Sierra Nevada Mountains & Chico

After getting rained out in Sequoia NP I set my sights on an area of the Sierra Nevada National Forest south of Yosemite. On my way to Shaver and Huntington Lakes I stopped by the Ranger Station for a map and some backing advice. The advice I got was to go somewhere else unless I wanted to snowshoe. The place was still under a foot of snow and expecting more that week. So instead I set my course for the San Joaquin River Gorge per the ranger's recommendation.


At 14,000 feet the gorge was free from all the snow and foul weather the other area was having. And since it is on BLM land, there were no entrance or camping fees!


A few rain drops here and there and the temps were in the 50's but no snow!




One of my dinners- tempeh, grilled veggies and couscous.


Foot bridge over the gorge.




After three days in the gorge I spent a few nights in Chico with my aunt and her new puppy, Nikki.


Pirate actually played with another dog! Usually she wants nothing to do with playful dogs.




Fresh goodies from my aunt's back yard.


Chico has this really cool "natural community pool" that is filled by a river during the summer months.


My aunt and I went to an outdoor market in downtown Chico.


Fun hippie bike art.

Ventura & Sequoia N.P.

After leaving LA we stayed at chez Hubbard's in Ventura. Clark and Diane were amazing hosts.


We took a drive to Ojai, CA and went on this pretty hike.




Great vegan dinner at Mary's Secret Garden in downtown Ventura.


Bowling!!!!


I must say, I have pretty good form.


As does Diane.


As some of you know Rebecca's sister Gretchen has been really sick and in the hospital. Rebecca decided to fly back to NC to help take care of her. She is out of the hospital now and slowly getting better everyday but I am unsure of when Rebecca will rejoin me on this trip. Get well soon The Gretch! We love you!


Pirate was depressed when Rebecca left.


Even later that day on a day hike she was sad and blue.


My campsite at Sequoia National Park. It was pretty darn cold and wet and the higher elevations still had lots of snow.


Another glimpse into my day-to-day life. Dinner of pan-fried brussel sprouts and lentil soup.


This guy is called the Automobile Tree.


Did an awesome hike up Moro Rock. Over 400 stone steps lead you up to the top of the 6,500 ft peak where you have 360 degree views of the park.

Southern California Pt. 3

One of my favorite hikes in the San Diego/Oceanside area is Iron Mountain. I like to do this one at night when the moon is waxing/waning. We didn't need headlamps on the way up but we used them on the way down. That's Phil Dow looking manly.


Three miles to the top and you get a nice view of San Diego. On clear night you can see Tijuana, Mexico.


Climbing at Mission Gorge.


Phil giving me a lazy belay.


Here I am leading Suzie's Wild Ride (5.9, 7 bolts). Really fun climb with great exposure.


Back at Rebecca's aunt and uncle's place there are humming birds everywhere. This gal has eggs in her nest.


We left Oceanside and drove to LA to visit our friends Timur and Kirsten. While chatting in the living room I saw Ticket To Ride on a shelf. They were down to play a quick game.


The game ended right before I was going to finish my last Destination Card. Grrrr.


We did some touristy things while in the area like Venice Beach and the Mann Chinese Theater.


Of all the foot/hand prints, Star Wars was Rebecca's favorite.


Vegan ice cream at Scoops!


I had pistachio/poppy-seed and almond while rebecca had almond and a scoop of strawberry/balsamic.

Southern California Pt. 2

After a week in Oceanside we left Pirate with Rebecca's family and went to Joshua Tree NP. This was the view from our campsite.




We did a night hike to Skull Rock.


Rebecca tried to tell creepy ghost stories.


This is her climbing up Skull Rock making scary faces. Looks like a still form the movie "The Ring".


Atop of Ryan Mountain.


The cacti and wild flowers were in full bloom.


Our dinner of teriyaki noodles, fresh portabella mushrooms and frozen veggies.


The next day turned out to be an epic day of hiking, scrambling and rock climbing. We were given sketchy directions to a sport climbing crag (J-Tree has mostly trad climbing) and without a guidebook we were certain that we would get lost. Fortunately, we ran into a group of climbers at the trailhead parking lot that were going to the same area.


About 2 miles later we arrived at the crag. Now we had to scramble and haul all of our gear over and around huge boulders. It is the most work I've had to do in order to get to a climbing area. Maybe I'm just spoiled with Pilot Mountain's easy approach. That's Claire, Melody, and Jess.


Mario getting ready for a multi-pitch climb.


Te next day Rebecca and I climbed at The Hall of Horrors. The hike took us a whole 5 minutes from the parking lot. Haha. Rebecca set up her first top rope and rappelled for only the second time. We climbed a handful of routes that day and Rebecca got to practice setting up top ropes and rapping down.


Back in Oceanside. We took the Coaster down to San Diego for the Little Italy Art Walk.