Table Mountain HIE: October 10

We slept in the parking lot of a Holiday Inn Express.  The forest we’d planned to visit was closed due to the Table Mountain (aka Porcini Mountain) fire.  All access routes were blocked, the air quality was poor, and it was nearing dark.  Without many options, we found a fairly dark and quiet spot in the back of the parking lot to set up camp.  It wasn’t the most exciting place to park for the night, but we made the best of it… cooking a nice dinner and getting a few extra z’s.  I was particularly excited about the breakfast we would forage in the morning (definitely walking the line), especially after a full day of fasting.  As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, the cold weather brought on some cold emotions.  We weren’t foraging as much as we had been in the past few months, and I was feeling ready to get back to California where the sun was shining, our friends were playing, and my surfboard was being neglected.  I decided a day of fasting would be good to get all the nasties out… to cleanse and offer myself some clarity and focus.  If you haven’t tried a fast, I highly recommend it.  It might even be good for your heart, although this correlation could be due to any number of other factors.  In any event, it’s amazing how vigilant I become when my body is on high alert, how clear and sensitive my senses are—touch, sound, sight, all brighter and more focused than usual—and how good my body feels afterwards when I offer it the nutrients it needs to thrive.  The fast worked to clear it all out… and the breakfast the next morning was delicious.  After a lovely conversation with the local firefighters, who were staying at the hotel to work the nearby fire, we headed northwest, where the land of mushrooms was waiting for us… hopefully.  At this point, it had been 80 days since the last rain, but Andre and I keep claiming to be lucky, so we were prepared to test it.