The Wedding and Lost Coast back packing

On Thursday May 26th 2011 Pam my wife and I found ourselves on a Southwest airline flight to Sacramento California. Matt, my son, and his lovely wife to be, Stephanie, after many hours of planning and much money spent on their part were ready to be married in ,California. Someone might ask why pick this part of the country to be married and the answer comes as soon as one drives through the countryside. The rolling hills remind me of a heavy oat meal colored quilt that has fallen off of a bed during the night. The tall grass growing out of these hills sways with the changing wind. Every few miles driven in our car brought more beauty in the form of grape vines and large orchards. At the end of the grape vine rows the farmers had planted brightly colored rose bushes. This description doesn't do justice to this region of California but it certainly was a great place for a fantastic wedding.

Matt and Stephanie had spent hours and days planning out their special day all the way from Australia where they live no and the three days went off without a hitch. First on the agenda was a wine tour of the region that would be accompanied by lunch at a vineyard. Pam and I drove into the parking lot of the Crossroads complex that would be the main event center for the wedding. Many friends and relatives were to meet here and climb aboard a tour bus for our journey through the countryside and a chance to talk with some of our new relatives and old friends. Within a few minutes of our driving into an empty parking lot, the space around our tour bus was filled with talking and laughter from the this happy group.

With everybody on board the bus, the driver led us through the world of wine making. After a few turns and miles of black road behind us, we arrived at a picture perfect winery. The buildings looked like a scene from nItalian movie with large stucco covered walls that had red tile roofs protecting the structures. Our happy group found our way into the the main reception and wine tasting room. One of the biggest treats was the many flavoured vinegars and olive oils on a large table. Then we all walked to the tree sheltered picnic tables for our lunches and plenty of wine. After eating some of the party walked around the grounds while others played a game of buchie ball.

Then we all loaded back on the bus with Raven Wood winery in our sights. The winery has been in the same family since 1850's and we could tell that our host was very proud to be there. He gave out sample after sample of different wines and explained the tastes. The three different samples of the dirt found around the vineyards was very interesting to me. Billions of years ago when volcanos were active the eruptions had rained down thousands of feet of ash. Right under our feet was 1,500 feet of the fertile stuff that the grapes loved to absorb into their roots.

With a few glasses of wine under our belts it was time for the wedding rehearsal back at the Cross Roads. As the van pulled out of the parking lot, the main wedding party found our way into the gardens for the activites. The wedding would take place in a grassed section that was flanked by a winding stream and a pond covered with lily pads. A tree covered walk way would be our runway for the wedding party. After a few minutes of making sure everything was in place it was time to eat and drink again.

The rehearsal dinner was staged at a Italian restaurant in Sonoma that catered to our every need. Gallons of wine flowed and lots of Italian food was served. Matt and Stephanie had a made a slide show representing there life in Australia and there lives growing up. While we ate piles of spaghetti and many pizza pies, the activites and conversations continued through the night.

Friday May 27th Wedding day// We all woke to rain with a hope of clear weather hopefully around the corner. Matt had arranged for the men of the wedding party to get massages at Lodge in Sonoma. It would be a first for me personally and what a pleasant surprise it turned out to be. Our party all arrived with the looks of wonderment as the lobby of the bath house opened up to us. The soft sound of music and smell of brightly colored flowers filled the air. After dressing in a thick cloth robe we headed to our appointed guest rooms with our muses as our guide. I can't speak for the rest of the group since we were all in our seperate rooms but I found it very relaxing and found it a wonderful way to start a special time for Matt and Stephanie's wedding. The deep tissue massage felt like I was having 60 years of aches and pains pushed from my body. Then we all headed to the soothing hot tubs and a chance for the men to gather our thoughts about the important event about to unfold.

Matt had ordered suits from Hong Kong made by a French tailor, that proved to be the only way to go. Months before all of us had to get measured or measure our selves and send these measurements to Hong Kong, with the thought in the back of our minds, did I measure right. When we tried on our matching suits all doubts disappeared, they fit very well. We metin Matt's room to drink a little champagne and look over the suits and their fit. After a few pictures it was time to head back to the Cross Roads for the ceremony.

