A Walk in the Woods

The weather for Saturday was expected to be cooler, breezy, and somewhat overcast. So we did something my husband has been wanting to do for a while: we drove to Sproul State Forest and spent the afternoon hiking in the woods, looking for new campsites.

We packed up a couple of ham and cheese sandwiches and some drinks, and our daysacks and chairs. For it was to be a day trip and not a backpack. So we would plan to walk a lot, in search of some new spots. My husband estimated five miles, so I wore my big backpacking boot, which is the only boot I have that will stand up to that length of hike.

The place we were going to explore was the woods below a camp and a spring we have known for a very long time; practically since the beginning (which would be 34 years-ish). We were familiar with the camp but nothing beyond that. So this was the day to find out more.

We ate our first sandwiches in the parking lot. Then we hiked down a beautiful, green, mossy trail, and stopped and had our fill of fresh, cold water at the spring. It has been a summer with very little rain, with many small creek beds completely dry at this point, so it was a surprise to find the spring still running strong.

From there, we continued down the green trail through the woods, down to yet another, somewhat bigger, grassy road. From that road, we caught a trail into the woods that led down into the deep, darker hollows. We admired the ferns, which were lush and green, and very tall.

Every step that we went down, I knew we'd have to come right back up again. The trail was rough and rocky in spots, and by about mile two or three, I was very glad for my heavy backpacking boot.

We were looking for campsites, which means three things: 1) a clearing, 2) a relatively flat spot, and 3) (hopefully) something nice to look at. We finally found a spot that might do, and we set up our chairs to take a break, and we each had our second sandwiches, before heading back up the hill, and out.

My husband took off and explored the hillside above us. There he found yet a second campsite, but I did not get to see it, as T. Tiger and I were relaxing in my chair. I was sitting in the seat, of course, and he was hanging out in my cup holder, a spot he fits in perfectly.

T. Tiger and his friend Little Bear carefully studied the map. They looked at colorful mushrooms. T. Tiger, when asked to keep an eye on my glasses as I took them off, put them on his tiny face, and we all laughed, he looked so ridiculous. He sat on a large outgrowth of white punk on a tree, where I took his photograph.

And then it was time to go back up and up and out of the woods. So we packed up our stuff and did just that. We walked to within a mile of our car, and stopped in an attractive part of the forest, filled with evergreens, and with pine needles at our feet. There we each had a cold soda and listened to some tunes, before packing up and heading back to the car.

By the time we finished our hike, I'd put in about five miles, and he had put in about six, as he spent some time exploring. My big boots did pretty well, but by the end of it, my legs were tired and my right ankle was trying to come up lame on me. But we persevered, and boy, did it feel great after all of that walking to crawl into the car and RIDE.

About the pictures . . . above is a photo of my husband walking on one of the woods roads ahead of me. The little bend in the path seemed appealing to me, and I liked seeing a human figure in the middle of all those trees. In the extras is a photo of the green trees and rocky trail. Yes, you'll need your BIG boots for THIS!  :-)

Here is a song for an outdoors adventure: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, with Into the Great Wide Open. Music starts around two minutes in.