Philmont 2017

The troop had an awesome time at Philmont as Crew 718-G!
We stayed the following camps:

• Minnette Meadows - very nice low altitude trail camp
• Cimorroncito - I finally tried rock climbing and rappelling
• Cyphers Mine - my second favorite camp with the mine challenge, blacksmithing and Stomp!
• Mt. Philips - hailed like snow
• Cherokee Creek - trail camp with a steep climb from the river
• Apache Springs - sweat lodges were great
• Fish Camp - loved the lodge
• Abreu - they let us sleep under the pavilion due to rain
• Stockade Ridge - nice jumping off point for the Tooth of Time

We had rain most of the last 8 days of the trek.  Sometimes it was heavy but our crew did great.  They all had effective rain gear and knew how to deal with the weather.
Can't wait to go back again!

Leaving Northrop Grumman

After 15 plus years, I recently left Northrop Grumman.  It was certainly a sad transition but it was for the better.

NG was a great phase in my life and I highly recommended the company.  Long story... in mid 2001, I was laid off during the dot-com crash.  My family and I were living in Scottsdale at the time and I looked around for another software gig but there was nothing happening.  After a short while, my wife and I decided to move back to California.  Without a job, we drove along the coast looking for a place to call home.  We eventually settled on Encinitas and shortly thereafter I landed the job at NG.

Some of the many highlights that stand out in my memory:

• My first project at NCTSI at Point Loma
• Working on SRMT
• Visiting SPAWAR Old Town
• BACN first flight at MCAS Miramar
• Moving to Spectrum offices
• Participating in the company Toastmaster's club
• Moving to Mission Valley office for a couple years
• Being nominated for the Emerg1NG Leader program which was a life changer for me
• Getting into Scrum
• Flight test for SNP

Many thanks to all the folks I worked with over the years, especially Curtis E., my manager for 13 of those 15 years.

My new gig is with Georgia Tech Research Institute where I will be working on cyber projects.  It is an exciting new area for me and can't wait to get going.

Sleepy Dog

Our dog likes to take lots of naps.

Tahquitz Backpack

Our last Philmont training hike was a one-nighter up to Tahquitz Peak area in the San Jacinto Wilderness.  We left on Saturday morning to Humber Park.  We got lucky and found some parking pretty close.  Devils Slide trail was pretty steep the entire way up and we took it pretty slow due to the heat.  By the time we got to Saddle Junction, the troop was a bit tired.  A few us went to the meadow to filter water and then setup camp.  Dinner was nice and I went down early under the stars.  We got up early the next morning and made it down very fast.  Overall, it was a great tuneup at a wonderful location.

Lily Rock from Devils Slide

Saddle Junction

Saddle Junction signage

Off The Grid (almost)

Our solar generating system went on line about a month ago!  We got 16 panels installed by Sullivan Solar which will generate all of our electricity.  We will surely be in the black during the non-winter months but we will have to wait and see how much we generate during winter.  We also got an electric Fiat 500e so it will interesting to see how much net out at the end of the year.

Big Ride

We did a new thing this year with the troop and heading up to Irwindale for the Big Ride!  The Big Ride is a cycling event put on by some folks out of Antelope Valley.  Participants have choices of 25K, 50 mile and 100 mile routes.  We had a small contingent but riders in all 3 segments. 
We fought traffic driving up Friday night.  We setup camp on the nice grass near the lake.  After the riders meeting we all hit the sack.
The 100 milers woke up really early to get going.  Me and another scout were doing the 50 mile route and were up and about by 7:00.  The first part of the route had us going north up the San Gabriel River into Asuza canyon.  It was uphill but a nice ride in the morning.  We turned around at the trail end and headed downhill, first to the dam and then to the first rest stop and Legg Lake at Whittier Narrows.  The next segment continued south down the river to El Dorado Park in Long Beach were lunch awaited.  After some rest, we headed back up the river trail.  The sun finally came out and made things a bit hot.  We stopped again at the Legg Lake rest area for water then make the final stretch back to camp.  It was pretty grueling for me since I don't ride much but all the scouts did great.  We met the 100 mile guys on the dam.
Once back at camp, we pile in the cars and fought traffic on the way home.  It was a cool event and something to consider again in the future.

