July 18 - Connecting the Lines

Up absurdly early, with a local petrol and water-bottle stop,



then out to



American River Middle Fork Canyon,



over the Auburn Ravine Bridge,



past baking



chaparral slopes to



the Western States Trail Junction in



Foresthill



for



the last 8.3 miles (16.6, actually, since this will have to be a round trip) of a series of connected hikes between Rohnert Park and the Talbot Trailhead of the Granite Chief Wilderness.



Time for another Mark-of-Arabia (or is it more Flying Nun / large white rabbit / water buffalo this time?) get up before heading down



California,



Lowe, and perhaps



California again to



the



Trailhead,



where



the



views



open to the



east,



south,



and



west.



The way leads across a digger-pine-and-chaparral plateau,



then down Dardenelles Canyon within sight of the distant North-Fork-of-the-Middle-Fork Divide to a sunny



checkpoint.



From here,



the woods are alternately thin and dense,



with enough views of



Buckeye and



Cock Robin Points to keep it interesting, yet enough



shade to keep one alive on a very warm day (with three horsewomen and no other hikers encountered the whole time).



At last the clearing (in what proves to be just about the only truly deep forest section), known as



Peachstone Junction, appears, after a brutal, open downslope.



Resting briefly, there is nothing to do but tackle the reverse upslope -- the most difficult stretch of the day, wrapping the upper shirt-scarf tight against the heat radiating up from the rocks, meditating on the horse that started earlier and almost knocked its rider and me for a loop (what if?). All the potential dangers -- sprains, broken bones, heat stroke, insurmountable fatigue, bears, mountain lions, bees, poison oak, sunburn, blisters, becoming lost, dehydration, starvation, being kicked by a horse -- pretty much averted.



Uncharacteristically thankful for shade and



cool springs, relatedly appreciative for having taken three (rather than two of last week) water bottles, plus the re-discovered daypack of yesterday, which proves semi-insulated, and thereby a keeper of relatively refridgerated goods.



Homeward, again, pretty wiped out, but perhaps in slightly better shape than last week at this time -- still there are two pages (51-52) of Symphony No. 2: II (Part 2) to do, as well as another for Psalm 20 (2 pages total, concluding it), and video edit for San Rafael News: I. AIDSong.

July 11 - Time and the River

Up and out early to the Sierra foothills east of Auburn, down Driver's Flat Road to



Oregon Bar for a 14+walk to



Peachstone Junction (California 2), thereby filling in about half the gap to Foresthill (once done, will have walked contiguously from Santa Rosa Plain, across the Central Valley, and up into the Mountains to Talbot Campground beyond Mosquito Ridge -- with two other gaps left to fill to finish a stroll across California from the Pacific Ocean to the Nevada border).



The journey starts accompanied by a forelorn dog, who gives up the companionship at the



Ruck-a-Chucky Road ascent, where the



rapids



come soon into view (the name evidently from the "rotten chuck" -- poor edibles in Gold Rush parlance -- or perhaps what would come of it over the watery turbulence).



Beyond, the Middle Fork of the American River turns placid, turning the bend near



Ford's Bar, then up to views of



Cock Robin,



Otter Creek Canyon, and the



Hornblende Mountains.



A punishing down and up, beyond Peachstone Canyon to the Junction, then



back via the cool waters, as the sun descends providing some relief against the 90+ sun,



down (mostly), returning to the



Ford's Bar area,



re-encountering



Ruck-a-



Chucky,


the relentless sun returns by a



Digger Pine rest stop, and



leads all the way



back to



point of origin.

Pretty wiped out, seemingly at the level of endurance, just enough water to make the circuit, heading back up Drivers Flat (Tire?) Road, a light flashes several times on the dashboard. Make a dash to the promentory plateau midway, check for overheating (seems maybe, kinda OK), charge up the rest of the road, which is not as steep, windy, and rutted (still gravel, though), then down Foresthill Road to Auburn Ravine Bridge, and back up to civilization, such as it welcomingly is, stock up on water, soda, and oil (by now am down to a mini-Coke left in the car that has the approximate temperature of hot coffee). Difficult to determine whether the oil is down or not, so put more in, turn over the ignition, which fires up right away chipperly, and the light on the dash (which cannot be read when unlit) proves to be the computerized "swerve control" functioning -- so perhaps there was really no issue at all.

Feeling definitely like an individual of a certain age -- a muscular twitch in right leg (Google reveals can be brought on by muscular stress... well, yeah...) and a growing tinnitus (nostalgia for gentle August cicadias of the east) do not make sleep come gently, so do two more pages of publication-preparation for the Symphony No. 2: I, begin video edits for Diocletian, and at last drop off.