Hiking – Page 14 – wandering chardonnay

Hiking relieves stress…….

So what’s been going on with me? Well short story October was freaking awesome; November, crap. Not even gonna get into it’s just been, well crap. The only thing keeping me from losing it is, well, hiking. When I’m hiking it all just stops (for awhile) the noise, sadness, anger, disappointment, hurt…….That being said my training miles are coming along quite swimmingly!!

I recently went back to tackle El Cajon (El Capitan) mountain over in Lakeside. Last time was not pretty at all (didn’t even make the summit). It was actually a fun hike this time, carried a gallon of water (drank half), no leg cramps and finished in under 6 hrs! Amazing what a little prep & training will do. One of the websites about the hike says “for experienced hikers”; guess that’s me now. It’s a 12 mile out and back (elevation gain:4300). It was that thing I just had to do, can’t let the mountain shut you down. So yea me.

If I haven’t mentioned it I got in my first full 20 miler! That was back in October so yeah….

Anyway I decided it was time to stop dinking around carrying that daypack, as if. So today I filled up the ULA with my sleeping bag, water, food and some other trinkets, pack weighed in at 17 lbs! I was kinda shocked, it didn’t seem like there was that much in there, whoa. Headed out over the Poway hills, then down to the South Poway Trans-County trail, then onto the Los Penasquitos Canyon out to the Penasquitos Falls. Honestly, I really hadn’t planned to go that far, but I just kept going. The Poway Hills are my new fav, there is very few people up there, and the views are great! There are even a couple of lawn chairs and a budda statue at the top, in case it need to hang out for a bit and I guess meditate or whatever. It was a beautiful hike, all 18.34 miles of it (average speed 2.57) guess I was in the zone.

When I haven’t been able to get out on the trail I’ve been at the gym, did 9 miles last night on the treadmill. I started this thing where I hike at a incline while I’m watching TV, on commercials I run (downhill). Man sometime the commercials go on foreva! Ever other day I throw in some leg press, bicep curls, planks whatever I feeling like at the time.

I want to be in at least decent shape come January. Plans are to hike the San Diego Trans-County Trail (140 Miles in 7 days), fingers crossed I can pull this off. It would be a great shake down for me. We shall see….

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Stay tuned I’ll be (attempting) to tackle my resupply plan soon…..oh dear, maybe I’ll wait till December!

Happy 4th from the PCT

Hiking, PCT

Hope everyone is having a great 4th of July weekend! I decided at the last minute to…..go hiking, surprise! Well when I checked online all the camp sites were reserved, but Friday morning I called and they guy says “well we have a few that are first come first served.” Ok then I say I’m on my way, so I hopped in the car and headed over to Mt. Laguna. Now what he failed to mention was it was a cash only camp site, agh. (there is not a single ATM on the mountain, can-not-believe) So I had to run back down to Pine Valley for cash. The whole while people are passing me going up the mountain. I’m kinda freaking out because I’m thinking there will not be a single site when I get back. But a little fancy driving (read:speeding)I made it back and yeah got one of the last 2!!

After quickly setting up my tent I grabbed my day pack and trekked back to pay my camp fee. (again they should mention you will need your license plate number, whatever I just wrote gray cube and shoved it the box, seriously). I couldn’t figure out the ‘back way’ to get to the trail so I just started walking down the road. Glad I did, ended up stopping at Laguna Mountain Sports & Supply. What was right there when I opened the door….my ULA backpack! It was a sign!!!

Working there (on the 4th no less) was Dave, great guy. He sized me up and got me fitted with the right belt. It is so awesome (wish it were pink but purple will do), man it feels like a day pack compared to my other one. I went with the ULA Circuit, wanted the CDT but base weight is a concern. On the upside it came with all the stuff hand grips, loops for my poles, straps (lot of straps) for my bottles.

I’ll be going back to Laguna Mountain Sports & Supply they have all the stuff and then some. Plus Dave said he would do a shakedown (basically where he goes through my stuff and cut unnecessary weight).

