Blazing Trails in the New Year!

 

Recently I was invited to help blaze a trail from a friend’s elevated property down to the ocean.   Now this may sound like a simple enough venture for the average individual, and it did so to me, but I had no idea that the terrain we were about to conquer was of unimaginable vertical proportions offering uneven surfaces, unstable earth, and slopes so steep you could only traverse via a rope.  Had I asked "why, why would you want to do this?", I can only imagine the same response had I posed a similar question to Edmund Hillary "why would you climb Mt. Everest"?  

We started out, many hundreds of meters above sea level, and little did I know what we were about to navigate and put ourselves through to reach the ocean below.  Our team of trail blazers included yours truly and an orchestrator, an up-and-coming Sherpa guide, an eagle-eye rock spotter, a super trooper, and of course our 2 trail shepherds Cologne and Jake.

Enthusiastically at the start, we began fossicking for rocks to strategically place as steps down the slopes, snipping branches, and laying broken logs to mark the path. . As we descended to steeper and steeper terrain, the trail blazing waned some and it became more important to remain vertical.  We all managed a fall at one point or another, but nothing serious, all par for the course.  

We brought rope with us and our "sherpa" managed to display amazingly advanced skills for knot tying by securing rope to trees so that we all had something to hold onto when descending to the depths of the Black Forest.  Amazing!  Talk about a survivor team! We all used the ropes to scale some tougher parts of the terrain.

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Our shepherds were feeling challenged as well, and while they might think they are mountain goats, the loose earth and steep slopes slowed them both down, but we all persevered. Hugging trees was not uncommon, and when one of the team took another fall hands first, we christened the spot as "Piercing Point".

After what seemed to be hours, we came to a rocky bluff fairly high above the water's edge, but open enough for us to see the ocean and know that we were almost there! Here was another tricky part. The bluffs were covered in fairy moss and lichen which made things slippery, so we used the old switchback method to descend safely and make things easier for those of us less able to bound like goats. Hundreds of feet later, and no slips or falls, our Sherpa, along with our shepherds, made it to the rocky shoreline and called up to us, telling us it was easy and to hurry up. And then there it was before us, "Collingwood Channel", and a part of the shoreline that could only be accessible from this new trail, or brave kayakers passing by.

  

The trail shepherds would have been quite happy to spend the rest of the day on the rocks by the water, and were in no hurry to lead the way back up the side of the Black Forest. I was a bit worried about the Jake-Meister, as he is not in shape for such terrain. Throwing sticks for him to fetch in the ocean did not seem to work, he was not going to get all his parts wet in the frigid ocean water. Part of me was relieved we were able to rest a bit at the waters edge and watch a curious seal trying to check us out from a few feet away.

I was amazed at the seal barks being imitated by my fellow hikers to attract it closer. Where do they learn these things, and how can they make it sound so real? They also demonstrated their ability to cry like an eagle and call like a raven. It was very peaceful and quiet at the waters edge, and the fact that we had actually made it down was a feat in and of itself that made me all the more focused on being able to get back up! So, like all good stories and old sayings, what comes down, must go up!  And up we did go!

Back at the ranch the critters collapsed in exhaustion.  Jake actually slept that night from about 8pm until I made him wake up the next morning around 9:30am. Totally knackered he was.

It was a fun day for sure, and a great athletic way to start the new year with my new left foot - no cast, and no pain.   Sign me up for the next boot-camp please!!