Shi Shi Backpacking/Camping Trip - Part 3
Shi Shi Day Two - Saturday
There were times in the darkness of early morn that I would wake to the chill coming off of the ocean, and after readjusting the blankets and clinging to Bobby I’d fall back asleep. It also didn’t help much that the call of nature wasn’t just whispering but screaming a reminder that it wasn’t happy. However, it was much too cold and I too sleepy to wander off into the dark woods just to use the “bathroom“ (Aka: that place behind those logs in front of that forest behind lots of tall grass). Soon enough though, the sun did rise and I wandered out from underneath the tarp. I had heard someone else waking up and wandering off and it wasn’t until I pulled away the tarp edge and looked out onto the beach that I saw Brittany wandering off into the fog carrying the zip lock bag of toilet paper. Surprised to see the fire still burning, although faint, I decided to wander off as well and find a few dry sticks to get in going again.
Sitting on one of the logs Bobby, Chris, and Micah had found to use as seats, I relaxed by the heat of the fire. It wasn’t long till through the smoke I could see Brittany walking back towards camp. We chatted a while till one by one the other members of the group started waking up. Hunger set in and everyone grabbed their food bags. Each one of the bags were named and had a variety of different foods, some different then others so that people could trade if they liked. Pop tarts were on the menu for breakfast this morning, though anyone could choose from the bag as they wanted. It was still early, but everyone was up and antsy to explore. This was Bobby, Juan and Justine’s first time at Shi Shi, and although Brittany, Chris, Megan, Micah, and I had gone before there were still areas undiscovered. While others started to venture down the sand further, I sat and chatted with Bobby, Justine, and Juan. Still, the yearning to join their little exploration had Bobby and I soon joining them.
Just as we were nearing the rocks and the edge of this part of the beach, we spotted Megan up on some large rock. She had actually managed to climb quite a ways! Brittany was watching from the other side, Micah had the video camera, and Chris was about to join Megan. Bobby and I weren’t about to miss out, and I started climbing behind him… barefoot and all. In the distance I heard Brittany call out to Chris, “Hey, get me one of those orange flowers!” As Chris was finding his footing up to the grassy patch on the rocks that was growing these flowers, Bobby was already up there. He reached his arm down to hand me one of the sweet smelling flowers. Just as Micah turned off the camera Bobby suddenly did a hilarious interpretation of a goat. At the amusement of this Micah quickly turned it back on but only in time to catch the laughter from everyone else. After trying to persuade Bobby to repeat his impression with no luck, we scampered back down the rocks so that we could travel farther into a place my father calls Otters Cove.
Brittany took regained the video camera again and started out trailing close behind me as the six of us walked over rocks looking at the different tide pools along the way. The other side of the beach was more rocky then it was sand, and not too far in when we stopped to view a large sea anemone Bobby’s feet were beginning to hurt. Just as the others were starting to continue their adventure Juan appeared through the rocks. He agreed kindly to go back and get Bobby’s sandals, and by the time the three of us were ready to get moving again the others were quite a ways ahead. It wasn’t until they stopped to video tape two otters that were fighting over a fish on some rock in the ocean near the beach that we were able to catch up. However they were just getting done when we showed up, so as we stopped to see these amazing creatures Micah, Megan, Brittany, and Chris were off again. They didn’t go far though, a very large rock near by made the perfect object to climb for Megan and Chris. Brittany stood on a huge dead tree and video taped them. Megan’s animal calls caught my attention, and amused a walked up to see what was going on.
I waited for Bobby and Juan to catch up before going to much farther. Unfortunately the dry smooth rocks became pokey and the ones covered in plants from the sea were slippery. This was not an easy task for my bare feet. Bobby spotted some beautiful purple flowers and thought it would be sweet to get one for me, but before returning he spotted a dead bird. Is elaboration on its gruesome death was nothing that encouraged me to take a look. That and the dead seaweed was more then enough stench so we quickly sped up our pace to catch up with everyone else. Everyone that is but Justine who was back at camp enjoying a little time to herself.
