, became slick with thick mud that would stick to my boots, oozing up over their sides and splattering the backs of my pant legs. It felt like I was trying to hike through thick, deep pudding. I was slipping and sliding with each step. Even when the mud stopped and I was back on rocky paths, there was so much mud stuck to me that I kept sliding. I would try to scrap my boots off on rocks, downed tree trunks and even the grass, but almost as soon as I could clean them, we would turn a corner and there would be more mud.
The irony of almost wishing I was back on snow was not lost on me during those muddy miles! But one of my very favorite areas on this trail was about to come, so I focused on that. You see once you get to the top of the highlands of this trail system, there is a beautiful forest unlike most you get to experience in our area. None of the oak trees here grow very big or tall and they are nicely spaced with minimal underbrush. Every single time and season that I am here, it feels like a fairy forest to me. The trail undulates through the oaks feeling more like you are on a fabulous roller coaster than a mere boot path. I often want to trail run in these sections due to the euphoric trance these forests put me in. I remember once reading a review someone had written about this trail and how they felt these forests of oaks were incredibly creepy and terrifying. They couldn't wait to get out of them. I have never, ever been able to understand that person. Each time I hike here, I think of that and imagine that those lines must have been written by a city girl. Last year I did a backpacking trip up in here because I find it so magical and wanted to sleep in the moonlight in the midst of the oaks. But that will have to be a story for another day. For now, just look at the beauty of my fairy forest!
This is of course in winter. These trees really come to life in spring, summer and fall! This is an area that also comes to life with wildflowers in the spring. Surely that is the beauty of doing trails in all seasons. The privilege of watching them change and feeling the ebb and flow of life throughout the year in these places is something I find very special. Life is always moving. If you look closely through this next section of forest, you might spot two deer who were cautiously watching us as we hiked past them.
Josie loves being able to stop and survey the land. She has taught me how much I miss when always moving nonstop. So we stop to watch the land around us now and see what is going on. Josie melted into the landscape here just like wolf camouflage. If it wasn't for all the darned ticks in the tall grasses, I would have loved to have laid down and taken a nap right here. The rains and snows had finally stopped and dare I say, I almost felt warm!
While this is a trail where we always spot live deer walking around, it is also a trail where we often run across kill zones. Today was no exception. In fact, we came across two different kill zones. The first one I saw coming and was able to keep Josie out of it. But the second one she was on before I knew what was even going on. As soon as I realized that she had something in her mouth and was trying to hide it from me, my gut knew what it was. However, unlike that last time in December when this occurred, I fully embraced my wolf and her need to be a bone collector. I recalled how I was so embarrassed last time that I might have to explain to another hiker why my wolf was carrying a deer leg in her mouth. But this time I was not feeling the need to make excuses for her. She is who she is and I am proud of her. That is right....my wolf likes to carry body parts for miles through the woods and I am okay that.
But what was the funniest part of all was that as she carried this bone for miles through the forest, and as the trail was closely weaving in and out of the trees, the bone would start to hit each passing tree trunk. "Clunk, clunk, clunk" went the sound of the bone against the trees. I got the giggles so badly that even the wolf looked at me sheepishly as if not knowing what to do. You know it is bad when a wolf looks sheepish. So that gave me even more fits of giggles alone on the hillsides. Oh, what a day we were having!
I tried to explain to Josie Lynne that perhaps she should carry the leg in the middle and not at the end, but I think she was afraid if she tried to readjust things that I would take her prize away. So off we went with the giant deer wishbone hanging out to one side.
After several miles of carrying our new friend with us, Josie did something that truly surprised me. As we were descending down a short hill through the forest where fallen leaves were covering the ground, Josie stepped off the trail, and while still holding the leg in her mouth, she started to fiercely dig a large hole. She dug and dug using both front feet until she was beneath the layer of leaves and grasses and had dug a pit in the pungent damp and dark soil. Nova and I both stood silently watching her. Once her hole was large enough, that wolf placed her treasured leg into it and started to cover it up. When she realized that part of the bone was sticking up out of the hole, she stopped, readjusted that leg to fully be laying flat, and then started the burial process over again. She wanted to take her time to do it right and who was I to stop her. I watched in awe at how meticulous she was and how important this seemed to her. When she was done, you would have never known what lay beneath the ground here. She had even pushed some of the leaves back over the top of the soil with her nose so the ground didn't even look disturbed. Then she looked up at me quite expectantly. Both girls stood silent and absolutely still waiting for me to do my part. They clearly needed me to say a graveside prayer.
I cleared my throat and gave it a go. "God, please bless this dearly departed deer. May you grant them eternal peace and rest with you now. May your light always shine upon them as they walk with you in Heaven. Bless my wolf who has so carefully given this dear deer a proper and honorable burial. Amen."
After our prayers were said, I looked up and was immensely thankful that this was not the moment for another hiker to round the corner and hear my prayer. I could never have explained that one! Of course not long after the burial, Josie gave me her best innocent face and told me she was ready for her lunch. So we stopped at our next viewpoint to have a snack and drink. It was only after I shared my spoon and bladder bag water spigot with her that I remembered that she had just been carrying a bone in her mouth. I just shook my head and knew this was the life of living with a wolf.
The views were fabulous as we ate and took a break to watch and listen to the trains traveling far below us in the Gorge. Josie seems to love watching those long trains that look like snakes moving up and down along the river. We also watched the clouds rise and fall and bank along Oregon's ridges across the river from us. We could easily see the snowy peaks on the other side of the canyon, but from where we stood, it felt like spring. I took a deep breath and just enjoyed the moment.
As we returned to the truck, the sun came out and we of course had to stop and do a little sun bathing. After weeks and weeks of hiking in deep snow, on days where the temperatures never got above freezing and my hands went painfully numb on every single hike, it was such a pleasure to see blue sky, feel the sun on my skin and the grass beneath my feet. I realized that had we not gotten out of that truck in the rain storm and started our hike in misery, I would have missed this entire day. I could feel God saying to me that this is life. Sometimes we have misery, but then beauty will follow. Sometimes we have to do things we don't want to do, but we will reap the rewards of this. Life will be uncomfortable, but if we stick to it and have the mental resilience to push through the discomfort, it will make all the difference in the world.
Now I will admit that I had to remind myself to embrace misery even when we were driving home after this hike. As usual I was picking out M&M's from a ziploc bag next to my lap in the console. I like to suck on them one at a time to keep me awake for the long drive home after an even longer hike. But on this particular drive, I kept looking down to find ticks scurrying up my legs toward my face. So I would use the same two fingers to grab the ticks and throw them out my window while driving. I figured that as long as I didn't accidentally throw an M&M out the window and put a tick in my mouth all was good. That would surely be misery to mix the two up!
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