Mark sent out his summary email today:

It wouldn't be a trail of tears without, well... tears. This year the tears were canid.

Highlights:
1) The crowpher is invented.
2) We eat nightshade berries.
3) The dogs almost die.
4) Dan gets the unnecessarily complicated dinner.
5) Naked ladies at Sykes.
6) Kitt remarkably tough.
7) Dan unilaterally decides we don't need hot chocolate and doesn't pack it in.
8) Nightmare Nuggets
9) Off-trail adventures.

Lessons:
1) Dog booties for hikes on hot, rocky terrain.
2) "Berries of California"

Friday:

We missed our 7am departure because Shwu forgot her shoes and I forgot my map. We finally arrived
at the China Camp trailhead before noon after fighting MotoGP traffic. Things started out great.
Wonderful views to the Pacific, but at the expense of a lot of elevation change (5000' to Sykes)
as we repeatedly crossed Coastal Range ridges on our trek Westward. South and West facing slopes
were exposed to the sun and sported the typical sagebrush/manzanita flora. After the first
junction to Pine Valley, the trail became extremely overgrown in some places - so much so that at
one point the bushes encroached upon the trail to the point that one could not see the trail
while standing. From my perspective, at the back of the line, it was incredible to see Andy,
Chris, and Shwu's heads floating upon this infinite sea of bushes, slowly drifting above the
submerged trail. Meanwhile (and there were a lot of meanwhiles on this trip) Andy's dogs, Shadow
and Blue, were walking through the brush-encapsulated tunnel, following Andy's feet.

BERRIES:
We stopped along the way to taste various berries and hypothesize whether they were poisonous or
not. I learned this year that both manzanita berries and madrone berries are edible, so we tried
to find manzanita berries that tasted good, but without luck. We did, however, locate some
strong-tasting marble-sized green berries on some low bushes that initially tasted like
kiwifruit, and then slowly morphed to become bitter, and finished with an enduring aftertaste of
bitter death. We later learned in a "Berries of California" handbook located by Shwu, that these
berries were likely nightshade... Mmmmmm nightshade.

THE CROWPHER:
Andy's GPS kept telling us that we only had about 1/2 a mile as the crow flies to our
destination, no matter how far we hiked. I remarked that this whole "crow" thing was way
overrated since that crow would have to fly up the mountain and then down the mountain - really
one would want to be a gopher. Doyle rebutted with the fact that if we were on top of a ridge,
that the gopher would have to walk down and then up. We decided that the best animal to emulate
is actually the cropher, which would simply alternatingly fly and tunnel directly to its
destination. Doyle and I are starting a concerted effort to mate crows and gophers.

THE DOGS:
It was at about the 7 mile mark when the dogs really started to slow down. The exposed hot trail
had given them bad blisters, some dehydration, and Shadow particularly was limping badly. We made
it to Redwood Camp, 2 miles before Sykes, and decided to stop for the day to let the dogs rest
and finish the hike to Sykes on Saturday. The dogs decided that lying down in the creek and
lapping water for about half an hour suited them well. When they finally decided to get up, their
legs were so frozen from the cold stream that they couldn't walk at all. A few minutes of
standing on the bank revived them enough to hobble to camp. Hot chocolate and Baileys drinking
ensued.

Saturday:

Andy started early to let the dogs set the pace. Blue was in the worst shape physically... his
pads had some nasty flaps, but he seems to have a lot of heart and kept up well. Shadow was
slower, and we caught Andy about half way to Sykes. We finished the 2 miles as a group.
Meanwhile, Dan, Megan3, Sitka, and Kitt were starting from Big Sur (where ToT IV started). Shadow
and Blue were happy to spend the next 6 hours at the river at Sykes. Chris, Shwu, and I walked
down to the hot springs, were greeted by some naked ladies, had a dip in the pools and played
some frisbee in the river. We came back to camp, and were found by Dan et al. a little while
later after they finished their 10 miles. The trail from Big Sur to Sykes is redwood forest, much
easier for dogs' feet, so Sitka is fine.

