Book Club Hike

Thursday, July 31, 2008

We met at the Saratoga Gap parking lot and drove to the trailhead entrance at LR 10 on Skyline. It was a beautiful evening and we hiked up to the highest ridge on Skyline where the Wallace Stegner bench is situated. We enjoyed a picnic and a short tribute to Wallace Stegner. The plaque on the bench is a quote from the Wilderness Letter, written in 1960. The plaque says " . . . to try to save for everyone, for the hostile and indifferent as well as the committed, some of the health that flows down across the great ridges from the Skyline, and home of the beauty and refreshment of spirit that are still available to any resident of the valley who has a moment, and the wit, to lift up his eyes unto the hills." We were basking in the beauty of the place and feeling the spirit of Stegner's message when we decided to hike up a little further to see the sunset. When the Sunset Trail ended, we walked through the tall grass to the edge of hills.

And this where WE WERE SHOT!! We had inadvertently wandered onto private property and some maniac began shooting at us with a shot gun. Even though it was probably bird shot, several of us were hit, including Kathy in the face! We turned around and left the area but he continued to shoot at us repeatedly, and even when we had returned to the Stegner bench he continued to fire on us. Most of us can say that this was the first time we had ever been shot at but for Ian and Kathy, it was just another one of their many adventures!

On the way back, Ian found a Geo-cache. It was a little toy figurine. He replaced it with a book mark of the Stegner Bench that Andrea had made for all of us. It was an outing we won't soon forget!

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

We met at Andrea's to discuss the Story of Edgar Sawtelle. Sheri led the discussion for Bruce since Bruce was away at Boy Scout Camp. We welcomed our newest member, Claudia Wrathall!
The general consensus of the group was that the book was well written and enjoyable until the end. Those who finished the book expressed feelings ranging from disappointment to outrage at the ending. The book was very Hamlet-like and had strong parallels to the play. Definitely a tragedy! Dog-lovers in the group appreciated that aspect of the book.
Our next book, to be discussed on Sept 11, 2008, will be Shantaram, by Gregory David Roberts. It's r-e-a-l-l-y long, but we have two months to read it and it is available on Audible as well as Audio CD. We trust Jennifer's choice of books. She has never led us astray! The meeting will be at Kathy's house in Boulder Creek.
Our summer "field trip" will be on Thursday, July 31. We will hike to the Stegner bench in the Long Ridge Open Space Preserve off of Skyline. We will meet at the Waterman Gap parking lot (the intersection of Highway 9 and Skyline) between 6:00 and 6:15 that evening. Everyone bring your own water and a food item to share for a picnic. Plates and utensils will be provided. Happy reading.