EISPIRATEN

Taco had announced his intention to spend a few days at Crystal Lake, and one of those days coincided with my intention for Thursday. I arrived at the cafe around noontime to find the nest empty. Adam, the owner, was engaged elsewhere. While waiting for his return, I introduced myself to his new cat.



This new cat doesn't have a name yet. It's one of a pair I noticed roaming the property. The old cat, Bubba, is still MIA.

Adam returned and I asked, "Have you seen Taco?" I used Taco's real name, because I didn't want Adam thinking I was craving a taco for lunch.

He mentioned something about Taco swinging by the previous day for dinner, driving a van. So I promptly promised to return for dinner and began my search for the infamous red-headed giant.

No van at the Windy Gap trailhead.

So I drove to the Lake parking lot. No van anywhere to be seen. Oh well.

It was 12:30pm now, and I needed to get my hike on.

I made my way across the lake, which looked so pathetic that I won't embarass it by posting a picture, and stepped onto the Islip Ridge trail. I had to hop over some recent deadfall.



I made a quick detour to check out Triplet Rocks ridge.



The sky was cloudy, and the air was chilly. Many trees were dead.



But the views were awesome.



I thought maybe I'd catch Taco coming down the ridge, back from some foreign exploit in regions unknown to me. Then I'd ask him all about it and nod robotically as if I understood what he was talking about.

No such luck. The only people I passed was an older couple trying to get their butts to the Big Cienega trail. Thankfully I had my feet to keep me company.



I listened to my feet hit the ground repeatedly for another hour or so until I got bored and entertained myself by placing a chunk of ice on my head.



The next thing I knew I was on the summit of Mt. Islip looking over at Pleasant View Ridge.



Somehow it had taken longer than expected to hit the peak. Perhaps I shouldn't have spent so much time looking for Taco under the ice patches and inside tree stumps. It was 3:15pm, and I had promised Adam that I would be back for dinner at the cafe.

I raced down toward Windy Gap, having to slow a bit on icy stretches along the shaded north slopes. The Gap trail had one section with bad damage to the Sutter walls.



The rest of the trail was mostly very pleasant. Yet I didn't spend much time on it, as I was focused on getting my chili cheese hot dog before the cafe closed at 5pm.



At 4:20pm I arrived at the cafe, and once again Adam was nowhere to be found. Finally he returned and I got my food. I ate it with a plastic spork in an effort to savor the hard-earned meal. Adam asked about my hike, and I had to confess that I failed to find Taco.

I then decided to try the mile-long Lake Trail back to the car. With a cup of hot chocolate in hand, I strolled through the trees at twilight.



And suddenly there it was...



THE VAN!

This must be Taco's van. The TACOVAN, I thought to myself. (Later I would discover that its name is actually George.)

I knocked on the side. No answer.

I heard someone over yonder. I shouted, "Hehwoa!"

No answer.

Damn. Oh well.

After cursing myself for not driving down this road before the hike, I shuffled back to my car and left in defeat.

I was under siege by tiny chipmunks doing the sexy tail dance.

Keep trying. The truth is out there.