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canyonwalkerYesterday we hiked Zim Zim Falls in a remote part of Napa County. As I noted in my previous blog, just getting there seemed like half the adventure. But then you get out on foot on the trail and realize the adventure has just begun. There are nine water crossings on the way to Zim Zim Falls. Oh, and a climb up a mountain. I put together a video blog about it:
This is a trail we also hiked last year, in March (2023). A couple things were different this time. For one, I chose to wear hiking sandals instead of hiking boots. And I chose to leave them on through all the water crossings. I did that based on something I figured out in real time on last year's hike: walking in soggy shoes actually isn't that bad, especially compared to the time sink of changing out of and back into footwear. Eighteen times.
Another difference was that the trail is getting overgrown. Last year it was a clear dirt road (fire road / utility right-of-way) the whole way. This year it's all overgrown with grass up to waist high. In many places it's just a single track through the tall grass, a single track that's been tramped down by other hikers.
At first the overgrowth bothered me. It's a sign of lack of maintenance, and I was worried about ticks. But we didn't find any ticks on ourselves (we checked), and after a while we found that the overgrowth helped us feel like we were out in a part of the wilderness rarely visited by other people. We only saw, like, 4 other small groups of hikers in 4 hours anyway. The near solitude was enjoyable.
This is a trail we also hiked last year, in March (2023). A couple things were different this time. For one, I chose to wear hiking sandals instead of hiking boots. And I chose to leave them on through all the water crossings. I did that based on something I figured out in real time on last year's hike: walking in soggy shoes actually isn't that bad, especially compared to the time sink of changing out of and back into footwear. Eighteen times.
Another difference was that the trail is getting overgrown. Last year it was a clear dirt road (fire road / utility right-of-way) the whole way. This year it's all overgrown with grass up to waist high. In many places it's just a single track through the tall grass, a single track that's been tramped down by other hikers.
At first the overgrowth bothered me. It's a sign of lack of maintenance, and I was worried about ticks. But we didn't find any ticks on ourselves (we checked), and after a while we found that the overgrowth helped us feel like we were out in a part of the wilderness rarely visited by other people. We only saw, like, 4 other small groups of hikers in 4 hours anyway. The near solitude was enjoyable.
no subject
Date: 2024-05-27 09:17 am (UTC)It looks like you're starting to discard your on-line anonymity.
Also looks like you took some inspiration from "Bambi Meets Godzilla"...
no subject
Date: 2024-05-27 05:16 pm (UTC)