August 15 - Sky Height

Moving towards the sun before it rises, over the Central Valley, up



the Canyons of the North,



Middle,



and



North-Fork-of-the-Middle Fork American River, past Deadwood and



Balloon Ridges,



to



French Meadows Reservoir, near the upper



Middle Fork American Canyon,



and



beyond to



Talbot Camp (jumping with more activity than seen heretofore in these parts) for the final full dayhike of the summer, to



Picayune Pass (the same destination as last week's jaunt via other direction from the Five Lakes Trailhead).



This time the



way begins as a classic



"old woods road" through what remains of



French Meadows -- this upper open drainage not drowned by a damming water barrier.



East, then



south, into the



greater Picayune Valley (oxymoron, indeed), crossing the energetic creek that is the upper Middle Fork American, followed by



three



granitic



uplands (views opening to the goal south [the pass is at left, three pictures up] and the canyon north, with



Marion Ridge west and



Granite Chief and associated prominences east),



alternating with



two



flower wildernesses (note the clarity of the trail and the stately



aspen).



Waterfalls,



montane chaparral,



a rock shelter, and at last the



upper valley (perhaps its compactness meriting the nomenclature) -- up, up to vistas of



Heavens Gate (the notch above center), Marion Peak (to the left),



Ridge snow, and



Cliffs.



The



Pass is as spectacular as last week, and safer,



with virtually clear skies (just a little cumuli Nevadawise), and a



360 panorama from the terminal



aerie.



The



mossy return back into the



Valley seems a bit easier than previous ones (the gradient has been simply lower to higher, rather than an altitudinal roller coaster), and driving back is a farewell to Mosquito Ridge Road, the scene of so many journeys in the past few years. Home for two more Animal Farm videos



(XVII. Platypusses and



XVIII. Kangaroos) and a check-in with Harriet. Tomorrow is the first day of the fall semester.

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.