Russian Gulch

I ended up here after being stranded.

I came to this area to do a backpacking trip at Sinkyone State Park, just north of Fort Bragg. I made the 4-hour drive from my house, drove the few miles down the sketchy one-lane dirt road to get to the trailhead. Once I get there, I park my car, walk around a bit, notice that I passed the trailhead, get back in my car to move it closer, and then lo and behold, my car doesn't start. The starter went out. I am tens of miles from any cell service and have no idea how I am going to get my car or myself out. "Would a tow truck even be able to make it down here?" I ask myself. I try a few more times to get it to start, ask a couple people for help, and cannot get it to start. I had just gotten a satellite communicator about a week prior (what timing), so I pull that out and try to communicate with my wife to see if she can get a ranger or a police officer down here to help me. She gets a hold of the Sinkyone State Park office and they are able to get a ranger to me. The ranger comes, asesses the situation, tells me there is one tow truck driver in the area that is willing to come down here. She tells me she will get him in touch with my wife to hopefully come get me out. My wife tells me via my satellite communicator that she got a hold of him and should be there in the morning. I spend the night hoping he comes earlier in the morning/afternoon. 

I spent the next day waiting around for the driver, and he finally came around noon. We load up the car and drive to a mechanic shop in Fort Bragg. We didn't get there till about 3:00, and I am already thinking, "there is no way my car is getting fixed today," and sure enough the mechanic tells me he can't get the part till the morning. I thought about getting a hotel or staying at a campground, but everything was so expensive, plus the tow and car repair wasn't cheap, so I decided I would be like a homeless person with all my backpacking gear and find somewhere to sleep in the city. I spent the night on a disc golf course not too far from the ocean (not a bad place to be homeless). The next morning I went exploring around Fort Bragg while my car was being worked on. Went to a few different beaches, including the famous Glass Beach, and then around noon, I got the call that my car was done. After two nights in the area, it was time to be done with this trial.

As I was walking back to get my car, I started thinking if I should try to do something in the area on my way back home. I think to myself, "maybe I can still make something of this crazy adventure." I remembered there were a couple waterfalls that I had read about in a book near here, so what better opportunity than now to see them? So I came to Russian Gulch State Park, and saw this wonderful waterfall.

The lush green, the soft, silky flow of the falling water looks like something out of a fairy tale. The water’s movement contrasts beautifully with the stillness of the forest. One of my favorite waterfall shots I have ever taken was born out of adversity.

Embrace the journey, even when it gets hard, for something beautiful will come of it, and it may be just around the corner.