Wet (Behind the Ears)

At the moment I write this, or rather, awkwardly thumb it out, though hopefully not at the time I post it (since I currently have no data), I am feeling very much alone. I spend all day biking alone, and that's easy enough for me, but having that social contact at night when the riding is done means more than I may have realized. I've had a frustrating time the last few hours, and with no present companionship and no cell reception, I am really feeling the lack of anyone to bitch to about it.

I swear that I read Lake Quinalt has hiker/biker sites, cheaper than the regular ones. But when I got here, and biked the extra half mile in the rain down to the lodge to register, I was informed that I was apparently wrong. For me to set up my little tent on one of the numerous unused campgrounds cost me a ludicrous $25, more than I have ever paid for camping. And what did that cost buy me? Well, the receptionist couldn't tell me what campsites had good shelter or high ground when forced to select one without seeing them, so it didn't buy me good service. There's trash all over my campsite, so it didn't pay for someone cleaning up. I don't have WiFi, and while the bathroom has outlets, there's no electricity currently running to them, so it's not paying for utilities. The pad I set up my tent on is full of rocks that made setting up a real pain, so it didn't pay for much maintenance of the site. Obviously, it didn't pay for my tent or sleeping bag or any other gear. ...So $25 paid for the honor of using a small patch of Ill maintained ground to pitch my tent.

...In the rain, of course, which just made it so much worse. While I've set up my tent to weather many a storm, never have I had to do it while it was actively raining. And having not had to set it up at all in quite some time, I was a little slower at it than I should have been. Everything was already wet and dirty by the time I just got set up, so I don't want to think about the mess there will be to clean up in the morning. That's my most hated element of camping. ...Right up there with paying to rent a tiny plot of ground for a night. Yes, Lake Quinault is really pretty, and I appreciate that. But paying twice my daily rent cost for the right to camp somewhere pretty is not okay with me.

But, my rant upon that matter put aside, as well as my current loneliness, today has ultimately been a good day. Sure, I got rained on off and on throughout the day, slipping in and out of my jacket as it alternated between rain and shine, but it didn't downpour, the wind didn't blow too hard, it didn't rain continuously all day, and when it hailed a little, I almost took amusement in it. I met another cyclist, and that was neat, he came up a hill behind me while I was stopped to eat. We chatted a little. I told him how I was headed for LA, and he told me he was just on a week trip around the peninsula. Then on his much better bike and with his lighter load, he sped on by me. He took more stops than I did though, and ultimately I passed him at a diner, before he ultimately caught up with me one more time along the Native American reservation. He said he was camping at Lake Quinalt as well, but I didn't see him again. Maybe he found the supposed hiker/biker site or something, who knows. He could go so much faster than me, and I couldn't help feeling jealous at the extra time it allowed him to stop and see things. But I did manage to contact the bike shop in Hoquiam, the next town on my way, and found I should indeed be able to get a replacement crankset there to hopefully solve my chain slippage, so that should make me get on just a little better at least.

I'm listening to the rain come down hard and heavy on my tent. Now that it's actually all set up, I should stay dry in here. But I still rather hate being in a tent when it rains, thinking what flimsy fabric separates me from wetness, worrying if I messed up somewhere in my haste and water will channel under, just the nuisance of the noise it makes, all of it. I like camping, I really do, just when it's dry.

But for all the frustrations this day has had, I certainly wouldn't take it back. You know why I do this, and take all the struggles that inevitably come my way? Because today, in the rainy wet I raced down a winding road through the rainforest, reached the bottom, saw the sun suddenly burst bright and warm from behind the clouds, and found myself laughing with joy to be alive. Moments like that make all the hard stuff worthwhile. I'm still wet behind the ears, but I think I'm starting to warm up.