The Traveling Widower

Category: hiking

A Walk in the Woods (with really big trees)

This post is really different – I’m plagiarizing from one of my favorite humor authors (Bill Bryson) instead of from some rock song. If I think about it, I might find some lyrics which fit, but the book was a perfect match. Bryson’s book (A Walk in the Woods) was about his multi-year attempt to hike the entire Appalachian Trail, partnered with a very peculiar, clueless friend. I recall when I first read the book, I was flying somewhere, and laughing like a madman. Jan was quietly telling people seated around us that she did not know me. Robert Redford made a movie out of the book, which was probably his worst directing and acting effort. I was a big fan of most everything he did, but this one was awful. But that’s not what this post is about.

Now that I’m finally free from that miserable virus (woo hoo), I needed to get out of the house for a hike. I’m leaving for Colorado in a week, and I needed to get back in shape for the couple of outdoor activities I have planned. During my ‘Cave-A-Week’ mission this past summer, I had heard about a little known state park, Calaveras Big Trees, which has two groves of giant Sequoia trees, and had planned to visit when I traveled to Murphy’s for Mercer Caverns. That would have necessitated an overnight stay, which would have been fun (wineries, nice restaurants, great ice cream) but I did not feel like doing that for some reason, so I passed on the opportunity. But, the weather is still warm, the skies clear, and I’ve got nothing exciting planned this week. Today was the day.

I’ve now done this 2+ hour drive quite a few times, but have never gone past Murphy’s. The highway (Route 4) turns into a winding mountain road – fun to drive, and you go through Arnold, another cute (and small) town. Some nice looking restaurants and bars. Some other time. I love this area.

I had read (and heard) a lot of good things about the park – nice visitor center, really great docents and rangers and easy trails. They were all correct. The visitor center has a nice shop and a small museum, with a lot of interesting information on the history of the big trees and the wildlife – river otters, bears, occasional mountain lions, and lots of birds. Oh my. There are two main groves of the Sequoia trees – the Northern Grove starts at the visitor center so there was no sense in driving any further. I strapped on my Forest Gump anti-foot-flopping brace, and headed off on the trail. I brought the Sony A7 along, but only to play around with – this seemed like the pefect hike to try out my new Pixel phone.

This trail is well suited for just about anybody – even wheel chairs. And for that reason (maybe some others), the hikers were mostly old. My age. Maybe it was senior discount day or something like that. (I should have asked). No bicycles or dogs allowed. Nice. Just a lot of happy, friendly people.

So what do you see on a trail in the Big Trees State Park? I’ll give you a second. Give up? Big trees of course. Really BIG trees. The Sequoias are scattered throughout the primarily Redwood forest, and they really stand out. The trail meanders through the groves, with markers (27 of them) at each point of interest (you get a very detailed map of the trail, with descriptions for each of the markers). But most everything is pretty obvious – huge upright trees, huge fallen trees, some burned stumps. Right from the start, there is this enormous stump – shaved down like a dance floor. Part of the tree that stood there is next to it.

There are quite a few other downed giants – very strange looking. And one giant has a hollow center which you can walk (more like a crab walk) through it. No, it does not count as another cave.

But mostly what you see are the majestic giants.

All told, I probably walked about 2 miles or so. It was just a perfect day – not too warm, lots of shade. Does not get too much better than that except for some biting bugs. There is lots more to see in the park – there was a nice overlook trail which I hiked for a bit, but there were no old folks on it (dirt trail), and I’m sticking with the rule – NO SOLO HIKING. There is another grove of Sequoias (Southern Grove…clever) and more trails to the Stanislaus river, but I had enough. Besides, I had ice cream on my mind. Jo Ma’s, on Main Street in Murphy’s. A perfect end to a great day.

I really like that place. Yum.

This park is a good alternative to Sequoia National Park, if all you want to see are the big trees. Not as far from civilization (easy to get to) and you can see the trees without driving around.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calaveras_Big_Trees_State_Park

And then you are a short drive from Murphy’s, with lots of wineries and my favorite ice cream shop

September 23, 2025
MacGyver, Forest Gump and hiking – Huh?
This is going to be one of those very strange posts….just a heads up. I need to vent about something which is marginally related to travel. Strap in, here goes. It will all make sense at the end.

