For all my life, I've been backpacking through the rain forests in Washington State, and the Sierras of California, where luscious pine trees loom in every direction. Wilderness to me has always meant high elevation, desolate lakes and miles upon miles of nothing but forest where the existence of fairies is not too far fetched an idea..
When I moved from near Sacramento CA, which is approximately 45 minutes from Tahoe National Forest, to the Bay Area, which is about 4 hours from Tahoe, I was itching to get out into the wild and just roam. Sooner than later though, I discovered Henry Coe State Park, one of the hardest parks for hiking in California because of the rapid elevation changes. An 87,000 acre state park with a 23,000 acre wilderness, completely packed tight witht the goldest rolling hills, and the the most beautiful oak trees I'll ever see.
When I first took a trip into the wilderness of Coe, I was accompanied by one of my best buddies, it was mid summer and we really had no clue what we were in for. We drove to the Hunting Hollow entrance and saw that there was only one other car parked in the parking lot. A good surprise! After hiking a couple miles we were surpised yet again, when we realized that we left the trail map in the car.
Mistake #1: Continue hiking, "I remember which trail to turn on!". Not!
So we continued onto the wrong path, and began to feel the familiar burn in our legs as the elevation began to rise. The temperature outside was probably around..85 or 90 degrees fahrenheit and I was dripping sweat like never before. Thinking we were almost to a lake we saw on the map, we went and made another novice mistake..
Mistake #2: Drink the rest of the water we had brought with us.
So after suffering in the heat we weren't accustomed to hiking in, we realized we actually had the map all along! With that discovery, we came to realize we were no where near where we thought we were. We still couldn't quite tell exactly where we were on that map, but by thinking back to the trail we turned on in the beginning of the day, we had an idea. Within a 10 miles radius, there was no water source big enough to show on the map and I was scared.
Finally, after a good hour or so of feeling dangerously thirsty, pissed off and hot, we came across the smallest, dirtiest, least appetizing pond to filter water from and I felt happier than ever before! Never had I thought I'd be so excited to filter water from a nasty ass turtle pond, with water warm enough to make hot cocoa. We filtered each bottle three times and it was still brown in color, and foul in flavor.
The first night, we ended up staying at a small abandoned house that was falling apart and was tested positive for Hanta Virus. Fortunately, there was a pipe with non-potable water that we could filter and a lovely view in the morning.
The next day was splendid. The hike was shorter and we ended up at a bigger turtle pond than the first. The day turned into a hot one, which made it all the better to run around barefoot in a swimsuit, admiring dozens of turtles and actually eating one at days end!
Mistake #3: Foolishly eating most of the food.
I love my REI Half Dome 2 Plus tent!
So after this trip, I lost my big toenail because of the down hill hiking to return to the car, and shitty boots. It was a good one!
