The Art Of Constant Walking

Trip Report - Backpacking in the Hover Wilderness
September, 2009


Recently Eric, Kenneth and I adventured into the wilderness to seek solitude, and to break our long distance walking records. We also recently moved into another apartment, which Eric and I have come to realize, is a lot like backpacking. We moved from one apartment in our complex into another - It was one of the easiest moves we have ever done because there was no truck, no boxes, and it reminded us a lot of backpacking because you put your stuff on your back.. Walk. Take all the stuff out of your pack. Pack it back in. Walk. Repeat. It took us just as long to move into a new apartment, as it did to backpack 22 miles. Two Days.

Getting ready to go

On this most recent trip, we attempted to backpack to Tower Peak. We drove up to the area the night before and slept in the car (with a bivy for Kenneth.) As it turns out, most of the people we saw on the trail the first day did the same thing. A group had already beaten us to the trail-head backpacker's parking lot, and were setting up camp for the night on the hard asphalt. The next day, everyone was excited and we hit the trail bright eyed and bushy tailed. That was a long day. It seems like we hiked forever, and we weren't entirely sure if we were making good time or not. Our original goal was either the upper meadows, or Tower Lake. We didn't make it as far as Tower Lake.

Pretty Lake

After hiking 11 miles on the first day, we were pooped...to say the leased. All three of us decided it would be a good idea to sleep on top of a raised area in the medow. We found proof that people had camped here before from an old fire ring. We made dinner, cleaned up, and went to bed. After midnight we were awaken by the sound of large animals in our camp. I heard what sounded like a deer hoof, and I figured it was no big deal. Then I heard more... like five more. It sounded like these animals were throwing a party. Rocks were being tossed, trees were being bucked, and the curiosity of a few large sounding deer had taken over our camp. Eventually, Kenneth ripped open his tent and scared away the culprits.


In the morning we awoke to the aftermath of the deer. A chewed up REI walking stick, knocked over gear, and a cozy I had spilled food on chewed up and left 10-15 feet away from where I had left it. We had been ambushed by a gang of curious deer, taking advantage of a beautiful full moon lit night.

Chewed on Kenneth

The next day we were sore, and still pretty tired. We decided to take advantage of the three day weekend by hiking out the second day so we could spend Monday resting. It was a good choice. Even though Eric and I had been doing cardio at the gym to prepare for this trek, we hadn't actually been hiking in a while. This was a great reminder to our bodies that we should probably hike more.

Eric and Kenneth resting

It was a long second day, but we made it back alive, in one piece, without injury and that's what matters. We had a lot of fun backpacking in the sierra for the first time, enjoing all the wonders that create it's allure (including the boisterious wildlife!) I guess in a way backpacking got us ready for moving, it worked the right muscles and prepaired us for the hard work of walking back and forth carring stuff. Even though we didn't get all the way to Tower Peak, it was worth it. Every damn mile.

Kenneth in all his glory

Night of the Living Deer

Greetings!

I'm sitting here on my lunch break, writing a brief update on the weekend's backpacking trip, in a feeble attempt to be timely.

We never reached Tower Peak. In fact, we never saw it again after the first few miles in Leavitt Meadow. As Kenneth so profoundly put it near the beginning of the trek, "that looks far away".

Out intended, and unreached, destination. Yes, it does look far away.

But we did have a blast! We made it most of the way to our planned destination, sleeping in Piute Meadows instead of at Tower Lake, but the hike took it's toll on Amber and I, seeing as how we had done little hiking lately to get into proper condition. Still we charged hard, and did about 11 miles each day, "uphill both ways", with heavy packs.

Kenneth adjusting his pack in Piute Meadows

The need to be functional today for work precluded the sanity of any summit attempt we might have made. In addition, we experience an event we can only describe as "Night of the Living Deer" that motivated us to attempt to move camp or hike out on Sunday. Regardless, we had a lot of fun and Upper Piute Meadows was spectacular, and we can't wait to plan another backpacking trip (and maybe one a bit more leisurely).

A full trip report should be coming soon...

Related Posts:

• The Tower Calls...
  