The skies had cleared and the weather was picture perfect for the ceremony. A walkway of rose petals led up to the professor from Davis College that would preside over the wedding. Matt had graduated from Davis and the professor had helped Matt write the graduation speech that he gave a few years back. Everyone had successfully walked into the area for the wedding and all eyes were on Stephanie and her breath taking dress. Stephanie didn't seem the least bit nervous and laughed and smiled during the whole ceremony. Matt also joined in with jubilance that the day had to offer. It seemed like seconds and the first ceremony was over. The second event was the tea ceremony which is a Chinese tradition where the elders sit before the newely wedded. The happy couple serve a tea and the elders present an envelope with money in even amount for good luck. The ceremony was very interesting with all the elders from both sides of the family drinking tea and wishing the couple luck.

Drinks were then served and conversations about the wedding and Stephanie's beautiful dress were exchanged. Within a short distance a great white tent had been erected to hold the dinner and the toasting. A long table holding roasted chicken and prime beef stood outside the tent. After everyone had enjoyed their meals except for Matt and Stephanie who were the perfect hosts with their journey around the numerous tables. My younger son Geoff, the best man,gave a well presented speech which still brings a tear to my eye.

A short walk to the barn is where the wedding party would be found for a few hours of dancing, singing, drinking and eating cupcakes. I didn't want the evening to end EVER but at 11:00 pm the plug was pulled on the band and after burning up the dance floor the evening came to a happy ending.

Saturday May 28th A brunch was to be held at a restaurant in Sonoma and it turned out to be a special place to eat food and say good bye to some very old friends and some very new friends and relatives. The food again was top notch with lots of it being served.
Back at the Lodge a long lost relative from my mom's side showed up and they had some old photo's that they wanted my mom to identify. After a few hours of talking with Jimmy, my new found relative, Pam and I found our wedding party and said our goodbyes. Matt and Stephanie had to catch a plane back to Australia.

Sunday May 29th. Pam and I had plans on driving to Lake Tahoe from Sacremento except the area recieved 8 inches of snow. Our bodies needed a bit of rest so a shorter plan came to mind, a road trip to a old mining town of Auburn. It was just a hour a way from the airport which Pam needed for her flight home to Denver. We got to see the sights and Pam got to do some window shopping in this town, before the time came to drive to the airport.

Monday May 30th Now that one of the most important days of my life was past Matt's wedding, I needed a back packing trip in Northern California. On the 24.6 mile Lost Coast Trail that travels along the rugged coast of California, where vehicles can't venture. North of Garberville the 101 highway travels inland off the coast, because the mountains are to steep to build a road. I drove to Garberville that morning with relative ease, on the famous 101 highway. My next plan was to drive the 35 miles to Black Sand Beach trailhead. The road was so twisty turny it took me over a hour to drive 35 miles. I arrived in the parking lot and looked around at all the cars waiting for their passengers to arrive off the trail. Numerous vehicles had been dropped here as their owners drove north to Mattole to start the walk. It was the tail end of the Memorial day weekend and the hikers started to unload their packs into their cars. My cousin Paul and his friend John where driving down form Oregon and would join me on this hike. I would leave my car here and then Paul would drive us north. the road down to Mattole was just as twisty turny as the Black Sand beach road. We drove up to the company store just before they closed at 3:00 pm. The BLM rangers require all hikers to carry a bear barrel that would hold our food as we walked for a couple of days. the barrels are bear proof and it keeps the hungry critters from carrying away the goodies from our packs. The store rents the barrels for $5.00, which is a great price.

We drove the short distance to the trail head and loaded our barrels with food. Maps and rain proof clothing was checked and rechecked and then we where ready to head out. The skies where clear for about 30 minutes then sand started to be blown into our eyes, nose and evetything unprotected. John put a mask over his face, to block the sand and I thought we had entered the world of Lawrence of Arabia. Then within minutes the cold rain started right out of the south in our faces, which a ranger had told us never blows out of the south. A set of old cabins was a perfect place to stop and figure out what was happening to our little group of hikers. Paul walked up the deserted looking cabin with a door half open and a man was sitting at a table with his face in his hands wondering the same thing.

After fighting the wind and rain for another hour we came to a deserted light house. This light house was so remote even when it was in working order it was called the Alcatraz of light houses. Winter winds and cold rain is common and the norm all year long. We all walked up to the generator building with the hope of a dry spot out of the wind for shelter. A couple of fellow hikers had beat us to the punch. Next stop would be the light house itself, which didn't have a window or doors left to block the wind. The building itself did offer some shelter from the wind and the rain let up for a hour or so. Paul and I set up our tents and I walked down to the generator building to talk with the hikers. They had been walking all day but wanted to continue onto the Mattole trailhead. We filled our minds with hiking stories as we filled our stomachs with food. When both was filled, the two young hikers gathered up their packs and headed out into the rain storm. Paul and John joined me and John decided he might just sleep in the building. By 9:00 pm Paul and I headed to our tents.