Anywho, through my day pack in my new backpack and hit the trail. I headed north on the PCT for about 7 miles then headed back. Found the ‘backway’ into my campsite had few beers and watched the kiddos play. Man kids love camping.

The next morning I tossed all my stuff in the car then headed out on the trail again, this time south. Got in 8 miles! What a great area to hike in, the views a awesome! At one point everything was just right, I was feeling good, high energy, music was flowing….and I thought man I could hike for hours like this! That’s a good feeling!

Deep Creek to Peak

Hiking, Life

So last weekend I was supposed to go to this hyped up 3 day pool party. As I was getting myself syked up for the weekend, Thursday evening, getting together swimwear, camping gear and making a shopping list……..I see on Facebook the invite is no longer on my event page. Hmmm, after clicking and some reading between the lines i figure out it is cancelled. I was bummed I really had my little heart set on soaking up some sun chilling by the pool……but no.

Then it hit me….free weekend…..whatever shall I do. Well, I’ve been talking about going to Deep Creek for five months and as luck would have it it’s pretty close to Mt Baldy a place I needed to get back to. All of a sudden I couldn’t wait for the weekend again. I spent most of Friday printing directions and reading reviews.

Saturday morning I headed out to Apple Valley, it’s about a 2 hour drive that goes fast til you get to the dirt road that leads to Bowen Ranch. That road, while only 6 miles, seems to go on forever. I was anxious too since I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into (some of the online reviews weren’t all that favorable to parking at the ranch.) I was parking at the Ranch because it was only a 2 mile hike from there, the alternative was to park for free and hike 3 mile sketchy trail or a longer 6 mile.

Reviews should be taken with a grain of salt. The crazy man I read about at the Ranch was nowhere to be found, just a nice lady who called me adventurous for going alone! She was quite nice, collected my parking fee (5.00 for day 10.00 overnight which is weird since there is a sign half way there that says no camping), warned me of rattle snakes, asked if I had enough water, gave and explain the “souvenir” map then sent me on through the gate. Easy peasy.

After parking I jumped in my swimsuit (nudity is accepted at the springs but I tend save that for more familiar settings) through some snacks and drinks in by pack and I was off. The trail is pretty easy to follow and all downhill to the springs. There are some pretty nice views walking along the ridge before you descend to the hot springs.

It was not packed as the review suggested weekends would be, I got there about 11 (after the hour hike. There was a small gathering, but spread around the different springs. The springs were described to me as magical that is about spot on. There are a number of springs (I forget the names) some warm, some very hot, even a pipe that spills warm water right on you. There are beachy areas on both sides of the cool water creek and plenty of shade.

Yes, there were some nakkid older men and like 2 topless girls, besides that everyone was clothed. After dipping in the hot and cold I parked myself on the beach and chilled next to some friendly people from Santa Monica. They were funny, had music and wine! They too called me brave and adventurous for coming alone….hmmm.

I enjoyed the experience and would like to go back, maybe drag some friends along and camp illegally! There were a lot of people heading down there (with beers and guitars) as I hiked out in the evening.

After dinner and a good nights sleep I headed over to tackle Mt. Baldy, the mountain that shut me down about a month ago. This time I was ready for it, rested, shades, snacks, tunes, mountain dew and a map to the elusive steep side trail. Somehow last time we missed this (not well marked) turn off. (hint hint its by the yucca plant just past the falls)

But the time I made it to the Ski Hut I felt so great and full of energy, maybe it was the mountain dew, or because last time I was well hung-over, slightly. Either way this time I was moving very steadily with my tunes, just crushing it, on the steep part no less.

