Back To The Grind

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTY SEVEN

I made a big mistake when I came back from my vacation and went straight back to work. No kicking back for a day at home for me. It's right back to it and, incredibly, we are busy in the middle of August. Not what one would expect at a desert resort but it's nice to have business.

This morning I thought about getting up early and hitting the trail before work but I knew I'd have time after work to go hiking so I decided to wait. Bad move. We got a delivery at work and I had to stay late and ended up hiking in the dark. Oh, well. I got some free Peet's Coffee out of it.

I got home after dark and put some new batteries in the headlamp and off I went. I've hiked at night many times but usually in the course of climbing a mountain or finishing a long adventure. It's a little more difficult when you don't have a clear objective.

I brought Kahlua along in case there were any chupacabras on the prowl tonight. They don't like dogs.

Things all look weird at night. I think this is an ancient site used for ritual sacrifices of virgins but upon closure examination it's just a campfire site with some rocks and beer cans. Of course these days beer is often used when people sacrifice their virginity.

Kahlua finds this sign strangely ironic.

There's about a half moon but not enough to dispense with the headlamp. Kahlua likes it without the headlamp because we can't read the signs that way.

One thing we take note of is this survey marker. I don't know why there's a survey marker on the edge of the National Monument unless they are going to reroute the trail beginning or perhaps even put up some better trail signs. Water fountains would also be a nice addition but nothing else. It'll be interesting to see what goes here.

We wander around in the dark for a bit longer enjoying the peaceful tranquility, the stars and the city lights.

I don't hike at night much except when it's a full moon or, like tonight, I'm forced to because of work but I might try it more often. This empty parking lot exemplifies the main advantage of an occasional late night ramble. There's no one else around.

Fobe's Trail to the PCT

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTY SIX

One of the toughest things about coming home from a trip is the nagging feeling that you left something behind. Even though I work in a hotel I have left things behind that were never recovered. It's very annoying.

When I was preparing for this last trip I found a couple of things which I believed were lost forever so it is not totally hopeless. Things do sometimes find their way home.

Well, it seems like I am not the only one who leaves things behind. The wife's father, aka Papa, left his fishing gear in the mighty minivan when he unloaded his gear. I don't have any idea why he'd have been so hasty in getting his stuff. It's not like he was in a hurry to get in his house after a week traveling with us or anything.

Wonderful husband that I am volunteered to make the road trip up the hill to bring him his gear back and left the boys with the wife and off I went. It's the kind of sacrifices I have to make sometimes.

I decided to do the Fobe's Ranch Trail to the PCT. I hadn't done this trail yet this year and its three miles round trip distance was about all I'd have time to do today.

I think this decrepit sign is in need of a replacement. I don't know if I need a permit on this trail because I can't read the sign. Oh well.

The trail itself is in pretty good shape as it steadily gains elevation. It's never really steep but it doesn't have any downhill section, thankfully.

Along the way I spot an old water tank that's probably still in use.

There's also a fairly new gate.

And a really new sign telling me to keep it closed.

As I near the PCT I start to get to some larger trees and a bit of shade. Kahlua likes the area so we take a short break. Very short.

At the junction of the two trails there are some nice big boulders.

And while the view is not evident directly from the trail, we hike a little bit and get a view of the Coachella Valley below, sweltering in 100+ degree heat.

In addition to the new gate sign there are also some new trail signs. At least they weren't here when I came by on the PCT a few years ago. If you look real close you can see where someone wrote directions on how to find H2O. Spitler Peak looms in the background.

There's also another little sign directing you to water in case you missed the hand written directions.

The trail is not really tough and is a quick and easy way to access the PCT and get a high view of the Coachella Valley. Despite that someone left this reminder that even an easy trail is tougher than a walk in the park.

Home Heat Home

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTY FIVE

Today I arrived back home and it was beautiful. I missed the profound beauty of the desert landscape but I noticed how many similarities my home has to the Lake Tahoe area.

Temperature

Most days in Lake Tahoe during our visit the high temperature was about 75º. Most days this time of year the low temperature in the desert is about 75º.

Mountains

Both areas are surrounded by incredible mountains.

The Coachella Valley is surrounded by several ranges including the Santa Rosas, the San Jacintos, the San Bernardinos and the Little San Bernardinos.

Lake Tahoe has the Sierras. I guess if you're only going to have one mountain range it's a pretty good one.

Trails

Both area have wonderful networks of trails. The Coachella Valley has over 1000 miles of hiking trails within an hour and thousands of square miles of open terrain for hiking.

