You know, it’s sad when a person is enabled to the point that his delusions are able to fund boondoggles and put lives in danger, or even bring about death… Or I guess it’s in support of the old adage, “if you are going to lie, lie big!”
But doesn’t Juvenile Diabetes turn into Adult Diabetes? It’s not like a person “grows out of it” like a proclivity towards croup… no matter. I predict that their blue suits have an auto-inflate feature that by now has formed a bubble around Harvey. We just need to dig him out…
Strip one, panel three… what… is Mark climbing out of the cellar? The proportions are all wrong…
Strip two, panel 2… Genie’s face has morphed again, this time into a mask of horror. She looks like she’s aged 20 years… panel 3, Big-eyes Mark is back.
Strip three, panel one… enter the Sherpa. Panel 3 giant Crocodile tears…
As Mark seeks to comfort Genie, he offers up an improbable outcome… Unless the “other side” refers to the “go toward the light” kind. Maybe that’s where Harvey is now, romping with Yeti and Bat-Boy and Chupacabra and all manner of fantastical beasts…
Seriously. Anything to get us out of this goofy story. Harvey Camel meets with an ignominious end, claims unproven, but at least dies in the name of the cause, not slipping, hitting his head on the bathtub and drowning…
But we can’t be far from the tents either, right? It’s not like avalanches are selective, not like they have eyes… Maybe everyone gets buried alive!
Could we be reaching a plot climax? As Genie shines the lantern on Harvey, we get a special glimpse into his madness… and what appears to be a PVC superstructure holding up the wall tent!
And so with the faith of a child knowing that Santa Claus will come down the chimney and bring toys, Harvey Camel, PhD pads off in the freshly fallen snow…
Is this the last of him? Does he have is camera/phone? What Hell it must be to spend a lifetime trying to vindicate oneself in the face of ridicule, doubt and scorn. At least Capt. Ahab had multiple witnesses and proof of the great white whale… No one doubted that his obsession existed, and had only his compulsion to contend with…
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?
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!
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.
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??
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?
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??
And we are back. Sorry Campers, took a little time off in the Desert Southwest, where, oddly enough, it was chillier than my current home state of MN! What an upside-down world we live in, huh?
Well, the sniping continues, much to Genie’s dismay:
Below we find Mama Bear giving lessons to her cub: Stay the hell away from those upright walking beasts, that is unless yo want a face full of mace…
… a Selfie! HA HAW! That’s a pretty good one, Mark! Note the last line, though, we haven’t seen Mark pull out his camera once!! There has been no attempt by Mark to catalogue any experiences thus far!
… as the trap is baited and set…
Sprung! Mark has really figured out how to get under Camel’s hump, hasn’t he?
*****
OK, now for something completely different. I recent switched up papers in my daily routine and discovered this gem: Zippy the Pinhead. Or just “Zippy” for short. I am guessing that the “Pinhead” reference had to go in the day and age in which we live…
I love the references that are made regarding the struggles of maintaining a daily strip, so-called “Sequential Art.”
I’m guessing that there isn’t a cell tower within a 5 day ride from where they are now… so it must be a Smart Sat Phone… do those even exist? It would seem the answer is no…
Cryptozoology is a thing, though… I stumbled onto this the other night- a dude Named Nick Redfern, noted UFO-ologist to boot… His credentials are deep… One need only spark curiosity and intrigue and find an audience…
Or wait, maybe we did see a Tiger? And a Rhino, and a Hippo… I lose track, honestly…
Just a lot of random, manufactured drama…
And yes, darn good on you, Pemba, for having your Bear Mace holstered and ready for use! Beats digging around in your pack (now where did I put that?!) while Dr. Camel is getting crushed and mauled…
No, one can’t, can one? Well, pheeeewww… that was a close one!!
Nerves on the Trail are wearing thin… HA HAW… See what I did there?? Nerves on the TRAIL? That’s a joke, son… But with Mark looking sheepish, Harvey only looks peeved… And why do we need to see Mark’s left hand and forearm in panel one? Was anyone afraid that maybe his extremities are gone?
Like Linus in the Pumpkin patch, or Ralphie on Christmas Eve… You just gots to BELIEVE! All while live streaming…
A shed? Mark, your White Western Sensibilities are showing… I’m guessing that this was A HOUSE- who has the wherewithal or the resources to build a SHED in these parts? And what would they put in it, anyway?
But what’s behind door #3, Johnny? Why, it’s not that random dude dressed like grandma sitting in an oversized rocking chair … (according to Mark) it’s a Himalayan Red Bear! Which appears to be about 20 feet tall! And Pissed off! Good lord. Despite the suddenness and force of the appearance of the Bear, decimating what is left of the “shed,” Mark is able to make a full ID, and Sherpa #2 is able to calmly declare what he has on his person that might be of use in this situation…
He is trapped on an expedition with a quack Doctor (no, not that kind…) who so far has the distinction of having zero emotional intelligence and a laugh that literally adorns the world’s highest peaks…
…and after ten years or more, even Genie is starting to question her choices, things that have led her to this point in her life…
What is it they say? (whoever ‘they’ are…) When you only have a hammer, then every problem looks like a nail… When you are convinced that Yeti are everywhere, except where you can see them, then every answer you seek has something to do with them… I think the technical term for this phenomenon is ‘Confirmation Bias…’
The Daily Trail 