I began the climb towards the summit the trail crossed a small stream and I stopped and dipped my bandana in the cool water. I felt so outdoorsy. There was quite a few people on the trail but we tended to be pretty spread out, leap frogging when anyone stopped for a breaks

. Unreal view caused me to stop in my tracks i felt good until I got up to around 10,000 feet elevation. The temperature had dropped and the summit did not seem to be getting closer. That’s when it hit me all the people on the switchbacks above me we gone! Hallelujah!! I made it! The air had became cold and very breezy but the views from up there are outrageously beautiful. I quickly put on jacket and snapped some photos before settling into one of the stone forts for some gotta get down snacks!

As always what goes up, must come down. This elevation gain was transferred to a similarly steep descent complete with uneven gravel loads of scary fun. By the end of the day my knees are shot but I was so happy I practically skipped back to the car!

So of the six pack of peaks……..1 down 5 to go!!!

Mt. San Antonio — aka Mt. Baldy —It’s the first peak in the list over 10,000 feet.

Mt. Wilson –a top elevation of 5,710 feet.
Cucamonga Peak 8,859feet summit.
San Bernardino Peak tops out at 10,649 feet,
Mt. San JacintoPeak, 10,834 feet
San Gorgonio — the highest peak in Southern California 11,503 feet

TRAIN AND PREP

Hiking

My hiking training and preparation has been going splendidly. (knock on wood) Operation pay bills/save money is underway. Fighting the urge to buy gear, need more time to save and research. I want the right equipment, for me, even if it costs a bit more (hopefully not). Thing is I’ve never been much of a shopper so this pains me. In a perfect world someone would just say ‘hey you a need this …..buy it here, done”. But no, there are tons of things. Some things you really need, something’s you don’t; something’s you might need, or not; some you can buy used others not so much. It make my head swim, you should see all the lists and excel sheets I have compiled. It’s ridiculous.

As far as training, that is going well! I’ve dropped a few more pounds, woo freaking hoo! Really it’s due to the increased amount of hiking/walking I have been doing. That’s it. If I clean up my diet I’ll be at my goal weight in no time. (weird, I am dropping like 30 pounds….only to carry a 20 pound pack(or less) hmmm).

Anywho, now that I am staying in Poway, mostly, getting out in the mornings and evenings is easier. Besides I have found some pretty nice hiking trails in the area, with hills, big hills. Best of all there are hardly any people on them! I have them all to myself, unlike Cowles, so many people. Oh the other day I wasn’t alone, some dude come trudging up behind me, about scared the living crap out of me. At least he was cute, named Brandon, we chatted for a bit but he was not going as far (or as fast) as me. I was in just started on a training hike where I go as fast as possible on this 7 mile loop! Noticed my climbing speed is better, no more of that, whoa stop and get a breather mid climb crap, yea me! Operation be a bad ass hiker is GO!

SIDE NOTE: No I will not divulge the location of my cool new hiking spot; don’t want the word to get out. You know it’s like a fishing spot thing. I will however blindfold you take there and let you hike with me, maybe.

El Nino/El Nina

Hiking, PCT

Recently when talking with a friend about my 2015 PCT trip he casually says, ‘well you know it’s supposed to be an El Nino coming up’. Great just great. I have a feeling I will hear about this over and over. Oh yep there it is, over on a PCT forum:

While El Nino is no certainty of a big winter, El Nino has resulted in some of the heaviest winters on record. So there it is. A 10 month, April 1st, 2015 prediction. The perfect storm of ingredients all lined up like ducks in a row. This is in no way a scientific evaluation, just my mindless ramblings.

Okay, so there is going to be weather. I’m personally ok with that, and will not get myself all worked up over it. Maybe there will actually be water in the creeks, so I can filter water and not carry tons, for miles. Snow in the Sierra’s great, I’m signing up for a mountaineering course anyway. Rain in Washington, guess I’ll buy a rain coat and make a skirt. This girl is ready and going weather or not.

Really , really?

Hiking, Life

So I dubbed last weekend bad ‘decision weekend’. The decisions weren’t even that bad (I’ve made worse) but they certainly rather ridiculous. Sometimes I just get overly excited and don’t think things through, you know logically. So here’s what happened….

