Ok so it's been a while since I have written. I have been pulled in a hundred different ways since my last post. I got married recently so now I am settling back into my normal routine and catching up on some work. I also have been hiking a lot since the last post, but one in particular I wanted to mention was my last adventure with Derek. In case you don't know, Derek is currently on a long journey to reach 100 peaks in San Diego county. You can read about his adventures at 100peaks.com. I, myself, have been following Derek's journey. Last month when he invited me to join him again on one of his peak hikes, I jumped at the chance!
This was going to be Derek's 49th Peak and only my second. We headed up to the Laguna Mountain area near Pine Valley. I was excited for the journey ahead of us as I had heard about this place from a lot of other hikers and bloggers. Mark Arndt of Sandeigohiker.net detailed his hike there in one of his blogs.
On Saturday, September 25 at 5AM, I met Derek at our usual meeting place and made our way up to Pine Valley. Once we got there we took a detour and met up with a couple of his friends, one of which was about to run the Noble Canyon 50K. When I was younger I loved running. Now? It's just not as fun as it used to be. I won't say it's from old age because I'm only 27 (although I would like to), it's mainly from injuries I sustained while in the Marines for almost 8 years. What I find incredible is that the gentleman who was about to embark on the run, one that I couldn't finish even in my dreams, was probably 10 years older than me. I felt two emotions when I realized this: 1) I was impressed that someone of his age had the courage and heart to do this race and 2) How unfit and unmotivated I was. At about the same time Derek turned to me after scanning the room and said "there are a lot of fit people here." I nodded in agreement as i noticed a 60 y/o man with more muscle definition than I have ever had while serving in the Marines. At last it came time for the race to start and Derek's friend galloped off like a gazelle. We headed back to the car, ready to start hiking and engage in some sort of physical exercise.
At around 7am we finally reached what Derek referred to as Pine Mail. In truth I had no clue, but I trusted Derek knew where we were. We packed up and set out for the peak. Derek and I talked about making one of his peak hikes part of my show, so I pulled out my camera and began to film our journey to the peak.
We made our way to the trail head and were immediately confronted by a fork in the road. We headed left and followed it to a gate with a big sign that read "NO TRESPASSING." We took heed of the warning and scurried back to the trail head and got back on the right trail. As we walked I took note of the landscape and wondered what it must have looked like before the wildfires scorched this area. I can only imagine lush green forests with birds chirping in the morning chill. We followed the trail as it lead us west through the thick groves of oak trees and grassy meadows. I was starting to feel a bit nostalgic as I was reminded of the big oak trees back home in Minnesota. As a kid I would spend my days playing with my BB gun, hoping to catch a glimpse of a ruffed grouse or a squirrel I could take home to show my dad. Derek stopped to check his GPS, also known as an iPhone 4, to see were we needed to go. Sure enough, I heard my favorite words come out of Derek's mouth, "we have to bushwhack." One thing I learned about Derek in our two hikes and many conversations, Derek won't be stopped by a trail to bag a peak. He is often undeterred, as I have witnessed him walking through waste high rose bushes in shorts on our hike to Sugg Peak in August. Of course when Derek said it was time to bushwhack, I was ready.
We made our way through the woods and in no time at all, we were confronted by thick mazes of manzanita. We often had to turn around and find another way around them before we were led to more oak trees and finally a grassy thicket. When we finally stumbled out of the manzanita, we came upon another trail and sure enough, it was the same one we left. In essence, the trail snaked back east as we moved south through the forest. Derek and I smiled at the miscalculation and crossed the trail, continuing our ascent to the peak. In no time at all we reached our destination. I was confused and told Derek that it doesn't feel like were at a "peak." Derek explained that when it comes to peak bagging, not all peaks provide the usual 360 degree view atop some mountain. Instead, today's reward was the journey to the top. I agreed and Derek pointed out all the peaks that were visible in the distance. It was at that moment that I realized the peaks Derek was pointing out were not just memorized from a map. Derek had left his footprints on those peaks, along with a lot of sweat and blood as I began to discover.
It wasn't long before we were on the move again, this time Derek was in search of a summit register. Summit registers are often water proof containers with paper and pencil for the hiker or peak bagger to leave their name and date of the hike. After 20 minutes of searching we gave up and began to make our way back down, however, this time we took the trail as we had enough of bushwhacking. Once we got down the hill, we came across another trail and followed that one north which would lead us to the vehicle. After a short trip down the trail I saw a high point of rock and decided to climb up for a shot of Derek from my camera. As I reached the top I saw a can wedged between some rocks. I figured this may be a geocache so I decided to climb the jagged rocks to claim my prize. As I was climbing I got a glimpse of the scenery and noticed that Derek was not amused at the risk I was taking. An important thing to remember when one picks a hiking partner is to make sure you pick one who doesn't pose a liability to you when you're miles from help. I realized what I was doing, found my prize (an empty juice can that looked about 60 years old) and made my way back down. After an hour more of hiking, we finally reached the vehicle. I was happy to sit down and remove the stickers from my socks that had been poking my feet for the last half of the hike.