Photo Gallery:

Piute Meadows Backpacking

And now for something completely different:

• Night of the Living Deer, Pt II
  

The Tower Calls...

As I write this, we are already on our way to the Sierra for a long-anticipated backpacking, peakbagging adventure. Kenneth, Amber, and I are off to attempt Tower Peak in the Hoover Wilderness, some 15 miles distance from the Leavitt Meadows trailhead.

Tower Peak in the far distance, this is taken from near where we will start

It was the sight of Tower Peak that 'piqued' my interest in climbing and mountaineering, though I didn't know it at the time. Researching the peak exposed me to many resources I now find invaluable. So, I have high hopes for this venture to be a sort of culmination of the other adventures we've had in the meantime, summit or not.

But there is one bit I'm a little apprehensive over. Backpacking.

Amber sporting a pack in the Los Padres

Though I camped a lot growing up, I never did any backpacking. Not until two springs ago when Amber and I went on a trek through the Los Padres near Santa Barbara. What a nightmare that turned out to be! Overgrown trails, bushwacking through steep canyons of Poison Oak (to which I am highly allergic), and a painful last two miles night-hiking out so as to be able to shower off the allergens.

Really the poison oak was only a couple mile-ish sections, with really beautiful trail the rest of the way. But it was enough to create psychological misery. And on top of all that, the camera broke after we passed the point we had dayhiked before!

Last year's backpacking camp, before the madness

Nope, we were beaten. And sick of hiking for a while after that. In fact, that is how we discovered rock climbing! But in the end we're very excited about this trip, even if we need to drag our asses a ways in there to get up this thing.

So wish us luck! And we'll report back!

Gear Review - prAna Zion Shorts

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prAna - Stretch Zion Short (men's)
Cargo short / climbing short / stretchy synthetic
Size reviewed: XL

the prAna Stretch Zion Short

Rarely is a piece of outdoor clothing, that you buy for a specific purpose, so well suited to everything else that you do that it ends up being the go-to item in your arsenal on any given weekend. The prAna Stretch Zion Short has turned out to be one of those surprising garments, one that doesn't seem to ever quit or let you down.

Half the surprise is that I would probably have never bought these if they hadn't been on clearance at the time. I had wanted something better than gym shorts for climbing outdoors, but hadn't been looking real seriously. My criteria were pretty simple: stretchy, tough, and not made from cotton. Boy, did these shorts ever fit the bill! They are mostly nylon, like most good hiking and outdoor pants, but with a touch of Spandex to make them completely climber-friendly.

See? Very stretchy!

They are laid out much like any other cargo short, and the bottom pockets zip for extra security (think car keys, ID, etc.). Also, they've done something in the weave that makes them tough-as-nails, even compared to a lot of other nylon pants. They are, top-to-bottom, almost everything you could ask for in a climbing short.

These shorts don't bat an eye at apparel-shredding quartz monzonite

And then some, since I've become accustomed to their giving and stretchy nature, they have now become my favorite shorts for hiking as well. My only complaint is that occasionally they feel a little warm, and could possible breathe better, and I do think that regular belt loops would be an improvement.

A technical fit that is still comfortable and relaxed at the end of the day

So, while I initially though prAna was just trendy gym-wear for boulderers and yogaholics, I stand corrected and impressed at the quality outdoor garment they've produced. I would gladly pay full price for another pair, and if anyone wants to cough up a donation, I'd love to review the ful-length Zion Pant as well (hint-hint, prAna).

Pros:

• Tough
• Stretchy
• Pockets

Cons:

• No belt loops
• Gets dirty quicker than some other pants

Summer already?!

Trip Report - Hiking Mt. Hoffmann
Toulumne Meadows, Yosemite National Park, CA
June 27, 2009

Well, the solstice has passed, and Summer is now in full swing. Amber and I decided it was time to get away for the weekend, and get up into the mountains (not that there isn't plenty of this planned for the upcoming weeks).

Mt. Conness from above May Lake, this is the kind of thing that gets us going!