Megan, Micah, Chris, and Brittany had found an arch way with a large dead tree sticking out of it. I can’t think of anything that would help describe the enormous size of its trunk. Of course, they were up there climbing on it and just as much as shocked by this colossal piece of wood as we were. After the excitement of what they had found, we took a look through a different opening that led to a side of this beach none of us had ever seen. Due to how long we had been out though, we didn’t wander far. We feared that the tide would be coming in so we headed back. The only way to go beyond the first section of rocks is if the tide has just gone out, otherwise you can get trapped coming back because the water fills up the caves and covers the smaller rocks.
It was about lunch time when we got back to camp, so Micah, Megan, Brittany, and Chris went to start filtering water. I took the flowers Bobby picked for me and stuck them in the back of my book so they could dry. Others just snacked and hung out or took a walk on the beach. Eventually Bobby and I wandered in that direction after taking a peak at some of the tide pools near the point of arches. By the time we reached the stream Justine had also joined them. Apparently they were having troubles with the filter, and it wasn’t pumping correctly. Most of us walked back to camp and let Megan and Micah fiddle with it, but it wasn’t long till they came up with filter in hand and proclaimed that it was officially broken. The part inside where the air is sucked in broke off, and impossible to fix. Though we realized the hardship of this issue, we didn’t worry too much about it because we knew we could always boil water. However, I decided to call my father anyhow and let him know of our situation. He gave us some clear directions on boiling the water and checked up with how things were going.
Everyone gathered around the fire and we fixed lunch which consisted of top rommon and whatever anyone wanted to snack on from their packs. As we ate a friendly seagull came near our camp. We threw some crumbs to him and a little trail mix every now and then, and once fed he was perfectly intent on just sticking around. Megan then got the brilliant idea to jump into the freezing cold ocean and when she came back she was soaked from head to toe. At this point the only two people that were brave enough to dive under were Megan and Juan. We were still battling the foggy weather so it wasn’t exactly supper warm out, and Megan came back to the fire to dry off soon enough.
I wasn’t the only one who had troubles sleeping the night before, and after exploring a bit followed by a good meal Brittany and Chris decided to lay down and rest in their tent. Meanwhile, Micah got back to work on a hole he started the previous day. This tradition was one that had plenty of humorous moments attached to it. His progress was fast, and soon inspired Bobby to join in the fun. Side by side they dug their holes as we watched from by the fire. As amused as we were Juan and I didn’t watch long before also starting our own hole. We laughed and made jokes about creating a trench along the outside of our camp but we did begin to tire and found it more interesting to bother the dedicated workers.
Bobby was on his knees with his head and arms in his hole. He hadn’t noticed me behind him, and just as I was lifting his legs into the air attempting to push him in Brittany and Chris were waking up and coming out of their tent with the video camera. Chris soon thought it would be fun to also dig his own hole between Bobby’s and Juan’s. Eventually Juan and Chris put their heads together and made a trench out of both their holes, while some of us played some UNO that Justine had brought along for the trip. Our friend the seagull reappeared every now and then so we named him scuttle off of the seagull in the Disney movie Little Mermaid. He soon earned that title when this kooky and obviously hungry bird decided to eat a piece of wood someone threw that he had mistaken for trail mix. The hours passed quickly, and the fog stayed with us. As afternoon fell into evening it was time to cook dinner so Megan went to quickly fetch some water from the stream and we boiled it just as my father had instructed us to. We then made some broccoli and cheese soup that came in powder form, and added some minute rice to make it more filling. It did just the trick, and after everyone had their fill Megan volunteered to rinse the dishes.
A few deeper holes and some UNO games later the light started to fade and we enjoyed the warmth and light of our fire. Some people decided to get some sleep, others stayed up and chatted. I started to write a little in a journal I brought, and when Justine asked what I was doing we got to talking. One by one members of our group went off to bed. We left the fire going and I snuggled up to Bobby who had already drifted off to sleep.
