Drinking hot morning coffee in the hot morning tent

I woke up chilly around dawn, but now that the sun is shining on the tent, it's hot in here and I'm sweating. I tried relaxing with my coffee outside, but there are too many flies right now.

No backcountry trip is complete without a photo or two of a morning cat hole

The earth here is so dry and hard that it's difficult to dig a good hole.

Morning in the hot sun at Paradise Lake, Henry Coe State Park

I'm leaving now on today's hike and it already feels almost as hot as yesterday afternoon.

My first stop is the dam at Paradise Lake to pump some water

There's a lot of algae in places, but it's easy to avoid. I filter six litres of water for the day. The water tastes a bit musty, but it's cool, so very refreshing.

I walk up the short steep road from Paradise Lake

There's just enough loose gravel on this road to make it slippery, when combined with the steep grade. It probably has better traction earlier in the year when it's not so dry.

I walk a mile down Red Creek Road through the vinegar weed to Orestimba Creek Road, backtracking yesterday's route

The thousands of pale-purple flowers here on these plants are apparently very attractive to the hundreds of bees buzzing around here.

At Orestimba Creek Road, I begin the hike toward the Rooster Comb, the grey, rocky mass on top of the distant hill to the right

This is new territory for me; I haven't been on Orestimba Creek Road any closer to the Rooster Comb than this. The walk up the creek gravel is as hot as expected.

After 0.6 mile, I reach the Rooster Comb Trail and I've already drank 1.5 litres of water

On a bicycle, Orestimba Creek Road dead-ends here. The Rooster Comb Trail is inside a Wilderness boundary (no mechanized travel allowed), and travelling straight ahead on Orestimba Creek Road would trespass on private property outside the Park.

Rooster Comb Trail rises slowly up grasslands with occasional oaks

The heat of the day is kicking in and all the dry, yellow grass smells like it's being gently roasted by the sun. Because it is.

A little further, Rooster Comb Trail passes below the Rooster Comb itself (the rocky ridge)

This trail doesn't climb all the way up to the Rooster Comb Summit, but there's a spur further on that does.

View from Rooster Comb Trail of the privately owned ranch down below and the Orestimba Creek Road passing through it

From what I can tell, the primary purpose of Rooster Comb Trail is to connect two Park-owned segments of Orestimba Creek Road that are separated from each other by the private property below.

Rooster Comb Trail rides a ledge through a bit of chamise and a few oaks

I wasn't expecting such nice vistas along this trail since it's only about 250 feet above Orestimba Creek.