Over the first half of this year, we've been slowly adapting our newer adventuremobile, the PT Cruiser, to meet our needs. One thing we've toyed with is a solution for sleeping in the back. Needless to say, we've tinkered and tested and now got it down. You can expect a more detailed post on this in the future.

Friday night, Amber and I threw a ton of gear, and some meager rations into the car and yanked the back seats out. Did I mention a ton of gear? Seemed so, since we had no idea what we would do up there, but without the seats or passengers it was quite manageable.

Our luxurious accommodations (I'm not doing a good job of pretending to sleep)

So we drove late into the night, up and over the pass, and found a secluded place to pull off and crash in the car. The next morning we awoke to grand mountains along the Tioga road, still peppered with snowfields. We were meeting Dirk and his climbing partner at the Toulumne campground office bright and early, so I cooked up some oatmeal while Amber reserved a campsite, and just short of coin flips, decided to try a hike.

We'd been in Toulumne just a few weeks before, but nothing was open yet and this time it bustled with activity! We stashed our food safely at the May Lakes trailhead and headed up towards Mt. Hoffmann. Hoffmann is considered pretty easy for a Sierra peak, but it turned out to be just the adventure we bargained for.

May Lake, where the use trail leaves the official park trails


Amber checks out the Clark Range, at an early rest break

It's not a particularly long hike, nor is the gain excessive (~2000ft), but it had a little of everything. First we had to DEET-up to drive away the voracious mosquito squadrons (they do not travel alone). We wound around the south side of the lake and found the first of many small snowfields to cross. Thankfully the snow was soft, and easy to cross (with steps in many places).

Amber hiking up one of the more significant snowfields

On one of the snowfields we met a hiker, now named "Polly Prissy-Pants", who had turned back due to "horrifying clouds of mosquito" in the talus above. Though we did meet with some tiring switchbacks, the mosquitoes never worsened, so perhaps he had no DEET or just should have waited for things to warm up a bit.

At times we've had trouble hiking above 9000ft, but sleeping up near the pass the night before really helped. We were able to hike pretty consistently without really "feeling" the elevation. Though there were a good amount of switchbacks and snowfields, there were also nice flats where you could get a bit of a break. One reason to recommend this hike is that, not too far in, you get GREAT VIEWS of parts of Toulumne and Yosemite Valley, and as you wind your way up, they just get better. Eventually revealing every major range in the park! (and some might be surprised that Half Dome looks a bit puny from above)

The false summits of Hoffmann

We though we were heading for the large formations overhead, but this was not the true summit. At one point you round a switchback onto the large summit plateau and the true summit (with antenna) becomes apparent. Though it was a bit further away, we made it to the base quite quickly. There should be a class-2 scramble to the top from there, but almost everyone ended up using their hands enough to make it class-3. With careful route-finding you could probably keep it class-2. Though we were alone almost the entire time we were on the trail, we shared the summit with several other parties.

The west side of the formidable Sawtooth Ridge, seen through a gap in the summit plateau

Hikers crossing the summit plateau, Lyell and friends in the background

For such a tame hike, Hoffman treats you to precipitous drops on the other sides of the summit. It sits at near the center of the park geographically, and also treats you to amazing views. You can see Half Dome and Clouds rest, the Cathedral Range, Mt. Dana on the Sierra Crest, the domes of Toulumne Meadows, the Lyell group, the Clark Range, the Sawtooth Ridge and Tower Peak. A view like that inspires you to keep working to try more peaks.

Amber and I savor our success on the summit!

While our marmot friend scurries away from the excitement...

Tower Peak I have seen on several occasions, and it is striking in being a bit of a loaner. We hope to hike it this fall, on a backpacking trip. Another that is particularly striking is Mt. Clark. Remote and more difficult, it is extremely striking, and near the top of my list. Yosemite is just a small portion of the Sierra. There is more variety and adventure waiting for the hiker or climber than could be fully appreciated in a lifetime. Just another reason I like to play like it's my big back yard.

