We talk about their hiking poles and fallen trees and the unkept trail, about how last year’s winter in Lassen Volcanic had been one of the worst in years. They ask where I'm going and where I've been, and when I tell them I think I’m going to camp at Coral Meadows and am not entirely certain where I’ve been they exchange ‘the searching glance,’ the same glance I’d been given by the ranger the day before, the second such glance I’ve received in as many days....

"Know any good recommendations?"

"Hey, Freddie." He calls over his shoulder. "This fella wants to know if we got any good camping recommendations."

Freddie, a bald, serious-looking man with a handlebar mustache, turns from the game and looks down at me from behind orange-tinted sunglasses....