Jerry Schad Memorial Hike

I memory of Jerry Schad, Sophie and I did an 8-miler in Mission Trails this weekend. We parked along Portobelo and took the trail along the north edge of the park past Shepard Pond to the north approach to the North Fortuna. It was very foggy and misty and visibility was only about 1/4 mile so we could see the summit until we where there. We then headed to South Fortuna, down the Steps into the valley. We headed north into Suycutt Wash and then west up onto the Rim. We followed the Rim Trail back to the trailhead.
Here is a view from near the summit of North Fortuna:

Family Camp

We had an awesome family camp up at Mount Laguna. Hiked the Big Laguna Trail out to the big lake, the Lightning Ridge Trail and the Nature Walk at the visitor center (which was closed for an unknown reason). On the Nature Walk, Sophie stepped into a cactus and had spines all over her rear paws. We pulled most of them out but she still wanted to walk on her own; which she did with a limp.
Here are some pictures from the BLT hike.

Weekend Activities

* Finally visited the USS Midway museum!

Dinner on the Patio

Jyoti bought some more cactus for our garden and put then on the patio table.  When I made dinner and put the bowls of broccoli and salad down I couldn't tell the difference between the succulents and my meal.

Labor Day Weekend Activites

* Put up a storage shelf in Jaya's closet
* Rearranged the living room and Bengt's room
* Cleaned up a bunch of stuff, stored some and giving away some
* Washed car, then it rained!
* Changed the rear brakes on the Kia, very frustrating until I read that the pistons twist, rather than press, back into the calipers

Is the World a Safer Place?

Professor Joshua Goldstein makes a compelling case that today is safe and getting safer.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Weekend Activites

It was a hot and humid weekend by San Diego standards. This meant lots of pool time. Also did some walks and runs on the beach.

Tax-Free Weekend

People are always amazed when citizens get exciting about not paying taxes...and when tax revenues go up when rates go down.

Jerry Schad's Last Journey

My favorite outdoor author, Jerry Schad, has terminal cancer is not expected to live long. Very sad for a great San Diegan.

Ken Follett

My brother mentioned Ken Follett to me and I quickly read two of his historical novels:

• Jackdaws - a suspenseful novel of an all-women sabotage operation in occupied France during WWII.


• Fall of Giants: Book One of the Century Trilogy - the first of his new 20th century trilogy. I liked it although some of the character building was a bit repetitive

Family Wedding

One of Jyoti's cousins got married in Greenville, SC that past weekend. The weather was hot but not unbearable. We got to reconnect with lots of relatives and had a great time.

Cuyamaca Backpacking

I did a nice little one-night backpacking solo trip to Cuyamaca Rancho State Park over the weekend. I left work on Friday night and drove to the Green Vally campground entrance. I parked there and headed out. I took the Harvey Moore trail the 4.5 miles to the Granite Springs primitive camp. It was a bit warm but not too hot; I had plenty of water and was constantly sipping from my hydration bladder. The camp was completely deserted. There is a pump for water but the signage warned it was for livestock only. The rangers said you could purify it and I did so with iodine tablets. I made 2L that way. The camp was nice but there were enough flies to annoy you. After dinner, I lied in my tent and read a book until the sun went down. I slept well and woke at the crack of dawn. I quickly packed up and was on the trail by 6:00a. I took the East Mesa Fire Road trail initially. I then took the spur trail that went up to the top of Oakzanita Peak. The morning views there were incredible. I wish I hadn't forgot my camera! Back down the peak and another few miles back to the parking lot for a total of 6.2 miles out. That made 10.7 miles. My pack was 33 pounds including food and water.

Books

A couple of unrelated books were read:
* 21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart by Neal D. Barnard - vegetarian-focused diet which I won't be following
* The Ultralight Backpacker by Ryel Kestenbaum - a less radical to ultralight backpacking than Ray Jardine

Taxes Go Down. World Does Not End!

I know it is hard to believe, but a tax has actually gone down, in California no less.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Family Get Together

* Watson's at the Orange Circle
* Lots of swimming
* Playing games
* Fireworks!
* Independence Day Parade at Huntington Beach

Where in San Diego?

Found this nice hike somewhere in San Diego.

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Extreme Weather

Wunderground's Jeff Masters has a good post on the extraordinary extreme weather that took place during 2010.

Weekend Activites

* Hike in Tierrasanta and a few geocaches found
* Pool time
* Finished the front yard garden for the summer

Surfing Madonna

The Surfing Madonna saga has come to an end. I think it is quite a good piece of art and the location was pretty ideal for the message. But the city put the hammer to artist Mark Patterson. He has to cough up ~$10K in fines but I am sure he will make that up in future art sales.

Books

* Ranchos of San Diego County (Images of America: California) (Images of America (Arcadia Publishing)) - great pictures but the text is haphazard
* Trail Life by Ray Jardine - the gospel from the father ultra-light backpacking
* The 4-Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat-Loss, Incredible Sex, and Becoming Superhuman - I love Tim Ferriss's writing and this book has some very interesting stuff although some chapters seem thrown in just to increase the page count