We head to Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve which is about 4 miles from home. The drive reminds me a lot of the area where I grew up. The road is a little wider than a one lane road but not quite a two lane. There are fields and farm land all around bordered by mountains in the background. There are horses and hay bales and rusty tractors all along the short drive. Man, this reminds me of mom and dad's and makes me miss those West Virginia hills. But, I am here ready to explore new mountains. We park and get ready for our short fun hike. Finn grabs a map when we get there. Not really for the purpose of having a trail map but more so he can chew on a trifold and use something to touch bugs with.
We choose to go on a trail that we think will be a little more steep than the others. Why? Because Q chose that path (I knew I shouldn't have listened to a 4 year old). The kids are stoked because they love hiking (meandering is a better description of what they do). At the bottom of the trail there are a ton of banana slugs. I have never heard of these things before I moved here. They are huge slugs that are the color of bananas and they are weird. However, the kids love them. I can't help but wonder what would happen if I poured salt on them. Anyway the kids are having a blast and we are hiking/meandering up the side of a mountain.
Banana Slugs
We keep going uphill, getting out of the way of mountain bikers as they come down the trail. We had to practice this a couple of times because the kids were either going to lose a limb as a result of a collision or they were going to wreck a biker.
Man, that hill was steep. Really, really steep. Finn decided he needed to hitch a ride in the Ergo so Joe wore him for the next few miles and I wore the backpack which I swear was heavier than Finn. We kept going up and once we got past the tree line, it was getting hot. It never gets hot here. Expecting it to be a cool hike I dressed myself and the kids in pants. Bad idea. I was more than hot. And after 2 hours of hiking I was getting hangry (hungry/angry), really hangry. I needed to eat.
Did I mention that the mountain was steep? I did not expect to be hiking up the side of a hill like a billy goat. Yep. I was hangry.
Billy goats
After a quick stop for lunch we were all ready to give it a go again with both F & Q walking on their own. We are determined to make it to the top to see the beautiful view of the ocean and mountains. Finally after about 3 hours of walking straight uphill (Joe wearing either Q or F most of the way) we made it to the top. But there was fog. Ugh. All that work and now we look out and see fog hiding the beautiful blue Pacific Ocean.
We did not expect it to be that far or steep to get to the top. Thank goodness F grabbed that map at the bottom because we had to reference it several times in an effort to figure out where the heck we were and the shortest trail back to the car. I am glad he only chewed on the corners otherwise we might still be hiking in the Redwoods.
The kids were beginning to get super tired and hot. So, for the rest of the hike (about 2 hours) I either had F on my shoulders while Joe wore Q or I wore F while he had Q on his shoulders, or I carried F while he carried Q, or any other combination that worked long enough for us to get back to the car. Did I mention that F probably weighs about 40 lbs and Q close to 50??? Shew, I was tired. I did not expect this little hike to be 5 hours long. Oh yeah and those two little people drank all of the water. They drank every last drop. I felt like I was swallowing chalk for the last 2 hours of the hike. I am pretty sure I have never been that thirsty. I have a better understanding of the bible story about Jacob and Esau now. He gave up everything for some lentil stew and I would have gladly given someone pretty much anything for a nalgene of water yesterday on those last 2 hours of the meander.
Poor thing got so hot she had to strip off her shirt and roll up her pants
But, while doing all of this we got to see the beautiful scenery that surrounds us. It was breathtaking, not just because of the steep hill or from carrying the kids, but because the beauty of it was simply breathtaking. Walking through redwoods that have been standing for hundreds of years is amazing. The creek that runs through Purisima Redwoods is very peaceful, the butterflies, 1,000 banana slugs, ants, birds, sticks, rainbow leaves, rocks, dirt piles, bees and everything else that the kids pointed out were beautiful.
It is always interesting to sit back and watch inquisitive little eyes that are eager to soak up everything around. They point out things to me that would otherwise be unimpressive. I have gotten better at letting this happen. I used to be in too much of a rush to do everything that I forgot to actually stop and enjoy the things that their little minds find so amazing.
Rainbow leaf
(Q named it)
My body is busted today. And I mean sore. My hip sockets are sore, my back is sore, a new muscle I didn't know I had in my calves is sore.
Next time we will do our research and choose a hike that we can finish before the 5 hour mark!
Quick Q&A:
What does wikipedia say about banana slugs?
The Pacific banana slug is the second-largest species of terrestrial slug in the world, growing up to 25 centimetres (9.8 in) long,[5] and weights of 115 grams (4.1 ounces).[6] (The largest slug species is Limax cinereoniger of Europe, which can reach 30 centimetres (12 in) in length.
What does Megan say about banana slugs?
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