Days 194 - The Rubbish Guide To The Redwood Forest

Author - Grant

Based In - Redwood Forest, Northern California

Photos - http://www.flickr.com/photos/32017704@N03/sets/72157618266811119/

There are loads of great things to do in the Redwood Forests.  There are also three rubbish things to do and today we managed to find all three.

First up was a hike up one of the few dog friendly paths in the forest which delivered heaps in terms of equally magnificent and mysterious redwoods but unfortunately its consistent gradual climb nearly destroyed Kate who currently has the lung capacity of an asthmatic geriatric at altitude.  Apparently that is one of the many, many pregnancy side-effects that she never ceases to educate me with on a minute by minute basis.  Some of them are well known (lack of energy, strange eating habits, fat ass etc) but some aren’t so well documented such as the need to watch a minimum of fours hours of reality TV each day, preferably whilst hugging a pint of Ben & Jerry’s.  I digress.  The point is that the hike turned into a crawl and it was a relief to both of us when the climb abruptly ended way short of its advertised length.

So as this was supposed to be an active day and the hike failed to deliver, I decided to have a go at one of the bike paths recommended to us by a ranger but either she had never ridden it or she has thighs like a professional wrestler as the first couple of miles were close to vertical.  Luckily the next six miles were fairly flat (and, incidentally, laden with wild elk...yummy) but by the time I caught up with Kate I was caked in mud and shaking like a shitting dog.  Strike two.

The next disappointment was in the form of a walk through Fern Caynon.  Yes, it was a canyon and yes, it was indeed lined with fern but the problem was the path which doubled as a fast flowing river.  Being a mere mortal, I like my walking surfaces to be more...you know...solid and less...you know...drowny.  Strike three.  Time to revert to something with a guaranteed success rate; eating.

I’m not going to bother with words for this bit - I’ll just tease you with a picture.  Doesn’t that just make you want to jump into your monitor and bathe in it?  It’s a cross between beef bourguignon and a good old British stew.  And it was bloody lovely.  Not bad work with one pan and a half working electric hob.  Go on, it’s OK to drool.