On July 11 2012 I decided it would be a good enough day to go out hunting for more
crystals in the river. Plotted out a course over a 10 mile stretch and set out
for the hunt. I hit every island and beach I aimed for except the tow closest to
home.
The reason for missing the last 2 islands: On the return journey I was already
lugging over 70lbs of weight in 4 different bags. Th bulk of which was from a
single stone that took up all of the space in my back pack.
I retrieved the stone from an extremely bulky island that all but completely
blocks the river, splitting it into two fast running streams on both side of the
island. The island itself is a hill that is made from sand, gravel, and large
water polished rocks of all sorts. Only a few of which was of much worth to me.
Then there was this one stone. Heavy, flat, and perfectly polished. I wrestled
with the notion of hulling it back knowing how impossible the task was going to
be. I didn't even know for sure if the thing was going to fit in my backpack.
I dumped everything I had collected into my spare bag and tried to divide all
the weight up as much as I could. stuff this huge stone into my backpack not
knowing if the weight was going to break the straps, or worse, my spine.
Once I got the weight situated I made my way to a shallow area of the river and
walked across the water to the steep bank where I had to remove the bag, toss
them up, and climb out before retrieving them and setting up again.
After that, it was a very long slow mile journey back home that included a
climb up the western valley wall. A steep incline of over 200ft.
But the time I reach the top of the valley I was all but ready to call for help.
it felt like my heart was about to fly out of my chest and I was getting tunnel
vision. I sat down for a few moments and tried to calm myself down but I was
overheating bad.
So, I forced myself to make it another block to a tiny little store that sets
there near the top of the hill where I got a cold drink and took a few moments
before weaving my way through the last few blocks home. Once I finally got there I began my work on carving the heavy stone until it ended up looking like this:
