Mount Tam

After spending the morning packing food, clothing and shelter for our journey to Mount Tamalpais, Matt and I headed over the Golden Gate Bridge and started up the winding road to our base camp at Pantoll Campground. As we drove through Mill Valley, a small town in Marin County we passed the 7-11 store. As I had been primarily responsible for the preparation of our camping trip due to my reputation as a rugged Montana outdoors man, Matt jokingly said, "My job will be to remember where the local 7-11 is." Turns out he wasn't kidding. The road was windy and treacherous. We drove up and up, round and round, up and round, and round an up until the saliva in my mouth started to become thick and metallic tasting and my eyes began darting around the outback to see if I had anything to barf into. If the decision wouldn't have led to driving down and down and round and round and round and down and down and round, I would have stopped at that 7-11 for some freaking Dramamine for my car sickness.

As we unpacked the car, I sheepishly told Matt that I had purchased a box of firewood from Safeway. I prefaced this confession with a threat not to tell any of my friends that a Montanan had actually PURCHASED firewood. Humiliating. But as the rules clearing state, collecting firewood in the Mount Tamalpais Wilderness is strictly prohibited. As the night wore on our pile of Safeway wood rapidly declined. Luckily for us Matt had remembered where the 7-11 was, and we were forced to drive down and down, round and round, down and round and round and down the mountain to pick up another two ridiculously priced bushells, some smokes, and some Malt Liquor.

We ended up have a great time together out in the California Woods.