At 6:30 AM My ride came driving in to the ranch, precisely 30 minutes early. Merv Zimmerman, a retired dairyman from Marin county helped me load my gear as we headed north to Humboldt County to begin our Weeklong Trek on the Cottrell Ranch. In our convoy were my hunting partner Cal Farnsworth, his father Earl Farnsworth, and Cal’s friend Bob Postel.
As we got closer to the ranch, about 5 hours later our bellies began telling us it was time for lunch when we spotted a sign in the little town of Carlotta that said “PRIVATE PARTY – SCTB”. it was the boys from Humboldt county who had opened up the newly renovated restaurant called Shamus T Bones, Set to open in July. We pulled over and enjoyed free tri-tip, beans and BBQ’ed Ribs along with a few barley pops. On the newly painted walls hung pictures of local cattlemen, many of whom we recognized as fellow Trailblazers. With a full bellies and our thirst quenched we loaded up and drove on past Bridgeville and pulled into Camp.
Main camp was situated in an open ridgetop meadow. Large tents covered the dining area and main bar. In the outlying areas on the edge of the meadow were regional camps. Geyserville, Sebastopol, Outlaw, Dirty Dozen, Humboldt, Skid Row, Petaluma, Santa Rosa, Sacramento, Wagon Camp, and my home base for the Week, Richardson Camp. (Named for the founder Warren Richardson).
After setting up our canopy and levelling the shower trailer, we headed to the main camp to enjoy a few cocktails, and a Prime Rib dinner. A great way to rough it if you ask me. A few aperitifs after dinner, and I spread out my bedroll with bivy sack as the fog began to roll in and obscure the Milky Way overhead.
