[pct-l] Hitching at Crater Lake

[jjolson at uwyo.edu (Jeffrey J. Olson)]

On a two state section hike in 1994 I arrived at the Crater Lake post office
and got my food box.  I lay everything out off the side of the building and
answered a lot of questions from friendly tourists.  I didn't want to hike
in the forest and miss the vistas from the crater's edge, so I walked out
onto the road in front of the post office and stuck out my thumb.

I was dirty and all that, but very friendly looking.  It seemed that only
big RVs and mini vans filled with families drove by, all of them looking
away when they got close enough to see my eyes.  I'd grown up in a family
that car camped in the summer, and so didn't feel any antipathy toward
anyone.  My dad once picked up a hitchhiker by mistake because he thought my
mom said to.  The hitchhiker stayed with us for an hour or so and
entertained the three kids with him in the backseat of the 1964 Rambler 550.
When we finally turned off and away from the road he was on mom and dad lit
into each other.

So I stood there and a forest service pick up pulled up next to me.  The cop
driving it had a gun on, mirrored sunglasses, and long, thin sideburns.  He
asked me what I was doing, and I said hitchhiking up to the store.  He said
that hitchhiking was illegal in the park, and that he should write me a
ticket.

He was really using tones of voice and body language to try and push my
buttons.  I didn't react at all, apologized and said I didn't know (I really
didn't!).  I sighed and said I guess I'd walk up the road.

The road, if you remember, is narrow, and there are big vehicles lurching up
its 1000 vertical feet or so.  The ranger looked at me and told me to put my
pack in the back, and he'd give me a lift up the mountain.  I thanked him
effusively, almost brown nosing - well, I guess I did go a little over the
top.

I asked him about his job as we crawled up the road.  He said it was all
right.  I asked him if he'd used the gun.  He said no.  The conversation got
better and it turned out he was a summer employee, working for peanuts, and
all he did was drive around and act tough.  He was actually a nice guy at
the end of it all.

He dropped me off next to the store in the huge parking lot up there.  I got
an ice cream sandwich and walked over to the edge and marvelled.  Lots of
people asked me what I was doing and I basked in their adulation and
disbelief for 20 minutes or so.  I headed north along the rim and continued
to marvel.  I was sorry to drop down four or five miles later.

Jeff Olson
Laramie Wyoming...