Erratica Reduex

Following my 6.1 hike up Stevens Creek/Coyote Ridge trail with deirdremoon , I got dinner, went home, developed the shakes and fever, had a bath, drank tons of liquids, and crawled into bed.  Today, I'm not to bad.  My knees and hips are OK, suprising given how they were complaining last night, and I'm mainly dealing with some muscle aches and pains...like my chest.  I guess I'm not used to panting that much.

It was a beautiful hike though: I got to see deer, and birds, and some really beautiful misty scenery.  I got to chat with deirdremoon while hiking about everything and nothing, which is something I just don't get to do as often as I'd like.

I also got to see just how hard I can push myself when I need to;  I have a long way to go before I'm as fit as I want to be, but I did do better than I thought I would, and I did finish the hike.  And being able to continue when my body is telling me that I absolutely have to stop is a feeling I had almost forgotten.

It's a good thing to remember. 

I managed to get my hike in yesterday, though I almost didn't make it.  But I'm glad I did, since it's been quite a while since I've done a race against the setting sun.

I woke up with a headache, and so it was nearly 3:00 before I set out;  I also nearly gave up on the coast when I saw the fog, but I persevered, glared at the grim, fog-bound coast, dealt with slow trucks and Chevvies (it is a fact that no matter what the model of Chevvy, it will always be driven 5 mph below the speed limit on any winding scenic road, suchh as Highway 1), to end up at Pescadero.  I was too late for the local BBQ, but I couldn't resist freshly baked garlic-herb-artichoke bread that made the car smell like an Italian bakery.  I got a variety of oddball beans and lentils at my favorite farm store, then drove up to the ridge-top road; exiting the fog felt like a benediction.  So when I arrived at Castle Rock  I decided to take a nap in the sun instead of hiking.

I could have napped in a half-awake, half dreaming state until sunset, but I pushed myself outside.  I nodded at the kiosk ranger who warned me that the park was closed at 8:15; I had no water and wore bad shoes, but I was only going up to the Castle Rock, on the easy path.  In the forest it was quiet, bone dry, and everything was covered with a thin layer of dust.   I reached the Castle Rocks to find them deserted, the climbers and children long gone.  I paused to cool off and catch my breath, while  I listened to the hum of millions of insects among the trees, and studied the outcropping, which has always looked to me more like a deformed giant's head.  In a crevice on one side, bees had made a hive, so I watched them go about their business for a time.  

On an impulse, I decided to take the roundabout path back, down to Saratoga Gap, and back.  After some confusion as to whether the path was really going where I wanted it to go, I set off in a steady lope, not running, but racing the sunset to the parking lot.  I used to do this quite a bit; late afternoon was always the best time to hike for me, but this would mean I would reach the top of a canyon in Santa Barbara, and see the westering sun only a few degrees above the horizon.  Then it would be a fun scramble down the trails at full speed to get down before it became dark.  Usually I didn't quite make it, and the last legs of my trip would be in deepening gloom.  It had been nearly a decade since the last time I did that sort of run.

This time, I set off at a steady casual pace, seeing the sun edge the redwoods with orange, listening to the scuffing sound of birds and small animals in the brush.  The trail wound around ridges and small creeks, and I reached Saratoga Gap just as the first early night insects started singing.  I wasn't even winded, so I took the last uphill section to the parking lot with a quick stride, surprising and passing some elderly tourists.

It wasn't a fair chase at all, really; I made it back to the parking lot nearly 20 minutes before sunset.  It was also an easy hike, but I was inordinately pleased buy it; it seemed to justify the weekend for me.