Category: Reasons California doesn’t suck

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Hiking

Here is a picture of one of the places that I’ve been hiking lately.
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As you can see it gets a lot more rugged the higher up you go. This is at about 6750 FT above sea level. It’s also less than a mile from my house.

Whats interesting is that even though I live here in the mountains I’m supposed to pay for something called an Adventure Pass from the Forestry Service.

Sorry guys, not happening. I park my car at my own house, I leave no traces, no trash or whatever. I pack out whatever I carry in. So I’m not paying…

I’m planning to head further up this area.

Obviously I’ll wait until there is no snow and it hasn’t rained in a long time. This is a wash, and all those rocks and trees you see strewn about? Well that stuff is there because of lots of water rushing down this wash. It would be very bad to get caught in a flash flood here while I was hiking.

The Top of the peak is something like 8 thousand feet up. It’s a personal goal for me to get to the top

According to the topographical map, the  the Pacific Crest Trail is just over the ridge. As I understand it, this section of the trail is called Blue ridge Truck Trail. I’d like to walk the trail for at least a short distance.

The dogs seem to enjoy going with me. It’s good for all of us because we’re getting our cardio workouts in.
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They may not appreciate the cardio but they love getting to sniff all over the trail.

I’m appreciating the muscle tone and shrinking belly.

Before you decide to strike out and hike to the top of your nearest mountain…

Consider that you’re combating not only the slope but you’re also having to consider the altitude.

If you’re not used to it being above 6000 ft can cause shortness of breath. So work up to it, make sure that you’re not likely to have a heart attack and then begin training.

Have a blast…

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One of the ways I relax

Took a long drive yesterday This was my first time on hwy 2 since it reopened.

The road was partially closed for 4 or 5 years. At it’s highest point it’s about 7000 ft. One very bad winter, the snow, ice, and rockslides caused a large section to slide down the mountainside. CalTrans opened as much as they could in the Summer but it wasn’t open to La Canada.

I used to take it home sometimes from work. It’s not as fast as the Freeway (well come to think of it, in rush hour traffic… it might be faster!) but the scenery is beautiful and if you’re someone that likes to drive, it’s a great road to forget about the work day on.

I took a few pictures but it really was the wrong time of day to get nice shots. I couldn’t resist a picture of the road, it’s new and smooth.
This is the kind of road my car was built for.

Drove all the way to La Canada from Wrightwood, it was a great drive! I had the top down, the road to myself and it was sunny & beautiful.

Coming back from La Canada right at the base of hwy 2,  I watched a young deer saunter across the road.

He was at least a 4 point buck, once he crossed the road he paralleled it for a bit. I drove by slowly, keeping an eye on him.

My concern was that he might panic and dart back into the road ahead of me then both of us would have a bad day.

I don’t think California lets you keep what you kill… the image of a deer strapped across the front of my car is amusing. The further thought of the cost to repair the inevitable body damage is not!

As I got even with him, he started to panic a little… when I realized he was trying to get ahead of me, I accelerated away. He disappeared into the trees a second or two after I passed him.

I wish I’d been able to grab the camera and snap a few pictures of him, he really was beautiful. But paying attention to the road took priority.

Seeing that deer made my day. Between him, the drive, and the sun on my skin I returned home very contented.

Gotta do stuff like that more often.