I am diggin' on Lew Sarett poems.
Teton Mountain
By Lew Sarett
Friday, May 31, 2013
Poetry Break
By Lew Sarett
She walks alone against the dusky sky,
Under her feet, a tapestry of pine;
And in the moonlight a spangled necklace shakes
Among her eagle-winged and starry host
Monday, May 27, 2013
Memorial Day at Double Peak
Today I had a meet-up to hike Double Peak in San Marcos. About 18ish people came. I had some nice conversations with a couple of the gals so I felt good about that. The weather was just shy of 60 degrees and marine layer was just burning off. Gorgeous day to hike! We did 4.5 miles in 1 hour and 47 minutes. It was a nice pace- not too fast :-)
Now I'm going to eat BBQ hotdogs, potato salad, and corn on the cob!
Enjoy some pictures!
Now I'm going to eat BBQ hotdogs, potato salad, and corn on the cob!
Enjoy some pictures!
Friday, May 24, 2013
Mt. San Jacinto- The Sordid Details
I am struggling with how to write this blog post. I feel like the trips I get most excited about have the most potential for disappointment. Further to fall mentally, I suppose. It was a success, in that I got to spend time with Dennis and be out in the wilderness for a bit- and the fact I got Dennis OUT of the wilderness successfully. It was an epic failure, in that we did not make it to the peak nor even to the first campground. And here is how the story goes....
We made it to the Humber Park Trailhead without incident. I saw two thru-hikers waiting for a ride to Idyllwild so I had a nice conversation with them. They were so gnarly looking! Before I knew about thru-hiking, I would have just assumed these were extremely dirty homeless people. One guy's shoes had fallen apart so he had taken the shoe inserts and fashioned some makeshift sandals with twine. Pretty amazing. He said he had new shoes coming in his resupply package.
We started climbing up Devil's Slide Trail. It was perfect sunny 60 degree weather. Climbing, climbing, climbing, up and up the switchbacks. I felt good and was trucking along, enjoying the scenery and the solitude. I would stop periodically to gaze out over the valleys and mountains.
Pretty soon, Dennis started having problems. He had to stop frequently to catch his breath. Initially, I would wait with him while he rested. After awhile, I started hiking ahead a little bit to push toward Saddle Junction. About noon, I made it to Saddle Junction and waited for Dennis. It took 3 hours to climb 2.5 miles. Dennis showed up and we took a 30 minute break to eat our salami/cheese tortillas. Dennis was hurting pretty bad and was really nauseous. I wasn't sure yet if it was because he was out of shape or because of the altitude or both. We saw more thru-hikers as we took our break and I talked to all of them I could. I think we saw about 10 that first day.
On we continued, up and up, more climbing up steep switchbacks. Dennis's breaks started to become even more frequent. I hiked ahead but could always see him on the lower switchbacks. If I got too far ahead and I would stop and wait until I could see him again. I was waiting for him and saw a dude with two mules walk by and he says to me "Looks like you've got a heavy load." I just said "Ya" but I was thinking "Ya I'm carrying all my stuff but you've got two mules loaded to the hilt and even a guitar!" Annoying.
I was seriously worried we would not make it to Little Round Valley campground. We made it to Wellman's Divide by the skin of our teeth. It was only 1.8 miles from Saddle Junction to Wellman's Divide and that took us 4 hours. Pretty darn pathetic. Dennis was definitely suffering from altitude sickness- we made it to 9000 feet. He was dizzy, disoriented, nauseous, and breathing heavily. He could only take 3 steps before he had to take a break. He threw-up and fell down. I decided we needed to stop and camp and get off the mountain in the morning.
There was no place to camp. The left side of the trail was sheer rocks and the right side was the mountain slope. I scouted out a section that looked somewhat doable and pitched the tent there. I sat on my tyvek ground cloth, made the freeze dried meals, and tried not to worry about Dennis making the trek back out or dying from pulmonary or cerebral edema. He couldn't eat his dinner because he was too nauseous but thankfully he was able to eat a power bar a few hours later. He climbed into his sleeping bag and promptly started snoring. Since we were on a slope, we slid down to the bottom of the tent and had to brace ourselves against our backpacks to keep from rolling down. I felt like I was in the tilted house at the Enchanted Forest. I read my kindle for awhile and then tried to sleep. Needless to say, I didn't sleep.
