On May 8, 2021 I wrote that the day before in the morning I convinced my kids to get dressed and they ate some cereal and a bit of toast. I called into the friday breakfast with the geographers and did some work. The boys’ class was difficult and let them be after class ended. I tidied and packed before having coffee and dropping the boys off with their mother.
Then I found my bike at Powell Street and boarded a ferry enroute to the SMART. The transfers went pretty easy but I was nearly late because I ordered a sandwich at the Landing. I drank whiskey and beer until Santa Rosa and then ate my sandwich.
I took a bus to Cloverdale and checked into a room around 8:00 PM before walking to the Hacienda restaurant to eat outside. After that I also sat outside at the Sawmill.
In the morning of the day that I wrote this I got up at nine. I took time to myself and set up my computer. Then I left for the Russian River Canyon around 1030. I stopped for a pastry and 2 cups of coffee before riding to the RV park on Geysers Road. I noted that someone passed me on Crockett after the bridge but the rest of the ride people were mostly nice.
I photographed the old Preston Bridge crossing and at the RV park I verified that they accept new arrivals after nine. They have campsites and I noted that getting a reservation is not that hard.
I looked at Preston Drive and photographed tunnel number seven before getting on the tracks to Frog Woman Rock (bitsin maca). I was surprised Edwards creek was easily crossed. I know the trails and fence breaches. The stickers got in my socks so I stopped twice. The walking was not fun but I endured it. I was actually faster than I had anticipated but I stopped a lot.
The tracks were as irregular as I had anticipated. I found a pushcart for the tracks near Comiskey Creek. The bridge there was in an OK state too. The tracks deteriorated but we’re passable. I was able to ride in places but not generally. I remember the cliffs as I approached tunnel 8 and it spread out as the map said.
The tunnel was a hole with no adornment. I was not impressed. I was also very not going inside. I placed my bike in a location where I knew I would cross the fence and then I went down to the river. However there was no real access so I went back to the tracks.
I found the path I needed on the far side of the fence and strained myself climbing the 680 feet to the top. I had no water and twice my heart nearly gave out. I also had to stop many times. I got extremely tired. I drank water from the spring dripping into a tub. After that I climbed one foot in front of the other until Mountain House Road
From there I looked for water but had no success. People looked at me funny. One lady said I was trespassing. I climbed from Mountain House to Highway 128 in a half an hour and found water. Then I descended to Pick’s Drive-In for a beer and a chicken sandwich.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
