As I was getting ready to pack up, a man and his dog walked by my site. We chatted and he asked me if I had made it across the river to the potholes.
He tried to explain how to get there, but I wasn't really following his directions. After a while, he said he'd just walk with me and show me.
His name was Richard and after talking with him, I learned he was a retired teacher, and had been a ranger in the Bear Creek area for a number of years. He was extremely knowledgeable about plants and the geology of the area. He answered a lot my questions about tree species and other fauna I had seen along the trail so far.
The pools were absolutely spectacular. He told me it was one of his very favourite spots.
Apparently the water level had dropped quite a bit, but we were still able to jump off a rock into the pools. I was amazed at his agility climbing up and around the rocks and pools.
The water was just cold enough to take your breath away and then let you swim a while longer to really cool off. I dried off by lying on a warm rock that had been perfectly polished by glaciers over centuries.
I was so thankful I didn't rush out of camp that morning and miss out on the opportunity of swimming in the pools.
After living his life in the area, Richard had no interest or respect for those trying to walk the trail as quickly as possible. When I told him about the weary PCT hikers I had seen in Oregon, I told him I thought that walking the entire length of the PCT would be an accomplishment, but I was glad I was taking more time to enjoy myself along the way. He replied, "Ya, walking the entire PCT is an accomplishment, but so is winding the worlds largest ball of string." He got the quote of the day with that one and I soon started to realize that there was a lifetime of things to see in every day hike I had done so far.
Despite walking 100 miles, me and my fellow hikers had hardly even begun to scratched the surface of the Sierras.
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