Dec. 7, 2008
Arthur's Pass (Avalanche Peak TH)
breezy and mostly clear, 70
Well, today turned out pretty outstanding given that I was attacked last night and woke up in my own urine.
Basically, they have these huge, green parrots called "kea" here...they are about the size of a large owl. They prowl around the human areas -- parking lots, camping areas, trail summits -- and beg for scraps. they even make tortured doggie begging sounds....it's pathetic. so loud, so annoying. and they are extremely agressive.
when i set up camp last night, they kept trying to chisel into my dinner...so i gathered some rocks, tagged a few of them, and they stopped coming around (i noticed with a silent chuckle that they moved on to the neighboring german in his RV...picture like 10 big green birds stamping around the roof and banging the tops with their beaks, while the guy inside freaks out...funny to see a german's feathers ruffled...the germans are so robotic in demeanor.)
anyways, i watched this flock systematically terrorize all of the campers. i maintained a "no fly" zone in my immediate camp area by being vigilant with the rocks.
well, i got into my tent, and was just falling asleep...and they descended on my camp like a bunch of wild monkeys! hacking away at my tent, and worse yet, trying to break into my car! i jumped out of my tent, and one had his beak on my aerial, another was ripping the fabric on my camp chair, and the others were engaged in similar acts of terrorism. i couldn't believe the audacity. i think they did this just as payback for the rocks.
when they first attacked and i jumped out of my tent, i knocked over my pee-bottle...and it let a trickle of pee percolate under my tent over night. thus, i woke up a bit damp. i blame the birds 100%.
anyway, i was all cross this morning after that malicious attack and the resulting pee problem, and i was starting to talk myself out of hiking. but i said, "just go to the bush line (treeline) and get a view." well, i got there and had to keep going to the summit, which was a knife edge ridge. the payoff in terms of views was unique and intense. the valley was so steep and it was completely dramatic going up -- almost "high anxie3ty" inducing, tho it was a very safe track and there were plenty of people. the views of the surrounding mountains and glaciers was superb.
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3 comments:
Tom, this travel narrative is dope! I just discovered it and I'm super stoked you're doing this.Like you said, the reports will be less frequent as you creep deeper but I encourage you to keep us up to date.
Esoteria!
Hope you ate one of the birds for breakfast.
damn vermin!
I picture you like the wiley coyote each time barely missing the dern birds with anvils-
remember the alkaseltzer trick with seaguls? Not ecologically correct but mans gots to do what a mans gots to do
hey hank and sis:
thanks for reading! hope you are well.
the problem with the Kea is compounded by the fact that (1) they're native and (2) very pretty. any efforts to extinguish them would not be viewed favorably by the kiwis.
they squawk at me wherever i go. im a marked man. 2 nights ago, one alighted in a tree above my tent and bust into this repetitive staccatto scream. i swear he was fucking with me.
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