Fun In The Rain and Snow

THREE HUNDRED AND FORTY SIX

My kids are like any Southern California kids; they love to go to the snow. Since I went on Monday I figured it would be fun to take the boys and some friends up to Idyllwild for a little snow play. There was only one problem. While there was plenty of snow on the ground, it was raining all the way up to Humber Park.

The temperature at Humber Park was 36º, just above freezing. I can't think of more miserable conditions for a hike or snow play. I leave the kids to play in the snow for a bit as I head up the Devil's Slide Trail.

On this day, the wilderness is particularly wild. Without proper gear and clothing, hypothermia would set in quickly. Being cold is one thing but being cold and wet is death waiting to happen. It would be better if it were colder and snowing.

I come upon some snow that I know not to eat.

I continue up the trail but head back before going very far. I'm prepared with layers and a waterproof shell but I'm worried about the kids. Most of them are wearing cotton sweatshirts. They are going to be cold when I get back.

They're smiling because I've got the heater in the van going full blast and they're looking forward to having a sauna like ride home.

Worried that I didn't really fulfill my hiking requirement for the day, I went out with Kahlua at night just to be sure. I felt bad that I didn't take her to the snow and had to make it up to her.

There's a slight rain falling but it feels nice compared to the weather earlier today. Next time I go up to the snow I'll either wait until it's actually snowing or go alone.

Hurkey Creek Hike and Bike Trail

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND NINETY

The heat was on in the desert again today with the temperature topping 100º so I headed up toward Idyllwild to do my hike today. Our neighbors were up camping at the Hurkey Creek County Park Campground so Nikolas and I went to pay them a visit. Sometimes people knowing that I enjoy hiking ask me if I like to camp. I don't. The only time I enjoy camping is when I've hiked in miles from anyone else and can enjoy the serenity of a pure undeveloped spot. Staying in what is essentially a parking lot next to the Loud Family--like we did at Yosemite this summer--is not my idea of relaxation.

Hurkey Creek is very popular with mountain bikers and the campground was packed with people with bikes. The trail we take is an old road and lot of families use it for riding and hiking.

Nik kicks back on this memorial bench at the start of the trail.

The trail is not really very exciting; it's an old road and fairly flat. We leave the trail and decide to go and hike the creek instead. During most of the year there is water in this creek but it's dry now.

There are a number of downed trees that we have to navigate plus the foliage gets thick upstream so we decide to head back over to the trail.

Those downed trees come in handy as we beat our way back through the brush.

Nikolas doesn't like the trail. It travels through thick chaparral and does not gain much elevation. He tells me, "I was made for climbing and I don't like this". So I let him go back with a group of hikers returning to the campground. I take the left fork here.

There is a stone memorial for a mountain biker who died here in 2006. The memorial bench at the beginning of the trail also commemorates his passing.

The view from here is terrific with Red Tahquitz and Tahquitz Peak filling the horizon. I really want to get further up this canyon but I need to get back to the campground and visit with the people we came up here to see. Next time I come up here I'm going to bring my trail running shorts because while the trail is not great for hiking, it'd be terrific for running.

Black Mountain Fire Lookout

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND ONE

I went on the Palms to Pines drive today and stopped off for some short hikes on the way. Palms to Pines travels from the desert up to Idyllwild then down to Banning and then back. I did it in reverse but it's the same thing. I took the boys and we stopped at Cabezon to buy them some shoes. I knew they wouldn't be up for a long hike that I'd like doing so we did a few short ones instead. Our first hike was to just walk around Lake Fulmor. That took about twenty minutes. Lake Fulmor is a small little lake with a nice picnic area just off Highway 243. I didn't get any pictures of it because the batteries went dead on my camera and I left the phone in the car. It's a nice spot to take families to. Just don't go on a weekend when it's a total zoo.

After the lake, we went to this little overlook. Nice views but not nearly as nice as some we were going to get to later.

We took the Black Mountain Road up to the Boulder Basin Campground. The weather in the mountains was spectacular. At Boulder Basin the temperature was in the 70s.

From the Boulder Basin Campground we hiked up the road to the Black Mountain Fire Lookout. There is a nice trail that climbs up to the lookout that I would have preferred to do but I know the boys were not ready for an eight mile hike today. This hike was much easier, so much so, in fact, that Nikolas was able to wear his Crocs.

After a bit of hiking we get to the point where you can see the lookout above.

This area is very scenic with lots of trees and big beautiful boulders.

We get to the lookout and head up this paved path.

The Black Mountain Lookout

The Lookout Plaque

The boys head up the stairs but we find the tower is closed and locked.

We're there just a little late. Next time we'll get an earlier start.

Down below you can see Lake Fulmor. The view from the lookout area is spectacular and I bet it's even better from the top. Next time.

We headed up to the Fuller Ridge Trailhead looking at the various yellow post campsites which we'll hopefully return to sometime before summer is out. At the Fuller Ridge Trailhead the temperature is 68º, about 40º cooler than it is at home. On the way down we spot another lookout and go check it out.

The view is incredible. The boys enjoy looking over at Mount San Gorgonio and down to the Banning Pass.

They also enjoyed the cool weather, as did I.

Tahquitz Peak Fire Lookout

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY SEVEN

The wife had the day off so I'd have time to run up to Idyllwild and take a hike in the cool mountain air. So I planned to get up early, drive up to Idyllwild, get my permit, do my hike and drive home in time to get a shower and go to work. It all worked out perfectly except for the part about getting up early. Oh, and I didn't quite make the shower, either. Good thing there's a sink in the locker room at work.

I drove to the trailhead and started hiking at around 10 a.m. It was later than I'd hoped but it was still much cooler than the weather at home.

