(or, There's A Tarantula At The End Of This Post)

Monday started out cold and cloudy and, with the exception of one or two cameos by the sun, remained that way all day. Since I had the day off (thank you, Mr. Columbus), I decided to hike in Henry W. Coe State Park.

My first thought was to visit Mt. Sizer, but my legs bullied me out of that idea.

Left Leg: You think you can do 14 miles of hiking after weeks away from the trail?
Me: I can do it.
Right Leg: And 4,000 feet of climbing?
Me: I can climb it.
Left Leg: And days of suffering and soreness afterwards?
Me: I can manage.
Right Leg: You want to hike it?
Me: I want to hike it.
Left Leg: You want to hike it?
Me: I want to hike the trail!
Right Leg: You can't handle the trail!

By the way, my right leg does a much better impression of Jack Nicholson than my left. To be fair, though, my left leg does an awesome Sean Connery.

(Wait, did the alternate title say there was a tarantula at the end of this post?)

My next thought was to do the more moderate Middle Ridge Loop in a clockwise fashion from Coe Headquarters, taking Monument Trail to Hobbs Road to Frog Lake Trail to Middle Ridge Trail to Poverty Flat Road to Springs Trail to Corral Trail. All told, the hike would be roughly ten miles in distance with only a couple thousand feet of climbing -- challenging, but not stupidly so.

My third thought was to inject an extra bit of fun into the hike by bringing along a book to read (Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett). Every two miles or so, I would find a log or boulder with a view and read ten pages (or for fifteen minutes, whichever came first). It was the perfect way to work in regular rest stops and a few laughs.

(Let's stop reading now and avoid seeing the tarantula at the end of this post.)

When I arrived at Coe Headquarters, there were only two cars in the parking lot and the visitor center was closed. After paying the eight dollar day use fee, I set out for Frog Lake, my first reading spot. The lake's water level was lower than I ever remember seeing it.

I climbed from the lake up to the Middle Ridge Trail. When I reached the top, I thought I'd have a mile or so of flat terrain. I had obviously forgotten where I was hiking. In Henry Coe, there's no such thing as flat terrain. The park is all elbows and knees, slopes as far as the eye can see. Every trail is either uphill or downhill or a sequence of both, as was the case with the Middle Ridge Trail. My favorite part of the trail crossed a rolling field of golden grass.

(You're still reading! Look, nobody likes the sight of spiders, so let's stop here and spare ourselves the trauma.)

Past the field, the trail began its steep descent to Poverty Flat Road. Along the way, I passed several manzanitas with peeling bark.

Just before reaching the road, I crossed the Middle Fork Coyote Creek, which was completely dry.

(This is the last photo before the tarantula! Please don't make me nail this post to the screen to stop you from scrolling!)

After surviving the gruesome climb up Poverty Flat Road, I took Springs Trail, one of my favorite trails in the park, back to headquarters and enjoyed the views of Coe's muted fall colors.

Near the end of the hike, I came across one of the park's regular inhabitants: a tarantula.

(Whew! Okay, the tarantula wasn't as scary as you made it out to be. In fact, it's sort of cute, in a furry arachnid sort of way.)

You can see a few more photos from my "read trip" on Flickr.

(Parenthetical asides inspired by Grover and The Monster At The End Of This Book, one of my favorite childhood books.)