As the team climbs higher, their packs get smaller…

… and Mark continues to hammer on his point… that he is pretty sure that Camel is full of shite…

…and boy if there was ever a weary look, Genie is sporting it now…

… but once again, let’s take stock… there have always been 4 tents (the bulk and configuration of which is still utterly laughable; they are no doubt still sleeping on cots…) but now we realize that Genie and Dr. Camel are probably sharing and the Sherpa(s) each get there own? The Tent says, “I can’t believe it, Genie” which has to be (?) Dr. Camel, right? And Apparently a snow leopard has been dogging (catting) their steps?

Well, Genie, he’s got you there…

OK, this Structure continues to expand… From the outside it doesn’t appear that it would have rooms with doors…

Poor Mark, he just can’t keep up, can he?? Thanks for the classic “What Th’…?” It’s been a while! That really takes me back. Especially the way that Mark vocalizes his thoughts!

So Yes… Wife? Lover? Let’s stay tuned…

Mark and Genie continue to dive into Dr. Camel’s traumatic memories of the Yeti attack that cost him his leg… One does have to wonder how the young Doctor-to-be didn’t bleed out given that he was days away from any kind of medical assistance…

…and again with all the faces and expressions… Genie is transforming into a regular vixen while Mark is fading away as the conversation (totally within ear-shot of Camel) ensues…

Still, the favoring of blue in the color scheme- even the highlights of Mark and Genie’s hair- matching perfectly with their all purpose outfits… doubling a pajamas? And where are the Sherpa? Outside sleeping under the sky?

Well, well… look who’s getting all Philosophical… Occam’s Razor? (also Ockham’s razor or Ocham’s razor: Latin: novacula Occami; or law of parsimony: Latin: lex parsimoniae) is the problem-solving principle that states that “Entities should not be multiplied without necessity.”) The idea is attributed to English Franciscan friar William of Ockham, a scholastic philosopher and theologian who used a preference for simplicity to defend the idea of divine miracles. Wikipedia In Mark’s version, “Favor simple theories, not using more assumptions than one needs to prove a point…” But there is a counter to this contained here, and how this kind of thinking has gotten in the way of scientific enquiry…

Next we’ll learn that Genie is Professor Camel’s Niece or some such thing…

Hey, Mark… Unless the good professor went out to commune with The Yeti, or take a leak, he’s still n the room with you… Are you meaning to have a sidebar with Genie? Because in all likelihood, Harvey can hear everything you are saying! And your Gob-smacked look in the third panel seems simply out of place… this is not a revelation that would require such a reaction…

My most devoted reader asked why I don’t post every day anymore. It’s quite simple- I have had to adapt my approach to the much slower pacing and “plot” development under the James Allen Regime… there simply isn’t as much to say regarding these story lines and the “speed” with which they unfold. Of course it could be that after what? 6 or 7 years? this has become more of a chore? Lots of long hikes for very short drinks of water…

Like this week’s revelation:

That the young Dr. Camel to be and his father (sort of like Harrison Ford and Sean Connery?) were terrorized by “The” Yeti (again singular or plural?) whilst hiking in the greater Nepal region…

…only to reveal, in a very Captain Ahab sort of way, why Harvey is so, well, consumed by this quest… It does explain the gimp, though… and what a clueless soul Mark remains, to this day…

Sorry Harvey. This proves nothing. It’s all hearsay. Even Genie looks surprised by the story, this would-be confession… I mean, would Dr. Camel be taking more or less shit if he had made this known a long time ago rather than keeping it buried for decades?

And good lord, why all the blue? And again, how big is this Hiking Shelter? And why is Genie suddenly play House Mother? Traditional roles die hard in the Trailverse.

Wait for it…

Mark, feeling like he is continuing to be led on a string, reacts strongly:

Son, what son? Do I have a son? And why can’t I grow a beard? Why does my hair never change? But hang on, we are about to hear a story…

…and it would seem that young Harvey is destined to grow up looking like his old man… The Yeti was, or were? Why is there only ever just one of them? Ravaging? Killing, Maiming, Terrorizing? Really??

And the beat (down) goes on…

Excuses are like assholes, Dr. Camel… Everybody has one…

I honestly have never seen Mark this peeved… or antagonistic! But Dr. Camel, science isn’t about a belief system, it’s about facts and proof.

Now Genie is getting in on it… She’s not about to let the last 10 years of her (relatively) young life be made irrelevant… But Genie, we are still lacking any kind of actual DNA evidence, right? But certainly it is proven through the stories garnered from Farmers, Hikers and Researchers… yup, that pretty much defines the spectrum of humanity!

One might assume who is talking in the following frame, but then that might be considered sexist…

But where are the Sherpa? Or it is Sherpas? Sort of like how the word ‘Data’ is actually plural?

Bicker, bicker, bicker… Such negative energy. Hasn’t Mark ever watched “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown?” Time for one of you to get eaten or something…

How big is this shelter? Look at how small Mark is in the background perspective! Did he turn into a voodoo doll?

Last we saw, the Sherpas were in Red… Now they are in Bwana Blue.

What kind of guides are you anyway? Don’t you know where the camping stations are? It appears to be high noon… Not that we are in any hurry here. I mean, at this rate we may be hiking for the next 6 months or more…

We have been known to go on veeeeery long walks (literally) with these stories, but I think I just stumbled onto something here…

As Dr. Camel (no, not that kind of Doctor…) continues to profess his purity of heart and intent as it pertains to his life’s work, Genie suggests that there could be a pay-day involved… complete with hand gestures:

Mark, who has never really shown any interest in money (I mean why would he? He’s well cared for at Lost Forest…) Asks yet another leading question… to which Harvey replies:

…and take good care of BILL ELLIS and WOODS and WILDLIFE MAGAZINE! AMIRIGHT?? Huh? Huh??