El Corte de Madera Creek OSP, redux

Editor's note: Kevin has pointed out that I'm supposed to be the optimistic one in this relationship, but this post was surprisingly negative. So, to clarify: when I say "diminished our ability to enjoy this hike," I mean "reduced" or "lessened," and not "eliminated" or "removed all enjoyment from." The fact is, though, it was buggier and hotter than when we first visited, suggesting that it's more of an early-spring park than an early-summer park.

Peter and I investigate some redwood stumps.

We revisited ECdMC this weekend, after realizing that the drive to our first choice (Purisima Creek Redwoods OSP) was a bit long and winding for some stomachs to handle. (Plus, we'd thought about a seven-mile hike, which would have been really interesting. And not in a good way.)

You may remember the crazy family, and the tafoni sandstone formation, from previous posts.

We chose this alternate trip after remembering the trail as easy, although as we started Kevin had a change of heart:

Kevin: I thought you had trouble on this trail. Toward the end you were struggling.
Amy: Kevin. (Pause.) I was seven months pregnant. And having contractions.
Kevin: Oh, yeah.

The hike was nice, but two things diminished our ability to enjoy it:
- the hot weather;
- the bugs, including, but not limited to, mosquitoes.

Really, if this is what a Bay Area summer is like, why not move back to NC? Oh, yeah...the humidity.

El Corte de Madera Creek OSP

17 photos