Perfect CA Hiking Trip

As far as I'm concerned you know you've had a great hiking trip when:

- You've come back uninjured

- Your hair still smells like camp fire 4 days later

- Only a small patch of poison oak

- Your muscles are sore but not too bad

- All your gear performed well

- You've come back with good pics & memories

I wrote earlier in my BLOG that I was going on a hiking trip and I've just recently gotten back. I even went so far as to say that the location we hiked into was my own personal definition of Paradise. It had been (2) years since I had been into this area and it did not disappoint. It still holds the title of most beautiful spot in CA.

All in all a great trip. Hiked in with two close buddies for four days. It was forecasted to rain most of the time and we only experienced rain on the way out, last day. Fall is a wonderful contrast to the last time I hiked in which was during the Spring of '07. What lacked in colorful wildflowers (the area is loaded with them in Spring) was made up with the turning colors of Fall foliage.

The following is a collection of images from the trip, enjoy. And if you are curious about the location I'm sure with some investigative work you can find it.

Buddy #1, start of the hike

Buddy #2, start of the hike & solar powered

Buddy #1, halfway in the weather gets moody

Buddy #2, leads the charge around one of several points

Buddy #1, negotiating a 1/4 mile of small boulders

Our camp spot in the trees

Backdoor to our campsite

Camp life, tree climbing

Camp life from above

Young Alder thicket

Buddy #1 after mediocre surf

Ran into my second rattlesnake, kinda looked like this

Day Hike, this trail was washed out two years ago

Day Hike, the creek we hiked up

Day Hike, Fall color

Day Hike, lavander vine

Day Hike, Buddy #2 deep in the creek valley

Day Hike, hike out of the creek valley

Day Hike, steep country

Back at camp

One of our many great camp fires

Weird things wash up on this stretch of coast line