I have my permit and I'm well prepared. I brought some Gatorade.

My goal is the lookout on top of Tahquitz Peak. It's four miles and 2200 feet elevation gain.

Here's a closer view that I took on the way down.

The clouds are building up over the mountain but I don't think we'll get any rain from them. I just hope we don't get any lightning. These hills are dry and we don't need a fire.

Lily Rock (Tahquitz Rock to climbers) is visible from the trail. I've climbed this several times but won't have time today.

I get to the trail junction that leads up to the Lookout tower. In addition to this trail it is possible to go up the Devil's Slide trail. Devil's Slide is longer but not as steep.

God Bless America! I'm almost at the top!

There it is with some people hanging out enjoying the cool mountain air.

The view from here is incredible. If Mount San Jacinto offers the best view in Southern California, Tahquitz Peak is number two. Here's the view looking down the Desert Divide.

The digs here aren't bad, either. There's a volunteer who stays here and looks out for fires. Most of the time, though, he probably just greets hikers.

There's a nice open kitchen.

Also, TWO stoves. One is for cooking and one for heat. I bet it can get cold up here.

Of course, I didn't just hike up here for the exercise. I am now a member of the ancient and honorable order of squirrels. I have never been so proud.

My Longest Vacation Ever

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY

As a kid nothing beat summer vacation. No school, never ending days and fantastic fun with friends made the time off school the best time of year. I never wanted summer vacation to end.

The same is not true for adults. I hate summer vacation. Most of my days off work are spent babysitting, refereeing and entertaining. There are no days of carefree blissfulness; disappointment and frustration are the norm. Today was one of those days.

No trip ever goes off as planned but during summer, it seems, no trips go off. Idyllwild was on to do list today and I'd hoped to go there after my wife returned from an eye doctor appointment. She was going to watch the boys but when she came home there was a big problem. She couldn't see. It is hard to watch someone without vision. By the time her eyesight returned to normal, it was too late. I can't wait for summer to end.

Instead of a trip to Tahquitz Peak as I would have liked, I did a little hike near home with Nikolas and friends. But my mind was in the mountains.

When I was here a few a months ago someone had built this little monument. In the intervening months it's been added to quite a bit.

The boys decide to take a break. It's not that they are really tired; they probably would've enjoyed the mountains more, too.

For some reason, they do not get as excited as I do about a pile of rocks left here to make a faint trail up a slope of loose rocks. I don't understand why.

They decide to wait and let me go ahead and I'm OK with that. A few minutes of peace and quiet does me well. A few hours or days would do more, though.

The boys get a little more motivated when it comes to climbing a little hill. We build a little wall beneath the hill and I promise we'll come back later to build a fort. I figure if I have to spend all my hours in the presence of ten year old I may as well do something fun for them.

I love my kids. But they say absence makes the heart grow fonder and it's those hours they spend in school that gives me time to miss them and love them more. Without it, the fondness wears off real quick.

School starts this coming year on August 31. I cannot remember school starting so early in my life. Even still this will be my longest vacation ever and I am counting the days until the kiddies are back in school. July 4th may be Independence Day but August 31 is when I will celebrate freedom.

More Idyll Than Wild

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY TWO

Idyllwild is the gateway to the San Jacinto Wilderness. Sprinkled around the town are trailheads that lead the intrepid hiker into the high country. I have used all of these trailheads and hiked all of these trails, many of which are quite challenging. Today, however, I found a trail that I have never done before. Why hadn't I hiked this trail that is right near the town center? It's too easy.

This morning I drove up to Idyllwild looking for a hike. Since I needed to be at work by 2 I didn't have a lot of time. I thought I might hike up the Deer Springs Trail to Suicide Rock. Nice views, easy access, not too tough for my son Nikolas were all good reasons to do this hike. But when we went over to the trailhead we saw something interesting.

What is this? I wonder if they have any trails in here.

So we went in to check it out and found out the Nature Center is a little museum-like building with all kinds of hands on displays for kids,

Exhibits about the history of the area,

stuffed native animals like this Mountain Lion,

and this Golden Eagle. It is a very interesting little museum and we both really wished we had more time to enjoy it but we had a hike to do. Our hike was short since our time was very limited today. But we are going to have to come back, and soon.

Our hike was probably the easiest hike I have done this year. That doesn't mean it wasn't great fun, though. The sign says it is only 1/2 mile and will take 3/4 of an hour to cover. We'll walk slow to make sure it does.

There are numbered areas along the trail that correspond to various points of interest. We learned that the bark of the Jeffrey Pine smells like vanilla. Smell one sometime because it really does.

There are lots of things to see along the trail and plenty of lizards for boys to catch. Just make sure they let them go, though. You cannot take anything from the center.

There is a great spot with 13 bedrock mortars where Cahuilla Indians ground acorns into meal. The mortars are perfectly situated under an oak tree.

After our hike, we saw this little guy trying to steal seeds from the bird feeder. He ultimately was unsuccessful but we enjoyed watching his persistence.

To finish off, we did the short hike up to a viewpoint near the Nature Center. You could see San Jacinto Mountain, Suicide and Tahquitz Rocks behind Nikolas and other various ranges in the direction Nikolas is now looking.

Here's a closer look at Tahquitz, or Lily, Rock.

Although this was my first visit to the Idyllwild Nature Center, I certainly will not be my last. It should be on the list of things to do for anyone visiting Idyllwild and at the top of the list if you are bringing kids along. While the hikes are easy--there are more than the ones we went on--they are rewarding and, more importantly, the weather is much cooler than in the desert right now. I can't wait to go back.