Tower peak from Mt. Hoffmann's summit


Savoring a day well spent, above Mono Lake

But enough pontificating, hungry and starting to lose steam on the summit, we celebrated briefly then promptly headed back down. It was a long return, and I'd guess the whole trip was around 7 miles. The last mile was especially long. Though it wasn't a super tough hike, we have been doing lots of other activities so weren't particularly warmed up for it. In the end it was just the right length, not leaving us particularly sore. We drove down to Mono Lake to have a few beers before meeting people at Whoa Nellie Deli for dinner. Sunday we'd do a few rock climbs, bask in the beautiful Toulumne weather, and head home.

Photo Gallery:

Mt. Hoffmann / T.M.

We Won't Need Rain Pants

Yosemite is known for it's scenic hiking, and one of the most popular trails is the Mist Trail. Eric, myself, and our friend Jen decided to visit this trail during our most recent visit to the valley. Everyone knows that hiking the mist trail during the spring is the best time to do it. Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls are raging, and the water is blasting at full force. It's a very popular hike during this time, but we decided to do it anyway. Our plan was to get to the trail as soon as we got to the valley, because Jen wanted to run up to half-dome.

Vernal Falls

When we got to the valley the weather was dim. Gray storm clouds rested peacefully on top of the giant granite walls that tower over the valley floor. We had our sun roof open so we could see the top of the walls, and it started to rain a little. We still decided to go on our hike. Fate also gifted us with a parking spot at Curry Village. We had some lunch, threw on our boots, and headed to the trail. We opted to leave our rain pants in the car however, because we didn't think we were going to need them. Good thing we had enough sense to bring our shell jackets.

The gray sky

Jen decided to not do Half Dome because of time so she headed up the mist trail with us. The hike started off pretty dry, but when we reached the bridge everyone realized how much water we were dealing with. I have been to Yosemite many times, but I have never seen Vernal Falls as powerful as it was this time. There was so much water...it was breathtaking. We started with the rest of the hike up the cut stone steps. Doing the stairs always amazes me. Going up stairs for a long time is totally a chore, but when you add a gushing waterfall soaking you wet to the bone, you seem to forget all about being out of breath. The scene was so lush, the bushes and trees so green. It felt like we were in a tropical paradise. A rainy, tropical paradise.

Jen checking out Vernal Falls

We made it to the top of Vernal Falls and we were soaking wet from the waterfall. We decided to keep on hiking to Nevada Falls, but little did we know we were about to get a lot more wet. We started for Nevada Falls. When taking a break, we ran into some hikers that were trying to talk their friend into taking the Mist Trail back to the car. He didn't want to get wet, so he was talking about taking the long way back. Our friend Jen reached into her backpack and pulled out a poncho. She gave it to the hiker, and told him to use it. His friends all made fun of him for being such a baby, but he still accepted Jen's gift. His friends gifted him with a new nickname, "Poncho". Literally, a minute after we gave Poncho his rain gear for the falls, it actually started to rain.

Eric and I soaking wet

We hiked up a little further, but it stated to rain a little harder. We turned back and headed for the car, everyone (except Jen) put on their rain jackets, and headed for the top of the stairs. As soon as we got to the stairs, BOOM! There was a huge crack of thunder, and we saw lighting. Great..... It started to pour. It was raining so hard, there was practically a flash flood following us down the stairs. I thought I was wet before, but now, I was soaked. I was soaked, and it was magical. I have done the mist trail a few times, but this was the most fun I have ever had on it. Hiking in the rain is always exciting, but add thunder and lightning, and you have a completely new type of energy. It was magnificent to see the valley in such conditions. Beautiful views graced us all the way down the trail, and we took a lot of great pictures. When I got back to the car I had about two inches of water in each boot, but it was worth it.

A view from the top of Vernal Falls

Holiday Recap Pt. I

Action Report - Success on Cathedral ...err Arlington Peak
Santa Ynez Mountains, Santa Barbara, CA
December 28, 2008

Michael, Amber, and myself atop Arlington Peak

After spending most of the holiday week either with family or prepping Amber's car to take over the role of Adventuremobile from the Golf *tear*, we needed some release. We had planned to go to Mt. Pinos for some winter action, but that plan fell through due to exhaustion. Sunday was our last day in the Santa Barbara area, and we needed some release before heading back to work.

