09-16-09

I woke to the sound of rain and the smell of chili, an unintentional yet fitting pair. The chili had been slowly cooking for 10 hours and was perfect for a cozy, rainy day.
Trinity, Sebastian and I went to Humbug Mountain for a hike. We planned the trip the day before when it was sunny, but decided to go anyway in spite of the drizzle. We needed to get out of the bus. Long rain storms sometimes make me feel like a lab rat in a cage whose mental deterioration is being monitored. It’s pretty nice for a cage, but long periods of time secretly start to take their toll well before I notice that I’m teetering on the edge of madness.
The drizzle and fog actually made the trip better. The drive to the mountain was a different view of the ocean then I had seen. Clouds and fog rolled off of the ocean, over the road and lingered in the wet trees.
The hike itself was even more spectacular. The trail too had a different look and feel due to the weather. Like a tropical rain forest, the wet moss and trees glistened as water dripped off of them. The occasional snail and slug sightings were more frequent. What looked like a small twig wiggled on the ground at my feet. It was small salamander. I scooped it up and tried to get a picture of it in my hand. It wiggled a lot and I was having trouble holding steady while standing on the wet hill, but I got a few shots and let it go.
The trial is switch-backs up the mountain. Occasionally there are small stream beds that go straight up and down the mountain, sort of a shortcut from one switch-back to the next. I climbed one and told Trinity I’d meet her on the next switch-back. As I climbed my goal was to get there first and surprise her as I casually waited on the path. While I was struggling to maintain balance on the wet slope, on all fours, I heard her say, “Hey”. She was already there. Oh well. Later I tried another shortcut. I climbed and climbed. The terrain was almost impassable. The slope was steep. The ground was wet and unstable. Gravel, sand, leaves and pine needles made up a loose ground cover several inches thick. I couldn’t see my feet through the thick ferns. It was very unstable and often would start to slide with an avalanche effect. I kept looking up for a sign of the trail, but it never looked like there was any chance of it being near. I kept climbing believing I must cross it eventually. With each step up it was less logical to turn back. I stated shouting for Trinity so I hear where the path might be. She never answered. I kept climbing. Eventually she answered, “The trial goes around to the other side of the mountain, it doesn’t switch-back“. Now I had no choice but to go back down. I followed her voice back toward the trail. It was a tricky decent. I was certain I’d eventually fall, but took my time and eventually made it safely. My shorts were soaked on the bottom, progressively dryer toward the top. It looked just like when I’d been hit by sneaker waves on the beach. I was filthy, but loved the impromptu little adventure.