Our original plan was to celebrate the end of 2017 in the dark, cold, calm of the Karlsson family cabin. No running water, all we needed for a party was a box of wine and a wood burning stove. Alas, the family was hit with the beginning of a nasty, readily contagious gastroenteritis that plagues us to today. Feeling restless and dreading the idea of doing nothing and staying home, I put together a spontaneous "plan" to camp at the tent cabins at nearby Big Basin State Park. It was a gamble, there were only 2 cabins available on a first-come-first-serve basis, and I was gunning to beat the competition there. Even though Anders barfed on the windy way up Highway 9, the last minute trek was worth it. Fresh air and perspective, courtesy of a 2,000 year old coast redwood.
We took to the only trail that allowed dogs, an old paved access road that followed Opal Creek. Classy lady that I am, I packed some Alviso Mills Hefeweizen from Santa Clara Valley Brewing, PB&J materials, and a bag of Doritos to share. It was easy to see the damage from the heavy rains last winter, including several trees downed from over saturated ground. Mattias stopped to count rings on one tree, and it was over 350 years old.
It was a dry January so the famous banana slug was hard to find. Linus spotted this pair on the way back, and since banana slugs are usually solitary, we knew they were "doing it." The macro lens on my phone camera confirmed the correct anatomy in play.
Another highlight of the hike was the number and variety of fungi. Mattias handed out tickets (leftover from some carnival and long forgotten in his sweater pocket) for each time the boys found something interesting, which they could later trade for Saturday candy. The positive reinforcement proved effective and we identified some club fungus, False Turkey Tail, and a coral fungus.
When we checked in to the cabin site later that evening, the boys went straight to work at doing camping things. Mattias fussed over the campfire while I set up our kitchen and beds. The kids played card then battled with glow sticks.
Dinner was simple: one pot pasta and sauce from a jar. It didn't matter, almost all hot food tasted 10 times better when you're camping and cold. Sparking wine, hot cocoa, and s'mores made it a party.
When we got too cold we moved the party into the tent cabin, which had a nice table and a wood burning stove. I reluctantly played cards with the guys until we were all ready to crash.
The following morning was made cozy by a fresh fire made my Mattias, and instant coffee and oatmeal. Without the tent and mattresses to deal with, packing up was fairly painless.
Poor Theo, being a serious territorial canine, didn't really enjoy his first real camping experience. He didn't understand why we were spending so much time away from home, and why so many strange people were creeping so close around our site. You can tell from this photo he was ready to leave.
We couldn't drive down the mountain without visiting the redwood slab from a tree felled in 1934. The various markers annotate major historical events all the way back to the year 544AD, when the tree sprouted.
Twenty four hours in the forest gave me pause: as tumultuous as 2017 appeared, that year was just a single ring on the trunk of a giant. There will be more years and rings to follow, both thick and thin, and I hope that like the trees, I am present to bear witness.
No comments:
Post a Comment