Our day got off to a relaxed start, and after two different detours that landed me a new pair of running shoes and Linds a Patagonia skirt/shirt-in-one, at 4:15 pm we arrived at our destination: Inspiration Point.
Now hear this. Inspiration Point is described as a generally moderate hike, point indistinct, climbs through shady chapparal to a summit which (trail being an electric company access road).
Linds and I journeyed to "Inspiration Point" by following the most obvious trail. At one point we saw other crossing a small creek so we followed. (Editors note: this was wrong turn #1.) We continued to climb, wondering where the exact "inspiration point" was. Linds mentioned something about "rock-hopping" in a discription she read. Well, we "rock hopped" up a mountain. Finally, an hour into our hike and nearly scaling parts of the mountain/trail, we looked across the landscape - then sighted a clear dirt path on the small mountain in our view. Alas, we found the true Inspiration Point. It was a sight to behold - and an even greater sight from our view, hundreds of feet higher!
We soaked up the view, took some Facebook worthy photos of ourselves, then started to scale back down the mountain. We started our hike late in the afternoon and it wasn't going to be long before the sun set, so back down the mountain we went.
We arrived back to the creek and realized... no trail. We'd follow the creek - at very least it would lead us to the ocean! After 7 minutes of going down the creek and finding no continuing trail, we decide maybe we should go up the creek instead. On our backtrack journey we ran into Joe, Zach, and David. We offered a friendly hello - and for me, an internal sigh of relief that we weren't going to be lost on the trail when the sun set! They were on their way too, while also not completely sure they were going exactly the right way, there was comfort in knowing that we weren't alone.
Joe, Zach, and David led the way while also being gentlemanly enough that one of them always was behind us. They pointed out the poison oak so we would avoid it (although when they pointed it out, I said, "Oh, I think I already touched that stuff..."), held some tree branches out of the way when we walked. Then alas, we found it. The trail back!
After relaxing a bit knowing we weren't lost in the wilderness and confirming that we were both parked in the same place (as not to lead one another in the wrong direction), we were able to chat for a bit on the way down. They are UCSB students/ex-students and it was also their first time on the trail. They climbed similar terrain as we did, enjoyed the company.
As we parted ways, I creepily asked them if I could take their picture for this blog post for their service in helping us find our way and they agreed. Alas, Joe, Zach, and David - the three that helped us find our way back! And not a minute to soon. We arrived back to our car at 6:30 pm as the last bit of light was taken over by the night sky.
When hearing they were going to be featured about kindness and service, they posed for this picture below - punching each other out.
Thank you J-Z-D!
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