PTC/NF9021 5/13/2023

Chester Peak from Mine Creek Trestle

I had a good workout yesterday, starting at the South Fork Picnic Area parking lot, climbing up to the PTC and then going east, to the Garcia junction and then taking the service road NF9021 up towards Truck Summit. Less than a half mile from the Garcia junction a metal canister just off the trail caught my eye:

Urn

A close look revealed that it had contained the ashes of one David Matthew Estrella. I thought it was a nice tribute to what I presume was his love of the outdoors to put his ashes near a trail. But when I looked more closely I could see that someone had opened the canister and scattered his ashes, which are already quickly degrading:

Ashes to Ashes

It was a sad and jarring sight.

On the way back I noticed a freshly sawed log with sap seeping out of the cut:

Sap

This is another case where, had I a better camera and better camera skills, I could have captured how beautiful it was, almost glowing.

About 6.5 miles, track below.

Track