Buzz-Buzz Barbie Boy?

Barbie Boy was back on Mt. Peak today. This is the guy with the "Barbie" backpack who blocks the trail when people are trying to get uphill doing their workouts.

Today, he didn't get far up the trail, when a bee came buzzing out of the shrubbery and stung him in the lower back -- ZAP. He stopped, fiddling with his shirt and lower back, trying to get the stinger out. This time, he pulled over to the side of the trail, more worried about getting zapped by the bee than blocking other hikers doing their workouts.

Buzz buzz ZAP . . .

Beware Flying Rocks

Near the top of Mt. Peak today, at the last switchback of the road, near the top, I saw a rock come flying from the upper section of the road, over the wooded and ferny section, over the lower section of the road, and just miss a downhill hiker's head by two feet or less.

He yelled "Hey!" but kept going. He and a woman with two or three youngish-teenish kids had just passed on the upper section of the road, with them going uphill, him going downhill. I couldn't see who threw the rock, but there was no one else but the woman and kids, and I didn't see anyone hiding in the wooded section.

It was surely one of the kids.

This rock was palm sized to a large man. It could have knocked the hiker out. If he'd fallen and hit his head on one of the big rocks on the road, it could have killed him.

There were no consequences for the rock-thrower. I thought the kid couldn't have thrown a rock that big and hit someone in the head before, or he/she would have known the seriousness of it -- that it could kill a person. So, I'm guessing the kid is going to keep throwing man-palm-sized rocks until he/she hits someone, and finds out the seriousness of it. Or, the kid is a sadist, and has hit people, and is going to keep doing it.

In years hiking Mt. Peak, this is the first dangerous act or attack I've seen. What do we have to do, wear helmets on the hill so we don't get killed while we exercise?

Think about it: Some kid threw a good-sized rock at a hiker's head today near the top of Mt. Peak. The kid got away with it, and will probably keep doing it.

Back Off, Barbie-Boy

Have you run into the Mt. Peak hiker with the "Barbie" backpack (well, you know what I mean). Apparently, he owns the trail, as he will sometimes stand in the way of someone struggling to the top, breaking the rhythm of their workout. And if you are going downhill and he is coming uphill, and you step out of his way so as not to break the rhythm of his workout, he passes you without thanks.

Being a somewhat older hiker, tall and muscular-fit, you'd think he'd be happy to be fitter than many much younger people, rather than carry a mysterious resentment up and down Mt. Peak.

He's one of our characters; I wish he'd be courteous on the paths.

The Chanting Monk of Mt. Peak

He's almost famous amongst Mt. Peak regulars. On the downhill portion of his hike, you'll hear him singing, his voice booming through the trees. It sounds something like Gregorian chant, with no discernible words in English (but is he singing in Latin, or gibberish?).

I'm sure the regular hillwalking gives the Chanting Monk of Mt. Peak extra lung capacity and diaphragm power to project his voice.

Most of us use an iPod or other device for music on our hikes. He uses his own voice. He's one of our characters, our individualists.

Stone Stacking

Recently, on the top of Mt. Peak, someone restarted a tradition from a few years ago: stone-stacking. This is simply the building of small towers or stacks of smooth stones, as a simple art form and landmarker.

The stacks have a charm to them, maybe because of the simplicity of them evoking childhood, and just the fact someone is taking the time to make a little something without real self-reward. They seem to be made for no other reason than to create a little wayside fancy for other hikers' eyes:

Fairy stacks, made from fairy stones.