Getting ready to hike

Does anyone else turn preparing for a hike into a small ritual? Maybe it is my ADHD (I'm not just jumping on a bandwagon here, I've had it since childhood - a LONG time ago), which means I inevitably end up forgetting something. Maybe it is timed to psych myself up for the hike ahead.

I don't know exactly.

But it has become a comfortable night before and morning of ritual. Preparing and cleaning gear. Planning out evening and morning meals for maximum nutrition. Checking maps, weather reports and trail reports for the proposed route. Laying out the clothes for the hike and then piling it all into the car.

Of course it drives my dog crazy. He thinks this all involves himself or that he is about to go on a grand adventure.

So, do you have a pre-hike/bike/workout routine? How did it come about? How does it work for you?

Let me know.

Catching Up

Yes, I know. It's been a while. An eternity really in "blog time." And most of you have probably abandoned my pithy little blog for greener (or at least more active) pastures.

I understand.

But I haven't been idle and the old man has continued hiking as well as adding in bicycling as well.

So, a quick synopsis. Since my last post, I've hiked Sitton Peak in Orange County, CA, the Cedar Springs trail and PCT to Pyramid Peak south of Idyllwild, the Deer Springs Trail north of Idyllwild, and Devil's Slide on my birthday which turned into a snowy mush towards Tahquitz Peak.

So I haven't yet slunk back into my old slothful ways. I just got lazy and stopped blogging about it. My knee did start giving me fits when I added jogging to my daily walking route, but a cortisone shot seems to have helped. And my doctor still thinks I need to lose a bit more weight. I'm now down about 40 pounds from when I started hiking in 2011.

Oh, and the bike.

My son surprised me on Christmas morning that he wanted to get me a bike for Christmas. And after careful consideration of his financial situation, as well as ours - we compromised. My wife paid for the bike and my son paid for some accessories.

So I now have a Scott Sportster 55 hybrid bike in the garage. Basically a hard tail mountain bike frame with 700c wheels and tires. I didn't think I was ready for a 29er and I knew I wasn't ready for an Italian road bike. Plus, this was on clearance at REI. All the better.

The Sportster and I make regular use of the San Luis Rey mixed use trail near our house. 18 miles out to the Oceanside Harbor and back, often times out in some wicked headwinds coming down through that valley.

So, I'm back. I'll keep this updated, I promise. This year plans on being an exciting one with Mt. San Gorgonio in my sights as well as longer treks overall. I'll keep you all posted.

A quick Saturday hike

After the rains from the last couple of days, we didn't know if we'd pull off a hike today or not. But man, did I need one. It has been a long week of mainly being tied down to a chair and I was feeling sluggish by Friday.

Even last night, we weren't sure what conditions would be like when we all awoke.

Truth be told, I fully expected to head out on my own this morning.

As it turned out, I joined companions Bill and Linda in San Diego's east county, just east of Poway, for a rugged little hike near Iron Mountain known as the Ellie Lane Loop. The trail head is about a mile north of the main (and crowded) Iron Mountain trail head.

The loop consists of some big ascents (for urban hiking) up to two different saddles, then a descent over to Iron Mountain. An optional loop can take you up to the top of IM, and then you can return back the same way or loop back out to the parking lot and starting point.

Our first ascent confirmed that I can never take a week off from walking again. It's steep. And we started in the fog.

The storm front is moving away so we had clearing skies and decent trail conditions. In fact, below is probably the worst puddle we ran into.

So much for those horrible conditions!

Once up to the final saddle, we had a wonderful view to the valleys east of us and down into the village of Ramona.

I'm still not sure why these granite slopes aren't more frequented by rock climbers. If you look hard enough you can almost see the pie shops in Julian - far off in the distance. But I digress.

From this final saddle, we had a pretty steep descent in order to drop and loop over to the Iron Mountain trail.

So, by this point we had come 3.3 miles, plus a bit to get to the top of the Ramona Outlook. Today, we decided to skip the peak of IM, mainly because of the crowds already on the main trail. And hamburgers. We had planned on hitting the Hamburger Factory in Poway for our after hike meal and the place was calling us.