I got up with the sunrise and let Dennis sleep some more while I ate my trail mix and coffee. I got him up so we could get going and he was having major problems with his thought process. I made him sit down and make his breakfast while I packed up the tent and his backpack. Then I carried his backpack back up to the trail and then hauled mine up. We started walking back down the mountain with frequent breathing breaks for Dennis. As we descended, his faculties improved.
We made it back to Saddle Junction, took a 15 minute break and then started down the last 2.5 miles of Devil's Slide. Things were looking good and I was enjoying myself once again. Trying to think positive and be in the moment with the trees, birds, lizards, and squirrels. Then I hear Dennis fall behind me. He had sprained his ankle AGAIN. He was laying in the middle of the trail on his back, strapped still to his backpack, flailing about, and screaming. As his custom when he sprains something. It was a bad sprain this time and he wasn't messing around. I had to pull him up over onto a rock and get his backpack off to the side because hikers were coming behind us. I got pissed because they didn't ask us if we were okay and I'm sure they had to have heard the screaming. I fished out his tape and waited while he taped his ankle up. I'm not sure why he wasn't wearing his ankle braces after all his problems. I kept thinking "What next?!" and "Maybe Dennis isn't designed to be a backpacker."
Off we went again and finally made it off the mountain. PHEW.
We had planned to stay 2 nights on the mountain and the 3rd night at a hotel in Idyllwild. We went on over to the hotel to see if they would take us a day early and cancel the next night. They were very nice and understanding and let us do just that. They had to clean the room first so we went off to find pizza. We ended up at the Idyllwild Pizza Co. and ate pizza, greek salad, and beer. All the while we watched thru-hikers being let off by their rides to pick up their resupply packages at the post-office which was right next door. Then we walked (very slowly) around the cool, eclectic town of Idyllwild and just tried to come down from the stress of Mt. San Jacinto.
The Apple Blossom Inn was very quaint and comfy. It had a living room, kitchen, bathroom, and separate bedroom. Very pleasant and homey. I definitely will come back.
The next morning we made our way over to JoAnne's for a large, down-home breakfast and enjoyed the Idyllwild atmosphere. On the drive home, we stopped off at the DQ in Anza for my favorite chocolate cone dipped in cherry.
So that's the story. I feel really bad Dennis had such a hard time. I'm glad nothing worse happened and he's okay now. He's fast asleep with Pico in the crook of his arm.
I shook my fist at Mt. San Jacinto on the last of the switchbacks and yelled "Damn you, Mt. San Jacinto! I will be back to conquer you!"
I got some pictures amongst all the chaos- enjoy!
All of our food for 3 days:
Sausage/cheese tortilla. Mmmmm good!
There's a deer in the picture- can you see it?
Sunrise the second day:
Crappy sloping campsite:
We are above the clouds!
Payday bars don't melt:
These were the only flowers I saw the whole time!
YEAH BABY!
We made it to the Humber Park Trailhead without incident. I saw two thru-hikers waiting for a ride to Idyllwild so I had a nice conversation with them. They were so gnarly looking! Before I knew about thru-hiking, I would have just assumed these were extremely dirty homeless people. One guy's shoes had fallen apart so he had taken the shoe inserts and fashioned some makeshift sandals with twine. Pretty amazing. He said he had new shoes coming in his resupply package.
We started climbing up Devil's Slide Trail. It was perfect sunny 60 degree weather. Climbing, climbing, climbing, up and up the switchbacks. I felt good and was trucking along, enjoying the scenery and the solitude. I would stop periodically to gaze out over the valleys and mountains.
Pretty soon, Dennis started having problems. He had to stop frequently to catch his breath. Initially, I would wait with him while he rested. After awhile, I started hiking ahead a little bit to push toward Saddle Junction. About noon, I made it to Saddle Junction and waited for Dennis. It took 3 hours to climb 2.5 miles. Dennis showed up and we took a 30 minute break to eat our salami/cheese tortillas. Dennis was hurting pretty bad and was really nauseous. I wasn't sure yet if it was because he was out of shape or because of the altitude or both. We saw more thru-hikers as we took our break and I talked to all of them I could. I think we saw about 10 that first day.