NEW PLAN:
By this time, it was clear that the hike out would require carrying dogs. We decided that it
would be too difficult to carry them back up the trail to Tassajara, so we would hike out via Big
Sur and have Dan and Megan drop Andy off at his truck to have him come get us while we waited at
Big Sur. Andy wanted to get some of the 10 miles under his belt on Saturday, so he decided to go
to Barlow Flat (a campsite 3 miles from Sykes toward Big Sur) before nightfall.

KITT:
Kitt shows up with Dan and Megan. I expect her to be pretty tired. She's actually in very good
spirits, with somewhat sore knees. Andy tells her that he's headed to Barlow, to which she
responds without hesitation, "ok, let's go!" Kitt logged the longest one-day trek of the trip at
13 miles. Pretty impressive!

DAN:
After showing Dan and Megan to the hot springs, we come back for dinner. Dan unknowingly receives
the traditional newbie "unnecessarily complicated freeze-dried dinner" requiring separate cooking
pots, different cooking times, etc. He is noticably irritated by his dinner, but takes it well
when we tell him that it's not an accident. We prepare the water for hot chocolate, only to learn
that Dan (who did not attend the packing meeting) had unilaterally decided that we didn't need
all of the hot chocolate that we gave him to bring. "I couldn't believe that we could ever use
that much hot chocolate!" he protested. There would be no hot chocolate at breakfast. While he
wasn't looking, Chris and I threw Sitka in the poison oak.

NIGHTMARE NUGGETS:
A few games of Guillotine ensued, during which time a hippie couple and their dog "Nightmare
Nuggets" came by. Nightmare tried to eat Sitka's food while the hippies (the female wearing a top
of only her long flowing hair) giggled about card games.

Sunday:

The day of meanwhiles.

8:00am Kitt and Andy break camp above Barlow Flat and start the hike out with Blue and Shadow.
Everybody else sleeps.
9:00am Kitt and Andy continue the slow hike. Everybody else is making breakfast (without hot
chocolate) and breaking camp.
9:30am Dan, Megan, and Sitka head out since they're going to have to shuttle Andy to his truck.
10:00am Chris and Shwu start toward Barlow Flat. Given that we have so much time before Andy will
be back with the truck, I decide to attempt an off-trail river hike to Barlow and plan to meet
Shwu and Chris there at noon. We are now in four separate groups.
11:00am I encounter a nearly impassable portion of the river, but am able to scale a large boulder
to continue. I realize that rock climbing with a 40 pound pack is difficult, to say the least.

NOON: If Mischief could have looked down from a helicopter at the four different hiking groups at
exactly noon, there would be much confusion, consternation, and cajoling. You would have seen:
1) Kitt and Andy hiking way ahead of the group, hiking slowly, with Andy carrying one of his dogs.
meanwhile
2) Dan, Megan and Sitka some distance behind, but ahead of Chris and Shwu, hiking fast.
meanwhile
3) Chris and Shwu having a leisurely lunch at Barlow Flat. Wondering whether to leave because I
had not arrived at the specified time.
meanwhile
4) Mark in a speedo shuttling all of his gear above his head through a vertical granite canyon
filled with 15' of river.

12:30pm Shadow attempts to commit suicide by jumping off of Andy's back nearly down a sheer cliff.
Luckly, hits a tree.
12:45pm Doyle and Shwu leave Barlow Flat, and start toward Big Sur.
12:46pm I arrive at Barlow Flat. Search for Doyle and Shwu. Change clothes.
1:00pm I leave Barlow Flat
1:15pm I catch Doyle and Shwu
2:00pm Andy, Kitt, Blue, and Shadow reach the trail head and begin reading Harry Potter furiously.
  [We actually arrived around 12:40pm, though the reading part is accurate.]
3:00pm Dan, Megan, Sitka reach the trailhead. Shuttle Andy and his dogs to his truck, and take
Kitt home. Shwu spots the trailhead - breakneck pace ensues.
4:00pm Mark, Chris, and Shwu reach the trailhead. Go to Big Sur Lodge.
5:00pm Andy, Kitt, Dan, Megan + 3 dogs reach Andy's truck. Shwu locates "Berries of California".
Mark, Shwu, and Chris make reservations for dinner at the Big Sur Lodge.
6:00pm I receive my crab cakes and wine. Shwu: Salmon. Doyle: Rack of Lamb. We make a toast to
"sweet leisure".
7:00pm Andy arrives - finishes wine.
7:30pm Kitt, Dan, Megan are probably nearly home by now. We're leaving Big Sur.
10:30pm Home at last.

