Date: 7/25/16
Miles: 19.6
Total Miles: 1426.8
First and foremost, Happy Birthday to my big sister Alison!
The title very nearly says it all as the migraine that began its infancy late last night blossomed into its adolescence in the first hours of hiking this morning. Having to pause and take my medication put somewhat of a damper on an otherwise celebratory moment when we came across a small cooler near a road crossing that contained a handful of cold beers. Though perhaps failing social acceptability back home, drinking long before noon on such an occasion out here shares no such moral burden.
The heat wave continued its acceleration today, promising to eclipse the 100-degree mark each of the next several days—not exactly the conditions I was hoping for to help smooth the storm that was beginning to boil inside my head.
As we followed a dry creek bed within Burney Falls State Park, within minutes the dry bed became wet, the wet became flowing, and the flowing became rapid before finally plunging over the park's namesake. All this within less than half a mile. Funneled through many underground channels, the water both thunders impressively over the edge of the falls while also weeping delicately from various heights. Between the lushness of the green vegetation and the water's shade of blue, it looked like a scene wrenched from the pages of a coffee table book about the beauty of Hawaii. I would wish for the same dramatic temperature drop and cool mist coming off the falls the rest of the day....to no avail.