I’m glad I didn’t just take the day off while the group hiked Lovers Lane trail. I’m glad there were people who saw me hiking…even though I didn't go on the full hie and I missed the waterfall. I’m also glad that I have accepted reality... I may not belong on a hiking trip like the ones I’ve enjoyed before, and I’ve learned on this trip what I can do.
Back at the hot springs, I go out to the hottest of the mineral pools. There’s some debate about the meaning of Sol Duc. One story says the Quileute Indian name for the Sol Duc hot springs is si'bi', “stinky place”. Another story claims Sol Duc is an Indian word for "sparkling water".
What we do know is that in the 1880s an early settler-- Theodore Moritz-- staked a claim, built cedar-log tubs and managed to attract people who came to the healing waters. After Moritz’s death in 1909, timber company owner Michael Earles bought the land and built an elegant hotel and a road from Lake Crescent. The hotel was destroyed in a fire only a few years later, but the springs continue to attract people searching for that unique mineral-spring healing.
I guess that’s what I’m doing. The minerals leave a slick residue on my skin that reminds me of the Dead Sea. A couple of people from my trip and I boil ourselves for a bit and then cool off. After doing this a few times, I decide I am no more agile and flexible than I was when I came into the pools, and I have had quite enough of the stinky soak. Off to the showers and then to the van.
But there is no van. I know I'm not late... perhaps I'm a little too early? But where is the van? Turns out somebody had left a cell phone on the trail and they’d driven as close as possible to the point they thought they'd find it ...and someone dashed up to the trail, and rescued the phone.
Cell phone? Aaaaaahh -- is vacation coming to a close?
When references to electronic devices begin, it seems likely.
But we still have a little more time... and we’re off to Lake Crescent.
No comments:
Post a Comment