Henry Coe, March 2013
Any month that has two backpacking trips must be good! As a bit of a challenge for myself, I decided to do this trip solo, which was something I hadn't done before. I had, however, been to Henry Coe on two previous trips, so I at least knew what I was getting into (i.e., super steep hills!). That being said, Henry Coe is the largest State Park in Northern California, so it's pretty easy to cover new ground on each visit. This trip started on Friday night with a relatively short hike up to Willson Camp, then I took the long way around to Coit Lake on Sat, and I managed to save up enough energy to visit Willson Peak on the way out. The wildflowers were putting on an amazing display, though I didn't capture too many images, as my wide-angle lens just doesn't do flowers very well. I was a little nervous about using the tarp again since there was rain in the forecast, but it did a fine job both keeping my and my gear dry, and ensuring that my starting pack weight was under 20lbs fully loaded. A lot of the pictures were taken part way up (or down) a slope, as I was looking for any excuse to stop and let my legs recover!
Read More
