Today I spent my afternoon hiking at Folsom Lake, from Brown’s Ravine boat ramp to Peanut Point and then back again. That’s roughly a 10-mile hike, and I sat down only twice — once to eat my lunch around noon, and again on the way back, when I tried to cross the creek and slipped on the wet rocks. (On the plus side, sitting in cold water for a few moments definitely invigorated me for the rest of the hike back to my car.)

I’d never been to Peanut Point before, so I didn’t really know what to expect when I got there. It certainly wasn’t a strange little wooden statue of a boy playing a horn, looking like he may have once had a pair of wings, now missing.

I’ll probably never know why somebody left this lonely (and slightly creepy) musician out here or where he came from originally. But for me, he was the perfect reward for making this hike and a consolation for having to turn my back on the beckoning trail and return back the way I’d come.

The trail winds on toward New York Creek; but it’s 2 PM and I need to head for home…