Dictionary

Definitions from Oxford Languages · Learn more

verbINFORMAL•US

verb: MacGyver; 3rd person present: MacGyvers; past tense: MacGyvered; past participle: MacGyvered; gerund or present participle: MacGyvering; verb: McGyver; 3rd person present: McGyvers; past tense: McGyvered; past participle: McGyvered; gerund or present participle: McGyvering
1. make or repair (an object) in an improvised or inventive way, making use of whatever items are at hand.
  “he MacGyvered a makeshift jack with a log”
When my wife and I first moved into our house in Gold River, it had a 25 year old heat pump. For those of you who have never had the pleasure of owning one of these wonderful HVAC units, a heat pump is basically an A/C unit that also blows out slightly warm air in the winter. Sort of like having a large hair dryer heating your house. But I digress as usual. The compressor unit vibrated violently when running, and you could hear it from a few blocks away. We were given one of those useless home warranty deals when we bought the house and after reporting the problem, the company sent out one of their technicians who spent hours trying to balance the fan. No matter what he tried, the unit continued to vibrate. So he had a great idea. He pulled up one of the large landscape rocks in my yard and placed it on top of the unit. A miracle – it stopped vibrating. For about an hour or two, when the rock vibrated off the unit. He said he would talk to the managers once he got back to the office. Then I received notice that the case was closed – problem solved!

Problem Solved!

This is what my wife called a MacGyver solution (I never watched that TV show). Sort of like fixing a broken muffler or a leaking pipe with Duct Tape. It’s ugly, but works for a while.

So what’s this got to do with anything related to my travels? Earlier this summer, I decided to try and do something about an annoying medical issue – drop foot. Walking is a complex mechanical process, with a lot of moving parts. As you step forward, a small muscle in the shin keep the foot pointing up so that you step onto your heel first, and roll forward on to the ball of your foot. If the nerve controlling that muscle is not firing correctly, your foot flops forward, making a loud slapping noise on the ground. Aside from the sound, this is also a potential tripping problem for walking on uneven surfaces – hiking for example. Something I like to do on my trips.

After a couple of years living with this, I finally went for help, and wound up with an appointment with the UC Davis Neurology Department. This did not go well:
1. They put me through an EMG test, where they stick acupuncture needles, hooked up to monitors, into the leg and shock you with a small cattle prod. Results confirmed that I had distal neuropathy. No kidding. I already knew that from prior tests.
2. Then they ordered all kinds of obscure blood tests to see if there were any underlying issues. Oops. One test was way out of bounds and was an indicator of multiple myeloma – blood cancer. Kind of ruined this summer.
3. Next I was referred to another department, Hematology, to deal with what was likely myeloma. I was not overly thrilled about having to visit the UC Davis Cancer Center again. That was where my wife was treated for 11 months. No thanks.
4. Fortunately the blood test was a lab mistake – I had them take another sample and it came out normal. Phew! Bad news for whoever they mixed up the test results with.
So the end result of this exciting sequence of events was that I still have drop foot, which is what I wanted to solve in the first place. The neurologists had kicked the can down the road, and I have to wait a few more months to meet with another doctor to talk about the neuropathy and drop foot. Grrrrrrr.

Now for the MacGyver solution. I had done some research (Google of course) on this condition, and found references to a brace designed specifically for drop foot. I spoke to my primary care physician who scheduled a reference to the orthotics department. I now have a carbon-graphite contraption that fits in my shoe, wraps almost comfortably on my calf, and keeps my foot from flopping. MacGyver rules! It would be perfect if it used Duct Tape to stick to my leg. This hopefully will not be a long term solution, but for now I can take long walks, workout on a treadmill without that annoying slapping sound, and hike (already tried it out) without worrying about tripping. Maybe I’ll use it as an excuse for early boarding on flights….you poor old man. Nah. Not my style.

And who cares if I look like Forest Gump wearing a leg brace.

Bring on the Manitou Incline!! 2700 steps, here I come. See, I told you I would tie this all together.
August 5, 2025