May 31st It rained and blew all night long. John not feeling comfortable in the building set his tent up in the rain and sleep down below the light house. The skies looked like they wanted to clear and we could see a little blue mixed with the grey skies. A group of Harbor Seals joined our group as they lay on the rocks just off shore. The trail is always with in sight of the ocean and it changes like the weather. It can go from soft sand, to tiny rocks, to boulder rocks, to tall grassy decorated with wild flowers within a few minutes of the walk. The ocean was always on our right and tall steep mountains where on our left. A occassional stream would come cascading down the steep slopes as it headed to the ocean. Some of the stream because of all the rain where wide and deep. Hiker had made all types of bridges that gapped the streams. Large rocks that where connected to washed up drift wood, anything was fair game for the hikers to use. Dead ocean critters that had lost it's battle with the never ending waves was also to be found along the beach.

Do to the steep mountains coming down to the beach and high tides the trail in 8 miles of it length can only be crossed at low tide. We had a tide schedule but had looked at the wrong page and thought high tide was at 10:30 am, so we only had a 1.5 hours to walk 4 miles. It made for a very fast section and didn't notice our mistake until it was lunch time and we reread the tide table. Our spot for lunch along a stream away from the ocean was ideal for drying out our wet tents and cloths.

After lunch we came to a older cabin with a giant whale weather vane. I walked up to the private cabin with camera in hand to take a picture of the steel whale and a couple of old seaman where sitting at a window facing the ocean but out of the wind. Our destination for tonight camping spot was called Miller Flat with a huge flat area divided by a fast moving stream. a landing strip for a small airplane lay in front of a couple of beach homes, that looked like Hansel and Gretal lived there in the summer.

By 5:00 pm we crossed our last stream for today and it was bit of a challenge with logs rocks as our bridge. We found a camping spot in a group of trees and black soft sand was our base. I hadn't seen any bear signs as we walked so I thought the bear treat might be like the Big Foot story, when Paul found a bear track and John found bear scat. That was just after I had said, " I don't think we have to worry about bears!" We loaded up with water for our camp and gathered food for a fire. Then we ate dinner and did a bit of exploring around camp. By 9:00 it was time for me to check my eye lids for cracks. At 10:00 pm Paul and John came up to my tent and said they had seen a small black bear walking around the camp. I had seen my fair share of bears in the past and my sleeping bag felt very comfortable, so I didn't even batt a eye, I just rolled over.

June 1st All during the night I could hear rain showers and wind blowing around the camp area. When first light appeared I noticed a little bit of the mositure had worked it's way into my tent, I wasn't the Lone Ranger either. John's tent had major design flaw since it had turned into a small wading pool. Paul's tent had small hole and the rain had invited it's way into his sleeping space. Everything and everybody was soaked but we only had 8 miles to walk and we could see the end. Paul kept looking at the skies with a hopefull eye and it must have worked because the sun did come out.

For these two days we have been playing dodge wave with the incoming tide and finally after all the times of near missed encounters the ocean won. All three of us were walking and talking with the end of the trail in sight when a wave came crashing down and white foamy water came lapping towards of shoes. We must of looked like the Three Stooges as we ran into each other to get out of the way, but in the end the ocean did win with salty soaked shoes as a result.

With Black Sand under our water logged shoes we walked up to the trailhead and loaded our packs into my rental car for the drive back to Mattole. We only had enough time to get back before the store closed at 5:30 pm and with some crazy driving I was able to get back with 15 fifteen minutes to spare.

We checked into a family room at the Garberville Motel and found a restaurant to have some home cooked food. We found out from the owner of the restaurant, most people move to Garberville to get out of the real world and not be bothered with drivers licenses, income tax and goverement in general.

June 2nd Paul and John had to drive back to Oregon and I headed to the Shasta Mountain area. I visited Trinity Lake, Whiskytown Lake and Shasta Lake and hope to come back to these some day with my canoe and fishing pole.

I had great time with the wedding and my backpacking and I think I could become a professional wedding crasher it was that musch fun!!