Buzzards Roost Hike (aka - the time Rudy threw himself off a mountain)

Sunday morning, we headed out early-ish from Monterey with the intent to do some hiking in Big Sur. We were initially disappointed when it appeared that the park was closed...James and I had some flashbacks to our Europe trips when strikes always seemed to coincide with our arrival at the museum/train/city.

After talking to a ranger, we learned that half of the park was closed because it was unsafe after the wildfires, but the other half was still open. He suggested two hikes for us. Of course, we picked the more difficult of the two!

It included a hike along a stream...

...through the redwoods...

...and then a 600 foot elevation change to the summit...

The most exciting part, though, was when this little turkey:

decided to launch himself off the side of the mountain:

while running and wiggling like a goofball on the path:

OK, so he didn't intentionally launch himself, but he did mis-step and, quite literally, fall off the mountain. Luckily, he chose a spot where there was a fallen tree to prevent him from tumbling all the way to the bottom.

You know those moments in life, where you react so quickly that you don't even really have time to be terrified? This was one of them! James and I were a well-oiled machine and managed to rescue Rudy without exchanging a single word. It was only after he was safely back in my arms (where he promptly fell asleep) and I was eyeing the trail the rest of the way down that I noticed how truly steep and scary the hillside was!

Unluckily, he landed in what we believe was a giant patch of poison oak. The rest of our plans for the day (which were supposed to include Big Sur beach and tidepools) were put on hold so we could drive (an hour!) back to the hotel for everyone to shower. So far, we're all in the clear. So, either 1) we've all developed an immunity to the itchy poison, 2) James and I are botanically inept and it wasn't really poison oak, or 3) we did a bang up job of scrubbing down. Either way, I'm thankful that Rudy is OK and we're all itch-free.

(Oh yeah - and he fell asleep just long enough for me to carry him the rest of the way down the mountain. He woke up as soon as we got to the car. Stinker.)