The Hike of 16 Water Crossings

Last year, we decided to take a hike past the dam and into the hills and valleys near Pyramid Peak. What we did not know was that there was a fast rushing stream along the path and that we would have to cross it eight times out and eight times back! Rich didn't mind walking through the water in his shoes and socks and squishing his way along for hours but I, being much more wimpy and particular about the state of my little tootsies, was not willing to do so. Therefore, when we hiked it last year, he graciously offered to carry me on his back over each of the crossings. What a guy! It was pretty scary, let me tell you, but he kept his balance and we made it just fine. Today, I was better prepared and wore my tall yellow bee boots to keep my feet dry and to save his back. We think the water was a little higher this year and there were a few times when I really thought I might be going down because the current was strong, trying to push me where I didn't want to go. Luckily, we had no mishaps, though the stream was deep enough to top my boots in several locations and I ended up with very wet pants and a slow, steady dripping down into my socks. Not terrible, though, so I will not whine. We hiked all the way out to a little lake and were going eat our lunch there, but suddenly thousands of gnats were right on top of us, disturbing our little picnic. We couldn't take it, so packed up our food and made our way past the lake and across a big valley until we topped the hills and looked down on the edge of Beaver Inlet on the Pacific side. Another gorgeous view of the hills and the ocean, a lone pine tree (how did that get there?) and a big river flowing through. On the way back, we suddenly noticed many, many little sundews close to the ground throughout the valley. We have only seen them on the Ugadaga Trail before this and were just amazed that they seemed to be everywhere here! Just as we were beginning to feel somewhat dry, we had to start crossing the stream again. Here are a couple of funny photos; Rich managed to set the timer on the camera and catch us as we made our way across.