delirious poem #27: ode to johnson pass

annie wanted to do a 2-3 day hike
that didn't have much elevation gain,
and that had some pretty scenery.
so we picked johnson's pass,
a 23-mile hike on the kenai penninsula
that features two lakes mid-way through.
what the books did NOT tell us
was that during late july,
the trail is completely grown over
with things like 5 ft. tall devil's club (icky, scratchy, yuck)
and that it is inhabited by many hungry bears.
oh my.
we hiked the first 10 miles in record time,
thinking that, somewhere along the way,
it was bound to get better!
but the mosquitoes and overgrown ground-cover
didn't let up,
and we weren't encouraged to stop
until mile 20 or so,
when out of sheer exhaustion,
we threw our food in a tree,
took one last glance at one of the numerous piles of
steaming bear scat, and
planted ourselves in a mushy bog--
great for sleeping, actually. so soft...
(well, i slept, annie didn't, really.
i woke up sometime in the early morning to her
quick, whispered prayer that she wouldn't get eaten by either bugs or bear,
before launching herself into the bog for a speedy pee.).
highlights of the 23 miles were proclaiming
delirious poetry to the wilderness around us
("delirious poem #137: ode to the ptarmigan")
and getting to use the toilet in an open glen
(find wooden box. open lid, and find toilet lid.
open, sit, use while enjoying the scenery around you).
here and now, i am completely, with much verve (as annie would say),
UN-recommending johnson pass trail. just avoid it. really. take my word.