Hang glider soaring over the Santa Ynez

We met up with Michael, and decided to tackle the Cathedral Peak trail, one of the most beautiful 'hikes' in Santa Barbara, and possibly the toughest. I say 'hikes' because there is a lot of scrambling and bouldering involved, and during an earlier attempt this year we turned back due to time. While the route is occasionally class 1, much of the time is spent on class 2-3 terrain; a maze of boulders and manzanita brush.

The "trail" is the ridge leading to the summit

The Cathedral Peak trail is one of the only trails in the Santa Barbara front country that feels like a real mountain experience. It's rarely exposed in any dangerous way, but once you climb up on the "Dragon's Back" the terrain drops off to the left and right. Essentially you pick your way right up the east ridge of the mountain. It's about 3000 ft. of elevation gain in 2 miles, most of that the latter half of the hike.

Arlington Peak is on the left and the "Dragon's Back" route is the rocky ridge leading up to it from right to left

Amber had a hard time getting warmed up. I think we were a bit drained and also had perhaps too-heavy a breakfast. We estimated the hike would take about 4 hours, but it ended up taking closer to 6. Mike was a powerhouse the whole time, he never has to slow down (except to wait for us). If you're looking for a hiking partner who can keep a blustery pace, get in contact with this guy.

View down to the trailhead (yes, there is a reason it looks straight down!)

As we got closer to the top, Amber got her energy back and was really trucking along. Soon we were on top of Arlington Peak, and although I have been to many vistas in the Santa Ynez, this one is worth the trouble. On top of that the storms earlier in the week and winter air made for one of the clearest days I have seen in Santa Barbara. We could see practically all of the Channel Islands, the Santa Monica Mountains, and the Santa Barbara and Ventura coasts. We also had a good vantage point to see the fire scars from both the Tea Fire and an earlier fire in Goelta.

View to the Channel Islands


Anacapa and Santa Barbara Islands


View through the gap between Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa Islands


Land scarred by the Tea Fire

Though the sandstone tooth of Cathedral Peak was just across the way from here, the hike to Arlington is the bulk of the trail and very strenuous. We decided to call it a day there, have a snack, then head downhill to feast on Mexican food. Needless to say, all the scrambling and high-stepping (plus a few holiday pounds) left us all sore for days. Amber and I recovered just in time for the next holiday adventure...

Photo Album:

Cathedral Peak (Santa Barbara)

Sierra Summer - Photo Albums Posted!

Our trip galleries are up on Picasa now.  We would have liked to have more pictures, but we forgot the battery charger.  It's amazing we were able to make it last so long! (turning the display off and using the viewfinder really helped)...  A few of the Mt. Dana pictures were taken with a disposable 35mm.

Bear Valley Adventure Sports Festival

Twin Lakes/ Matterhorn Peak attempt

Yosemite August 2008

Tuolumne / Mt. Dana

Day 6-7 Bear Trails

We were not able to post the last couple of days, because we were in the high country of Yosemite, and they don't have any internet access. On Wednesday night, we had another encounter with a bear! We could hear our campsite neighbors start banging pots and pans together, and yelling from all sides of the campground, so we knew we had a bear checking around for food.

After we went into our tent for the night, we heard rangers explain to the tent next to us that there was a "very large bear" in the area. Then we heard him say, "there he is!" and we realized that the bear was running full speed towards our tent! We heard him gallop by, but by the time we unzipped our tent, he was gone. The ranger said that the bear was about 400 pounds. WOW!

On Thursday we attempted to climb Mt. Dana, but we missed the trail by a long shot, and ended up following bear trails through the wilderness for about two hours. After realizing that we were nowhere near the trail, we gave up and spent the rest of the day at Tanaya Lake, soaking in the atmosphere. That night we enjoyed a fun campfire program at our campground, and learned all about bears, and hiking in the high sierras.

