The Fence Line Trail

A couple of weeks ago when Roxy RUNN OFT I discovered several things about our property. One of those was that there are several game trails that run through our Nearly 100 Acre Woods. One of those trails which I'll call the Fence Line Trail seems to run along a fence which borders the edge of our property down to CA49. I assume that this fence was installed by the State of California to prevent (or limit) the wildlife (deer) from crossing the highway (all 2 lanes of it). So it occurred to me that it would be great to clear this trail and have that as a nice addition to the main trail which already runs through the northern side of the property.

First a little back story, in October when Courtney and Tyler came for a visit, Tyler and I hiked down the waterfall (seasonal, It was dry) which in reality means we climbed over some large granite boulders to arrive at a grove of Lodgepole pines at the base. What we also discovered was that there was a fence that was near that grove that from my recollection was very similar to the fence that ran along the now aforementioned Fence Line Trail. So what if I cleared the trail all the way to the grove, wouldn't that be an easier path to get the waterfall.

So this past Saturday I spent all day clearing brush, tress, and branches to create a trail that would provide immense enjoyment for those folks that wanted to see the waterfall but were unwilling to shimmy over large granite boulders. Well I should tell you that clearing a trail is hard work and not that I wasn't excited as I imagined that I was Ponce de'Leon searching for the Fountain of Youth or better yet Lewis and Clark searching for a water route to the pacific, I learned the limits of what I was capable of. Let me tell you there is some serious vertical elevation change that if it were not for the promise of an adult beverage (scotch) to finish the day, I might have given up on the whole endeavor.

As it turns out, I didn't reach my goal of arriving triumphantly at the waterfall's base. What I was able to to achieve was tremendous exhaustion and a poison oak rash on my left arm. I still had my glass of scotch (or 3) and that seemed to dull the pain. So the end result is this, I have my entire family coming up for Thanksgiving and I hope to entice Tyler, Dean and Dean's brother Brent to take it upon themselves to finish what I have started.

Happy Thanksgiving? We will see.