It's the first of September and I'm thinking of Frost Valley in winter--perhaps this morning trying to avoid all those autumnal death thoughts I mentioned the other day. I'm glum at summer's end (for many reasons, not all having to do with FV), so my mind likes to leap forward fast. I went hunting among my carousels of 35 mm slides for a scene of snow.After a day-long hike up and back down Fir Mountain in January 1973, Bud Cox pretends to be so tired as to fall asleep leaning against a tree. Fat chance that Bud was tired--then or ever--on a hike. Among those he dragooned into this adventure were David and Becky White, two of Chuck and Joy White's children.
It was really cold that day--15 degrees or so--but we were all young and had just hiked at almost a running pace, so the coats had come off long before this point.
If anyone ever asked Bud how far it was before we reach our hike's destination, he would immediately and in a flat-toned just slightly ironic voice, "Oh, two point three six miles." You would believe this until, maybe a half hour later, you asked again, and then came this answer: "Oh, two point three six miles." Sometimes he would add as a coda: "Give or take a few miles."