Andy had his top list:

TOT best of

or best in breed?

1. Mark: Craziest and best "swim hiker". The man for whom it doesn't count
as a hike unless you do something crazy. Wait until you here the story.
2. Shwu: carried most weight in proportion to her body weight.
3. Chris: best luxury items and willing to share them.
4. Kitt: most distance in a single day.
5. Megan: the only one for whom 20 miles in 2 days is "a light workout that
won't interfere with her marathon schedule"
6. Sitka: only dog who was still interested in raw hide bones after a 10
mile hike.
7. Blue: best pain tolerance (maybe 40% of his foot surface is a blister)
8. Shadow: best at pacing himself
9. Dan-O: best at convincing someone that 20 miles in 2 days was a light
workout

Anyone have a top-ten moments for the weekend?

Andy

My response was:

10. Andy: most number of dog-carrying miles in a weekend.

A feat of impressive doggy determination.

We woke up today at 6:15 AM. I managed all of four hours of sleep, for the second night in a row. I'm not sure why I woke up so early, I blame Shadow. Andy immediately got up and starting making breakfast. I took a little longer, like a half hour longer, to actually wake up, stretch, read a couple chapters of Harry Potter, get up. You know, the important things.

We packed up and started off on the remaining part of our hike. The dogs started walking fairly slowly, Blue with his athletic tape booties, and Shadow with his Sampras look.

The hike out wasn't nearly as long, it seemed, as the hike in. Knowing much of the path really helped. We weren't able to time the hike with half hour increments, as DanO, Megan and I did on the way in, so I tried to remember where I was at the various points. I recalled crossing into the Ventana Wilderness at 12:20, so we had only two miles to go when we found that sign. I also recalled seeing a fantastic ocean view around mile three.

Shadow was able to walk up hills pretty well, and Blue was able to gallop or stop, but not much in between. The pads on his feet were fairly well chewed up. That he could move at all was impressive. Andy was, of course, the most impressive of all, carrying one or the other dog at various points during the hike. The dogs are 50-60 pounds. Even with his harness, the one that nearly choked him at one point, Andy had to use a lot of arm strength to hold them up. He never mentioned his knees hurting, even carrying the extra 90+ pounds over some incredibly unstable ground.

We arrived at the end of the trail around 12:40 PM. After checking to see if the station had any ice cream (it didn't), we sat down on the tarp under a large pine tree that had a breeze. Shadow didn't really want to lie down on the tarp, and opted, instead, to sit in the back seat of the first open car. The owners of said car were actually quite confused when they looked into the seat and saw a dog sitting there.

I rushed over to get Shadow from the back back seat of the van he was lying in, calling him to come. He didn't budge. I had to climb into the back of the van, pull him out, pick him up, and walk him all of 30 yards to the tarp. Sure, I could argue I didn't have my pack balancing me out, but I don't think I could have carried Shadow very far on the trail unless I really really really had to, Andy's encouragement to the contrary.

After settling the dogs on the tarp, I confessed to Andy I had read Harry Potter from 1:00 am to 2:00 am this morning when I couldn't sleep, and suggested he read to catch up to where I was. Me? I'd sleep.

So, Andy read and I slept for about an hour. Once again, I was unable to sleep without knowing he was there, and fell asleep with a light touch against him. He woke me up by dropping a cashew into my hand. Tasty, tasty cashew.

We read Harry Potter for a while until even that wasn't very interesting. Andy called his dad to see if he was around locally, but had to leave a message. After a bit, I offered to rosham to see who would walk the half mile to the lodge for ice cream. Andy offered and started walking.

