A Yearly Tradition

This picture was taken at a very special place to me. I took it just a week and a half ago on the 22nd. I have been trekking up to this spot for at least six years. It is the perfect place to get away from it all. You can either appreciate the solitude while stretched out on a lone rock, lay out a blanket on the beach and have a good time with friends, or cruise naked men!
While Batman was here, I wanted to share with him what I have found as my favorite place in Northern California. It is just about an hour drive up into the foothills of the Sierras. The elevation is a little over 2,000 feet. I won't give the name here. Too many people have found it in the last several years.
The river carves its way through a canyon of granite. The path to the beach is only 9/10 of a mile hike in. The path is very narrow for most of the hike. The earth drops dramatically from the trail. A good thirty feet in some places. As you are walking, there are many areas to stop and look upon the river. This stretch of it is composed of a series of pools which are carved into the granite. They are blue, still and beautiful. There are a few spots, if you get there early enough, you have a private pool for the day. Sure once in a while someone will come along and realize there is one accessible rock to lay on and it is taken. Or, on rare occasions you may even have a few innertubers pass by.
But you can tell by the picture, this river is not still at all. She is roaring. I had never been up this early in the Summer before last year. I had always waited until later in June. I was shocked to see a completely different river.
Batman truly appreciated what I shared with him. It reminded him of a river at Mt. Hood. He told me a story about the first time he had been at that river. He discovered someone floating nearby, got help, and they saved him. That was the day he saved a life. He is a HERO.
It was the best way I could spend my birthday, at a beautiful place accompanied by my Superhero.
I don't know where I'll be next year in May. But if I am in Northern California, I know I will be taking a familiar hike to a very special place.