I Walk Up the Hill
Oct 8, 2005 by Ken Drummond
From A Life In Progress--Part One
Yesterday I took a walk. I left our house and walked across the highway heading south, actually a little east of south. I soon found that the terrain was fairly uneven compared to the terrain to the north and east of our house. There were gullies to cross, even what I would call small canyons. I had to do some actual climbing in places, and it was in spots a bit precarious.
After a time I got to a high voltage power line and followed it for a spell. I looked up at the wires. They don't seem to have any insulation. I suppose that is the way it is done. If a bird lands on the wire it is okay because there is no circuit being made, the two wires much to far apart for the bird to touch both of them at the same time. I recently heard of a bird causing a power outage because, they thought, it somehow shorted out the wires. I suppose in that case, the wires must have moved from their proper place.
There was a lower set of wires also on the power line. It must be old because one of the wires had come down. There was a piece of wire broken off that I examined. It was just pure copper wire, oxidized, but with no insulation whatsoever.
I continued my walk. I had aimed my course to miss any houses along the way. But I was close enough to a somewhat distant house that the dogs heard or saw me, not quite sure which, and began barking. It was a distance away though, and not much of a nuisance. You know how pesky it can be when dogs set up their barking.
I picked up a stick that I found. It wasn't your ideal type of walking stick, but was just a short piece of board, not fitting very well in the hand, but it was nice to have something to use. Sometimes it is just nice to have a bit of a walking stick, though usually I don't bother. The stick is not really used for anything. It just kind of marks time on the ground as you walk along.
I walked by a few collapsed buildings. They were quite old (and quite) collapsed compared to some of the other old homestead structures I have seen around here. There are old abandoned homesteads everywhere in this part of the desert. The house on the property we bought was a homestead. I think the Homestead Act ended in the 60's or so. Before that you could have land for free if you stayed on it for a few years and built a cabin. Most of the cabins are 20' x 20' or smaller.
I approached the base of the low hill I was heading toward. The sun had already set and the small crescent of the moon was above the horizon. I knew that Venus was near to it but it was not yet dark enough for me to see it. Whoops, I have to watch my step as I am walking and watching the stars. I walked through a low bush and scratched up my leg just a little. I followed an old driveway for a little ways hoping it might go up the hill, but it started veering too much to the west so I abandoned it. I plotted a course that would avoid going through any gullies. I would walk on a ridge and go up the hill along it's right side. This worked out quite well. I left the mostly flat terrain and began to climb a little. It was a gradual slope. As I got near the top of the hill the climb steepened and I even began to breath a little hard. That was good. I need to do some deep breathing.
I arrived at the top of the hill, visible from my house, but really not so high. I thought I would first look out toward the valley and my house but at the top I was most intrigued with the other hills and valley beyond. I spent some time looking in that direction and thinking about possible future walks. Then I looked toward my house but could not see it. Too far away, though I thought maybe I could spot a neighbors house. There was a good view of the town and of distant mountains that I don't usually see. It was a very good view of that whole section of the desert. The town actually seemed to be the same height as I was, maybe even just a bit higher. That confirms what I have been told that my house is 500 feet lower than the town. It’s some kind of an optical illusion because it seems more like I am driving upwards as I go from town to my place.
The marine base way across the valley has very bright lights, so it stands out very prominently. I don't know what kind of lights they are but they are sure bright. Maybe sodium vapor or mercury vapor lights. We see them from our house also. I used to think they were lights from the playing field at the school but Kai said they were at the marine base and she was right. From our house the lights are not as bright as they are from the hilltop where I was standing. Even though farther away I think the lights appeared brighter because I was standing higher and above any low-lying haze. Or maybe they aren’t brighter on the hill, but just seemed to be. I don't know.
I stood there for only about five minutes, then headed down. I decided to go a little more to the east because there is a road in that direction and if it got too dark I could get back home on the road. This route took me through some difficult gullies. I had to go down into some and up out the other side. I slipped a little once or twice and had to use a certain amount of care and slow down in order to be safe.
It seemed to take a long time to get through all the gullies near the base of the hill. Finally I was back to the flat. There are long expanses there, of some kind of a black gravel. It looks volcanic. Maybe it is. I passed a fallen down cabin, not sure if it was one I had seen on my way out. Venus was prominent by this time and it was getting slightly hard to see the way in front of me.
The same dogs picked up my scent, sound, or sight once more. They sounded a little more serious this time, and in a while their owner began calling to them, I assume it was to them. I thought that he must wonder what was going on. It was too dark by then to see me even if he was looking out my way. I assumed that he was trying to get the dogs to quieten down, but also that he was wondering what it was that they were barking about. Maybe he thought there was some kind of a trespasser or something. Or maybe he thought it was a coyote. Or maybe he thought it was a hiker. Yes, that's it.
I was getting back close to the power lines. My vision was becoming impaired by this time. The man from the house of the barking dogs got into a car and began driving to the north, somewhat west of where I was walking. So, there is a road there. I had crossed it on my way out, but was pleased to find out that it was a navigable road. The car continued north. I wondered if he was out scouting to find the trespasser -- me! It seemed for a little time that that could be the case. He passed me several hundred yards to the west and continued towards the highway. I still wondered if he might be looking for me. Maybe he thought I was in some kind of vehicle and was trying to catch up with me. I was becoming more imaginative. I was able to see a vehicle driving along the highway in the distance. I realized that the man in the car had already crossed the highway and was on a more substantial road on the other side. He continued north and out of my view.
I continued following the power lines north for awhile, because that was pretty smooth terrain, with few gullies. Finally I turned more to the west, left the poere lines, navigated through a couple of small gullies and shortly found myself on the driveway that the car had driven along. It was nothing much, just a dirt trail, but good enough to drive along, and certainly good enough to walk along. It made my progress either in the now almost dark night. The moon sliver was still up and it wouldn't get much darker until the moon set in an hour or so.
The rest of my walk along the driveway was easy. I was able to run most of the way, something I am really happy to be able to do. It is hard to find good running places around here. I don't like to run along the highway because cars keep coming by. I don't like to walk along the highway either. Actually it is pretty good at night. Sometimes the cars are very few and far between. The middle of the night is usually very nice, but I am seldom out at that time.
The driveway I was walking along reached the highway and I turned left, west. I continued to run, except when cars passed me, which was frequent. I had only a little ways to go and I was home.
I walked into the house. I had been hoping to get back before seven in order to drive Kai to town if she wanted to go. It was after seven but she assured me she wasn't going anyway, so that was okay.