LOWER SOUTH FORK - SKOK RIVER - May 10, 2006
by Pete Merrill, written May 13, 2006

Eighteen Walkie Talkies set out - all in a bunch, all walking briskly with determination - 18 returned over the course of the next several hours, back to the starting place. The point I'm trying to make here, in my usual oblique way, is that we all start out at the same speed but we don't all continue at the same speed ... not even close to it.

So I've been thinking, maybe it's time to put some names to the three categories of hikers that we have in our club. Suppose we call the hot shots that go the farthest and fastest the Scouts, the bulk of the crowd the Troops, and the stragglers (to be charitable), the Sweeps.

Back in the days when Curt Walseth was in charge (and most of us were roughly the same age) we were all Troops, there was a designated leader out front and Curt, with his usual sense of responsibility, appointed himself the Sweep to make sure we all got home safely.

Nowadays the Sweeps are those who can't keep up with the Troops and thereby become Sweeps by default, they are sometimes there at the end of the hike waiting for the Troops and the Scouts to come in, but quite likely are already home resting their feet.

Confirmed modern day Sweeps make sure their drivers are all in the same category so they won't have to wait around at the end of their hike for their hot shot Scout driver to get back. The only problem of being a Sweep is that you never see the whole trail and have to rely on hearsay about what goes on up there among the Troop and Scout crowd.

Now, about the South Fork Trail: It is showing the same lack of maintenance that we found on the Staircase hike a couple of weeks ago. One reliable member of our Scout group counted 15 trees down across the trail and when they reached the fifteenth they decided they had had enough, not being sure whether they were hiking or climbing trees.

Small creek portages are in bad shape, too, one with half its bridge gone even. The four aging mandatory sweeps (by name: Gordon, Janelle, Betty and Pete) successfully negotiated the steep trail down to the first little creek, a place where we used to cross with ease, and after a short conference on the wisdom of hazarding broken bones on slippery rocks, decided to turn around and retrace our steps. Not only are we Sweeps by reason of slowness of foot, we are also faint of resolve. Maybe we need to add another category.

As we huffed and puffed our way back up the steep trail, it became evident that we were in need of rest so we sat down on a convenient log and as we sat there discussing our assorted shortcomings a large brown and black slug went by us on the trail. The slug was clearly on a mission - both feelers were fully extended - he seemed to be in a hurry to get someplace and declined to stop and talk; it was just as well since as I remember it slugs don't have much on their minds anyway.

Please don't noise it around that certain members of the renowned Walkie Talkie Hiking Club were passed on the trail by a slug.

Upon our return, our driver Deborah Reis assisted by co-pilot Bill Stinchfield, drove us to the spectacular High Steel Bridge which we viewed with awe and respect. Bill wanted to take the trail down into the chasm so we could get a good look at the girders. We restrained him.

Today's weather was quite nice; except for the obstacles the troop had a good time.

Would it help if we complained to Forest Service authorities about the condition of the trails?