78 solitary miles from the last gas station
aka burns junction
& 52 miles off the pavement
along the foot of 65 mile long steens mtn
an awesome stretch of national park caliber beauty
i saw my first human beings
this was at a place called andrews
almost directly under the headspring of the blitzen
indeed they proved to be the only people or sign of them in over 100
miles in all
she waved so i waved back & stopped & jumped out of the truck
& he came to meet me at the front gate
hot springs
i asked for first
you just passed one 8 miles back
for starters
tho he added 2 more before i could stop him
this first one proved to be a beauty when i finally did find it
a wild free public yet of course private bath under the snow capped
mountain alongside an empty road
i fancied it was electro rather than only geothermal
by its location at the foot of this lightning rod
a cathode to the anode upstairs i imagined
but i continued to ask him about the headspring of blitzen river
winter came early up there this year
& the roads are already impassable
so the blm has sealed the whole mountain off
gates closed
he said
would it be insane to try to walk in anyway
i persisted
after a pause
yes because of sudden blizzards
so i thanked him for both saving & cleaning me
later i checked the access road anyway
& indeed a sign announced just what he had already told me
i couldnt even reach my previous high water mark
but at least i lived again to try again
--- In
BoundaryPoint@yahoogroups.com, "aletheiak" <aletheiak@y...>
wrote:
>
> just ducking back into western civ one last time here
> so as to get the best available maps & weather report this time
> & also to report in that the try will pick up where it left off &
> will at least endeavor to keep the river in view as much as
practical
> while also continuing upward as far as possible by truck on the
jeep
> trails & then by foot ultimately
> to drink the headspring
>
> snow is predicted
> & thunder & lightning are called for
>
> delorme & the usgs have both proved hilariously misleading around
> there in the past
> so i will also deign to ask directions & road conditions of
whatever
> local maidens at least whom i may find
>
> but the population is roughly zero for many miles in all directions
>
>
> i did ask the librarian here if she realized ada county is the only
> palindromic county in america
> when she explained this is the canyon county library
>
> dohh
> & i would give dona ana a nod also
> or half a nod anyway
> i added
> saluting her too
> regardless
>
>
> but anyway
> just to get you up to speed
> which is however still very slow
> the following is the nutshell summary & last instalment of a series
> delivered in real time as usual
>
> message 4348 exactly 3 years old tomorrow actually
>
> for maps or further data
> good luck
>
> --- In BoundaryPoint@yahoogroups.com, "m donner" <maxivan82@h...>
> wrote:
> > what i did accomplish there is
> > began
> > survived
> > drank it
> > reached the antepenultimate bridge
> > was sensible enough not to proceed when the requisite weather
> failed to show
> > up
> > learned the only correct way in
> > learned what i need in order to make it to the last bridge &
beyond
> > invented moonlight sawanabori
> > realized river sources are as real a boundary point as can be
> > learned the locals only call & write it as blitzen
> > & that the donner is silent
> > incredibly
> > except for the dept of the interior & me
> > & that the und is also only written on maps
> > made a date with myself to return
> > for steens mtn too & some hot springs
> > which i also realized are as real & hot as points can be
> > & which i also skipped in doubt of my gas supply
> > m
> >
> > _________________________________________________________________
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