Poison Oak

Also this year we didn’t break our 'tradition' of forgetting the day we met.
10 years ago already!
We actually went out for dinner on that particular day, March 20th, but still without thinking to do so for some special reason.

~~~

Almost every morning Maarten wakes up before 5 o’clock.
I believe this has a lot to do with his ‘potty needs’. I actually do mind the consequences of this early morning waking more than the ‘potty matter’ itself.
I hope it will be resolved at least by this summer...

We still don’t know where the allergies on Maarten’s face are coming from.
A nice physician at his medical exams last week assured me this is not a kind of food allergy but rather an external one. I still hope it will go away within a couple of weeks like last spring.
Luckily it doesn’t seem to bother Maarten much.

Anyway Maarten is declared healthy and we can apply for an extension of his visa.
But also we need to be checked; and I hope we will pass as well.

~~~


Rob has had a pretty bad cold this week so we have to relax this weekend.
Though I’m really happy seeing him getting better and he even agrees to set off for a trip to the beach...

...Maarten falls asleep in the car which hopefully means that he will be fresh for the rest of the day. He wakes up while passing the Bolinas Lagoon, just on time to see the harbor seals sunbathing on the island of sediments in the middle of the lagoon.
We exit the highway right past the marsh. Despite the unsigned junction it’s quite easy to find the Palomarin Trailhead. (I understand the residents of Bolinas tear down the street signs leading to there.)
There are already so many cars at the trailhead and I have to admit I’m pretty disappointed by that.
Anyway Rob and Maarten head for the beach and I hope to reach the Alamere Falls.


In the nice-smelling eucalyptus woods I can’t help taking pictures of the blue flowering groundcover and the splendid cala lilies.


Also the path along the coast, with its amazing views, is fringed with all kinds of bushes. I recognize only the blue blossoming lupine. The wind is so strong here I understand some people wear a scarf and mittens.


The climbing is pretty gradual so far and I secretly hope it will stay so.
After a while the trail leaves the ocean and continues into the hills. I meet whole groups of backpackers and I guess that’s why there were so many cars at the trailhead.


The trail leads past the hidden and pristine Bass and Pelican lakes. I would love to enjoy the lakes for a while but I don’t feel like leaving the trail when I’m on my own.
There are not steep climbs at all and I reach the cutoff path to the falls pretty quickly.

Just before the junction I see a man coming from the bushes and wandering out of the trail. He looks a bit ‘different’ than the other hikers I meet but luckily he walks in a different direction.


I remember the advice of a local hiking expert S. and stay on the trail to the Wildcat Camp .
The path seems to get very little use and I don’t come across any hikers at all. I found this a bit strange somehow. But having strong belief in my adviser I hope to reach the beach soon and approach the falls from down there.
I feel still more uneasy and when I see the path is turning away from the coast again I decide to return.
I feel disappointed and chagrined at the same time.

And then I finally encounter someone again. It’s the same weird looking man I saw already before. He gives me a smile and greets me very politely. I try to stay calm but the urine odor while passing him doesn’t improve my dread. When I hope he can’t see me anymore I start to run ‘for my life’. At least this is how I feel at the moment. Now I have to think about my arrogance of hiking alone.
Not the cougar but the man is the biggest danger on the trail, that’s what all the locals would agree on. But why would someone like this wander in the middle of nowhere? I understand if I were to run into him on the Iron Horse Trail, but here?
Who knows, and I really hope, I’m just being hysterical and that he is nothing more than a common hiker. Sure he doesn’t follow me but I use a bunch of energy to run at least a mile back to the junction with the path to the falls.




There are hordes of people here and for the first time I don’t mind the crowds at all!





And the waterfalls (there are actually three of them) are beyond my expectations.









From the cliff the water plunges directly onto Wildcat Beach.
Too glorious to describe. I hope the pictures somehow help.


On my way back the trail is getting very busy. And every other group asks me how long it will take them to reach the falls. I’m really surprised what a huge attraction the falls are. Even a family with two small children struggles with a city stroller on this rough path!

I’m almost back at the trailhead and my poor hips hurt really badly.

I'm supposed to meet Rob and Maarten at the beach but I’m quite relieved seeing them coming up already. This saves me some additional 2 miles.
I feel a bit guilty having such an adventure on my own but they seemed to have had a wonderful time at their beloved beach as well.

PS: I've brought 'a souvenir' from this wonderful and adventurous hike.
Even though I’m always aware of the leaves of three I have got the poison oak rash at last!
What an itching nightmare!
Just hoping the boys will always be spared, especially Maarten!