Wrightwood Hiking

We had to cancel our troop outing up near Wrightwood due to logistics but I decided to drive up and check it out.  I headed up early in the morning and got to Wrightwood in just over 2 hours.  I stopped for coffee and headed to see the campsites.  Apple Tree and Peavine are pretty nice campgrounds and are good candidates for future outings.  I then headed up Angeles Crest Highway for some hiking.  I stopped at the Grassy Hollow Visitor Center and chatted with the cool volunteers for a while.  They warned against hiking Mt. Baden-Powell due to icy trails but gave me some great tips on some other hikes.  I drove to the trailhead (which was where the road was closed for winter) and started on the Vincent Gulch Trail down into the canyon.  I stopped at the cabin on the way down.  I hiked about 3 miles down to where the river was flowing pretty well.  At this point, the trail was hard to follow so I turned back for the long slog back up.  After some coffee at the car, I headed on the popular Big Horn Mine Trail.  This lead to the remains of a old mine.  There were lots of people and their subsequent trash but it was pretty cool anyway.  I had dinner back in Wrightwood.  Due to the lack of snow, things were pretty slow but it was fun.

Weekend Activities

• Some dash-n-caches
• Another Troop 774 Eagle Project for Jacks Pond in San Marcos
• Wonderful time with the family and Sophie at Del Mar Dog Beach
• Discovered the official MST3K YouTube channel

First the Koalas, Next the Pandas

That fat old koala was probably the easiest meal P22 every had.  Hopefully it will move on to pandas next.

Weekend Activities

• Picked up some more geocaches in Cardiff and Solana Beach
• Hike to the Penasquitos Creek waterfall from the east

Harry Turtledove Foursome

"Settling Accounts" part 1 through 4 - finally finished the "Southern Victory" 10-book series!

Books and Lectures

• Jacques Pépin Heart & Soul in the Kitchen by Jacques Pepin - Pepin is my favorite TV chef - classic
• Victorian Britain by Prof. Patrick N. Allitt Ph. D. - very interesting lecture on this dynamic period of history; unfortunately the library does not have volume 3
• Casualty Figures by Michele Barrett - fascinating account of 5 shell shock victims of WWI and their fates after the war
• Bombs Away by Harry Turtledove - starts out good as the Korean War escalates to atomic weapons but then is mostly repetitive
• California Vines Wines and Pioneers by Sherry Monahan - stories of early California wineries

San Mateo Wilderness Backpack

Troop 774 had its first backpack of the season last weekend.  We headed up to Orange County and a new venue for us: San Mateo Canyon Wilderness.
We loaded up at church on Saturday morning then headed up to the Bear Canyon trailhead next to the Ortega Highway Candy Store.  The trail was constantly going up and down the endless canyons.  We walked mainly through very mature chaparral that provided some decent shade but we occasionally dropped into oak and riparian streambeds.  After 3.2 miles, we stopped at Four Corners for lunch.  From there, the scouts decided they wanted to try to bag Sitton Peak.  They headed off while I stayed with the packs.  When they got back, they said the trail up to the peak was very steep and they decided to turn back; a very wise decision.  We then headed the remaining 2.5 miles to our goal.  When we got to Oak Flats, we found a nice little meadow to camp in.  Oak Flats is a beautiful oak forest, the kind that was probably all over Southern California at one time but is now very rare.  We were hoping for water but the springs and streams were all dry even with the recent rains.  It will probably years of decent rain to replenish them.  We all ate dinner and I ended going to bed very early.
In the morning, we ate breakfast, broke camp and headed back the same way we came.  Overall, the hike was more strenuous than I had anticipated and I would rate it as intermediate.  But our younger scouts did great.  I would love to check out Fisherman's Camp and Tenaja Falls in a future hike.

