So on a sunny Friday afternoon, (honorary roomie) Jesse and I drove to Point Reyes to meet up with the Capn and his buddy Nick. With my filled to the brim backpacking backpack (that just sounds weird together) and Giants hat, our merry gang of dudes set off from the visitors center parking lot. Immediately, I was taken to a different world. It's not very often that you see rainforest, green hills and rocky coastline on the same day. It was…awesome. In the forest, one of my first sights was a banana slug that I nearly stepped on. I had never seen one before and thought it might have been a bear booger.
A Banana Slug in the wild…yeah, we thought it kinda looked like a penis too
I'm still trying to figure out why UC Santa Cruz picked something so gross as their mascot?….damn hippies! After a little over five miles we arrived at our camp for the evening just as the evil fog started rolling in. Our campsite was back in the middle of nowhere - and smack-dab in the afternoon sun. The Capn tried to take a quick nap but was roasting in his tent. Luckily, I had beginners exhaustion on my side and got to take my nap. Through fart jokes, interesting meals (I finally got to check out dehydrated food and I must say - I'm not impressed) and camping stories, we had a nice relaxing evening in the woods.
The next day was the big hike. I could barely get out of bed because I have weak calves (yeah, that's it) but the gang forced me onwards for our trek to the coast. I was able to get these kick-ass shots….
The next day was the big hike. I could barely get out of bed because I have weak calves (yeah, that's it) but the gang forced me onwards for our trek to the coast. I was able to get these kick-ass shots….
Fallen tree…no f'ing problem for our gang!
Beautiful!
…before I realized my camera was having technical difficulties. Unfortunately, I also started having technical difficulties around this time due to the crappy food I ate the night before. I may love ramen but that doesn't mean my stomach does. The last 8 miles of hiking was irritating due to a pissed-off tummy. Luckily, I was with three guys who enjoyed nature shots and I'll be able to get plenty of visual reminders from their pictures. It turned out, I wasn't the only one on the trip who was uncomfortable. Nick somehow pulled his groin and was hobbling about as slowly as I was. We had stopped for lunch at this pretty bridge when we were suddenly inundated by a swarm of post-teen hikers - in their matching hiking boots, tu-tus and hipster hats. Someone in our group pin-pointed them as a church group and we all said "Ohhhhh", as if that explained everything. Once we got our laughs out, it was a grueling uphill to camp. Of course, we got the campsite that was in the middle of overgrown grasses and weeds and swarming with mosquitos. After watching my fellow hikers get eaten alive through their clothes, I retreated to the tent (we all did to avoid the mosquitos) and talked to everyone through our tents.
The last day was full of jokes about "man-stink" (funny because I felt like I smelled the worst) and all the things we would eat on the way home (mmm, burgers and pizza). I walked the last few miles with Nick so he'd have a hiking buddy (ok, I wanted to make sure he didn't pass out from his groin pull, but he was a trooper). We came upon that church group that ran into us the day before and found many of the girls wrapping their knees and ankles together…1/8 of a mile from the parking lot! Seriously? They couldn't wait the 3 minutes it would have taken to go over the hill into their parked van. The church director looked just as irritated as we felt…and was glaring at our barely concealed snickering. We heckled all the way to the "finishing line" and a very proud Capn Dick took a victory picture of me.
Still trying to figure out if this is a look of exhausted delirium or relief at seeing a bathroom
So I did it! Not only that, I kicked ass (and only bitched a little)! We clocked just over 20 miles in 48 hours and besides my exhausted walk to the bathroom, it really wasn't that bad. Hell, I realized I'd (surprisingly) do it again…maybe next year…and not in mid-summer. It really changed my perception of what I thought I was physically capable of - what else can I do?
Lessons learned:
- Wear wool socks!
- DON'T eat dehydrated meals. I was very happy with my ramen, oatmeal and Clif Bars. Even the Capn agreed it was sandwiches and chips next time
- Bring moleskin for blisters and TONS of bug spray in case the camping people decide to give you the shittiest, most mosquito-occupied campsites
- Laugh a lot and take a bunch of pictures
- But still…bring pepto-bismol!
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