On we continued, up and up, more climbing up steep switchbacks. Dennis's breaks started to become even more frequent. I hiked ahead but could always see him on the lower switchbacks. If I got too far ahead and I would stop and wait until I could see him again. I was waiting for him and saw a dude with two mules walk by and he says to me "Looks like you've got a heavy load." I just said "Ya" but I was thinking "Ya I'm carrying all my stuff but you've got two mules loaded to the hilt and even a guitar!" Annoying.
I was seriously worried we would not make it to Little Round Valley campground. We made it to Wellman's Divide by the skin of our teeth. It was only 1.8 miles from Saddle Junction to Wellman's Divide and that took us 4 hours. Pretty darn pathetic. Dennis was definitely suffering from altitude sickness- we made it to 9000 feet. He was dizzy, disoriented, nauseous, and breathing heavily. He could only take 3 steps before he had to take a break. He threw-up and fell down. I decided we needed to stop and camp and get off the mountain in the morning.
There was no place to camp. The left side of the trail was sheer rocks and the right side was the mountain slope. I scouted out a section that looked somewhat doable and pitched the tent there. I sat on my tyvek ground cloth, made the freeze dried meals, and tried not to worry about Dennis making the trek back out or dying from pulmonary or cerebral edema. He couldn't eat his dinner because he was too nauseous but thankfully he was able to eat a power bar a few hours later. He climbed into his sleeping bag and promptly started snoring. Since we were on a slope, we slid down to the bottom of the tent and had to brace ourselves against our backpacks to keep from rolling down. I felt like I was in the tilted house at the Enchanted Forest. I read my kindle for awhile and then tried to sleep. Needless to say, I didn't sleep.
I got up with the sunrise and let Dennis sleep some more while I ate my trail mix and coffee. I got him up so we could get going and he was having major problems with his thought process. I made him sit down and make his breakfast while I packed up the tent and his backpack. Then I carried his backpack back up to the trail and then hauled mine up. We started walking back down the mountain with frequent breathing breaks for Dennis. As we descended, his faculties improved.
We made it back to Saddle Junction, took a 15 minute break and then started down the last 2.5 miles of Devil's Slide. Things were looking good and I was enjoying myself once again. Trying to think positive and be in the moment with the trees, birds, lizards, and squirrels. Then I hear Dennis fall behind me. He had sprained his ankle AGAIN. He was laying in the middle of the trail on his back, strapped still to his backpack, flailing about, and screaming. As his custom when he sprains something. It was a bad sprain this time and he wasn't messing around. I had to pull him up over onto a rock and get his backpack off to the side because hikers were coming behind us. I got pissed because they didn't ask us if we were okay and I'm sure they had to have heard the screaming. I fished out his tape and waited while he taped his ankle up. I'm not sure why he wasn't wearing his ankle braces after all his problems. I kept thinking "What next?!" and "Maybe Dennis isn't designed to be a backpacker."
Off we went again and finally made it off the mountain. PHEW.
We had planned to stay 2 nights on the mountain and the 3rd night at a hotel in Idyllwild. We went on over to the hotel to see if they would take us a day early and cancel the next night. They were very nice and understanding and let us do just that. They had to clean the room first so we went off to find pizza. We ended up at the Idyllwild Pizza Co. and ate pizza, greek salad, and beer. All the while we watched thru-hikers being let off by their rides to pick up their resupply packages at the post-office which was right next door. Then we walked (very slowly) around the cool, eclectic town of Idyllwild and just tried to come down from the stress of Mt. San Jacinto.
The Apple Blossom Inn was very quaint and comfy. It had a living room, kitchen, bathroom, and separate bedroom. Very pleasant and homey. I definitely will come back.
The next morning we made our way over to JoAnne's for a large, down-home breakfast and enjoyed the Idyllwild atmosphere. On the drive home, we stopped off at the DQ in Anza for my favorite chocolate cone dipped in cherry.
So that's the story. I feel really bad Dennis had such a hard time. I'm glad nothing worse happened and he's okay now. He's fast asleep with Pico in the crook of his arm.
I shook my fist at Mt. San Jacinto on the last of the switchbacks and yelled "Damn you, Mt. San Jacinto! I will be back to conquer you!"
