(no subject)
Just a quick note before bed: Today I may have found my New Favorite Place. Not Hobee's though I did like the omolette I had for breakfast (and the buttery coffeecake, and the endless cups of rich, dark coffee..but I digress); It was not the couch, upon which I watched the final Season 1 episode of Dr. Who (wonderfully, suprisingly intense) and the Dr. Who Christmas special (I liked how they managed a white Christmas). It was after, when I went up to Castle Rock that made my weekend for me.
If anyone doesn't know of it, it's a state park up in the hills between Los Gatos and the ocean, on a ridge covered in redwoods. And there's rocks. Lots of boulders, piled on each other, sculpted by wind and rain into abstract, Dali-esque hollows and caves. It reminded me a bit of Lizard's Mouth in Santa Barbara, but unlike the state parks in Santa Barbara, there's free parking available. It was an easy hike, and though the section I was on didn't have much of a view (lots of redwoods, remember?) it was beautiful.
Incidents:
Family grouping of hairless primates, the dad doing some free climbing down a crack, while his offspring gave helpful advice such as "You can fall now- you'll probably only break your legs. And some ribs.", "I don't want to look- I don't want to see dad go splat and splash blood all over the place". and "Hey, you're legs are starting to shake.". I had to wince in sympathy as I watched him inch down and, legs akimbo with one foot stretching toward an unsteady looking foothold that appeared just out of reach..and then thinking better of it, and carefully switching legs. I've been in that position before, both literally and figuratively while rock climbing; it's always easier to go up than down.
I did some minor rock-hopping myself- not really even bouldering. I got to a nice perch with an excellent view down the steep slope,and looked around for some way to continue my journey across the boulders. And hey, if I go out onto this branch over the crevase, and put m hand on this other branch here, I can get close enough to this outcropping to...I had a sudden attack of common sense, and found a safer way to get back to the path
Next time I go there, which will be soon, I'm going to go down the other trail. It supposedly has a view of the valley, AND a waterfall. Imagine the fun i can get into there...
If anyone doesn't know of it, it's a state park up in the hills between Los Gatos and the ocean, on a ridge covered in redwoods. And there's rocks. Lots of boulders, piled on each other, sculpted by wind and rain into abstract, Dali-esque hollows and caves. It reminded me a bit of Lizard's Mouth in Santa Barbara, but unlike the state parks in Santa Barbara, there's free parking available. It was an easy hike, and though the section I was on didn't have much of a view (lots of redwoods, remember?) it was beautiful.
Incidents:
Family grouping of hairless primates, the dad doing some free climbing down a crack, while his offspring gave helpful advice such as "You can fall now- you'll probably only break your legs. And some ribs.", "I don't want to look- I don't want to see dad go splat and splash blood all over the place". and "Hey, you're legs are starting to shake.". I had to wince in sympathy as I watched him inch down and, legs akimbo with one foot stretching toward an unsteady looking foothold that appeared just out of reach..and then thinking better of it, and carefully switching legs. I've been in that position before, both literally and figuratively while rock climbing; it's always easier to go up than down.
I did some minor rock-hopping myself- not really even bouldering. I got to a nice perch with an excellent view down the steep slope,and looked around for some way to continue my journey across the boulders. And hey, if I go out onto this branch over the crevase, and put m hand on this other branch here, I can get close enough to this outcropping to...I had a sudden attack of common sense, and found a safer way to get back to the path
Next time I go there, which will be soon, I'm going to go down the other trail. It supposedly has a view of the valley, AND a waterfall. Imagine the fun i can get into there...