Muddy Hollow Trail

Muddy Hollow Trail
3.8 miles
2.5 hours
Start: Muddy Hollow Trailhead
End: Muddy Hollow Trailhead
Includes: Muddy Hollow Trail, Limantour Beach

Hike 27
June 14, 2013
Queen of Cups
Affection

I took Desmond on this hike. Poor guy, he was exhausted; first-grade ended just the day before. We started from the Muddy Hollow Trailhead and went down the trail towards Limantour Beach. It was a wonderful, sunny day and Desmond felt better after a little while walking.

This trail used to be a muddy hollow. Now it is a beautifully maintained trail with a number of wooden bridges over the wettest parts.

Desmond carried the camera. He took pictures of me, the trees, the sky and the sky lupine.

The trail is a mix of forest, riparian and estuary habitats. We spotted a Great Egret hunting in Limantour Estero; the scene worthy of a Japanese woodcut.

Desmond almost self-combusted just before the final bridge to the beach.

He made it to the dunes and dropped to his knees in the warm sand, utterly exhausted and relieved we had made it to our destination.

The sky was blue, the clouds puffy and the sand warm on Limantour Beach. We ate raspberries and rested before heading back up the trail to our car at the Muddy Hollow Trailhead.

The Queen of Cups is a figure of maternal love. She has affection for others and the world that is unconditional. Desmond is the only hiker I hold hands with. He's the only hiker who casts his body to the ground at regular intervals. He's the only hiker I pack snacks for. He is the only hiker of whom I take more photos than the landscape. No matter what he does, I am so happy to have him with me on the hikes. It is a chance for us to share the experience.

If I want the world to be a better place, I have a chance everyday to make it one for myself and for my boy. I want him to grow-up embodying the experience that the world is a wonderful place, he is just as he should be and that he is loved no matter what. This is the kind of love a parent has for her child and the kind of love nature has for us. After all, she is our mother. Let us return her affection. We can't live without her.