Lunch at Four Corners

Camp at Oak Flats

Canyon View

Ortega Highway Candy Store

High Adventure Snow Camp

As part of the SDIC HALT Specialist training, they conduct a trip up to the Sierras for a snow camp. I had completed the class training last year but the trip was canceled due to lack of snow.  So I had an entire year to prepare my gear and clothing.

Early Saturday morning 5 of us headed up to Rock Creek between Bishop and Mammoth.  Rock Creek has one of the few plowed roads that lead directly to snow so it is easy to get to.  At the trailhead, we unloaded and got ready to hit the trail.  We all had pulk sleds to haul gear which made it very easy.  We started snowshoeing parallel to the road in snow that was about 4' deep in most places.  After about a mile, we found a nice open area to camp in.  We all setup our tents and made dinner.  The canyon was quite narrow and steep so the sun disappeared very early.  After getting too cold, I went down to sleep.
The next morning we got up, made breakfast and waiting anxiously for the sun to come over the ridge again.  We then started building quinzhees.  It was hard work and I didn't think we could get them done in time.  After lunch, we took a hike up to Rock Creek Lodge to check out their winter operations.  It was a tough hike and the lodge was mainly deserted even though it was open.  Back in camp, the snow caves got completed.  However, I chickened out and chose not to sleep in them which turned out to be a mistake.
The second night seemed quite a bit colder than the first.  The guys in the shelters were cozy but I was cold at times in the tent.  After a quick breakfast, we tore down the shelters for safety reasons then hiked back to the parking lot.  It was a long trip back to San Diego.
Overall, I had a great time and can't wait to take the scouts on a snow camp in March. 

At the trailhead

Starting to get cold!

Rock Creek

Our tent

Inside the quinzhee

Books and Books

• The Cowboy's Cookbook: Recipes and Tales from Campfires, Cookouts, and Chuck Wagons by Sherry Monahan - less a cookbook and more a history book; well done
• Dirty Old London: The Victorian Fight Against Filth by Lee Jackson - some good info but heavy on the minutia of Parliamentary politics
• The Log of a Snow Survey: Skiing and Working in a Mountain Winter World by Patrick Armstrong - great book on the Sierras, even if you aren't into cross-country skiing
• Legendary Locals of Encinitas (LEG - Legendary Locals) by Alison Burns - good stories on Encinitas locals especially if you like liberal city council members
• Historic Stage Routes of San Diego County (Images of America) by Ellen Sweet - great book
• Thinking Like an Economist: A Guide to Rational Thinking by Prof. Randall Bartlett - nice lecture series on economics
• Mount Whitney: Mountain Lore from the Whitney Store by Doug Thompson - a bit dated but still a lot of great info
• Spy Secrets That Can Save Your Life: A Former CIA Officer Reveals Safety and Survival Techniques to Keep You and Your  Family Protected by Jason Hanson - some good tips but mostly common sense stuff

Joshua Tree Rock Climbing

The troop went back to Joshua Tree for some rock climbing and caving.  Since it was chilly at night, I was able to test out some gear for my upcoming snow trek.  Everyone had a great time and hats off to the wonderful SDIC HAT team!

Tents

Into the Cave!

Bengt on a Rock

Weekend Activities

• Dash n' cache to pick up 15 local caches
• Balboa Park: Mingei ("Made in America" exhibit) and SD Museum of Art ("Art of Music" and "James Hubbell: California Wildfire Watercolors" exhibits)
• Mountain biking on Denk Hill

  

  Stations of the Cross shrine along Encinitas Blvd.

  
  

  

  View from Denk HIll

  
  

  

  View from Denk Hill

Granite Mt. Hike

With everything else going on, I don't get out with the Sierra Club as much as I would like.  But I carved out a day to do a hike I hadn't done before, Granite Mt.  It was around 30 degrees when we started at the trailhead near Shelter Valley.  But we quickly heated up as we left the wash and started climbing the first ridge.  From there it got steeper and rockier as we scrambled up another couple thousand feet of elevation.  The summit was quite windy and chilly.  We hunkered down a bit below to eat a snack and rest up.  Going down was often harder due to the slippery sand.  It was a great hike in great weather!  You can see my track here.

