She Asked Me If I Wanted To Party

When you’re falling awake and you take stock of the new day,
And you hear your voice croak as you choke on what you need to say,
Well, don’t you fret, don’t you fear,
I will give you good cheer.
Life’s a long song.
Life’s a long song.
Life’s a long song.





The Mountains Of B.C. Canada
Aug. ‘73

At every stop along the Trans Canada, I found myself standing with
two or three other hitchhikers trying to catch a ride. In that situation
you lined up behind the person who had been waiting the longest. Normally
riders were picked up in that order, but sometimes a driver would specify
whom he wanted to give a ride to. Sometimes I got a ride, and the hitchhikers
in front of me didn't. On one of those occasions, a chick stopped, and I
rode with her for thirty miles before she turned and headed into the
mountains. She asked me if I wanted to go to a party at her boyfriends
place. "Sure," I replied, and then we were off to some remote cabin
tucked away on a beautiful mountain lake. When we arrived, the cabin
was full of kids in the process of getting drunk. Maybe the cabin
wasn't as remote as I thought; it was too dark to tell.

I grabbed a beer and checked the place out. The music was good,
Sergeant Pepper, Cream, Tull, etc. There was no shortage of beer,
either. Although old on the outside, the log cabin was modernized on
the inside. After a couple of beers, I walked down to the water's
edge. With the music going on in the background, and the lake
illuminated by the rising moon, I sat down on the lawn and drank my
beer. I enjoyed the ambiance of the place so much that I would only go
back inside when I needed another beer. Before the night was over, I
managed to get pretty drunk, but I also managed to stay semi-conscious
until the moon had traversed the lake and set behind the mountains on
the other side. The party had wound down long before I went inside and
crashed on the living room floor. In the morning, Susan drove me back
to the highway. Except for the hangover, I had a great time.

Heading east, I got another good ride from a dude going all the way to
Calgary. We took a couple side trips in order to get a better look at
the beautiful scenery, and there was a lot of it to see. I got dropped
off after dark. It would be lucky to catch another ride after that,
but I did, and it took me to Lethbridge. Around 1 a.m. I crashed
outside of a campground. The next morning I hitched into Waterton
Lakes National Park and started my hike into the backcountry.