Redwood Lecture by Richard Preston

An excellent lecture about Redwoods from the writer Richard Preston (author of The Hot Zone). He even includes a short discussion about the eastern Hemlock. I just picked up his book The Wild Trees and can't put it down! Highly recommended...

Redwoods

I took a couple of walks in some Redwood groves near the Navarro River on Friday and explored a little bit of the Montgomery Woods grove. Nothing extreme, just enough to get off the trail and take a look around. The forest was very cold again this weekend, damp, water dripping from the canopy, saturating the forest floor.

Where is the rain? This time last year, it seemed like it was raining every single day. It's been just over a year since I moved to Northern California. Other than an early storm system in October, and a day or two here and there, it hasn't really started raining this year.

What does it mean for the redwoods? I don't know. The fog seems to be doing a pretty darn good job keeping things damp. I wanted to focus on the trees, more than the mushrooms. I gave myself a pretty good crick in the neck from staring up at the canopy. I just read recently that huckleberry bushes can grow at the top of the trees, filled with ripe berries in the fall!

I know its obscene to take a picture of a dollar bill anywhere in these forests, but its all I had to show the scale of these giant mushrooms growing near the base of one particular redwood. How mystical are these forests! Spend some time in them, and they become a part of you.
Something draws you back time and time again to these forests. I don't particularly enjoy hiking in these woods either. Usually I am cold, coughing in the damp air, craving warmth and sunlight. My clothes get wet and muddy. There is probably no way I would choose to live amongst them. Yet they call for a visit regularly.
The trees and this unique ecosystem are easy to take for granted. On the way to work, I can easily put in a CD, drive through grove after grove, daydreaming about something else, mindlessly taking curve after curve.
Every so often, something will stir inside saying "Look where you are! Look at these magnificent trees! Get out of the car and take a look around!" The fact that this is a truly unique ecosystem, located only here in Northern California, is a reason to celebrate.
Until next time...

3 Women Lost in 3 Sisters Wilderness

I bought the Pacific Crest Trailside Reader last weekend. It's a collection of short stories from various hikers throughout the years compiled into one magnificent read. I've had to fight back tears a couple of times already, while reading. What a trail! Anyhow, one story I read this morning brought to mind a story that I would like to share that occurred in the Three Sisters Wilderness in Oregon. It's a story I am not particularly proud of. I have no pictures to share because unfortunately, this section of photos has been lost forever, thanks to a broken memory card. It's about three college aged women who were lost near Three Sisters. The story obviously will be written from my point of view. Here is my account of what happened on September 11, 2010:

Indie and I woke up at the break of dawn on a frigid morning in the Three Sister's Wilderness. It was one of the coldest mornings on the PCT. I ate my morning Pop Tarts and 2 packages of cold oatmeal, packed up my gear and was ready to hit the trail within 20 minutes. There was no point standing around, it was SO cold. Indie usually had more gear to pack up in the mornings so I began hiking while he was still packing up. The grass along the trail was covered with frost, and ice was forming in small creek beds. What a relief to know that the act of walking ignites the internal furnace. It wasn't long before my body was warming up to the early morning sun, however it was still too cold to take off my gloves and winter hat.

While approaching a shadowed, frost covered meadow, I saw three distant figures walking northbound on the PCT. From a distance, I could see that neither of the hikers were carrying backpacks.
"Must be camping nearby," I remembered thinking. "The nearest road is several miles away. Probably out for a morning stroll."
As I approached, I noticed that it was three young women, and they were all wearing hooded sweatshirts, sweatpants, and they had a tiny dog with them. It seemed a bit odd.
"Good morning!" I said, happy to see three attractive females in the wilderness.
"Good morning," they responded.
"Are you camping nearby?" I asked.
"No," one of the women answered. "We slept on the trail last night."
"Where's your gear?" I asked.
"We don't have any, we got lost hiking yesterday, couldn't find our way out, and decided to sleep on the trail last night. Are we on the PCT?"
"Yes!" I said. "You slept on the trail last night? Without a sleeping bag or tent? It was freezing!"

Turns out, the women sandwiched each other throughout the night, and took turns being the person in the middle with the little dog. They said they were shivering all night, did not sleep at all. I couldn't believe it. I asked them if they were hungry, although I only had a small amount of extra food. I gave them what I could spare, and volunteered to walk with them until they reached safety.

It was every man's dream! Three pretty damsels in distress! Here I am, a man of the mountains with super hero like stamina and strength! I will show you the way to safety!