There were times in the darkness of early morn that I would wake to the chill coming off of the ocean, and after readjusting the blankets and clinging to Bobby I’d fall back asleep. It also didn’t help much that the call of nature wasn’t just whispering but screaming a reminder that it wasn’t happy. However, it was much too cold and I too sleepy to wander off into the dark woods just to use the “bathroom“ (Aka: that place behind those logs in front of that forest behind lots of tall grass). Soon enough though, the sun did rise and I wandered out from underneath the tarp. I had heard someone else waking up and wandering off and it wasn’t until I pulled away the tarp edge and looked out onto the beach that I saw Brittany wandering off into the fog carrying the zip lock bag of toilet paper. Surprised to see the fire still burning, although faint, I decided to wander off as well and find a few dry sticks to get in going again.
Sitting on one of the logs Bobby, Chris, and Micah had found to use as seats, I relaxed by the heat of the fire. It wasn’t long till through the smoke I could see Brittany walking back towards camp. We chatted a while till one by one the other members of the group started waking up. Hunger set in and everyone grabbed their food bags. Each one of the bags were named and had a variety of different foods, some different then others so that people could trade if they liked. Pop tarts were on the menu for breakfast this morning, though anyone could choose from the bag as they wanted. It was still early, but everyone was up and antsy to explore. This was Bobby, Juan and Justine’s first time at Shi Shi, and although Brittany, Chris, Megan, Micah, and I had gone before there were still areas undiscovered. While others started to venture down the sand further, I sat and chatted with Bobby, Justine, and Juan. Still, the yearning to join their little exploration had Bobby and I soon joining them.
Just as we were nearing the rocks and the edge of this part of the beach, we spotted Megan up on some large rock. She had actually managed to climb quite a ways! Brittany was watching from the other side, Micah had the video camera, and Chris was about to join Megan. Bobby and I weren’t about to miss out, and I started climbing behind him… barefoot and all. In the distance I heard Brittany call out to Chris, “Hey, get me one of those orange flowers!” As Chris was finding his footing up to the grassy patch on the rocks that was growing these flowers, Bobby was already up there. He reached his arm down to hand me one of the sweet smelling flowers. Just as Micah turned off the camera Bobby suddenly did a hilarious interpretation of a goat. At the amusement of this Micah quickly turned it back on but only in time to catch the laughter from everyone else. After trying to persuade Bobby to repeat his impression with no luck, we scampered back down the rocks so that we could travel farther into a place my father calls Otters Cove.
Brittany took regained the video camera again and started out trailing close behind me as the six of us walked over rocks looking at the different tide pools along the way. The other side of the beach was more rocky then it was sand, and not too far in when we stopped to view a large sea anemone Bobby’s feet were beginning to hurt. Just as the others were starting to continue their adventure Juan appeared through the rocks. He agreed kindly to go back and get Bobby’s sandals, and by the time the three of us were ready to get moving again the others were quite a ways ahead. It wasn’t until they stopped to video tape two otters that were fighting over a fish on some rock in the ocean near the beach that we were able to catch up. However they were just getting done when we showed up, so as we stopped to see these amazing creatures Micah, Megan, Brittany, and Chris were off again. They didn’t go far though, a very large rock near by made the perfect object to climb for Megan and Chris. Brittany stood on a huge dead tree and video taped them. Megan’s animal calls caught my attention, and amused a walked up to see what was going on.
I waited for Bobby and Juan to catch up before going to much farther. Unfortunately the dry smooth rocks became pokey and the ones covered in plants from the sea were slippery. This was not an easy task for my bare feet. Bobby spotted some beautiful purple flowers and thought it would be sweet to get one for me, but before returning he spotted a dead bird. Is elaboration on its gruesome death was nothing that encouraged me to take a look. That and the dead seaweed was more then enough stench so we quickly sped up our pace to catch up with everyone else. Everyone that is but Justine who was back at camp enjoying a little time to herself.
