Saturday 25 August 2018
We wake again to a grey morning with ocean mist hanging in the trees. After breakfast we pack a daypack and begin the hike over ridges and down to Wildcat Camp on the coast. It’s a cool morning. Both O and I are wearing extra layers. The gravel road we follow passes over hills, through trees, meadows and brushy areas, all perfect for birding. We stop to watch wrens and a bright yellow warbler with grayish wings and a black cap. (Later we check Sibley’s. It’s a Wilson’s Warbler.) After 2 ½ miles the road winds its way down to Wildcat Camp just above the beach. O and I walk past young people flying a kite and playing a variation of volleyball. We leave them behind as we wander along the beach. Ahead, the beach is empty as we walk just out of reach of the breaking waves. As we go, we notice pelicans fishing just beyond the beakers. They are harassed by gulls which, I suppose, are hoping the pelicans will drop a fish and provide an easy meal. There are cormorants fishing as well and then, as we watch, several seals go swimming by. The fishing must be good here today! Further out we see the fins of porpoises as they also pass us by.
Over the cliffs ravens soar accompanied by a lone osprey. I survey the beach ahead through my binoculars. In the distance I can see Alamere Falls as it plunges over the cliff face and onto the beach. Around its base are many people.
O and I take time to enjoy the ocean as we walk slowly towards the waterfall. We take some photos when we arrive and agree that we would rather spend our time wandering the “people-free” zone. We turn around and make our way back towards Wildcat. Once there we climb a bluff overlooking the ocean. It’s a perfect spot for lunch As we eat we hear a cacophony of seabird calls. Flocks of pelicans, seagulls, cormorants and other shore birds are diving and splashing in the water below, close to shore. In the water, among the scores of birds, is a pod of seals, also fishing. I feel sorry for the school of fish that wandered into this place. As the commotion quiets, O and I finish our lunch. For the first time since we began this backpack trip the sky is bright blue and the sun is warm. We shed our extra layers and take a different path back up the hills to camp. This trail leads to higher elevation from which we can see a fresh water lake below. We pass through a quiet pine barren where the needles on the path muffle our steps. By 4 pm we are back at Glen Camp. As we arrive the mist moves back in quickly and the air temperature drops.
Glen Camp has filled in with new Saturday night campers who will probably be partying into the night. I’m hoping O and I are tired enough to get to sleep anyway. Tomorrow we’ll be hiking out to begin our drive towards Lassen.