It's Saturday, May 3rd, and as I pull into the Dowdy Ranch Day Use lot, I revel in the fact I'm at Henry Coe's eastern entrance a mere three hours after its opening for the season. I register at the visitor center (barely a year old and still looking pristine), pay the five-dollar day-use fee, and ask the rangers for some hiking suggestions.
"Something in the neighborhood of ten miles," I say after one asks me how far I want to go.
She points me to a seven-mile counter-clockwise loop consisting of the Max's Corral, North Fork, Scherrer, Center Flats, and Hersman Trails. "You'll get some nice views," she says.
The other ranger pipes in, "I always tell people to bring plenty of water and beware of the hills."
"Are they like Hobbs Road?" I say with a shudder, thinking of the tortuously steep trail by Coe Headquarters.
"Not as steep, but more sustained," says the ranger.
I thank them, return to the car for my boots and poles, and head for the trail at the end of the lot, near the restroom and picnic area.
I start down Max's Corral Trail and immediately lose the trail. Instead of one clear path through the field of tall grass, there are several paths. It's the first democratically chosen trail I've ever encountered. I'm not sure how the exact process works, but I believe whichever way receives the most votes (or boots) becomes the newly elected trail.
For an entire minute, I stand in the field with a lost look on my face. I then remember the ranger's advice to keep an eye out for brightly colored tape tied to trees. "They mark the way", he said. I easily spot one and hurry in that direction, looking over my shoulder to see if anybody spotted my embarrassing moment of confusion.
Once out of the field, the trail choices narrow to one unmistakable path of trodden grass. It winds its way down the hill in a series of easy switchbacks.
Down I go through what feels like an orchard. Near the end of my descent, I pass a barbed wire fence and come across another field of tall grass. I hear the sound of running water ahead of me and soon encounter the North Fork Pacheco Creek, which I believe marks the start of the North Fork Trail.
The trail crosses the creek at least five times. I manage to keep my boots dry until the last pass, when my left foot decides it would be cool to be wet. Dumb foot.
In short order, I reach the Tie Down Trail junction. Here, I decide to visit Tie Down Peak and an unnamed pond just off Yellowjacket Trail.
I climb the Tie Down Trail and soon begin to see parts of the Kaiser Aetna Road across the valley. As I get higher and begin to wind my way around the peak, I catch a glimpse of the Dowdy Ranch restroom and picnic area.
Despite being so close to the peak, I can't find a safe way to scramble to the top, so I make the downward detour to what I'll informally call Yellowjacket Pond, a small body of brown water that is home to many dragonflies.
I snack before backtracking to the North Fork Trail. A quarter of a mile later, I'm at the impossible-to-miss Kaiser Aetna Road. I encounter the only other people I'll see on the trail all day: two hikers and two bikers.
I wander up the road, searching for the Scherrer Trail and come across a signpost that simply says "Trail". No apparent trail appears anywhere in the vicinity of the sign, but according to my map, this is the spot where the trail should start.
For three seconds, I contemplate returning to the ranch by way of the boring road. Then I dive into the brush.
I climb what looks like a potential path. It's entirely uphill and I soon begin to have serious doubts about the wisdom of my decision. Nothing indicates the existence of a trail. There is a striking absence of brightly colored tape anywhere.
I gain a little confidence when I reach a clearing at the top of a rise and see a faint path through the grass leading to what the map says should be Scherrer Lake. A feeling of joy sweeps over me as the lake comes into view.
I spend a few minutes here before returning to the "main trail". The next mile goes slowly as I climb what seems like an endless series of hills, guided only by my map and an improvised GPS device I build on the spot using three twigs, half a Clif Bar, my left sock, and a dime. At one point, I notice a series of trees with tape tied to them, but they lead off into grassy oblivion.
The climbing starts to take its toll and I'm just beginning to believe it might never end when, out of nowhere, the Center Flats Road appears. By sheer luck, I come out right where the road and the other end of the Scherrer Trail meet. I know this because a sign with a words "Scherrer Trail" duct taped to it says so. I wonder if the lack of a permanent sign is a budgetary issue or a certainty issue.
The road has a mild downhill slope to it and I follow it all the way until I reach the Hersman Trail. The prominent restroom/picnic area is in sight the entire way.
I wander down the Hersman Trail, another obscure, single-track affair, make a quick detour to see Hersman Pond (it's dry), and soon find myself back on the Kaiser Aetna Road, just two-tenths of mile from Dowdy Ranch.
Back at the lot, I sit a spell at one of the many picnic tables and scour the map for potential hiking destinations the next time I pass this way. Pacheco Falls and Mustang Peak are two strong candidates. Soon afterwards, I hop in my car and slowly make my way back down to Bell Station, Highway 152, and civilization.
You can see a few more photos from the hike on Flickr.
If the producers of American Idol had given me a chance to direct last night's episode, this is how the show would have gone down...
- Ryan introduces the four contestants.
- David Cook sings his two songs.
- Syesha and Archie smile and wave to their adoring fans.
- Ryan sends Jason home and tells everybody to tune in next week.