It was Memorial Day weekend and I really wanted to do something since my trip to the desert was out. Decided that I needed to do some hiking and Mt Baldy had been on my mind for a while. Out of the blue I stumble upon MissyKat having an extra ticket to Myth Masque in LA, something else I had wanted to do. Of course I decided I could do both, bad idea. A friend told me so but I was all whatever. Bad ideas are built on not listening.

Now Myth Masque is not just any masquerade ball in LA, people go all out with costumes. I, of course did not have a thing to wear. After totally stressing, I ended up buying a corset that was way out of my budget, bad idea.

Friday night a friend had a housewarming party that I ended up staying way too late at, bad idea. But I was having such a good time, I have great friends, you would have stayed too. So staying out late Friday meant a Saturday morning rush to finish my costume and pack the car.
Did I mention I hate driving to or around LA. Agh. The traffic is mad crazy and there are just people EVERYWHERE. Plus there is nowhere to park. The stress of me driving and a valet parking situation led the me rewarding myself later that night with……drinks!!! Bad idea.

But again you would have too. It was a festive atmosphere, the venue was spectacular, the costuming was top notch, the company was good, so …..I got my party on. Bad idea.

After about 4 hours of sleep I dragged myself up (makeup still on from the night before) and started what was supposed to be a simple one and half hour trek to Mt Baldy. I was meeting Liz and Mark at 8. I had planned on grabbing some food/drinks for the hike on the way……that did not happen. Why…..in my sleepy has I totally took a wrong turn and got lost (sorta) at least went way outta of the way. Didn’t get to the mountain until 9:30 (sorry Mark and Liz).

So in my frazzled state I grabbed my day pack, 2 bananas from the backseat, and Gatorade. And I was off….in the clothes I has slept in! In my mind I thought we could ride the chair lift up and cut off 4 miles, it wasn’t running. (actually it was but my lack of planning I did not realize it didn’t start til 10) So we just set off for the shortest route to the top, seemed like a good idea, but we missed the turn off for that short route, doh! (side note: there is a true lack of signage on this trail, it is a true guessing game which direction to go.)

Now Liz and Mark are in great shape and good hikers so they were ready to take that mountain. I was pleading with my legs not to revolt. That was the weird thing about the whole hike, I was feeling good from the waist up. From the waist down my legs felt like lead, every step not painful, just hard. I managed to drag myself to the lodge after a gazillion breaks. Then the death march began, for me anyway! (let it be know if it hadn’t of been for Mark & and Liz I would have turned back, heck I might not have gotten out the car! They are fun to hike with and put up with all my whining.) We went up this stretch of rocks that was steep and seemed to never end. I kept telling the others to go ahead as I was basically pausing every third step.

I finally made it to the top (well that top anyway). From here it leveled out a bit as you cross Devils Backbone. I must say even in my exhausted state, WoW what a view!! You can see clear down to the desert floor and the cool breeze rushing across the peak was refreshing. We rested here before starting across the tiny trail that led to the summit. There were plenty of people coming down from the summit (they obviously did not miss the mystery turn off).

The thing about hiking is you get plenty of time to think. The one thing on my mind that last sections was ‘holy carp next year I’ll be doing this with 25 pounds on my back, dear goodness’. The other thing about hiking is the distance between utter misery and euphoria is very short. As I trudged along I reflected on all the bad decisions I had made recently made and came to two conclusions, I can’t change them and don’t have to make anymore.

A term used frequently on the PCT is HYOY (hike your own hike). When we turn that last corner and I saw that 700′ vertical climb to the summit was when I stopped. Hiking my own hike meant letting the others go on and my turning back. Sure I could have limped up there just to say I did, but that most likely would have meant me being rescued or spending the night on the summit.

Long story short (after all that lol) I went back down, Mark and Liz made it to the summit then we all took the chair lift back to the parking lot!

All in all it lessons were learned and memories were made. I’ll go back and bag that summit, everything in it’s time!