We hiked on towards the main trail head, knowing it would be another mile and a half past that to our cars. It was on this leg that we ran across Mr. Rattler, angrily letting us know we had disturbed his nap as he slid off into the bushes. See my earlier post about that encounter.

It was a great walk, nice weather, and really - pretty good trail conditions. If you are out this way, give the Ellie Lane trail a try and miss the usual Iron Mountain crowds.

Oh, and I'm getting the hang of my GPS, so here's a quick glance at our walk.

And the Hamburger Factory? Highly recommended!

http://www.hamburgerfactory.signonsandiego.com/

First Rattler Encounter

OK, that headline may not sound like much. After all, I live in Southern California and rattlers are everywhere and anywhere trails seem to be.

So running into one on the side of the trail isn't a big deal, right? Well, probably not until you realize that besides being old, I also have a real (I mean REAL) phobia of snakes.

So, seeing one is a big deal for me. And the good news is I didn't freak out today.

Some day I'll write down what I've discovered about phobias and dealing with them. But suffice it to say, not freaking out today was a milestone for this old hiker.

Baby, it's cold outside...

That old song resurfaces every holiday season, just like eggnog. So my thoughts turn to hiking when it is cold outside, even if it is only Southern California cold.

It was pretty cold going up to the summit of Baldy in October, in the 40's for much of the morning. And it is bound to get colder at the higher altitudes.

Admittedly, down here closer to sea level, we'll deal with much milder temps.

Still, the answer to both situations, for me at least, is layers. Rocket science, right?

But ask a few of my hiking companions and you'd think we were going to tackle Everest in down suits. Hourly charts are consulted, wind chill levels determined, and forecasts that include comfort are studied.

Last winter, I hiked alone to our local peak, Iron Mountain (yes, THAT Iron Mountain) in the rain and cold. Alone, because no one else wanted to head out in the fog and drizzle. I wore about four layers that day and had a blast. The summit (can you call the top of a hill a summit? Yes you can, it is my blog after all.) was was cold, foggy, and deserted. Perfect for that day.

Alone at the top of Iron Mountain in the fog and drizzle

Later in the spring we hit Mt. Laguna, outside of Julian, a couple of days after a late season storm dropped about four inches of snow on the area. We had a blast! Again, layers and gaiters made it all the more comfortable.

Big Laguna Lake along Big Laguna Trail, San Diego County

You don't often get to hike in scenery like this in San Diego.

So, where was I? Oh yeah...the cold. Layers are the answer and something else. I learned this from a great kayaking instructor. "Cotton kills." It gets wet, stays wet, gets heavy and cools you down faster than just about anything. Get modern "tech" fabrics, you'll appreciate the difference.

So, if an old man like me, spoiled by years in the southern California sun, can get out into the cold, so can you. Let me know how you like it.

Cross training

Today was a cross training day. For me that usually means getting out in a kayak.

I started kayaking a few years ago with my son when we took a tour of Big Bear Lake and its many nooks and crannies. We've been hooked ever since.

Today was a windy day out on Mission Bay in San Diego, with my grandson along as well as some friends fairly new to the sport.

The legs appreciated the break after three different walks yesterday, and the core and arms wondered what was happening!

Cross training is always mentioned as an important aspect for any sport. It prevents burn out and widens your own perspective. For me, the water will always be a place to relax, get some exercise, and burn off the stress. Yes, hiking does the same, but differently.

Our shop of choice (full disclosure, my son has worked there for the past four summers) is Aqua Adventures on Mission Bay. They have a great selection of boats - sit on tops and sit ins, as well as stand up paddleboards. And it is a great location for launching and getting out onto the water.

http://www.aqua-adventures.com

Hike Local

Today was Small Business Saturday, an attempt by a large multinational corporation to get more money into their coffers by promoting small local businesses. But I digress.

Have you tried walking or hiking locally? Even in your own neighborhood? Not every hike need involve topo maps, planning, and driving several hours to the trail head.

A 4 or 5 mile walk around your town or neighborhood can be good exercise and an eye opening experience. Sure, you'll learn how bad drivers really are, but you'll also hear and see things that you may usually miss when you drive by.

For an old man like me, a neighborhood walk is a nice alternative to the treadmill.

Try it.