From the summit

Tree near the peak

Summit survey marker

Organized Local Thieves

Some local bandits were apparently into personal organization.  I hope they weren't in a gun-free zone.

Urban Backpack and Beach Camp

We usually don't do an overnight in December but I decided to squeeze an easy on in so we headed over to South Carlsbad State Beach for an urban backpack.  We were luck and avoided the rain before and after the weekend.  I made dinner for the troop on Saturday night but had an small accident when the patrol box tipped over while I was boiling water.  Nothing too bad just some first degree burns on my nose where the water splashed on me.  Overall, it was a fun short trip.

Urban backpacking along coast highway

Camping along the bluffs

Thanksgiving Book List

• Water to the Angels: William Mulholland, His Monumental Aqueduct, and the Rise of Los Angeles by Les Standiford -
• Fylling's Illustrated Guide to Pacific Coast Tide Pools by Marni Fylling
• Great World Religions: Judaism by Prof. Isaiah M. Gafni
• The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann - great exploration tale
• Burn: An Anna Pigeon Novel (Anna Pigeon Mysteries Book 16) by Nevada Barr - getting tired of the creepy storylines but this a good one
• Cannons: An Introduction to Civil War Artillery by Dean S. Thomas - great primer on 19th century artillery
• In Afghanistan: Two Hundred Years of British, Russian and American Occupation by David Loyn - read the first 2 sections covering up to the 20th century
• Superfood Snacks: 100 Delicious, Energizing & Nutrient-Dense Recipes by Julie Morris

Thanksgiving in Baltimore

• 20th anniversary night at the Marriott Waterfront
• Harpers FerryAdventure Park
• WC Harlan
• Fort McHenry
• Thanksgiving Dinner with aunts, uncles, cousins and friends
• Welcome back to Encinitas!

Bay view from Fort McHenry

Swamis Overlook

Wind Caves Camp

The troop headed off to a different spot in Anza-Borrego this weekend.  We drove out to Fish Creek where we set up camp.  Then we hiked a few miles to the wind caves.  The caves were pretty cool and there were quite a few troops and other groups there.  We also got great views of the Elephant Knees nearby.  That might be a good spot for a future desert backpacking trek.

Hiking through Split Mt.

Wind Caves

Follett Foursome

A foursome of Ken Follett books:

• The Man from St. Petersburg - my favorit Follett novel so far
• The Modigliani Scandal - early, unfined Follett
• Lie Down with Lions - ok but with a bad ending
• The Key to Reb1ecca - good spy novel on one of my favorite WWII theaters: North Africa

Subscribed to CalTopo

I just subscribed to CalTopo!  If you are an outdoorsy type needing maps, I suggest you do as well to support this awesome service.

Books and Lectures

• 365 WODs: Burpees, Deadlifts, Snatches, Squats, Box Jumps, Situps, Kettlebell Swings, Double Unders, Lunges, Pushups, Pullups, and More by Blair Morrison
• The Corsican Caper by Peter Mayle
• I Cover the Waterfront: Stories from the San Diego Shore by Max Miller
• Great World Religions: Islam by John Esposito
• Great Masters: Mozart - His Life and Music by Robert Greenberg

Glass and Metal Weekend

• Changed the shocks in Bessie
• Made a tumbler at an awesome glass blowing class at Stone and Glass

Fiesta Island Outing

Troop 774 headed out to Fiesta Island again for the our latest outing.  There was an OA Conclave the same weekend so we didn't get to use the canoes.  However, we did geocaching, bike rides and the always popular dutch oven cookout.

Fiesta Island Campsite

Past 2 Weekends

• Building mobile cabinets for a troop Eagle project
• San Diego UCLA Alumni talk about aging demographics
• Trailbuilding at Mataguy

New Trail at Mataguay