I got some pictures amongst all the chaos- enjoy!
All of our food for 3 days:
Sausage/cheese tortilla. Mmmmm good!
There's a deer in the picture- can you see it?
Sunrise the second day:
Crappy sloping campsite:
We are above the clouds!
Payday bars don't melt:
These were the only flowers I saw the whole time!
YEAH BABY!
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Mt. San Jacinto Info
Here's a little bit of info on Mt. San Jacinto since we're climbing it this week!
San Jacinto Peak, 10,834 feet (3,302 m), is the highest peak of the San Jacinto Mountains, and of Riverside County, California. It lies within Mt. San Jacinto State Park. Naturalist John Muir wrote of San Jacinto Peak, "The view from San Jacinto is the most sublime spectacle to be found anywhere on this earth!"
San Jacinto Peak is one of the most topographically prominent peaks in the US. It is ranked sixth among peaks in the 48 contiguous states. According to John W. Robinson and Bruce D. Risher, authors of The San Jacintos, "No Southern California hiker worth his salt would miss climbing 'San Jack' at least once."
Here's a picture:
REI is having their anniversary sale so we hit that up today and got a few additional smalle pieces of gear like stuff sacks, mountain house freeze dried meals, fuel, and nalgene bottles. We scored a hammock too which I'm really excited about! Won't use it on this trip but will use it over the summer for sure.
Excited!
Saturday, May 18, 2013
PCT: Boulder Oaks to Kitchen Creek Road
Dennis and I hiked 8 miles round-trip on the PCT from Boulder Oaks to Kitchen Creek Road today. It took 3.5 hours which is a super time for us (or rather for me since Dennis can hike way faster). We had just perfect weather - couldn't ask for anything better! We passed a meet-up group that was looking for kitchen creek falls and I assured them they were headed in the right direction. The "falls" are actually just a trickle over a few rocks. Not that exciting but on a hot day, very pleasant. We saw lots of pretty flowers, some weird and crazy bugs, some beautiful bugs, and a snake! I believe it was a racer snake. No rattlers!
The last time I hiked this I had a 27 pound backpack on and boy what a difference without the pack! It seemed so easy!
Got some good pictures again. Enjoy!
The last time I hiked this I had a 27 pound backpack on and boy what a difference without the pack! It seemed so easy!
Got some good pictures again. Enjoy!
Monday, May 13, 2013
Pacific Crest Trail- Highway 74 Trailhead
I had a meet-up group on Saturday that ended up being only Ed, Jasper, and myself. We hiked south on the PCT from the highway 74 trailhead for a total of 6.38 miles. It was very warm and the scenery was exceedingly pretty. I was enthralled with the cloud formations- they looked like they were directly out of a Dr. Seuss story. The desert flowers were in bloom and I stopped often to gaze upon their beauty.
We saw 5 thru-hikers the first day. What a treat that was! I would clap and yell "Yay, great job!" I'm sure they thought I was a day hiking nut job. They were all very friendly though. I saw my first water cache where trail angels put water jugs out for the hikers since water is so scarce in the southern california section. There was also a sign that was offering free rides to the Paradise Valley Cafe - just call the number and someone will come pick you up! Simply amazing.
This was my first experience camping outside of an official campground as well. I planned to pitch my tent right next to the PCT. I thought I was going to be alone but Ed ended up sleeping in his truck at the trailhead. I didn't know until the next day that Jasper had unfurled his sleeping bag right behind his car at the trailhead as well. So I really wasn't totally alone.
I set my tent up just a few yards from the PCT behind a bush for some privacy. I had delicious freeze-dried beef stew for dinner. I'm serious, I love that stuff. I planned to read my kindle and do some poetry writing but I got into my tent and was so tired that I couldn't keep my eyes open. I laid down about 8pm and pretty much drifted in and out of sleep for the rest of the night. I could hear coyotes yipping not too far away and that woke me and made me feel a little anxious. I dreamt that wild animals were ripping my tent apart so I must have been worried!
