HERE WE GO AGAIN
I took Monday off work to go hiking after the latest storm. Now I’ll probably have to take more days off work. And it won’t be for hiking.
I went up to Hwy 70 north of Oroville with big ideas in my head. Those waterfalls should be flowing nicely after the rain, ya think? Well so I was actually going to go on a bike ride first off, but there was a big huge rock in the middle of the road, and I was not able to drive as far as I wanted to, and then I had troubles getting my bike ready to go, so by the time I was ready it was getting very late and I decided I did not want to go on a much longer bike ride now, so I decided to skip it and go to a different location.
This hike was supposed to be very easy and short, so I did not bother to transfer my camera gear to my normal and proper backpack from the backpack that I would use for biking. I did not think it mattered. Big mistake. It was not such a short and easy hike. Indeed, it was incredibly steep, and I ended up climbing a mountain that was steep and quite icy. It soon became clear this was not going to work out, and I decided to turn around to try a different path. One missed step on the way down, and there goes my back. Ooh the pain. I am sure that this would not have happened if I had been wearing my proper backpack, which had proper support for my back. So there I was laying down on the side of a mountain in pain, in the middle of poison oak, and unable to get up. Ten minutes later, I figured I should do something to get off this mountain. I stood up, gingerly, slowly. I was on my feet. I still had to get down. I could not wear the backpack, so I dragged it down the mountain, through the poison oak, and slowly made progress, finally getting back to the car. It must have been a miracle that I was able to get down.
Okay so I still had a long drive home, and so far no waterfalls to show for it. I was able to walk a bit still, so I went to two roadside waterfalls, then I went to this one: Bear Ranch Creek Falls. It is an easy half mile hike to this waterfall, but it was tough for me with my back in so much pain, and by the time I got back to the car I was quite worn out. I probably should not have done that little hike, but I am glad I did because it would have been such a waste to drive all the way out there and have nothing to show for it. Of course I stopped at Jakes in Oroville for lunch on the way back and after that it was a very long and uncomfortable drive home.
So what now? I am definitely going to be out of commission for awhile. And I see now there is a lot of rain in the forecast through Christmas. You can thank me for that, since I will be in bed at home and not able to go out and enjoy it.