It was another great hike under my belt, with a great hiking partner and I bagged a second peak to boot! I thanked Derek for another great adventure as we made our way home.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
Cowles Mountain Night Hike
About a month ago I was first told about Cowles Mountain by Derek Loranger (100Peaks.com). I had told him about my videos and he said " if you want some good hits you should do a video on Cowles Mountain." So I took Dereks advice and 2 weeks later I set out in the morning from Big Rock Park on Mesa road. It was a good hike but it took me 4 hours and the temp reached a high of 97.--- Cowles Mountain Hiking Video---- Two weeks later I took my fiance for a night hike out there. I knew the temp would be cool and the view would be great. She was a good sport about it and we made it to the top just after 2 hours. The temp on top was 50, but with the wind blowing it felt like 45. We stayed up top for about an hour just staring at the lights of San Diego. After that, I knew I wanted to do this again.
I went to the hiking group I'm a part of (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=138339719519036) The San Diego Ca Hiking Group and posted my night hike ambition to see who would come with me.
Every one was busy except the groups founder Alain. Alain is a French Canadian from Quebec, but I wont hold it against him. Alain has been here for a couple years and has been wanting to find people to hike with. He had almost given up on his page until I ran into him and with a third member, Even, we grew our group to 51 strong. Alain said he would join me since he has never done this hike before. His usual back yard is Iron Mountain. I figured Alain would enjoy this hike, the night hikes in the area are awesome and Cowles I discovered, Is the best.
I picked Alain up from his house around 8pm and the 4 of us ,(Tonio and Buddy), set out to Santee. We took the 52 east to Mission Gorge Road and then after a couple stop lights we took a left on Mesa Road.
We stopped just after Big Rock park, geared up and took off for the peak. There was a half moon that night and so the trail was lit brighter than most nights, but the only problem was that when the brush got higher the moon cast a shadow and made the trail harder to see. We really didn't need lights going up though we did trip on a random rock that just seemed to pop out here and there. The dogs were a head and Tonio took on the shape of a dingo in the dark and the sound of a coyote in the brush when I wasn't paying attention. I strapped buddy with a red glowing light to help keep predators away, though I doubt a red light will keep a hungry coyote or mountain lion away from my 24 lbs dog.
After about 30 - 45 min we reached the access road and took a break. Alain expressed his pseudo concern that I was just trying to take him somewhere romantic and that he wasn't that kind of guy. I reassured him that aside from the part that I'm not a homosexual, french just weren't my type anyway. After we watered the dogs we forged ahead and made it to the top. Since this was Alains first time I let him touch the monument first and took some pictures. The view was amazing to say the least. And in my mind I thought it was a lot better than the Day view. To the south we cold see Tijuana, then going north San Diego, the Coronado bridge, and the outer laying cities of the area. It was like I was looking at all of San Diego county in one blink of the eye. I found it amazing how everything was so connected, and yet there were borders to separate culture, language, and a way of life.
With our sweat drying we started to get cold in the 45 degree air, so we layered up, watered the dogs and made our way back down. The view was just as amazing on the way down and I was again reminded why I love hiking so much..... Once we hit the Big rock trail on the way down, we decided that after a couple rolled ankles, it was time to illuminate our path. We made it down in no time and before long we were back at the car and happy to sit back down again.
I dropped Alain off at home and he insisted he pay me for gas but I told him just buy me a beer next time. It was my joy introducing someone to something new and that was all the payment I needed. Alain had a great time and so did I. I wished more had joined us to experience what we did. But there will be 21 of us on the Oct 23rd night hike at Iron mountain full moon hike. As I hiked with Alain this week and last week I realized that not only was he a good hiking partner,he is a good friend as well.
I went to the hiking group I'm a part of (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=138339719519036) The San Diego Ca Hiking Group and posted my night hike ambition to see who would come with me.
Every one was busy except the groups founder Alain. Alain is a French Canadian from Quebec, but I wont hold it against him. Alain has been here for a couple years and has been wanting to find people to hike with. He had almost given up on his page until I ran into him and with a third member, Even, we grew our group to 51 strong. Alain said he would join me since he has never done this hike before. His usual back yard is Iron Mountain. I figured Alain would enjoy this hike, the night hikes in the area are awesome and Cowles I discovered, Is the best.
I picked Alain up from his house around 8pm and the 4 of us ,(Tonio and Buddy), set out to Santee. We took the 52 east to Mission Gorge Road and then after a couple stop lights we took a left on Mesa Road.