The next morning when I got up, it was already on it's way to being a very hot day. We should have started hiking sooner than we did but since it was another meet-up group with different people we felt we needed to wait till the 8am official start time. As it ended up, Jasper and I went ahead and started walking north on the PCT at 8am. Ed stayed behind for the rest who ended up being late. This was the prettiest section of trail I've seen so far. Boulder formations, pine trees, flowers, more shade, and just very interesting. Jasper turned around at 3 miles- it was blazing hot. I continued on for a total of 8 miles. The last bit coming back got quite oppressive due to the heat. All I could think about was getting an ice-cream at the DQ that I saw in Anza. It was close to 90 when I finished at noon.
I saw 9 thru-hikers on this section. They were working hard and I wondered if they would rest during the heat of the day and continue hiking when it cooled off. I didn't want to interrupt their flow so I didn't ask.
Ed hiked 6 miles but the heat was bugging him so he headed home early. I only saw two others from the meet-up group and didn't talk much because they were fast hikers.
I finished up and headed on out- straight for the DQ! Church had just gotten out so there was a long line with suit and dress-wearing peoples. I was drenched in sweat, my face beet red, and I stunk like a petting zoo. I felt a little awkward standing in line. I didn't want these nice clean people to get a whiff of me! My chocolate cone dipped in cherry was worth it though.
I stopped in Ramona to score an Angry Whopper and they wouldn't do it for me. The promotion is really and truly over and my Angry Whopper stint has come to an end. *Sob*
It was a fabulous weekend and I loved every minute of it.
May 22-24 we climb Mt. San Jacinto!
Enjoy some pictures:
We saw 5 thru-hikers the first day. What a treat that was! I would clap and yell "Yay, great job!" I'm sure they thought I was a day hiking nut job. They were all very friendly though. I saw my first water cache where trail angels put water jugs out for the hikers since water is so scarce in the southern california section. There was also a sign that was offering free rides to the Paradise Valley Cafe - just call the number and someone will come pick you up! Simply amazing.
This was my first experience camping outside of an official campground as well. I planned to pitch my tent right next to the PCT. I thought I was going to be alone but Ed ended up sleeping in his truck at the trailhead. I didn't know until the next day that Jasper had unfurled his sleeping bag right behind his car at the trailhead as well. So I really wasn't totally alone.
I set my tent up just a few yards from the PCT behind a bush for some privacy. I had delicious freeze-dried beef stew for dinner. I'm serious, I love that stuff. I planned to read my kindle and do some poetry writing but I got into my tent and was so tired that I couldn't keep my eyes open. I laid down about 8pm and pretty much drifted in and out of sleep for the rest of the night. I could hear coyotes yipping not too far away and that woke me and made me feel a little anxious. I dreamt that wild animals were ripping my tent apart so I must have been worried!
The next morning when I got up, it was already on it's way to being a very hot day. We should have started hiking sooner than we did but since it was another meet-up group with different people we felt we needed to wait till the 8am official start time. As it ended up, Jasper and I went ahead and started walking north on the PCT at 8am. Ed stayed behind for the rest who ended up being late. This was the prettiest section of trail I've seen so far. Boulder formations, pine trees, flowers, more shade, and just very interesting. Jasper turned around at 3 miles- it was blazing hot. I continued on for a total of 8 miles. The last bit coming back got quite oppressive due to the heat. All I could think about was getting an ice-cream at the DQ that I saw in Anza. It was close to 90 when I finished at noon.
I saw 9 thru-hikers on this section. They were working hard and I wondered if they would rest during the heat of the day and continue hiking when it cooled off. I didn't want to interrupt their flow so I didn't ask.
Ed hiked 6 miles but the heat was bugging him so he headed home early. I only saw two others from the meet-up group and didn't talk much because they were fast hikers.
I finished up and headed on out- straight for the DQ! Church had just gotten out so there was a long line with suit and dress-wearing peoples. I was drenched in sweat, my face beet red, and I stunk like a petting zoo. I felt a little awkward standing in line. I didn't want these nice clean people to get a whiff of me! My chocolate cone dipped in cherry was worth it though.
I stopped in Ramona to score an Angry Whopper and they wouldn't do it for me. The promotion is really and truly over and my Angry Whopper stint has come to an end. *Sob*
It was a fabulous weekend and I loved every minute of it.
May 22-24 we climb Mt. San Jacinto!
Enjoy some pictures:
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