The Oracle of Apollo
Snippets from the life of Apollo Lee

Today, I wanted to get an earlier start and head up to Muir Woods National Monument. So, I called up Kai this time to see if he’d be interested in a Saturday romp in the hills above the Golden Gate Bridge. I grabbed my GPS, jumped in his little car, and we headed north.

Muir Woods National Monument is somewhat difficult to find, if you’re approaching from the Mill Valley side. The streets aren’t very well marked and the Monument is at the end of a long, windy road through residential neighborhoods. Finally, we arrived at the parking lot. I hiked over to get a map from the Visitor’s Center and Kai and I climbed 1½ miles up the Dipsea Trail, which ascends a thousand feet really quickly (and apparently, people run on it). After we descended, we headed back to the main monument entrance and wandered through Cathedral Grove and the Hillside Trail. Muir Woods is the home of one of the last stands of Coast Redwoods in the Bay Area. It’s lush, green, and mossy. If you live in the Bay Area, you should go see this magnificent place.

After we finished the main loop, Kai and I headed up the coast on Highway 1 through Stinson Beach and Bolinas. Finding nothing to eat in either town, we headed back along the magnificent Marin County coast, climbed through the woods again, and drove down to Sausalito for more walking around. Early evening in Sausalito is beautiful. What a great day.

Thanks for coming along, Kai.

Today, Ernie and his buddy decided to check out Castle Rock State Park again, so I tagged along with my GPS. Ernie’s buddy, whose name I can’t remember is really loud. This time, we hiked past Castle Rock Falls and along the ridgeline around 2650 feet above sea level. There are a number of large monolithic granite outcroppings that provide a commanding view of the backside of the ridge, a valley that plunges about two thousand feet before rising up again. The views are spectacular.

We turned around about here and headed back, almost in the dark. Since we got a little of a late start, we only did about 3½ miles. But, there are many more trails to explore in Castle Rock.

In my fourth wander this week, I called up Ernie to see what he was up to. I initially planned on exploring a reservoir in the East Bay, but Ernie talked me into checking out some trails near Crystal Springs Reservoir and up at Skyline. So, we met up in San Mateo, and off we went.

The rain wasn’t terrible when we got to Sawyer Camp Trail, but we decided at the last moment to go all the way up to Skyline and explore a trail that Ernie had found previously. We got to a wide spot in the road, curbed the Subaru, and hopped out with my GPS and our rain gear to see where the trail goes.

We paralleled Highway 35 on the trail for a while, before we descended a fire road heading toward Dean Trail and the Kings Mountain Archers archery range. We dropped about 550 feet from where we started. As the rain began to increase in the forest canopy, we started to climb back toward the car on windy trails. Steep ravines and mossy undergrowth provided me with ample opportunity to take lots of great pictures. The rain was fully on us by the time we passed my GPS marker. The canopy stopped some of the rain, but I was drenched by the time we reached the car. Thankfully, Ernie’s washer and dryer are fast and got my soggy clothes ready very quickly.

Okay, so that’s what hiking in the rain is like. I think I need better gear.

I just returned a little while ago from my third sojourn this week—this time to Castle Rock State Park at Saratoga Gap. I’ve not really spent a lot of time in the great outdoors since I moved to California in June of 1999. I’m a creature of routine, of habit, of comfort. But, today, I had too many worries bouncing around in my head and I was antsy to get out. So, I swooped by Fry’s, bought a big 2 gig SD card for my camera, and decided, on the spur of the moment, to buy a Magellan eXplorist 100 GPS.

As luck would have it, Ernie called me as I was leaving Fry’s. We talked for a minute and decided to meet at his house in San Mateo and go explore Castle Rock together. Ernie’s an experienced backpacker, camper, and outdoorsman, so it was good to have him along. We found big rock formations, plenty of three-story-tall granite boulders, beautiful vistas, a waterfall, and an impressive network of trails. I’ll probably go check out more trails fairly soon.

Now, I’m scheming what will be my Thursday trip. Where should I go? What should I do?

Right now, though, I should sleep. 1200 feet of elevation difference and lots of climbing on all kinds of stuff, plus half a pizza in my belly, equals one very exhausted Apollo.

Patrick and Gigi have Halloween parties every year in their little apartment in the Castro. So, unlike last year when I was broken, I went up this year to check it out.

Fortunately, the N-Judah MUNI parked at the Caltrain Station left as soon as I got on (unlike the fourth of July, when it waited for just long enough for me to miss all the fireworks). After hiking for a while through Duboce Triangle, I came upon the police barricade at Noe and 15th Street. The police searched my bag and waved me through. The party hadn’t yet really gotten underway.

The Canadians were hosting a small shindig. I arrived first, hung out for a while, shared stories, and waited. Soon, some other people showed up and, after a while, I decided to go wander around Market Street and check out the world famous Halloween party.

The crowd was huge, numbering what looked to be about a quarter of a million. Lots of people had great costumes, but lots of idiots were in the crowd, shoving people around. After wandering around for a while, checking out a dance troupe throwing down to Michael Jackson’s Thriller, I headed out about 10:30. Ten minutes later, just about exactly where I was, a fight broke out and nine people got shot.

Hey, guys, thanks for messing things up. Will there be a Halloween party here next year? Probably not.