11/3/18, Missoula - The Rattlesnake, Montana

The Khanabad Clowns

It is too easy in modern day to get caught up in the busyness of life. You become focused on accomplishing your daily tasks and for a while you slip into your own little world forgetting about who surrounds you. Once time goes by, you tragically forget how to rest. My roommates and I came together one Saturday night in order to prevent this. The night to come would be much like many other childlike evenings we had experienced together on the old street Khanabad Way. Nights that quickly earned us the name, the Khanabad Clowns.

We drove down to the rattlesnake hiking area at 5 pm and took the first trail to our left upon exiting my car. I was geared up with my day pack carrying my camera that I often struggle to use, bear spray, and a rain jacket, since Missoula had been hit with constant rain for the last few days. Luke, the head tenant of our house, was armed with his high-powered flashlights that no one else thought to bring. Josiah and recently added member of the Khanabad Clowns, Kenton, were clothed in gym shorts and hoodies. Mike was wearing his classic metal band sweatshirt and jeans. Some of us had hiking boots and others had sneakers, but all of us were about to take on the first hill along the trail. The attire chosen by my companions was not far from what my Floridian friends would have worn. Neither of them looked like wilderness explorers or sea voyagers, but they all made walking in the woods something to look forward to.

Our original plan was to bypass the hill and enjoy a nice leisurely hike, but that plan was discarded as soon as Josiah ran up it in the first five minutes of the hike. The rest of us continued walking assuming Josiah would quickly return. After a short while, with no eyes on Josiah we stood in place until we saw him slowly making his way down the hill holding a long branch as a spear. I told Kenton to charge up the hill toward Josiah, but he refused within a split second of the command. With no help from Kenton, I rallied Luke and Mike to conduct a flanking maneuver on Josiah. Josiah recognized our plan and positioned himself in front of our assault, so we all split in separate directions with Mike taking the left side, Luke taking the right, and I went up the middle. Mike charged Josiah from the left while I armed myself with pine cones. Josiah diverted Mike’s attack with his branch spear and became distracted with Luke. Once his back was turned, I took aim and launched my volley. Direct hit and the engagement had come to an end. The skirmish had led us up the hill, so I guess it was only natural to keep going.

I had climbed that steep hill three times by that point and I was not anxious to add another ascent to the list. The first time I hiked it was with ROTC and at least 15 pounds of gear on. On my second way up, I used the opportunity to test my spotting scope and camera. The most recent time it was covered in snow making every other step a little slide down the hill. This time around I was completely aware of how the hill tricks you into thinking you are close to the top but, you still have a few more minutes of calve burning hiking, so it was amusing to see my roommates’ figure this out.

Josiah converted his spear into a walking staff to assist himself in climbing the hill. Kenton showed some unexpected leg strength and sped ahead of the rest of the group. Within the hour of starting our climb, we all reached the ridgeline together. I had our group pause at the top to capture a photo of the Khanabad Clowns taking their first hill. I spent 10 minutes trying to figure out how to change the shutter speed on my camera that somehow got screwed up. The rest of the band sat on the ridge striking their poses. Luke offered me some assistance and with some luck we managed to fix it to encapsulate the perfect shot. Normally I would have been frustrated and given up working on my camera, but with the help of one friend the problem was solved.

From our point on the ridgeline, we hiked to the peak of the hill and rested there. We sat there scanning across Missoula with different interests catching our eyes. We tried to guess what one of the bright lights from the town could be coming from, why the clouds above us had a reddish look, and what it most be like living in one of the homes hidden among the trees. After a few jokes about how the red clouds must have been fiery hale initiating the rapture, we were all able to keep silent for a second and enjoy what our eyes were set upon. On my previous hike, up the same hill I had looked at the same town from the same spot alone. This time I was surrounded with four of my closest friends all appreciating the same view I had the previous year. I love Missoula for many good reasons, most of which fall into the category of outdoor opportunities, but what makes Missoula like a second home for me is the family I found here.

The temperature dropped a little which dropped the mood. Our adventure was ending, and we cautiously walked back to where we came. Of course, we couldn’t go home till Khanabad Clown Films created its second short Facebook film. Mike directs our comedic Facebook destined films and the rest of us are his stars. Mike starred in our first film which landed over 200 views on Facebook. Unlike me, Mike is a good actor, so my cheesy Taylor Lautner style acting created a perfect balance in the first video. Mike did not act in the second video, but lucky for me I didn’t have any lines and most of the video is too dark to be able to see my face. Luke, Josiah and Kenton starred as three innocent men testing a flashlight deep in the dark woods when suddenly, a mysterious creature charges them in the dead of night. Scene two kicks off with Kenton running away and the dramatic dropping of the flashlight leaving an open end to what happened to Josiah and Luke. We drove home thinking of a climatic conclusion to our masterpiece that would tie it in to the first video in the scenes to follow revealing the identity of the mysterious creature.

Before it even began, I was expecting a long hike deep into the woods to find out what we could discover, instead we traveled to a spot I had been too many times. It was only a few hours long compared to the length I hoped it would have been. We didn’t run into a bear or an elk to boost the excitement. It didn’t matter though, because just walking through the woods for a short while with these goons is an adventure of its own.