The whole thing would have been done by 8:15 and America could have enjoyed the rest of its Tuesday night.
Unfortunately, nobody asked me to direct the show, so it all went a little differently. Here are the details...
The Final Four have the task of performing songs from the vast Rock and Roll Hall of Fame catalog. This bodes well. I can feel it in every sarcastic bone in my body.
Round 1
David Cook is up first and his first song is Duran Duran's "Hungry Like The Wolf". He performs it well, but it's just a shinier, more refined version of the original. On the upside, it isn't karaoke. On the downside, it isn't bloody brilliant, which I expect every Cook performance to be at this point in the competition. Being good or solid doesn't cut it anymore.
Syesha Mercado's introductory clip rubs me the wrong way. She explains how Tina Turner's "Proud Mary" has been covered a hundred times, essentially saying the song comes with baggage. Luckily, it baggage she overcame once she looked in the mirror and said, "Just do it. Just have fun with it." Apparently, even people with stratospheric egos need to give themselves pep talks now and again. As she has done for three straight weeks, she gives her performance a Broadway spin, but not in a bad way. It instantly makes her my second favorite contestant of the show. Here is somebody (besides Cook) with the killer combo of talent and stage presence. Here is somebody actually trying to win.
Jason Castro, the anti-in-it-to-win-it contestant, performs next. He admits to recognizing only a few of the five hundred songs on the Hall of Fame list. One of them happens to be Bob Marley's "I Shot The Sheriff". I thought when Castro and Marley met, it would be magical. Instead, it's quirky and different and does nothing for me.
David Archuleta follows this with Ben E. King's "Stand By Me", a song little Archie sings in his room to himself when his dog can't take it anymore. The song choice is predictable. David goes gospel whenever he can. His singing is pretty, but hollow. Something is missing. When he finishes, the crowd goes insane. Apparently, I need a dose of whatever delusional drug they're taking because Archuleta's performance is only a step above okay for me. I also can't help thinking that if he came back in another four years, after obtaining a college education, his own personality, and some backbone, I would appreciate him a whole lot more.
Round 2
David Cook returns and redeems himself with The Who's "Baba O'Riley". Perhaps in the context of the real world, Cook is nothing special, but in American Idol Land, he displays a sensibility and sophistication that his competitors lack. He seems to be the only one who voluntarily listens to music during his free time and actually has a modicum of musical awareness. During his performance, I keep imagining Archie asking his dad, "Who is The Who?" His dad replies, "Nobody. Just a bunch of guys going to hell, so I don't want you paying any heed to them. Now, be a good boy and finish watching the Charlotte Church DVD I got you."
Syesha's second performance is good, but I don't think it's as strong as her first. She sings Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come". I can't get over her opening comments, when she compares her journey on the show to the struggles of the civil rights movement. It's as though she says, "Let's forget historical significance for a minute and focus on me."
Ryan seems almost embarrassed to introduce Jason and, for his part, Jason doesn't seem all that eager to be on stage. He explains he's going to sing "Mr. Tambourine Man" by Bob Dylan, who may be my least favorite Bob in the musical world. Before the first strum of the guitar, I know it's going to be horrible. And it is. At one point, I think he's doing a spot-on Dylan, with the unintelligible mumbling, but then I realize he has simply forgotten the lyrics. Simon tells him to pack his suitcase, but I'm hoping the people behind Vote For The Worst save him at Archuleta's expense.
Speaking of which, Archuleta takes the stage again. This time he's singing "Love Me Tender" by Elvis Presley because Archie has never tortured us with a "romantic love song" before. It's actually incredible to watch him tackle a Presley song. Elvis, even when he sang gospel music, still managed to ooze charisma and sex appeal. You could feel the emotion behind his words. He believed them. With Archuleta, the song is just a combination of sounds he has to make because a piece of paper tells him to. The crowd, still high on their meds, cheers for him wildly. The judges give him hyperbolic praise, topped with Simon's assessment that David A. "crushed the competition". And I can't help but think, "Simon must still be hoping for a slice of that Vanessa Hudgens/Jonas Brothers/Hannah Montana/Ashley Tisdale market."
Predictions
If I could pick the Top Two, it would be Cook and Mercado. If there's a shocker tonight, I hope the David going home is Archuleta. Otherwise, I think Ryan will be showing Jason the door and Jason will only be too happy to go.
I should learn to keep a pen and a scrap of paper in my pocket when I'm hiking (or at least remember I have a Moleskine tucked away somewhere in my backpack) so I can jot the thoughts that cross my mind while I'm on the trail. This isn't because I have epiphanies that require recording for fear of losing them forever. Rather, this is because I keep stumbling over the same mundane thoughts and the only way I can think of clearing them out is by writing them down.
To help the de-cluttering begin before my next trek, here are three pieces of mental riffraff I've repeatedly run across on my recent hikes. I've tried to pare each of them to a paragraph for the sake of conciseness and clarity.
