Hard Coe 2012 - Pt. I

Fourteen years in the making. That is how this particular adventure begins. The group of friends I've had since middle school had always talked about having some great camping trip sometime in the near future. Soon weeks became months and months became years and then years became decades. Days of limitless potential slowly faded into days of routine mediocrity. We trudged on with our lives and the thought of that grand trip was shelved as one of those "things you'll do at some point."

However, the inner cave man within us had not died. Deep within, lay a dormant ember waiting to be fueled and by the luck of the Gods, we caught a wind and our fires erupted. It was decided that we shall make the dream a reality and go on a backpacking trip. We quickly established a plan and our anticipation was palpable. Our plan: a three day, three night backpacking junket through the Henry Coe State Park wilderness. We planned to drive through the entire night, after work, and start hiking early in the morning in order to minimize time spent walking through the hottest part of the day.

The trip really starts at a Denny's in the town of Gilroy. It is here where we devour as many surplus calories as we can force down before we begin our sojourn free of civilization. Exhausted from a lack of sleep and gluttonous feasting, we muster our strength and prepare for the difficult task before us.

Our route commences at Coyote Hollows. It is the area in which one parks one's vehicle and pays for camping fees. We roll in, like a two-car parade, kicking up a storm of dust. It's six dollars per vehicle per night and five dollars per person per night. We all shove our money in the envelope and drop it in the slot. We're all set. Now we need to get to the trailhead about two miles away. We could just walk the two miles to the trailhead with our packs, but I have a better idea. We throw all of our gear into the Jeep. It can't fit all five of us and our gear so we do the only logical thing... we hold onto the frame and ride that bitch like its mutherfucking "campaign mode."

The ride is blisteringly cold. With our hand occupied holding onto the Jeep, we are at the wind's mercy. Our only choice is to grit our teeth and bear it. But the wind turns out to be a good thing. It rejuvenates my body and invigorates my spirits. The gravity of the moment starts to kick in and I realize that I'm finally there. That we're finally there. This dream is a reality and it's only just begun...