"Do you know where we are?" One of the women asked.
Flustered, I actually had no idea where I was. I knew I was on the PCT. In fact, I hadn't checked my guidebook maps in days, and I knew they were buried in my pack somewhere. I fumbled with my pack and out spilled several unopened zip locks filled with data book descriptions, Yogi pages, and several sections of guidebook maps. There was no way I was going to be able to pinpoint our location. I didn't even know what section I was technically in.
"We are walking north on the PCT," I answered, trying to project confidence. "Where are you trying to go?"
"Oh good, we want to be on the PCT. Our car is at South Mathieu Lake," one of the women informed me.
I had no clue where that was, or what it looked like. One of the females assured me that we were heading in the right direction, so I attempted my best to lighten the situation with small talk. The little dog seemed to be the most confident of all of us, happily marching up the trail.

One of the three women really began to fall behind a mile or so up the trail. I couldn't tell if she was frustrated, tired, or didn't want to be rescued. I was feeling insecure. One of the females began to insist that they were OK, that they could make it out now. I still hadn't quite grasped the seriousness of the situation and relented.
"OK, well at least take my last Snickers." I said, giving the candy bar to the girl who was falling behind. Before departing I asked for a photo.
"This is going to be a great story for my blog!" I exclaimed stupidly.
The girls posed for a group photo, and then I said my goodbyes. Instantly, I began to beat myself up for asking for a photo. I also began to question whether I did the right thing by leaving them. At least Indie was behind us. If the girls got into trouble, he would be hiking up behind them in half an hour or so.

About five minutes after leaving the women behind, A caravan of search and rescue came galloping up the trail on horseback, decked out with emergency equipment, bright yellow jackets, and first aid.
"Did you see three college aged females this morning?" One of the crew asked somewhat frantically.
"Yes, they are a couple minutes down the trail!" I exclaimed.
"Thank God!" one of the crew members said, as they quickly sped off.

All of a sudden I felt the gravity of the situation. I continued to beat myself up the rest of the morning as I questioned whether or not I did the right thing. When I reached South Mathieu Lake, there were emergency vehicles everywhere in the parking lot. Cops talking on walkie talkies, tourists asking what was going on. I sheepishly avoided all of them, took a side trail, and filled up my water bottles at the lake. During this time, Indie had unknowingly hiked in front me, and was eating lunch at highway 242 at McKenzie Pass. I was in desperate need to talk. Trail therapy was in order.

Upon seeing Indie sitting along the highway, he greeted me by screaming, "YOU TRAIL PAPARAZZI!!!"
"NOOOOO!" was all I could say. "What did you hear???"
Indie proceeded to tell me how he met the girls after they had been rescued. They told him how I asked for their photo in their time of distress. I felt like a fool. However, I was not the only trail paparazzi that morning. You can see Indie's photos and account of the day here!

Lunar Eclipse

I forced myself out of bed this morning at 4:45 to check out the lunar eclipse. It's been a while since I've seen one, so I figured it was time. It was very cold this morning in town, and I walked a mile or so until I reached the base of the mountains and out from under the orange glow of the streetlights. As I was walking, the earth's shadow slowly began to cover the face of the moon. There were some incredible shooting stars as well! One streaked across the sky, leaving a greenish trail behind it, that took about 10 seconds for it to dissipate. Once the moon was covered, I waited and waited for the sliver to reappear, but it never did. The moon dipped behind the mountains, so I walked home in the twilight.

Spirit Eagle

Here is an excellent resource about the CDT (Continental Divide Trail.) It's a blog called Spirit Eagle and contains information from Jim and Ginny Owen who have hiked the CDT twice.

Backpacking Bug

The backpacking bug has bitten again, and I have found myself spending a lot of time researching the mysterious Continental Divide Trail. A few fortunate backpackers have achieved the "Triple Crown," which is the completion of the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, and the Continental Divide Trail. I first heard of the triple crown many years ago while in college, and have dreamed of achieving that goal at some point in my life ever since. I think if I'm ever fortunate to hike another trail, the CDT will be the next one. I ordered Yogi's CDT handbook last month, and also ordered Jonathan Ley's maps a few days ago. I'm keeping a watchful eye on my bank account to see if this dream can become a reality this year or not. Some dreams are great to have whether they are achieved or not in my opinion. So, if you happen to see future posts on the CDT, you will know the reason why. It's on my mind! The next few months, I am going to be making the preparations involved to attempt a southbound CDT thruhike beginning sometime in mid to late June. I will have to decide whether the financial risk will be worth it probably sometime in April or May. If the financial risk is too great, I will continue to work and wait another year. There is a lot to do in the meantime...

Mushroom Hunting

I went mushroom hunting for a couple of hours over the weekend and found a few more shrooms for the first time this year. Some pictured above are repeats. The forest felt like a freezer this weekend. The air was much warmer, and the forest floor much drier, a hundred feet or so up the mountainside. I'm starting to finally distinguish between the different kinds of fungus, no better way to learn, than to be outdoors looking at them in person.