In my journal for today, I wrote: "Today was exhausting." It was exhausting. We started with a long beautiful hike out of Jedediah State Park along the Little Bald Hills Trail, then the Paradise Trail. Flowers were flowering, seeps were seeping, and our steps were easy. We were finally really alone, for several miles.
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| Western Azalea smells like honey. |
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| California lady slipper (Cypripedium californicum) and Darlingtonia californica. |
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| Silene - I think Silene serpentinicola. Emily's favorite flower. |
The Smith River was beautiful, as always - a luminous green ribbon.
But the road was hot, reflecting its heat directly up to us. We hiked up a gradual grade, up and up, our hiking poles clicking along the pavement.We got to a road sign at the junction of the bridge to the G-O road: the sign said "Big Flat Campground - 1 mile." Our destination, still a mile of road walk away.
Discouraged, Emily and I sulked across the bridge, looking for a place to camp. Perhaps we could just camp here, near the G-O road? But the road was lined with private property. We both sat down, resting our backs against our packs. I tilted back a bit, closing my eyes, and slept a deep, full sleep.
About an hour later, we got up, walked back across the bridge, and walked the last mile (which was really about 1/2 mile) to Big Flat Campground. The campground was completely empty and we set up across several sites, calling them the "wings" of our house. We took a brisk bath in Hurdy Gurdy Creek and hung our laundered socks.
Our evening ritual began: set up tent, do yoga, write in the journal, filter water, throw a rock over a tree branch for the bear bag, cook dinner, eat dinner, wash dishes, hoist food up in the bear bag. Emily taught me how to play euchre: she won (6-5) and said her grandma would have been proud. We played in our mosquito head nets, which only slightly obscured our vision.
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| Mosquito face coverings are all the rage. |
Total miles: 13
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