Quitting something is hard. But it’s also valuable. ~Anish

2 a day

Hiking

Been getting back out there!! Mostly doing a lot of walking around the hood. There are tons of hills just of the front door. Love the looks I get when decide to take my backpack instead of the day pack. Managed to figure out a few 3- 4 miles loops. Trying to get myself up to 4 miles in the morning and at least 4 after work. I’m not much of a morning person so the morning routes are tough. The after work routes are working out good now that I found a nice trail near work, the South Poway Trans County Trail!

What can I say it’s time to tone this body up, there is a very busy summer coming up! Just scheduled BRC Ranger training for July in Napa! Oh the man burns in 105 days!

WBC Reunion

Hiking

I got me a patch! A wilderness basics patch! This past weekend was the WBC Reunion at Lake Moreno Campgrounds. I got there Saturday morning went to send a text and remembered there is zero signal. Really Verizon. So I wasn’t sure when the Liz or Betsy were gonna get there. Turns out Liz (and Mark ) were pretty much right behind me. They pulled up as I was whipping together my tent. (Betsy wasn’t feeling well so didn’t make it. Feel better girl!!!)

The first hour was kinda chaotic; we were trying to get our tents set up prior to the Land Navigation hike and for some reason our camp site was hot and treeless. Yes, exactly last week I was freezing my butt off a week later l’m roasting, cray, cray. We ran back and forth to the registration table, the ranger’s office, and then moved all our stuff to the shade only to move it back into the sun. Finally we gave up and went hiking.

Jim and Diane did a swell job with the Land Nav/Scavenger Hunt. Whenever we finally found a spot there was a cache box with candy, toys (even Hot Wheels), and a clue to the next spot. We sorta worked as a group, but Mark was like a bloodhound finding those things. It was a great hike, a little rock climbing, the lake is very very low. But not totally dry, one wrong step and you could sink pretty deep in the mud.

Me, Mark and Michelle! Thanks for the pic Liz!

Afterwards (ie after beer run) we realized that we had set up our tents basically where we were supposed to park the cars! Oh well. Later, there was a PCT presentation and a great potluck dinner. I was so full from dinner only had room for one smore at the campfire.

But before the smores there was a graduation certificate and PATCHES!!!

There was also a astronomy presentation complete with two super telescopes so we got an up close look at the moon! After chatting around the camp fire we turned in. I slept like a baby.

Sunday morning instead of hiking after breakfast we opted for sitting around camp soaking up the sunshine and chatting. Sometimes you just need to sit and connect. So glad we did. A friend told me to take the wilderness basics course you’ll meet some cool people that will end up being your long time hiking buddies …..he was right!

Sock it to me

Hiking

I love when thru hikers meet up or hike together and then their blogs intersect. It’s like when a character from one sitcom appears on a different sitcom. Worlds colliding.

I’ve never had designated hiking socks. Typically I just throw on some socks, my hiking boots and go. Well at the kickoff I was gifted some Keen hiking socks. WHAT! How come nobody told me about these things? They are all soft and comfy. I was cruising through my 3 mile hike the other day. I’m totally getting more of these. Oh then I just ordered some from Thorlos -women’s hiking socks. They was a special where you only have to pay shipping. Can’t wait to try those puppies out this weekend!

Weight this is too long

Hiking

My lack of posting comes from the fact that I feel every post needs like a certain length. So every time I sit down with an idea I either ditch it or it sits unpublished waiting for more. Where is the more? It’s that same weird feeling I’d get in high school when you had to have type (like on a typewriter, i’m that old) a paper double spaced with some arbitrary word count. So yea, i’m letting that go. Short posts rule!

I’ve been reading trail blogs and enjoying the Santa Ana Winds blowing through San Diego. Trail blogs make me hungry. There is a lot of talk about food, especially snacks. I’m constantly fighting the urge to grab some junk food. Sympathy weight is not cool. Found another cool blog of couple going stoveless, that’s my plan too! Check it out here.