Books Read

• Deep Work by Cal Newport
• Atlas Obscura by Joshua Fora and Dylan Thuras
• On Trails by Robert Moor
• City of Fortune: How Venice Rules the Seas by Roger Crowley
• Pacific Crest Trailside Reader by Rees Hughes and Corey Lewis

Memorial Day Weekend Activities

• San Dieguito Academy memorial service
• Finished the patio and got all the furniture in place
• Had a great day with my parents and the family
• Awesome hike at Del Mar Mesa Preserve

Mt. Laguna

For the last official troop outing of the year, we headed up to the Mt. Laguna for our biennial pioneering event.  We hauled up the staves and ropes and built and awesome tower.  The scouts are getting good at it and taught the new guys well!  This was the first time I had seen the little Laguna with water up to the rocks!  Big Laguna was full all the way up to the dike.

Pioneering Tower

Little Laguna

Mt. Wilson Backpack

For our first (and maybe last) Philmont training hike, we hooked up with troop 782 for a weekend at Mt. Wilson.  The forecast going in was for some rain and probably cold and maybe windy at the summit.  We didn't cancel since we figured it wouldn't be too bad.  Both troops met at our church and we loaded gear and scouts quickly so we could make it up there before the gate was locked.  After fighting traffic and accidents, we made to Chantry Flats road gate with 10 minutes to spare; the police car was standing by to lock it as well!  At the parking lot, we arranged group gear and food.  Then it is was off for a 3 mile night hike to Hoegee's camp.  The moon provided some nice light but the trail is very wooded so it was a bit spooky walking it.  Camp was pretty crowded mainly with other scouts but a few other groups as well.  A few of us cowboy camped but I was awakened around 4am by sprinkling on my face.  I made the decision to put up my tarp and went back to sleep. Some of the scouts didn't put up shelters and woke up a bit wet.
The next morning was overcast as we ate breakfast, drank coffee and packed up for the hike to the summit.  Shortly after starting out, it started to rain lightly.  As we made our way up the steep trail, it rained harder and harder. By the time we got to the road, we were all in full rain gear.  The summit was socked in and we couldn't even see across the parking lot.  We decided to bail and thankfully another scout and his family had driven up and were able to give us a hitch back to Chantry Flats.  After several hours of shuttling and rescuing another hiker, we finally headed back to Encinitas.
It was a great hike to test out gear and I can't wait to get up there again so I can see what it looks like!

Hoegee's camp

Raining at the bench

Eagle Rock PCT Backpack

For a troop 774 beginner backpack, we headed to do the PCT section up to Eagle Rock near Warner Springs.
On Saturday morning, we parked the cars at Barrel Springs.  While we waited for everyone to arrive, we checked out the spring and trough which had plenty of water.  There were a few hikers there; they certainly wouldn't be last we would come across.  After lunch and some training on gear and maps, we headed out northbound on the PCT.  It was about 4 rolling miles to our camp at San Ysidro creek.  We were the first ones there but by nightfall another troop camped upstream and several thru hikers had found spots as well.  There were probably 40 plus folks along the creek! The scouts setup tents and started exploring the local creek and rocks.  In the afternoon, we took the 2 mile walk out to Eagle Rock and back.
The next morning was slow getting up and going but the hike went quick.  We got to the cars, unloaded gear and drove home. Overall, it was a bit hot but a great trip to get the new scouts into backpacking.

Barrel Springs trailhead

Along the PCT

Great views

To Eagle Rock

Eagle Rock

Cowboy camping

Pamo Valley Recon

I was going to spending the weekend at Wilderness and Remote First Aid class so I took the chance on my off Friday to recon a place I have never been, the Pamo Valley area.  I have seen it on the CNF maps but didn't really know what was there.  I drove up along the 79 to Ramona to the Palomar District ranger station.  I chatted for a bit with the very helpful rangers and the head out to find the Black Canyon pools.  After some pavement and a few miles of dirt road, I made it to the pools.  With all the water, they were flowing nicely.  With the great weather and lack of people, it was an awesome spot.  The only downer was all the graffiti (which the ranger warned me about).
After enjoying the pools I drove back to the station and down into the valley.  It was like an oasis with all the green and flowing streams.  I drove up to the north end and back.  Most of the bottom of the valley is owned by the City of San Diego for ranching.  But you can take side roads up to Black Mountain and Orosco Ridge.  I headed up to ridge for a few miles on a very bumpy road.  There wasn't much there.
This is a great area for day hikes and exploring.  But I need to search some more to find some good camping spots.

