Home For The Holidays

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY NINE

I understand the importance of Christmas in building family traditions so I decided to forgo a hike today and just hang out with the family.

Just kidding.

I didn't get this far to quit now even though it was tempting. My father in law came down from his home in Mountain Center to hang out and help my wife in the kitchen. He was a restaurant owner his whole life and so we were very grateful for his help with the Christmas feast. Here he is with my son, Nikolas.

I needed to burn off a few calories from last night's prime rib and all the cookies around the house so I decided to do the hike over near my house, in what I call the Yucatan Fan. That way I could get my hike in and not be away from the family for too long.

I asked the family if anyone wanted to go out with me on my hike but no one said yes except Kahlua. She's just a girl who can't say no.

I'm getting thirsty so it's time to head home and give Kahlua her Christmas present.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

My Life Is Not My Own

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND EIGHT

Whenever I have a day off I get this illusionary idea that I am going to be able to go to the mountains and do some great hike in cool weather. I should know better. With the wife working I have babysitting duty and the boys would rather hang out with their friends watching endless reruns on Nickelodeon than do something wonderful and memorable with their dear old dad. Kids. Also, my wife made an appointment for me to draw some blood--don't even ask!--so I had to be home by three in the afternoon even if I had taken the kids away by parental force. So my dream of cool mountain air vanished in the intense glow of family responsibilities. It's not the first time.

Since I couldn't get to the cool mountain air as I'd hoped it was back to the heat. Since I wasn't traveling far, Kahlua insisted on coming along.

We went just south of The Quarry and were quickly into the wilderness.

The horse trail heads up to the ridge above this canyon but this is a better way for hikers to go even though I am a bit concerned about snakes in all these boulders.

Hiking uphill in the sand in 100º heat was not what I'd hoped for today but, hey, it's better than working.

You can see the sun shining on Rabbit Peak in the distance but we are completely in the shade. If not for that, we wouldn't last an hour out here.

We make a nice little loop using one of the many trails out here and head back to a cooler with iced beverages.

There are some little dens and small caves along the mountain side but we don't see anything in there at the moment. Any critters may have sensed us coming and gone into hiding.

The one animal we see are bats flittering across the sky. There are hundreds of them but since I don't have my good camera (that's another family story) so I can't get any good pictures of them but trust me, they're out there.

We get to the water faucets near The Quarry but they have turned them off for the night and I don't have a key to turn them back on.

But that's OK. I prepared for that. Kahlua enjoys some iced water in the cooler and dreams it's a cold mountain stream.

First Time For Everything

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY EIGHT

This weekend, my son had a baseball tournament in Twin Peaks, near Lake Arrowhead. We had to drive up to the mountains and then depending on if the team won the game, he'd have a game later in the day or on Sunday. Our team lost so the next game will be Sunday. Now I've got to figure out what to do with the family and where I can go to hike.

I did a quick Google search and found Lake Gregory near here has a place for kids to play and a trail that circles the lake. I'd never been there so I figured, why not?

The only hikes I've done in the San Bernardino Mountains have been in the San Gorgonio Wilderness. I figured if you're going to make the drive you may as well make it worthwhile so I've done San Gorgonio several times from several different directions but nothing else. OK, I've gone skiing at Big Bear but that doesn't count. This hike will be a first for me.

The trail goes around the entire lake and since dogs are allowed I wish I'd have brought Kahlua. She'd love it up here. I don't think there will be anyone backpacking around the lake, though. It's not that long.

There are exercise stations along the trail and it makes me wish I'd brought my running gear. Although on second thought if I tried to do any exercises I might lose my lunch of pizza and Pepsi. It's good that I'll be sticking with hiking. But this is the first trail I've ever done that has exercise equipment other than rocks and logs.

There is a restroom on the trail! If I'd known this I may have been able to persuade my wife to come along. Next time. This is the first time I've ever encountered a restroom on a trail that wasn't either an outhouse or a tree.

The view here is pretty, especially since it's about 110º down in the desert today.

There is a ball field right next to the lake. It's not the ball field Harrison is playing on but it is the first ball field that I have ever hiked past.

Not only are dogs allowed on this trail, there is even a dog park. Near where I live dogs aren't allowed on many trails at all and they have a dog park up here. Incredible.

To enter the part of the lake that has a swimming area there is a $3.00 fee. Since the family is in here I guess I'll pay it even though I will not be doing any swimming today.

There's the wife and Nikolas on an Aqua Trike having a blast while I'm hiking. Family fun for everyone.

This trail also has a water slide and some water jets plus a lot of people who should never go out in public in a swimsuit. I'm sure a lot of people do a lot of hiking around lakes but living in the desert it is not something I get to do often, if ever. I kinda like it even if the hike is not particularly challenging.

Nikolas also likes it. If it were up to him I'd hike here every day.

Family Values

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY ONE

With my wife still not feeling 100%, I took the day off work and took care of her. I also had to do the things she usually does like picking up the kids at school and taking one of them to the orthodontist. After that, I had to help at the snack bar at the baseball field. That didn't leave me much time to hike so I figured I'd make it a good one.

Not too far from my house is this gully that goes almost straight up. It gains about 900 feet in no time and climbs over boulders and loose rocks. I've done it in years past but haven't done it this year because it's hard and I'm old. I figured today would be the day to reach into the past. Besides at the time of day I had to go it was the only thing that had any shade on it whatsoever.

This shot gives you an idea of the terrible quality of the rock I get to climb. In my younger years I've made it up to the top in about 20 minutes. Of course, I was in better shape and a tad thinner then. I will be ecstatic if I can make it in under 30 minutes.

Hiking every day has done me well and I'm making pretty good time. Of course, the hard part is at the top.

Looking north, I can see the alluvial fan that leads to the golf course where I've hiked a few times this year. From here it almost looks smooth but in reality it is ever more rocky than this gully.

The gully starts getting steep as it nears the top.

Real steep. It's still only class three but compared to most of my hikes this is a real climb.

I come to the top of the gully and work my way up to the top point.

Not my best time ever but I'm happy with it.

The view is worth the effort and shows how steep this thing really is.

I only enjoy the view for a few seconds because the top is still exposed to the sun and it's hot.

I'd do anything for my family, even bleed. Now my wife will know for sure that I had an enjoyable hike.

I am being especially cautious about the heat and being shaded was one reason I chose this hike. Last Sunday, a 28 year old man died from heat stroke on the Skyline Trail in Palm Springs. He made some terrible mistakes that led to his death but it is very important not to take the heat too lightly. Being from the desert and hiking every day I am pretty well acclimated to the heat but even still it is important to take precautions. Having ample fluids, covering my skin and hiking in the shade whenever possible make it feasible for me to hike in the desert heat. But I know what I'm doing, it is not something just anyone could or should do.

Dehydration and electrolyte deficiency put my poor wife in hospital yesterday and she was inside. She just never took time to eat or drink anything and it caught up to her. With a holiday weekend coming up be careful about your outdoor activities whether at the beach, in the mountains or the desert.

Enjoy your families and take care of them. Nothing else is more important.