Double Time Delta

In the late 1970s, a man named Bird-Dog was part of an elite Marine Corp Troop. The troop was dubbed "Double-Time Delta" because they ran twice as fast as any regular platoon, with their 40 pound packs on. Bird-Dog is now 55 and hiking on the PCT. I ran into Bird-Dog over 900 miles ago, but it wasn't until one faithful afternoon that we crossed paths again, just before South Lake Tahoe. 

Ironically, my parents met Bird-Dog before I did. When they visited me at Hiker Haven, they picked up a hiker, and brought him to the Trail Angels home. It was him. 

When we reconnected somewhere around South Lake Tahoe, I heard loud foot steps coming down a hill. A man was running my way, it was Bird-Dog. I told him that there is a buffet with our name on it, one hitch away. He accepted my invitation. 

From Nebraska, he worked as a mechanical engineer and we found out later had an interview with Ecology Action (my first job in Santa Cruz).

We had a similar hiking pace. We knew it too because when I realized that hiking 20 miles a day wasn't going to get us to Canada fast enough, he said sure lets go faster. 

Sure enough, we started with a 22-mile day, then a 23, then a 25. I was impressed with our pace. We made it to the next town, Sierra City. A beautiful place near the CA gold rush vein. We ate extremely large burger(s) and spent the night in the back of the Red Moose, another trail angels home. It was fantastic. 

I wanted to meet our hosts, so I went up to the only woman who wasn't a hiker and asked "excuse me ma'am. Are you the sole proprietress of this here fine establishment"? She paused. "Why yes indeed", with a smile. I told her that my hiker garments were in shambles and asked if there was some thread to stitch my here wounds. She told me it would take her only a few minutes. She sat me down at the dinner table, assumed I was hungry, due to my being a hiker and what not and gave me the extra baby back ribs left over from dinner hour. 

I looked at Bird-Dog with a big smile. He also, got a few on-the-house ribs. 

That evening, a hiker named Toots-Magoots was celebrating her birthday and her husband dubbed by hikers as Aloha joined us for the celebration. He brought out a pin the tail on the donkey game and after the game was over, brought out 10-half gallon bins of gourmet ice team. Aloha, a man of rather large stature and build, seemed to dance around the porch, throwing softball-sized scoops of ice cream into a dozen hikers bowls. By the time I was finished with my  poppyseed lemoncake flavor, the glided over to my bowl with out me saying a word and refilled it. 

Stuffed with ice cream and satiated with trail gossip, Bird-Dog and I retired to our respective tents, and dozed off. Awakening near sunrise, we received our breakfasts and hung around Sierra City, swimming in the Yuba Rivet til noon. 

Just as I got out of the water, I saw some  hikers make a commotion, pointing in my general direction with a look that was a juxtaposition of awe and panic. Redirecting their gazes to the water, I saw what they were looking at. A 3 foot snake was swimming right through the river, and exited the opposite bank. Just another day on the PCT I suppose.