He made it all of three minutes before DanO walked up, the three of them done with their hike at 2:40 PM. Borrowing DanO's cell phone, I called Andy, who had my cell phone, and back he came within moments. Ten minutes minutes later, we were off to drop Andy off at his truck, listening to the various craziness of our fellow teammates: Mark swimming downstream instead of hiking being the biggest news.

The distance between the two trail entrances was actually two hours, not something I had realized, though Andy did when he figured out where his exit (and DanO's, Megan's, Sitka's and my entrance) was. Up the coast, through Carmel Valley, up the mountain, farther up the mountain on a dirt road, and a smidge off, and we were at Andy's truck. The same thing in reverse to head back down for the four of us to go home, sans Andy, Blue and Shadow.

Now, Mark had told us about the race at Laguna Seca. He told us not to continue along Carmel Valley, but to head back to 1 before heading north to the 156 and the 101.

What Mark didn't realize was that traffic was going to just as bad on 1 as it would be on the 101. All from the race.

We stopped for dinner at some Baja Racing Grill place, with a Steve McQueen Le Mans poster on the wall, before braving the traffic heading back north to the Bay Area. After about fifteen minutes in the back seat with my lying down next to him, Sitka decided he couldn't stand me any more, despite documented proof of the momentary snuggling he showed me, and climbed over me to way back of the truck. He curled up on our bags and fell asleep.

More room for me! I stretched out in the back seat and passed out. DanO and Megan slowed when the drove by my house, throwing me out the side door and rolling my bag out the back. I stumbled into the house around 10:30 PM, thinking, oof, DanO and Megan had another hour to drive. Ugh.

Tragically, the dirt on my legs was so thick, I had to shower like the heathens do, and used a washcloth to scrub the dirt off. Kris would have been proud, if he hadn't been so engrossed in Harry Potter at the moment.

I looked at my phone after the workout at Velocity, and saw a message from Andy:

Schedule shot. Mark forgot maps--10 minute delay. Shwu forgot shoes--1 hour.

So much for leaving by 7 and starting on the trail by 9. I hope we do better tomorrow.

Andy and I went over to Assguard tonight to meet with Mark, Doyle and Shwu and divvy up the communal camping items for this weekend's Trail of Tears hike. Andy offered to carpool together, and stopped by Krikitt Downs to pick me up. I'm not sure what prompted me, but I offered him the S4 car keys, and he gladly accepted.

On the drive over, I commented that I hadn't actually opened up the throttle to the car yet, though James had offered to help me out in that task if needed. I used the excuse about needing new tires, but the reality is I'm a bit nervous about it. The last time I opened up a car's throttle full tilt was in the S2000, and that escapade nearly ended disasterously as the backend broke and I ended up fishtailing the car down a major Sunnyvale road in the middle of the day: had any bicyclist been riding next to me that day, I probably would have killed him.

So, yeah, I was a little nervous about the thought of opening the throttle anywhere but under a safe, controlled environment where the worst I can do is hurt only myself.

After telling him this story, Andy mentioned he had another car other than the truck, a car he really liked, and another one his dad borrows. I laughed when he told me this. For the last four months I've been feeling awkward about the increase in our environmental footprint, what with our owning 3.5 cars between the two of us. Every time I'd see Andy and his one truck, which he uses rarely as he bikes a lot, I'd feel guilty about all of our cars. Turns out, Andy was in a similar situation, owning multiple cars, but with all of them at least used minimally.

The rest of the drive was spent alternating between laughing at stories of our idiotic driving as youngsters and complete embarrassment at being such idiots. Ah, youth: it's a good thing we grow out of it.

I wish I could remember what started an exchange between Mark and me at one point in the evening. He had casually offered something sexual in response to a question I asked, and I accepted. I figure, if I'm going to call a guy on something like that, Mark is the safest guy in the world to call. Part of his charm. Of course, I can't remember my initial comment/question, which would have made this part of the story actually funny.