We continue sitting and thinking. Every now and again, we change our position and we sit and ponder. We only change our position figuratively speaking—we are much too tired to move around after walking the length and breadth of Northern California. Our editor surely has a cruel streak as she finds the highest mountain trails and the longest daily hikes. Maybe that’s why we love her so much. Excuse us. We interrupt our thought pattern. In our ‘usual humble manner’, we use our ‘intellect’ to wonder about a phenomenon we have noticed on this leg of hike-about.
We understand that the width of the United States is a little under 3,000 miles while the length is, say 1200 or so miles. We also estimate that the gauge of a railroad track at about 4 feet, give or take a few inches. Here is our question. If the country is so vast and railroad tracks are miniscule in comparison, why are many motels positioned alongside rail tracks? In Shasta, we were so frightened one night, we jumped into our editor’s arms and slept cuddled up all night. The next night, we were hoping that the train might scare us again. However, we would prefer it if the tracks at least, went around our bathroom rather than through it.
What happened to the trip planned for Oregon? Postponed. Insufficient time. Yosemite? Postponed for the same reason. It seems that time management was inversely correlated to level of exhilaration—a great way to get things wrong.
We left Red Bluff on Sunday morning after one of the first Shabbos days that we did not go strolling. It speaks volumes for the four-weeks of hiking. We admit that we have pushed our bodies considerably. In fact, never mind pushing, our editor has had to pull and drag us at times. After completing a number of chores, we set off for Oroville. The attraction in that city or some thirty miles east of it, is Feather Falls. After a mid-afternoon 9.5 miles hike to a spectacular waterfall, the sixth highest in the United States at 640 feet, we were very tired. We think that’s putting it mildly although, after little sleep the night before, it made sense to be exhausted. The exertion caught up with our editor because she was quite rebellious towards the end of the hike. She even refused to offer us a drink from her water bottle. For Jenni, that is as bad as it can get (if it could be true).
The authorities closed part of the trail so we took the alternative route, which is usually the return leg. This meant that we would have to add another 1.2 miles to the already long 9.5 miles. We gambled on taking the shorter leg back. It turned out that a tree had fallen and destroyed a bridge. We were sufficiently motivated to perform a hop, skip and jump thus saving 1.2 miles. Normally that would not be a big deal but as we mentioned: “You haven’t seen our editor in a rebellious mood”.
It was a tough afternoon concluding with a big elevation gain into the finish but we had witnessed a wonderful set of falls and a river that cuts through a canyon surrounded by overpowering tree-covered mountains. The view as shown in the pictures mesmerized us. We don’t believe many people have the opportunity to witness Feather Falls as the only access is per foot. That’s a pity as the falls in spring must be quite a sight—‘it ain’t half-bad in summer’.
We turned the car to face southwards and decided to revisit Morro Bay on the way to San Diego, take in a last hike and enjoy the quaint fishing port. We are blessed to have experienced an incredible journey once again. After another glimpse at the Master of the Universe’s ‘backyard’, we are, as always, in awe. In approaching the ‘Days of Awe’ next week, our prayers will be, inter alia, filled with gratitude as well as wishes of blessings for our family and friends.
Thank you to those who kept in touch and made us feel close to ‘home’ as well as to anyone that did us the honor of reading or viewing our experiences.
Cheers,
Jenni and Jeffrey
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