A memorable memorial

Wow, what a weekend! We saw so many beautiful things it's hard to remember them all. It was nice to finally get into the mountains. Ever since Kat got me a nice new backpack for Christmas, I've been itching to go try it out. But California has been having extremely odd weather this year, and the rain has ruined several opportunities. Usually, our last rain of the year is around the beginning of April, but we're still getting rain. In fact, we had to carry ponchos with us because of the forecast.

I took off Friday and we drove up Thursday night after class to the Trinity Alps, a compact but impressive range set in the Cascade Mountains. It was a last minute decision really. The large snow pack this year has left most of the trails we planned on visiting buried for another month or more.

We arrived late Thursday night and pitched the tent in a car camping spot. I slept like a rock, and in the morning, it felt like I slept ON a rock. I'm not unaccustomed to waking with a stiff neck after camping, especially the first time of the season when you're still getting used to it, but this was bad, and it only got worse as the weekend wore on.

We started out with a very unfriendly forest ranger who refused to give us advice on which trail to take. Upon pressing for advice his response was "I'm not going to decide your hike for you." Apparently he though the dart and map method was the best way for hikers to determine their path. So we decided to steer clear of the hike with the large number of creek crossings and chose a path that is known for its beauty, but also for being heavily traveled. It's amazing how many people are willing to strap 40-50 pounds on their backs to get away from the crowds.

We quickly came to our first and only creek crossing, which was a bit harder than we expected. At the swiftest and most difficult part of the creek, there was a "hole" that came up to above our knees. Creek crossing can be very dangerous, especially when the water is cold and swift this time of year. The water can be so cold that if you get swept away, you may go numb before you have a chance to swim ashore. Obviously, we made it okay, but it was a small adventure, and a good experience since we'll likely have to do more difficult crossings in the future.

After that the trail was surprisingly pleasant. We walked along a wooded hill along side the creek with a gradual climb. My neck, however, was not doing so well, and I was having trouble even holding it straight up, much less turning to the left. Kat was also having a tough adjustment to her heavy pack, so we decided to set up camp pretty early along the trail, and perhaps head up further the next day. As we discovered, there were many excellent places to camp along this trail, but this may have been the best, especially since the other backpackers passed us by and we had the place pretty much to ourselves, aside from the rattlesnake friends we soon discovered. They weren't too threatening, but they were kinda scary in that you couldn't see them until you were right on top of them. Very camouflaged those rattlesnakes. Naturally, they disappeared as soon as I got my camera out, but we saw them several times before then on the path down to the "creek."

I say "creek" with quotations because this is not the same creek we crossed before. This was a much larger "creek," appearing to me to be more like a category 5 rafting river. We definitely weren't going to cross this one. But it was peaceful to sit down next to it and admire its power and beauty. And taking a sponge bath in the water was...how shall we say...refreshing. Let's just say we weren't very far from the snow from which this water had just melted.

As we finished setting up camp and the light of late afternoon set in, out came the most beautiful flowers on the trees. I'm pretty sure they were dogwoods, but they're different than dogwoods in Missouri. Well, we haven't decided if they bloomed in the evening or we just didn't see them because of the bright light. But the feeling of being in the brown and green forest and suddenly realizing that you're surrounded by these beautiful flowers was amazing. Everywhere you looked they were among the trees. It had a very three dimensional enveloping feel to it, like being surrounded by stars in space. It was the most magical moment of the trip for me. I got a few nice pictures of them, but like all of these pictures, I wasn't really able to capture the feeling of being there.

On our day hike the next day, I fell similarly short of capturing the feel of the canyon on film. As we hiked farther up the canyon, the craggy peaks atop the steep hillsides reminded me of the dwarfing feeling of being in Yosemite, and the spring runoff formed dozens of tiny waterfalls making their way down the hillside. All along the path we were amazed at the variety of the park. It had everything. Serenity in meadows, tree groves, wildflowers and lazy rivers; and grandeur in high snow-capped peaks, mountain lakes, distant vistas, and powerful rivers and waterfalls. It was one of our most beautiful hikes we've ever had.

So naturally we left. My neck was getting worse, and we decided to spend the night in a hotel to see if a regular bed and pillow could rehab it. After a good night's rest, we debated whether to head home or continue exploring. Being only a couple of hours away from the redwood coast, we decided to take a chance that we could find lodging on Memorial weekend and headed over to the Redwood National Park.

It was quite impressive. I couldn't believe how lucky we were to be seeing so many beautiful things in one trip. Everyone knows that the redwoods are the world's tallest living trees. And there are more than a few of these that you can drive your car through. But their size is not what I love about them. I love the forest floor beneath them. It's so quiet and peaceful. Never windy or too dry and dusty. And the trees form a canopy over you that feels a little bit like being inside while being outside. Like a large auditorium. The Redwood Arena. (Soon to be renamed the Southwest Airlines Redwood Arena.) I feel so at home there. And unlike the small groves around us in the Bay Area, these stretched for miles. We're definitely going to go backpacking there.

After that we found a campsite at a state park and I bought a cheap pillow from Target. We made campfire chili and watched the sun go down. I think the most beautiful landscape we saw the whole weekend was right before the sun set on the coast. And naturally I only had a little space left on any memory card and I had to shoot the scene in low resolution. And on top of it I had my "film speed" set to high, which is not a good setting for landscapes. So the best picture opportunity I've had...possibly since I got the camera, and I screwed it all up. I still got the picture and I love it, but I think it could have been a gallery picture and instead it's a screen saver. Oh well.

On Monday we took our time driving home, taking detours on scenic routes and stopping at a couple of our favorite wineries. All in all it was an amazing weekend, and I can't wait to look back on it more...as soon as I can turn my neck!

Sorry to make you read the whole thing and not post any picture, but I'll have them for you tonight.