While hiking the Pacific Crest Trail yesterday (August 29th), I was in a state of reverie brought on by the incredible beauty and solitude of that wilderness environment.  Just as I was communing with a very cute pika in a rock slide area, two jets came roaring over the tree tops. At first I thought rock landslide....I am doomed. My heart was racing but almost relieved by the fact that I was not going to die after all. To say the least, this terrifying experience was not enhancing my "pilgrimage" from the hustle of city life. Then I thought of the poor pika...long gone, and probably trembling in his burrow.
Charlie Eaton, Seattle