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Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020 Shelton-Mason County Journal Page A-39
Trail: Why understanding ‘the switch’ is so important '~
continued from 37
whistle being blown by Officer Friend—
ly meant we were spotted playing ei-
ther behind, above or along the ledges
leading to the falls.
' Increasingly, however, waterfalls
are an old, tired obsession at times.
At 64, I don’t have the limber joints
and extra energy I used to draw on.
I’m at that point where I have to
make myself care.
Maybe you can relate. Sooner or
later we all face this precipice regard-
ing our habits and hobbies: to con-
tinue or give them up. ,
With hiking, it seems I can’t get
over the logs as easily as I used to.
Climbing one is a long, tactical series
of maneuvers, whereas a few years
ago, I just hopped over and jumped
back down. Now, when I am only 4
feet above ground, I hesitate to jump,
not trusting that I will land without
a spill, fearing that the impact will
send my teeth chattering.
Experiencing this in real time,
completely aware of the new, slower
me, is a sad dance. Then, when I heap
a little disappointment on top — fail-
ure to find the waterfall I recognize
my batting average is slipping below
.100, the kind of number that sends
most guys to the minors.
That’s why understanding “the
switch” isso important.
The switch is The Beatles’ “Let It
Be,” or, more accurately, George Har-
rison’s “All Things Must Pass.” It’s a
state of mind I switch into when I can
see things are not going my way.
I find that if I let goof an unten-
able situation, the sense of failure
and its emotional sting lessen. When
the sting subsides, then I can start
feeling buoyant and optimistic again.
It’s like meeting your son’s fiancé’s
parents and knowing they live on a
different planet than you once you .
get over it, you’re free.
ADVANCING UP THE VANCE
So it turned into a pretty sweet
day, meandering slowly up one of the
driest creeks I’ve ever explored. Every
few hundred yards, water would pool
against a bank, or it would seep out
of sand, run thin as a dime for a hun-
dred feet or so, then disappear below.
I went up as far as where the gorge
starts to deepen, which was still a
good mile or more from the Vance
Creek Bridge. It’s slow walking on
stones the size of softballs.
I met a pair of dippers, the gray
chesty birds known for their comical,
dipping posture and the way they
dive under water to feed.
I also came across a pair of well-
developed campsites on watery sec-
tions of the creek. The lower campsite
featured rock work that must have
taken days to shape into a dam. Two
tents sat side by side, the one a small
tent for. kids, with a sleeping mat-
tress and stuffed animals still inside.
The upper camp also had a tent,
plus three camp chairs in a semi-cir-'
cle, a large plastic cooler and a stand-
up metal propane barbecue stove.
Both sites had many plastic pool
toys, air mattresses, kayaks and in—
flatable rafts. One had a half dozen
Barbie Dolls. Both sites looked thor—
oughly used, as if local kids came here
every year, but now seemed aban-
doned, but I’m hoping only temporar-
ily, as most stuff was quality gear.
But if you’re not coming back and
you know who you are, please make
an effort to retrieve your tents, your
, float toys, your camp chairs, your
Barbie Dolls and beer cans behind the
baby crib.
Beer cans behind the baby crib
—- those are the kind of words you’d
expect Merle Haggard or Hank Wil-
liams to sling, but they are Mason
County poetry, through and through.
I Mark‘WOytowich is a writer, pho-
tographer, video producer and author
of “Where Waterfalls and Wild Things
Are.” He lives in Potlatch with his
“0n the Trail” column appearing ev-
ery other week in the Shelton-Mason
Journal. Reach him at his website,
www.wherewaterfallsare.com, or by
email at eyefive@hctc.com.
Lam sou:
Lake
34; 2. Sharon Corrigan and
Mary Lou ’I‘rautmann, 35; 3.
Elaine Ducken and Gail Gag-
Go ner, 36.
Mixed division
Low gross——1. Dave Blowers
Two person best ball and Kerry Torkelson, 41; *
July 27 results J0e Wilkerson and Carla E1-
44; 3. Rem'e Dyson and Kerry
Torkelson, 47. Low net— 1.
Carla Elliot and Pegi Reese,
Mark Woytow/ch
On The Trail column/st
Men’s division
Low gross—1. Lance Levine
and Ron Graver, 37; 2. Vern
Duggan 811d Jerry Nokes, 40.
Low net—1. Budd Morrow and
Terry MONOW, 27; 2. Gene
Reese and Joe Wilkerson,
28; 3. Dean Dyson and Ron
Graver, 33.
Women’s division
Low gross— 1. Nadine Dun-
ning and Sheryl Perkins, 43; 2.
Sue Ingersoll and Pat J ankord,
hot, 42; 3. Joel Gray and Kristi
Gray, 44. Low net—1. Gene
Reese and Pegi Reese, 27; 2.
Bob Darling and Susan Dar-
ling, 29; 3. Jerry Nokes and
Sheila Nokes, 30.
Longest drive
No. 3 hole, men—Ed IrVin;
women—Sheryl Parkins.
Closest to the pin
No. 7 hole—Dave Blowers, 15
feet, 2 inches; womenASusan
Darling, 13-8V2.
’5
‘ v
5
'8
Above, float toys add color to a shrinking, drying channel of Vance Creek.
Below, a humble oasis of riverside shade lets one keep an eye on the kids
while cooling the feet and quenching the thirst. Journal photos by Mark
Woytowich ‘
For the week of AUGUST 6 through AUGUST 12, 2020 “
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Weekly Tide Tables Sponsored by .
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Tide tables have been transcribed and (360) 4260933
> may contain errors. Not intended for
navigational use.
Tidal Information Courtesy US Harborscom