Just woke up, it’s 8am, Saturday. At home I am usually up by 730 so I am sleeping in. Marika just woke up and fell back sound asleep while I was talking to her. Must be nice. We are in a camp near Weott, CA. That’s a few miles down from Redcrest and 10 from Scotia. Yes I am too giving you directions. Anyhow, we are going to Kings Peak once we get our buts up, fed and packed. I am off to start that process, Marika may be a few behind. I am sure when the tent collapses on her she will get up.
Ahhhh. The Remains of the Day. 
. We had mochas, sliced fruit and grape nuts for breakfast. Very satisfying. We have been having hot cooked meals so a cold breakfast was a nice break fast. Lol. I am off to “wash” the dishes. Camp clean. That’s a water rinse and wipe clean, if towel is available. The words “camp clean” serve me well at home. It’s like the 5 second rule. Clean enough for government work. And, when I worked for the forest service, I heard the terms often.
It’s almost ten and we are packed, fed and ready. Not sure where the trailhead is but Marika does. I hope. Back through the big trees and a left Honeydew intersection and a few miles on Wilder Rd. That will do.
Let’s get in the car. 
I had not mentioned the car. We are driving a new Jewp Compass 4×4 courtesy of Hertz. As you know, Marika’s Fit broke down outside Ukiah. The Jeep is a nice ride, agile, sporty and good gas mileage. Bigger than the Fit but you still can’t stretch out in the back and sleep. Marika and I at the same time can sleep in back of the Fit and stretch out completely. Good things, small packages.
We left camp and headed back up the Mattole Rd. The road we had just come in on from the beach yesterday. We inadvertently passed our turnoff at Honeydew yesterday and drove into Weott. So we are backtracking a bit today. My 3rd trip through the big trees. Oh well. We took the correct turnoff today. More really lousy, twisty, turns road. Washed out here and there. While driving, we came across a bear. With her cub. I have never seen that in the wild so first time in 56 years. 
I can’t believe our luck.
We made it to Wilder Rd at Honeydew and turned off toward the Lightning trail. Well, I certainly am glad we had high clearance and 4WD in this rental Jeep Compass. The road was crap. Huge, deep ruts, washouts, steep as hell in parts. If Marika’s car had not broken down, we don’t go here. But this Jeep is a nice little vehicle for this kind of thing. The really bad part was only 5 or 6 miles, about an hour drive. Just past there we found the King Range Rd and turned there. The road improved immediately and 2 miles down we found the King Peak Trailhead. 
The trip up is only 2.5 miles. Of course there is a slight rise of 1900′ in this two miles. That would be a trail that is uphill all the way. Somewhat innocuous hike, except for the heavy breathing and burning muscles. We made the peak in about 2 hours. The view from the top is spectacular.
We sat for about half an hour, took pictures, drank water and relaxed. We headed back down, which would be downhill all the way. It always seems that would be better than uphill but really it’s just different pain. It was faster, about 1.5 hours down. We sat in the car with AC running, it’s hot, and ate snacks. We are going to go south through Garberville and see what we find. Maybe a cocktail.
I have got to say one thing. The King Range area has incredibly bad signage. I brought a map with me but you do need signs at ground level or you really can’t be sure where you are or where you are going. His brings me to our trip out of the trailhead to Garberville. There were zero signs. I had a map but at every road juncture out here in the forest I found no markers. At one point, it was about 4 pm, I used the sun to determine path of travel. Thank god it sets in the west. We did find the occasional campground with a sign which together with the map was a big help. We finally made Garberville after miles of crap roads and bad signage(even after I got to pavement). Maybe all the dope growers up here take the signs. Don’t know.
Here in Garberville now. We are going to a restaurant and bar called Cecil’s. They have cocktails. That’s the only part we care about. We are not drunks. But we like booze. Don’t judge us, you are next.
Cecil’s is way better than I expect of a town like Garberville which is weed central and looks it. This is a nice dining establishment which really, if you had ever been here, does not for Garberville at all. They do have booze. Margarita for each of us, and these were their proprietary recipe Margaritas, are awesome. Love them. Cecil’s is trying to kick it up a notch as well. Our waiter, Walter, knows the menu well and actually helps with your selections. 
That’s a wedge salad, we both got one, crawfish pasta very yummy and spicy which Marika ordered, and a Cajun game hen for me. The game hen not spicy enough but still good. The wedge salad is functional but does not stand out. We will share the pecan pie with bananas foster with rum and brown sugar sauce and vanilla ice cream. You can see why we share. And why we got it. Has not arrived yet. But I am looking forward to its arrival on my table.
So the dessert was a big hit. Marika and I went bite for bite straight through. I can go ahead and recommend it on your next trip to Garberville. But remember this place is a little pricey especially for where we are. 
We found a campsite about two miles down the road in Benbow. Another smaller than hell town which seems to be all they have up here. This camp had shower facilities. So we each enjoyed a shower for the first time in three days. Marika said she noticed how sour the car smelled. I did not notice anything. But I can say, without a doubt, I now smell good. Fantastic even. If I must say so myself. And I must.
We are in the tent ready for bed. We have internet. Marika is watching The Wite on HBO. I am updating the blog. Soon to start reading. Then goodnight.