Lake Tahoe doesn't have quite as much but its hiking isn't bad. At least in summer.

Lakes

We have plenty of lakes in the Coachella Valley. In fact, there's even a community in Palm Desert called THE Lakes. Additionally, we have the largest lake in California just south of here, the Salton Sea. It's not as deep as Lake Tahoe but it's bigger.

The lakes in Tahoe are lovely but I wonder what these lakes look like in February.

There are loads of positive things about both the Coachella Valley and the Lake Tahoe area but there's only one place that I could ever undertake an endeavor like hiking every day and that's here. Lake Tahoe is a great place to visit but....

Disneyland It Ain't

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTY FOUR

The wife had a seminar in Anaheim to go so I needed to find a hike somewhere in Orange County to do and Disneyland was not going to let me climb the Matterhorn and I don't think Tom Sawyer's Island would count. I thought it might be fun to hike down near Crystal Cove so I headed down that way. The El Moro Canyon area is supposed to have several hikes in a wilderness area so I was very excited. The excitement lasted until I got there.

I should have known something was up when I saw this sign on the telephone pole announcing that this is the State Park boundary.

There are plenty of signs offering directions. There should be one telling you to leave now before you get disappointed.

Obviously this plant rehabilitation has a way to go.

I walk down this road to get to the trail only to discover that the road is the trail. There are a couple of sections of "single track" but for the most part the trails here are roads.

There are signs at all the intersections so you can't really get lost.

There is potential here and it might be pretty in the spring when the hills are green but here in late summer the landscape is quite depressing.

This is the only hiking area I've ever been to that abounds in power poles. There are several areas where signs tell you not to hike down a certain road because it's for power pole access. Seriously.

Is it still August? The fog keeps rolling in thicker and thicker and the weather is cold. I was warmer in Lake Tahoe than I am here in Orange County.

I don't have time to get to it but there are some campgrounds and restrooms further up the trail. I'm sorry I missed them because they have the potential of being the highlight of my trip.

Toward the end of my adventure I get some nice glimpses of the coast. These views are the only redeeming part of my adventure. There may be something I'm missing here but I don't really see the need to come back. I think on my next visit to OC I'll try to find some hiking area on the coast itself and if I can't I'll just hike the sand in Huntington. At least there I know I'll get some interesting scenery.

On The Road Again

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTY THREE

The Tahoe Rim Trail is a 165 mile trail that encircles Lake Tahoe. Along with the Wonderland Trail around Mount Rainier in Washington and the Timberline Trail around Mount Hood in Oregon it is one of the great loop trails in the United States. Since we had to leave to head back to Southern California today I didn't have time to do the whole thing today but I wanted to get a little taste of it before I left. Fortunately, a little section of it is about four miles from our hotel.

Now the directions I get are not real good but while I'm driving up the road I spot this sign for a park and figure I'll try going there and see what I come up with.

It's a pretty good guess because I find the trailhead no problem. One thing I've discovered here is the area has very good signage, at least AT the trailheads. At home in the desert the signage is terrible, everywhere.

The Tahoe Rim Trail is a multi-use trail for a large portion of its 165 miles and that is evident here with mountain bike tracks on the trail.

It is not too long on the trail before I get a view of the lake in the distance.

I also get a view of Castle Rock. I don't think there is anywhere I hike that does not have a place called Castle Rock. I think when people place a permanent name on something they should at least use a little imagination.

The view of the lake really opens up and if you look real close you can see a hot air balloon over the lake. I think that is the one outing the wife didn't plan on this trip.

Looking to the west there is a nice view of Mount Tallac.

I've had nice views along the trail so I really look forward to the view from the Vista this sign points to.

It is somewhat disappointing unless you came up here for a vista of trees. I don't know who put this sign here but this must be the wrong place or someone is playing a joke on everyone.

I head back to the trail and come to a fork and take it, heading to the right.

I soon discover that this is NOT the way I want to go. It leads downhill and away from the direction I want to go. The trail is fairly new and not on the topo in a lot of areas. I'll just go exploring.

I follow the trail around keeping Castle Rock in view as a good way to determine my location. I come to another fork and head left this time. This should take me back.

This route brings me back toward the parking area and to a gate that blocks an old road. THAT is on the map but not most of the other trails I hiked on.

I get to the road just down from where I parked and now have to head back and get ready for the long drive to Orange County. The wife has to go to a conference there tomorrow so our Tahoe adventure is over for this year but we'll definitely be back. I've got a lot more trails to explore here and the wife still has parasailing, jet skiing and hot air ballooning to do.