Black Canyon bridge

Black Canyon pools

Black Canyon pools

Pamo Valley - End of the Road

Pamo Valley - View from Orosco Ridge

PCT Section B Weekender

Another Scoutmaster and I took off for the weekend to finish the San Diego part of the PCT.  This would cover section B miles 109 (Warner Springs) through 152 (Hwy 74). 
We met up in Temecula to setup our car shuttle.  We drove to the Hwy 74 trailhead and left my car in the lot with an Adventure Pass.  We then drove the other car to the Warner Springs Community Resource Center parking lot.  The folks there were very nice and didn't have any problem with us leaving a car there.  We hit the trail around 11:00a.  The first part of the trail meandered through the meadows and the flowers of the "super-bloom."  Then the trail started winding its way up the canyon of Agua Caliente creek.  We met a few sections hikers heading south along this part.  Upon leaving the canyon, we hit some heat and sun.  We were grateful to take a rest at Lost Valley Spring.  The last 4 miles to our camp (CS0124) where uphill and hot.  The site only had 2 or 3 spots among some large boulders.  A thru-hiker named Mellow walked by while we were getting dinner ready and decided to hike on for more space.  Rich brought chili dogs and they were great after the 14 mile hike.  I was using Bengt's Shangri-La 2 tarp for the first time and had a interesting pitch with some uneven corners but it worked fine for the night even with the wind.
The next morning, we got some hot water going and packed up.  We were hiking around 7:30 and it was still pretty chilly since the trail was on the west side of the ridge until we got to Lost Valley Road.  We walked the road a bit to get to Mike's water tanks and filled up.  While there, we met thru-hikers Daddy Gizmo and Lacy (blog).  After getting water, we started the slog up to Combs Peak.  We considered bagging the peak but could not find a way up due to all the chaparral.  I will have to come back to day hike it. Once at the peak, we started a long downhill.  Along the way we met some scouts heading up; we didn't have the heart to tell them about the trail ahead.  We stopped for lunch and water at Tule Creek which had enough water on the surface to filter.  The next few miles were nice, undulating desert terrain.  We then hit Nance Canyon and another 4 mile slog to our camp at CS0146.  There was already one tent there and 5 more people showed up by nightfall.  It was a bit windy but a great site overall.  Dinner consisted of some of my home brew dehydrated chicken verde and borracho beans.  It tasted fine but a bit crunchy.
Sunday morning was a bit warmer that the previous one.  We made a brief stop at Welden to chat with Bill and the cache owner.  We didn't need water since we hauled 4 liters from Tule Creek.  The next few miles went fast.  The last couple were a bit uphill but we made great time and got to the car around 10:15.  From there we drove to Paradise Valley Cafe and joined other hikers on the patio for large breakfast.  We fulfilled our trail angel duties by giving Rob and Lacy a ride into Idylwild.  It seems that all hikers and skipping the section from the 74 to Idylwild even though some of it is open.
It was a great trip and can't wait for the next trip!

Start of section B

Along the trail looking south

Between a rock and hard place

Cozy tarp

Mike's water tanks

Large horned lizard

Camp at mile 144

Walden cache

Hwy 74 junction

Weekend Activities

• Hike from Cardiff to Del Mar Dog Beach
• Relaxing at home

Around the point from Dog Beach

Ocean reclaiming the land, and someone's backyard

Cuyamaca Camp

We had our first campout with the latest batch of new scouts at Paso Picacho Campground in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park.  We hadn't been to Cuyamaca in a while and it was nice to be back. Here are the highlights:

• Hike to Stonewall Peak (one of the best in San Diego County)
• Cooking
• Knots
• Navigation
• Campfire!

Atop Stonewall Peak

Tree Trunk

Winter Reading List

Books

• Boar Island by Nevada Barr - Barr's best in a while
• Yellowstone: A Journey Through America's Heart by David Quammen - a different look on Yellowstone
• Spaceships: An Illustrated History of the Real and Imagined by Ron Miller - a trip to KSC piqued my interest in space travel
• EveryDayCook by Alton Brown - I love Alton Brown but unfortunately he is not very paleo
• Listening for Coyote: A Walk Across Oregon's Wilderness by William Sullivan - great hiking log
• Countdown to Pearl Harbor: The Twelve Days to the Attack by Steve Twomey - interesting narrative and analysis of the days leading to Dec. 7
• Great Maps by Jerry Brotton - Fabulous books on historical maps