It really was a road we saw and not some sort of hallucination brought on by the eating of military ration energy bars that may or may not have been past their best if used by date. The road is two lane blacktop and looks like it needs some potholes fixed.
“Dad, which way South East or North West?”
“I think South East. from where we are I think the ranger station should be that way as it continues us down hill.”
“Once we get there, do you think there will be a bus to take us on to Mount Diablo?’
“I think that might be hoping for a lot, this park is pretty remote. We will figure something out.”
We walk on for about a half an hour when we do indeed see the ranger station looming off to the left and what looks to be a riding stables to the right.
“Dad, do you think we could rent some horses and ride to Mount Diablo?”
“That is a great idea. I wonder if there are trails that will get us there?”
We walk for another 15 minutes and head to the main office for the stables. There are about two dozen cars in the parking lot, so no one will notice we walked up and do not have a car of our own. It looks like they are open, so Nancy and I head in and look for someone to help us. A nice young woman greets us and asks how she can help us.
“How can I help you.”
“We are here to rent a dump truck and were wondering if you had any boa constrictors?
“What?”
“Just kidding, my daughter and I would like to rent some horses?”
“Oh, that’s good because we just rented out our last dump truck.”
“Really?”
“No, we do not have any dump trucks, I also was just kidding.”
“Oh, good, I was really beginning to worry about where this conversation is going.”
“So, horses are rented by the hour with a minimum of two hours. You would also be eligible for our discount on a second horse, so for 2 hours for the both of you it will be ninety dollars plus tax.”
“Perfect, do you take credit cards.”
“Yes, but only if it has a picture of a boa constrictor or a dump truck on it, I might even consider frozen herring.”
I am starting to think this conversation is getting pretty weird, but I play along “It is the picture of an invisible frozen herring, so you will have to use your imagination.”
“Excellent, we almost never get those. Would you like a map of the trails or I could give you a gps that looks like a stuffed duck.”
I am certain something is wrong here.
“Dad, Dad!” Nancy is shaking my arm. I look around and we are still outside the stables, I wonder if I am still feeling some ill effects from that amnesia.
“Dad, you were making those quack sounds and starting to drool. I think we can only ride the horses on the trails in the park, how are we going to get them off site so we can get to Mount Diablo.”
“How long was I out of it and making duck sounds?”
“Just a second or two, why?”
“I’ll let you know when we get inside if the lady behind the counter offers to rent us a dump truck.”
“What?”
“Long story, just don’t ask about boa constrictors.”
“Dad, you are really weird.”
“I know, that is what makes me awesome.”
“Uh, ok.”
Apparently for real now we go into the offices for the stables. We see a nice young man arranging maps on the wall.
“Hello my name is Stewart, how can I help you?”
“Well, Stewart, I am Bob and this is my daughter Nancy. We were wondering if we could rent two horses for the rest of the day?”
“Let’s see, our half day rate which will get you to 6 PM when we need the horses back would give you about 4 hours of riding. For two horses, that would be $120 plus tax. That includes saddle service. For an extra $25 we will add a trail dinner of Sandwiches, dried fruit and apple juice.”
“That sounds perfect, do you also have a map of the trails?”
“Definitely, cash or credit and we will need you to sign our participation waiver.”
“No problem, Nancy, let’s put it on your card.”
“Sure dad.”
After paying Stewart and signing the paperwork we head outside to study the map.
“Dad, there is no way we are making it to Mount Diablo and back in 4 hours, are we actually stealing these horses?”
“I would not call it stealing, really we are just borrowing. Besides, we can tell them we got lost when we do get back and tip the groom’s really nice as well.”
“Alright, so how long is the ride?”
“It looks like there are trails most of the way, but we will have to cut across the Mount Diablo Golf Club and Golf Course to reach Mount Diablo proper.”
Stewart saddles the horses mine is an Arabian and Nancy’s a spotted Appaloosa. Lucky thing riding a horse is just like riding a bike as I have not ridden a horse in about two years when we took Nancy to a horse ranch for her fourteenth birthday.
“Nancy, remember when we went riding for your fourteenth birthday?”
“Dad, you are remembering everything.”
After getting some pointers and listening to Stewart tell us about the rules of the trail and showing us where our dinners, oats and sugar cubes for the horses were packed, we stow our remaining gear in the rest of the saddle bags along with two large bottles of water.
“Have a good ride and I’ll see you two in about four hours and if you lose track of time, just make sure you get back before dark as we will be here until about 10 PM taking care of the horses.”
“Thank you, we appreciate it.”
“See, we are just borrowing the horses, that gives us about seven hours instead of four. We should be able to make it to Mount Diablo, find what we are looking for and get back in time so no one gets in trouble for the horses being out past 6.”
“Dad, that makes me feel much better, I did not want to get Stewart in trouble as he seems like such a nice guy.”
“You think he’s cute don’t you?”
“Dad!” There was definitely an eye roll on that comment.
That seems to have killed the conversation for about ten minutes, but then Nancy get’s over it.
“Dad, I was thinking about the riddle and the line about ‘Hole the Nine,’ could that be about a golf course?”
We stop for a minute and take a look at the riddle again to make sure we have it right.
HILL TO CLIMB
THE SPANISH DEVIL
SOLVE THE RHYME
OUR DESIGNER NEVILLE
HOLE THE NINE
SEEK THE KETTLE
“You’re right, that could refer to the Ninth hole of a golf course and the kettle could be the cup, and they just wanted it to Rhyme with Neville.”
“That means Neville must have some significance, any chance the Mount Diable Golf course was designed by someone named Neville?”
“I think you might just have it, if we only had Google I bet we could look it up.”
“Well, we should know soon enough. It should be another hour ride on this trail and we should be right near the course.”
After an uneventful ride not interrupted by septapi or even regular old octopi, we get to the end of the Las Trampas Regional Wilderness trail and hitch the horses to the fence at the edge of the Wilderness.