We finally found a ranger who explained where the actual trail for Mt. Dana started, so on Friday we finally were able to climb Mt. Dana. It was 3000 ft up to the top, and as one lady explained at the top, it was a puffer. When you climb up to 13,000 feet, the air is very thin, and it almost feels like you are drunk or something when you reach around 12,000 feet.

Once at the top, we signed the register, ate lunch, and enjoyed the view. It was amazing! We were the first people up there that day, so we got to watch all the other hikers come up the mountain after us. We were most likely the only people that day that had the peak to ourselves for about half an hour. It took us a while to get downhill though, because it's so steep. Mt. Dana was beautiful, and we got to see about a dozen Marmots!

We decided to put a cap on our trip and end it on Friday, so that we could beat the weekend Yosemite traffic. We had a great trip, with lots of excitement and adventure, and we can't wait to do it again sometime!

Day Three

After a close call with the oil fill cap lodged in the shift mechanism, and a fire near the Sonora Pass, we thought nothing else could go wrong yesterday, but the Twin Lakes area had the worst selection of campsites ever.

Our campground was plagued by demonic, intermittant wind gust which kept me up all night and made today harder thanit needed to be.

We were well short of summiting Matterhorn Peak. We got off trail a couple times and burned out all our scrambling energy before the real fun began. Regardless it as an epic, beautiful 8.5 hr. Hike!

A little beaten but not broken, we have decided we've had enough of Twin Lakes and are now headed to find some camping somewhere on the 120...

Sierra Summer - 'Live Blog'

Greetings!

We are headed up to the mountains for a week to squeeze in some fun before the summer's up and work and school start going full-tilt again for the two of us. We have some pretty ambitious plans and have spent a lot of time prepping in the evenings recently for this ridiculous camping trip.

We'll be visiting Bear Valley for their Adventure Sports Festival, then heading for a major hike to Tower Peak. After that we will step it down a notch and spend time rock climbing and relaxing somewhere in Yosemite National Park (midweek of course!). After that who knows? Not very much is set in stone besides campin', adventurin' and chowin' down on all the yummy camp food we've thrown together.

So the big announcement is we'll be 'live blogging' and posting updates during the trip as much as possible. We may even be able to upload a few pictures during the trip! Please tune in throughout the week to find out what we've been up to!

Here's a couple pictures to whet your appetite:

Yosemite Valley


View of Yosemite high country in winter (including Tower Peak in right side, extremely distant)

Desolation Exploration - Lyon's Lake

Trip Report - Desolation Area

Part I - Lyon's Lake

July 26 - 27, 2008

Climbing in the desolation wilderness never gets old! Sean, Lis, Eric and I all took a mini-break from the world, and headed up North to spend a day in the wilderness. We decided on Lyon's Lake as our destination, to enjoy the beauty of a mountain lake. The trail was a mere 10 miles round trip, and a lot of the terrain was rocky.

View of the creek from the trail

This was also Lis's first 10 mile hike, and along the way we had some fabulous sights to take in! The wild flowers were in full bloom, and we were surrounded by bouquets of purple, blue, red, orange, yellow, and pink flowers. We headed up the trail at 9 am, so the sunlight was perfect for taking pictures. The trail followed a creek for the first part of the hike, and it added beautifully to the already gorgeous setting.

Wild Flowers

At the fork for Lyon's lake, Eric and I split from the group. We were going to attempt a climb to Mt. Price, so we took off ahead of the others to gain distance. The trail rises steeply here, to Lyon's lake and above to Price. We were running out of time, but we decided to see how far we could get, so we scrambled up the slabs of granite towards Mt. Price, and enjoyed the view of the lake from above.

View from the granite slabs

Eric and I returned to Lyons Lake to meet up with the others, and to take a dip in the clear, cool water. We had enjoyed our lunch here earlier and now shared a bottle of wine.

Eric and I swimming

The hike down was easy and went smoothly. The entire group was exhausted from the long day of trekking, so we snagged a nearby campsite to call home for the night. Next stop, knapsack, for some serious climbing!

Eric and I on top of the slabbed granite

Photo Gallery:

Lyons Lake Hike

Related Posts:

• Desolation Exploration - Knapsack Crack