Megan, Micah, Chris, and Brittany had found an arch way with a large dead tree sticking out of it. I can’t think of anything that would help describe the enormous size of its trunk. Of course, they were up there climbing on it and just as much as shocked by this colossal piece of wood as we were. After the excitement of what they had found, we took a look through a different opening that led to a side of this beach none of us had ever seen. Due to how long we had been out though, we didn’t wander far. We feared that the tide would be coming in so we headed back. The only way to go beyond the first section of rocks is if the tide has just gone out, otherwise you can get trapped coming back because the water fills up the caves and covers the smaller rocks.
It was about lunch time when we got back to camp, so Micah, Megan, Brittany, and Chris went to start filtering water. I took the flowers Bobby picked for me and stuck them in the back of my book so they could dry. Others just snacked and hung out or took a walk on the beach. Eventually Bobby and I wandered in that direction after taking a peak at some of the tide pools near the point of arches. By the time we reached the stream Justine had also joined them. Apparently they were having troubles with the filter, and it wasn’t pumping correctly. Most of us walked back to camp and let Megan and Micah fiddle with it, but it wasn’t long till they came up with filter in hand and proclaimed that it was officially broken. The part inside where the air is sucked in broke off, and impossible to fix. Though we realized the hardship of this issue, we didn’t worry too much about it because we knew we could always boil water. However, I decided to call my father anyhow and let him know of our situation. He gave us some clear directions on boiling the water and checked up with how things were going.
Everyone gathered around the fire and we fixed lunch which consisted of top rommon and whatever anyone wanted to snack on from their packs. As we ate a friendly seagull came near our camp. We threw some crumbs to him and a little trail mix every now and then, and once fed he was perfectly intent on just sticking around. Megan then got the brilliant idea to jump into the freezing cold ocean and when she came back she was soaked from head to toe. At this point the only two people that were brave enough to dive under were Megan and Juan. We were still battling the foggy weather so it wasn’t exactly supper warm out, and Megan came back to the fire to dry off soon enough.
I wasn’t the only one who had troubles sleeping the night before, and after exploring a bit followed by a good meal Brittany and Chris decided to lay down and rest in their tent. Meanwhile, Micah got back to work on a hole he started the previous day. This tradition was one that had plenty of humorous moments attached to it. His progress was fast, and soon inspired Bobby to join in the fun. Side by side they dug their holes as we watched from by the fire. As amused as we were Juan and I didn’t watch long before also starting our own hole. We laughed and made jokes about creating a trench along the outside of our camp but we did begin to tire and found it more interesting to bother the dedicated workers.
Bobby was on his knees with his head and arms in his hole. He hadn’t noticed me behind him, and just as I was lifting his legs into the air attempting to push him in Brittany and Chris were waking up and coming out of their tent with the video camera. Chris soon thought it would be fun to also dig his own hole between Bobby’s and Juan’s. Eventually Juan and Chris put their heads together and made a trench out of both their holes, while some of us played some UNO that Justine had brought along for the trip. Our friend the seagull reappeared every now and then so we named him scuttle off of the seagull in the Disney movie Little Mermaid. He soon earned that title when this kooky and obviously hungry bird decided to eat a piece of wood someone threw that he had mistaken for trail mix. The hours passed quickly, and the fog stayed with us. As afternoon fell into evening it was time to cook dinner so Megan went to quickly fetch some water from the stream and we boiled it just as my father had instructed us to. We then made some broccoli and cheese soup that came in powder form, and added some minute rice to make it more filling. It did just the trick, and after everyone had their fill Megan volunteered to rinse the dishes.
A few deeper holes and some UNO games later the light started to fade and we enjoyed the warmth and light of our fire. Some people decided to get some sleep, others stayed up and chatted. I started to write a little in a journal I brought, and when Justine asked what I was doing we got to talking. One by one members of our group went off to bed. We left the fire going and I snuggled up to Bobby who had already drifted off to sleep.