Rising Out of the Gloom
It’sbeen a very long time since I’ve been kissed, and it finally happenedtoday! Details to follow….
Ifyou live in Southern California, you know that we’ve been having day after dayafter day of first “May Gray” and then “June Gloom,” those mornings in whichthe marine layer from the Pacific Ocean has drifted far enough inland to covereveryone in light to heavy fog. Yesterday was no different, the damp and tangylayer so thick I had to use my windshield wipers as I drove Miss Maya AngelouMurphy up to a hiking spot that, while quite familiar to me, had beenpreviously undiscovered by her.
ThurmanFlats is located off Hwy 38, a mile or two to the east of the Hwy 38 and BryantStreet junction. There is a small brown Forest Service sign for it that indicates“Picnic Area, ¼ mile.” You can't miss it if you drive slower than the 70mph mostlocals want to drive on that stretch of highway.
And thereis indeed a beautiful, tree-shaded picnic area there, but I wasn’t intending tohave a picnic. I just needed to rise above the gray gloom that had beenhovering physically outside my house but also mentally inside my head. I know,I know; we writers live inside our heads. I try to come out and play from timeto time… but… a lot has been going on that I’ve had to… ruminate upon. We’lljust leave it at that.
Thephoto above was taken from the parking lot at ThurmanFlats. Note the pretty blue sky, the low cloud cover in the valley below. Yes!I could feel my spirits lifting as I called Maya out of the car.
Challenge#1: Would Maya be willing to cross water and boulder hop with me to get to MillCreek? We had to pick our way over places like this:
Butthat girl was ready and willing, as she always is when we hit the trail,and across she went, stopping only when I asked her to so I could get apicture. Then on we went.
Throughthe trees and blackberry brambles, keeping an eye out for both bears andsnakes, we carefully, cautiously traversed the trail and found Mill Creekgushing madly with water pouring over and around boulders at a level I’ve neverseen it, and I’ve been going there for decades. Hooray for snow melt!
Challenge#2: Would Maya come willingly to the edge of the roaring stream? Or would shefear it?
Challengeaccepted, of course. She trotted right up. I held her back from the edge. Ididn’t want her to take a dip in the icy water then have the current drag herin (and me along with her). There is a very short video of her coming throughthe woods to find the water, which you can view by clicking here.
Wewalked along the edge of the stream for a bit, but it had broadened so much,the trail was obliterated in some spots. It was early when we went, and my carhad been the only one in the parking lot, so I was surprised to find a pair ofmen’s shoes by the shore. Did he walk back along the trail barefoot? Did he realize when he arrived home where he’dleft them? Who knows. I left them where I found them.
Weheaded back—which was when my kiss was finally bestowed. We had almost reachedthe narrow trail leading to the parking area when I heard a commotion andlooked up through the foliage, half expecting to see a bear. Nope. It was a boundingdog, a large coonhound, followed by an even larger German shepherd. Theybarreled straight for us.
Challenge#3: Would Maya completely freak out? Or allow the over-excited doggos to greether?
Turns out, she didn’t do either, really. She sat down, which is what I’vetaught her to do when she’s frightened. The dogs ran up and sniffed her, butshe remained sitting quietly, not trying to run. I could hear the dogs’ person tryingto call them back from yards away, shouting as loud as he could to be heardabove the roaring stream. I looked up to see him moving down the trail—a manabout my age, backpack on his shoulder, two smaller terrier mixes following athis heels. He called to me, something by way of apology, I assume. I laughedand shrugged because I couldn’t hear him, then turned my attention back to thedogs just as the coonhound leapt up and kissed me right on the cheek!
Wait.You didn’t think the kiss was offered by a man, did you? Nah. Just a sweet dogsaying hello—and leaving huge muddy paw prints down my sleeve and all over thefront of my jacket. Closer now, the man called once more to his rambunctiousboys, and both galloped off, leaping over boulders and kicking up sand. I’mguessing they had a great day. Maya and I left them to return home, drivingback down into the drizzle, but not minding it one bit.