We stopped just after Big Rock park, geared up and took off for the peak. There was a half moon that night and so the trail was lit brighter than most nights, but the only problem was that when the brush got higher the moon cast a shadow and made the trail harder to see. We really didn't need lights going up though we did trip on a random rock that just seemed to pop out here and there. The dogs were a head and Tonio took on the shape of a dingo in the dark and the sound of a coyote in the brush when I wasn't paying attention. I strapped buddy with a red glowing light to help keep predators away, though I doubt a red light will keep a hungry coyote or mountain lion away from my 24 lbs dog.
After about 30 - 45 min we reached the access road and took a break. Alain expressed his pseudo concern that I was just trying to take him somewhere romantic and that he wasn't that kind of guy. I reassured him that aside from the part that I'm not a homosexual, french just weren't my type anyway. After we watered the dogs we forged ahead and made it to the top. Since this was Alains first time I let him touch the monument first and took some pictures. The view was amazing to say the least. And in my mind I thought it was a lot better than the Day view. To the south we cold see Tijuana, then going north San Diego, the Coronado bridge, and the outer laying cities of the area. It was like I was looking at all of San Diego county in one blink of the eye. I found it amazing how everything was so connected, and yet there were borders to separate culture, language, and a way of life.
With our sweat drying we started to get cold in the 45 degree air, so we layered up, watered the dogs and made our way back down. The view was just as amazing on the way down and I was again reminded why I love hiking so much..... Once we hit the Big rock trail on the way down, we decided that after a couple rolled ankles, it was time to illuminate our path. We made it down in no time and before long we were back at the car and happy to sit back down again.
I dropped Alain off at home and he insisted he pay me for gas but I told him just buy me a beer next time. It was my joy introducing someone to something new and that was all the payment I needed. Alain had a great time and so did I. I wished more had joined us to experience what we did. But there will be 21 of us on the Oct 23rd night hike at Iron mountain full moon hike. As I hiked with Alain this week and last week I realized that not only was he a good hiking partner,he is a good friend as well.
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| Coronado Bridge |
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| Alain and I |
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| Lake Murrey |
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Blogging Suggestion
Hello my name is Brady and I am a hiker.
No this is not an admission of an addiction, though it could be a healthy one. This is my blog. I am an avid hiker and a survival specialist. My love for the outdoors has brought me to the trails of San Diego. And since I love it so much I have decided to film it and as of now, blog about it.
It's been recently suggested to me that blogging will help to create a fan base and get my name out to the public. I have never been a blogger or ever thought about sharing my stories with anyone. In fact I never thought that there were many who would care. Who am I? Why would people want to read my words and why would they care. I decided reach out and look at other blogs people have posted. I came across many people who are just as insignificant as I am and yet people follow their every move and word as if what they did was the most important thing that could happen. So could I have a following? Would people want to read about my adventures hiking around San Diego? Maybe...
So here I am, this is an experiment in getting people to know who I am and what I do. My mission is to get people back out to the trails and away from mundane lives on the couch. Though I want people to watch me in my videos, I also want to inspire them to get out there after they see my hike. I do have the intent of creating my own TV show here in San Diego. There are not many people who film themselves hiking or really show what the hiking is like here in San Diego. I kinda like to think of my self as San Diego's own Survivorman. Though I am no Les Stroud, I do have a backround in outdoor survival, and maybe one day I can transition from hiking and concentrate more on survival shows. With the amount of hikers that get lost everyday I think we need one.
And so now I'm Putting my self out there for the world (San Diego) to experience my story and my adventures on the trails in San Diego, and hopefully some one out there is inspired enough to hit the trails and love them, just as much as I do
Brady
No this is not an admission of an addiction, though it could be a healthy one. This is my blog. I am an avid hiker and a survival specialist. My love for the outdoors has brought me to the trails of San Diego. And since I love it so much I have decided to film it and as of now, blog about it.
It's been recently suggested to me that blogging will help to create a fan base and get my name out to the public. I have never been a blogger or ever thought about sharing my stories with anyone. In fact I never thought that there were many who would care. Who am I? Why would people want to read my words and why would they care. I decided reach out and look at other blogs people have posted. I came across many people who are just as insignificant as I am and yet people follow their every move and word as if what they did was the most important thing that could happen. So could I have a following? Would people want to read about my adventures hiking around San Diego? Maybe...
So here I am, this is an experiment in getting people to know who I am and what I do. My mission is to get people back out to the trails and away from mundane lives on the couch. Though I want people to watch me in my videos, I also want to inspire them to get out there after they see my hike. I do have the intent of creating my own TV show here in San Diego. There are not many people who film themselves hiking or really show what the hiking is like here in San Diego. I kinda like to think of my self as San Diego's own Survivorman. Though I am no Les Stroud, I do have a backround in outdoor survival, and maybe one day I can transition from hiking and concentrate more on survival shows. With the amount of hikers that get lost everyday I think we need one.
And so now I'm Putting my self out there for the world (San Diego) to experience my story and my adventures on the trails in San Diego, and hopefully some one out there is inspired enough to hit the trails and love them, just as much as I do
Brady
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