1. "Meditation in Motion" - This phrase has haunted me since my scramble to Snow Creek Falls in Yosemite a month ago. For some people, meditation requires stillness and silence or sitting and chanting or body-bending poses on mats, but for me, it's the repetitive nature of walking in nature that most readily facilitates contemplation. Hiking is meditation in motion. I don't mean it in some pretentious or self-important way. Not every walk in the woods is an exercise in deep philosophical thinking or soul searching. I'm just saying it can be. The activity allows for the possibility. It's just another reason why I love to hike.
2. Day Hikes and Toe Dips - During my last two hikes in Henry Coe, I have been thinking about how little of the park I've seen because I limit myself to day hikes. It has been a source of growing dissatisfaction. I find myself wanting to spend more time in the park -- to see more and experience more. I have the growing desire to experience the park differently. It feels as though I've only dipped my toe in the pool, or at the very most, waded around the shallow end. It's time to swim out until my feet don't touch the bottom, which in hiking terms means backpacking (one-nighters to begin with), something I haven't done for a number of excuses. It's time to take the plunge.
3. Repetition of Experience - Near the end of every hike, I always ask the question, "Would I do this hike again?" I usually answer it with a simple yes or no without seriously exploring the reasons why I would or wouldn't repeat a hike. This weekend, I gave the matter 0.6 miles of thought and made a list of general reasons why a particular hike or place (like Big Basin or Half Dome) would be worth repeating or revisiting...
- Something is so spectacular about the place or view that it's worth the effort in lieu of a new experience (good ol' opportunity cost).
- Something about the place or view has changed, deeming it worth another visit.
- Something about the place or view is about to change, deeming it worth one last visit.
- Something about me has changed. For example, next June will mark five years since my last trip to the top of Half Dome. That's five years of accumulated knowledge and experience, which may enhance the hike or give me a different perspective on the way up.
- Sharing it with somebody else. I'm thinking of children in particular. I think it would be very cool to one day summit Half Dome with my daughter(s) and/or son(s). (How open-ended is that sentence?) It would be a blast and definitely worth the effort.
(Posted after the fact and for archival purposes only.)
Before I begin, I just want to say this: the next American Idol recap I read that makes reference to diamonds or roughs is going on my blacklist. Instead of using the same jaded phrase, I want to see somebody make reference to "finding a Neil in a haystack" (because I'm dorky like that).
As a kid, I was exposed to what some might consider a dangerous amount of easy listening music, so for better or worse, I'm fairly familiar with the music of Neil Diamond, which means I recognized a majority of the songs sung on last night's show.
Depending on how you feel about Neil Diamond, last night was either double the pleasure or double the pain, as the final five contestants got to sing two (two!) Diamond masterpieces each.
In order to squeeze those ten performances into a single hour, Ryan had to herd the contestants and judges around like cattle. His sense of urgency was palpable and understandable. Ten two-minute performances means 20 minutes of singing. Throw in the required 35 minutes of commercials and that leaves only five minutes for Paula's babbling and little else.
Jason Castro gave two half-hearted performances. His rendition of "Forever in Blue Jeans" was downbeat and depressing. It lacked momentum. He followed that up with what must have been the most lethargic version of "September Morn" I've ever heard. On a positive note, Jason did manage to get off his stool and stand upright (mostly) for the second half of the song. Unfortunately, this effort sapped his remaining strength and he was incapable of singing complete lines from that point forward.
David Cook's take on "I'm Alive" was standard at best. It was good, but never rose to great. His second song, "All I Really Need Is You", was the best performance of the night. He channeled Diamond's sound in places and infused the rest of the arrangement with his own sound. It was the only song I could imagine being a hit on the radio today.
Despite her previous poor performances, I was hoping Brooke White would do well. She gave "I'm a Believer" a go, but the song was too much for her. Her mugging and grinning all seemed forced and fake. Instead of trying to do Smash Mouth's version of the song, she should have given it her own spin or gone with a different piece all together. For "I Am, I Said", she ditched the guitar for the piano and was suddenly "in the zone" again. The song fit her perfectly and her performance felt authentic. It reminded me of why I liked her in the first place.
David Archuleta sang two of Diamond's biggest hits: "Sweet Caroline" and "America". While his vocals were technically impressive, his performances lacked charisma. Both songs felt too big and grown-up for him. His version of "America" was nauseating and reminded me of days gone by, when Kristy Lee Cook was still going strong. His take on "Sweet Caroline" was so icky (especially the way he sang "touching me... touching you"), I had to cleanse my memory by listening to Diamond's original version several times, followed by a few views of Jonathan Coulton's cover...
Syesha Mercado's rendition of "Hello Again" was solid, but forgettable. The most memorable thing about her performance was her hair (it's mean, but true, but mean, so I'm sorry, mostly). For her second song, she sang a rousing version of "Thank the Lord for the Night Time". She spruced it up with some of her Broadway flair, but it was still only so-so for me.
While my dream Bottom Two would be David A. and Syesha, I don't think that dream is coming true. In all likelihood, tonight's Bottom Two will be Brooke (backlash for last week's elimination evasion) and Jason. With any luck, Jason will go home. The boy is tired and needs a nap.
