if i could hike for a living, i would. i always love the hike through green gulch zen center and up through muir beach and tennessee valley. if it's one thing i regret not doing more of during my time in northern california, it's the hikes, or rather, seeing and being with nature. but it's ok, there is time and i will be back up here more times than i can plan on.
impromptu hike to the Plain of Six Glaciers Tea House. the owner let me take pictures of the kitchen. I was so surprised! nobody ever wants anybody to see what their busy kitchen looks like (for obvious reasons)... there is no electricity here and the supplies are dropped in via helicopter, transported by horses, or hiked in and out by the staff who live on-site. it was well worth the 6+ mile hike, especially when you don't bother to bring food and water because you didn't think you could be seduced by all the trail signs around you.
ugh, before entering the trail to see the wind caves, I saw a warning sign about mountain lions. I decided to go anyway, but not before meeting a man who was reading the same sign and who had recently encountered a mountain lion (while in his vehicle). I told him where I was headed so we hiked up together, but he seemed more afraid than I was. if a man lets you take the lead on a hike where there are mountain lions, that kinda says a lot about him, especially after telling me he wouldn't have hiked it if I wasn't going. yes, he straight out told me that. plus, I tested him. every time I saw a lizard wiggle its way across my path, I would stop and pretend I had seen something amidst the bushes. he would get very quiet. I sensed fear. he tried to play it cool, but so did I. that was a fucked up thing to do on my part, but mountain lions ain't no joke. I wanted to sense how afraid he was to see how alone I was in all this in case we did encounter a mountain lion, not that it was going to make any difference...
we stopped at the wind caves to take some pictures. they were pretty disappointing so I decided to hike farther. I left him behind but kept an eye on him just to see how far up I was going. fear really started to set in on me when I could no longer see him. I hiked back down and saw him waiting at the trailhead. we small talked on the way back to our cars. he got a phone call from his wife asking him to stop at Albertson's on the way back home. I never got his name and he never got mine.
the highlight of this hike: the deer. not only did we spot them on the way up to see the wind caves, but they also reappeared at the trailhead, thumping back to the bushes when they saw us coming. it was the most adorable thing even though they'd probably kick my ass if I tried to give them eskimo kisses.
(i'm still playing around with this mirrorless camera. apparently, i'm not playing around with it enough.
so far from the distant shore / the only time she never feels alone
on the land, her body distorts / in the water, lines are true to her mind
she knows she'll never touch the floor / she can float unharmed by murky wars
and the land is as plain as her skin / but the water shines like the star in her mind
they will never understand / how washed up you feel on land
the spotlight of the sun, it shines on
i was walking home looking at the trees.
i got the feeling that they were looking back at me.
