For Thursday, June 3, 1999 Drummer Column, Gibbs, 727 words

Trees at last

Over the river and through the woods to Pine Valley Camp we went. Mr. Gibbs knew the way to carry the day and a wonderful weekend was spent, oh!

Finally, finally, we made it to the woods. After a snowstorm and a sold-out Point Reyes campsite deterred our first attempts, the Benicia High School Backpacking Club at last made it into the wilderness. We spent the Memorial Day weekend frolicking in the Ventana Wilderness of the Los Padres National Forest.

Eighteen freshmen, three seniors, three graduates, two teachers, and one parent hiked the picturesque six-mile trail down to Pine Valley, perhaps one of the most beautiful, adventuresome campsites in the entire Ventana Wilderness.

We got an after-lunch release from school on Friday, May 28, and drove 150 miles down to Carmel Valley in a seven-vehicle parent caravan. We hit the trail from China Camp at a cool 5:30 p.m. and made Pine Valley at sundown. The trail was one mile uphill and five downhill, making the hike in relatively painless.

Still, I was surprised at the amount of leftover energy. Kids cooked up exotic dinners and fancy deserts. We gathered plenty of firewood, and built two big fires -- an adult fire and a kid fire.

On Saturday, after a leisurely breakfast, we banded together and spent the afternoon rock climbing at the valley's northern end. Here is five acres of sandstone outcroppings forming a maze of tunnels and gentle slopes. In the center is a natural amphitheater, a C-shaped cave with a fire-ring in the center of it. Beneath the cave's overhang are pockets in the stone once used by coastal Indians for grinding acorns.

Kids spread out and climbed up and over various peaks. From the highest point of the rock garden it looked like a giant Whack-a-Mole. After dark some kids returned to the amphitheater to roast marshmallows.

On Sunday we journeyed to the waterfall. It's the other big attraction at Pine Valley. Some day hikers come all that way just to see it. It's a half-mile down the headwaters of the Carmel River, which runs through our campground and into a narrow high-walled canyon.

The trail meanders wildly up and down the canyon wall as it weaves its way around trees and rocks. At the falls we came out on top and had to climb down, down to the bottom. Here is the largest swimming hole in Ventana, a deep, shady pool. We spent several hours diving in, screaming at the cold, swimming under the falls, and jumping out.

Our last evening we spent eating. We ate all we could fit because anything we ate we didn't have to carry out. After dark, after dinner, we finished off the firewood with a couple of nice fires -- one up in Teen Town at the base of a huge sloping rock, and one in Grownup Town on the lower level near the river and fresh spring water.

The teens entertained us with campfire songs and flying glow-sticks. The adults stood around their fire and talked a crazy quilt of topics, whatever came up. We cooked biscuits on sticks. Overhead, the full moon illuminated us all.

On our final day, we ate breakfast, broke camp, and started back up the trail. This was the day of payback for the easy hike in. Up, up, up, hot, hot, hot we climbed over two exposed ridges, awash in wild flowers and sunshine. Our packs were lighter and we were stronger, but the steep rocky switchbacks still took their toll on our stamina. An occasional shade tree provided pause for a sip of canteen water and a long, grateful look over the mountain range toward the sea.

It is in moments like these that a person realizes s/he has accomplished something special, something difficult, something challenging.

Hiking downhill was a lot of fun and the trail passed quickly. Hiking uphill, however, required hikers to take their time, to rest, to enjoy the scenery, to stop and smell the flowers. Hiking uphill was the balance of effort necessary to earn the privilege of spending a wonderful weekend in pastoral Pine Valley.

The students on this trip were beginners. For most it was their first backpacking trip. They performed exceptionally well. They were well prepared and adapted to the environment seamlessly. No one got hurt. They are beginners no more.

Thanks, Jayson! I appreciated your help and your company.