Soquel, California, Land of Medicine Buddha

 Waning Gibbous Moon

 Ancestral lands of the Ohlone Awaswas people.

Tucked away in the gorgeous redwood forest near Soquel, California, adjacent to the Forest of Nisene Marks, is the Land of Medicine Buddha. The Land of Medicine Buddha is a meditation and retreat facility, not a state park or recreation area, but during the months of May through October, the gates are open for hikers and responsible dog owners to explore a six-mile loop trail and view the facility. I have heard about the place for years, but yesterday was the first time for me to visit.

I parked alongside a few other cars just before the bridge that leads to the main gate and wandered in, looking for a trailhead, a little cautious so as not to disturb the quiet. The signs on narrow Prescott Road (speed limit 15 mph) try to prepare you for a different experience. This is not a public park where you bring your boombox and all the neighborhood kids to twist and shout. The amusing road signs gently tell you so. You are entering a magical forest with faeries and elves and gnomes, they say. Go slow, leave your hurriedness back in town. Stay calm and yield to the banana slugs. You either get it or you don't, but if you don't get it, please start getting it right now. Okay, the signs don't have that many words, but I can't remember exactly what they said, so I'm paraphrasing.

Anyway, I pretty much get what Medicine Buddha is saying, and what I don't get, I still respect, so I began to walk. I noticed right off the bat the two large signs that read No Mountain Bikes and Dogs on Leashes Only. My dogless intention was to walk on my feet through the trees for 4 miles and turn around, carefully yielding to banana slugs. I think the colorful buildings and prayer flags and shrines are beautiful, but I didn't want to disturb anyone who might be doing what people do around those things. I just wanted to enjoy a nice, silent hike in the woods. So I did not enter the part of the loop that included tippy-toeing around earnest meditators and prayerful yogis. I met three really nice, smiling, healthy, solo women hikers along the trail. We exchanged muted hellos and a few pleasant niceties, and continued on our merry ways. That successfully checked the social interaction box for the day for me. Perfect!

The trail gradually climbed and descended through ferns and redwoods above a surprisingly still-running, drought-resistant creek until it dropped down to cross the water where it rippled just above the soles of my shoes. Then the path started to climb up the side of a fairly steep mountain, gaining 1,200 feet in a half a mile. In that segment, the forest changed from redwoods to firs to oaks, and narrowed a bit, making it important to dodge runners of poison oak encroaching upon my legs. I worked up a pretty good sweat there and as far as I know, I didn't get poisoned. At the top of the climb, I hit the 4 mile mark and turned around.

By far the best part of this hike was the redwoods-and-fern section. Come to think of it, not counting the oceans and waterfalls, the redwood-and-fern sections of the planet might be the best part of Earth. The trail frequently ducked under fallen logs and led me past interesting mushroom communities. Walking here was absolutely invigorating.

Some of the mushrooms were as big as my head, some were as small as my thumbnail, but all seemed very healthy and absolutely at home in this gorgeous forest. 

On my way back down the trail to the gate, five college-age mountain bikers, four men and one woman, came barreling along, all smiling and how-ya-doing. They knew what they were doing was wrong and they didn't care. Not even a little bit. There are miles and miles of great riding trails right next door in the Forest of Nisene Marks State Park. I guess that's not enough for them. How long before self-centered people like these make the Land of Medicine Buddha trails off limits to the public?

That would be a crying shame.

Peace, Love, and Things I Just Don't Get,

Jim

#2,022 in 2022