Big Surf, Carruther's Cove, and the Big Picture...

It finally stopped raining around here around noon on Saturday. It had rained the entire week, with only the occasional hour or two long respite from the cold, dreary downpours. It's funny because the people around here are so melodramatic about their rainy season. About two days into the storm, people were already starting to look slightly crazed. They act like it doesn't get crappy anywhere else in the US and if it does rain somewhere-it's nothing quite so bad as a Pacific rainstorm. I am no fan of the rainstorms, but I am happy to have a couple hours without bums strolling down the street and lazing about my front lawn. The good thing about it raining all week was that it cleared up for the weekend and allowed Justine and I to have a wonderful lazy two days together, doing nothing in particular except whatever we pleased!

BIG SURF

The surf on Saturday and Sunday was spectacular, well actually it was only spectacularly huge. I really like to surf, but 17-20 feet is a bit big for my liking. When it gets that big around here, most of the spots closeout and become a mess of whitewater and foam. On big days, there are only a few choices; Harbor Mouth, Patrick's Point, and College Cove...

After watching my Boilermakers coast to an easy victory I decided to go and at least look at the waves. The Harbor Mouth is the place to be when the winter swells start rolling it. It's only a ten minute drive from our house and if the surf is going off, there will be somebody there charging it. As I drove south along the Samoa Peninsula I could see the huge swells from the road. The energy of the ocean was in the air. Standing on the beach, you can feel the sand rumble as waves taller than a two story house crash onto the shore.

As I pulled into the parking lot along the North Jetty, I noticed dozens of cars...most of them with the surfboards still safely strapped to the racks or securely stowed in the beds of pickup trucks. Tons of people showed up for the surf, but few people wanted to go out and play. Saturday morning was a spectator day for everyone but the committed and those with jet skis. I think within a couple of years, I would like to be comfortable in surf of that size, but it takes commitment, a thick board, and balls of absolute steel. As you guys can see from the pictures, it looks amazing...

CARRUTHER'S COVE

On Sunday, Justine and I took off on our typical Sunday afternoon drive to find adventure. We set off early Sunday morning with a flawless plan...We were going to drive north to the Newton Drury Scenic Drive, which is a beautiful, SMOOTH, gently sloping road through Redwood National Park. A couple of weekends back, we had scouted portions of the drive as possible downhill skateboarding runs. We intended to park at the bottom of the long, gradual hill and walk to the top, then skate back to our van. The plan was simple enough, except we forgot to factor in the State of California (which is always the X factor). The state, in all of it's wisdom, had closed our road and barred the gates, so we were left looking for a plan B.

Plan B presented itself in the form of the "Coastal Road", the name should actually be "Coastal Dirt Trail", but we won't split hairs. After much profanity and cursing of California and Californians, we set off on the "Coastal Road" in search of the trail head to Carruther's Cove. After a somewhat hair-raising ramble down the dirt/gravel path with sheer 600 ft drop-offs frequently to our left, we found our mile long path down to Carruther's Cove. The trail was about a mile long with over 600 feet of elevation loss/gain. The trail down followed a drainage and was a tunnel of overhanging foliage. We felt like the first people there all week, which was a definite possibility. We were miles away from a legitimate road, people didn't come out this way much. Magazines always talk about pristine, tucked away beaches with not a foot-print in sight.Here is a beach like that. There are dozens like it within an hour. On the trail down we saw tons of birds, frogs, banana slugs, and a half eaten Pacific Salamander. The cove itself was beautiful. The surf was booming and nobody for miles! Truly a picturesque scene...

The trail down was fun. It was all down hill, with great views. The walk up was long. I was breathing hard on the walk up. I love the humidity, but on the way up...WHEW! It was balmy.

We checked the surf at a couple spots, but the crowd found College Cove first and Camel Rock looked a bit much.

THE BIG PICTURE

The Big Picture of it all though sounds less glamorous. There are some great vistas, cool stuff to see, waves, mountains, and lots of new things. But on the other hand, what is all this cool stuff without friends and family around to share it? I'm really starting to crave some Hoosier hospitality and some Midwestern sensibility. Boiler Up!