Hike 16

Number 16 in my 52 hike challenge was up in the mountains.  I was still a bit unsure of how my ankle would do after twisting it a few weeks prior.  So, we chose a trail to hike that wasn't very technical and wasn't very steep.  I wore my running shoes because my hiking boots were still uncomfortable on my ankle bone.  My ankle did great!  Hooray!  We hiked over five miles that day.

We had expected to see a lot of people because the Ernie Maxwell Scenic Trail is popular.  Luckily, there weren't very many people up there that day.  The weather was perfect, the birds were singing, the trees were sprouting new leaves, flowers were blooming (we even saw daffodils), and...a special and rare treat...the streams were flowing. They were flowing so well that the sound filled portions of the trail like a big, beautiful song.  It was wonderful!  Hooray for all the rain we got in California this winter! 

There was switchback section of the trail where there was a small waterfall a few yards up the hill from the trail.  We hiked up to see it and saw a Western Rattlesnake warming up in the sun.  I was a bit surprised by the place it decided to snuggle into as pinecones don't seem like they'd be comfy.  But, it was very content.  I saw it's eyes look at me but it was perfectly happy where it was and had no plans of moving.  So many people are terrified of them.  And, yes, they can be dangerous.  But, they don't want to be bothered by us any more than we want to be bothered by them. As long as hikers are aware and watch out for them and keep a safe distance everyone will be fine.  They're an important part of the ecosystem and help keep rodent populations in check.

Speaking of things that need to be kept in check.  How about this....litter!  I've been finding more and more litter on trails and in nature.  On this hike, we found several bags of dog poop at the end of our hike.  They were sitting just a few yards from the trailhead and just a few more steps away from a trash can.  Why that person or those people didn't take the few extra steps to finish the job just boggles my mind!  I've heard others complain about finding poop bags on the trail too.  It's great that people are picking up their poop but that's only half of the task.  It needs to go in the trash!  I just don't understand what people are thinking when they do this!  I care about our planet and the experience we want when we go into nature....for it to be clean and beautiful.  So, when I see trash on the trail or poop bags I can't just walk by and leave it.  I know of other caring people that feel the same way.  Everyone needs to be responsible and not leave things like this for others to do.

A video was posted recently of a problem in our local mountains that was created by those who went up to play in the snow over the winter....trash and broken plastic sled pieces all over the mountain.  It was unbelievable to see how much was left behind and how wide spread it was.  They've been having clean up days and some residents have been going out for an hour or more every single day to try to get it all.  They said that it's so bad they're not sure they can ever get it all picked up.  So sad!  So ugly!  And, so bad for wildlife and our beautiful mother earth!

Extreme Knitting 2013

A few years ago, hubby took some pictures of me knitting on vacation.

Not just any knitting....we called the photos, "Knitting on the Edge".

One was taken while I sat near a tree at the saddle of Angels Landing in Zion.  I was knitting near a huge drop off of at least 1000 feet.  The other one was taken as I sat under a tree on the edge of Bryce Canyon.  I was completely safe where I was knitting.  But, I thought they made for some fun photos.

I thought it would be fun to do something like that again this year.  So, before we started out on our canyoneering adventure, I asked our guide about doing something like that.  He was on board with it and seemed to have an idea almost immediately of the perfect place to take the picture.

Here I go....over the top of a waterfall.  My knitting is ready to go.  That's the bulge in my coveralls.

I went over the edge and Hubby had me secure as he belayed me from below.
I removed the gloves, pulled out my project, and got started...

I'm knitting!  Woo hoo!  :-D

 

And, yes...I really did knit.  It wasn't easy because my knitting was completely 

soaked from the previous waterfall rappel and swimming out of that icy water.

Time to put it back in the project bag and tuck it away for the decent down.

Down.  Down.  Down.

Here's another view of where I was hanging while I knitted...

And, here's my Extreme Knitting project.  I started it just for the trip and the hope of getting my

 Extreme Knitting 2013 photo.  It's small and lightweight.  

The perfect size for the backpack and stuffing into the coveralls.

I used a blow drier that evening and again the next day to dry the yarn and project.

Luckily, my needles seem to be ok.  They're not quite as slick as they used to be.  

But, they have a story.  I've been using this adorable bag my daughter made for me.

It looks great with the project and it means a lot to me.
So, it was special to have it with me on my adventure.

The pattern is the Sockhead Hat...a freebie on Ravelry.  I've been wanting to make it for a while but wanted to get some other projects done before I started something new.  My recent FOs and this trip made the timing perfect for casting on.  The colors remind me of the Zion area landscape and some of the beautiful sunsets there.  And, the touch of gray will go perfect with my hiking pants.

Unfortunately, I've lost the tag from this yarn and don't remember what it is except that it's sock yarn and it's wool.  I'm using 3mm, 16" circular needles to knit it.  It's a great project for when I just want to do simple knitting.  I'm excited to finish it up.  I think it's going to be super cute!

When we got back into town and were unpacking the truck, Bill told another guy the story of my Extreme Knitting.  He seemed to get a kick out of it and joked that the photo should be on the cover of "Extreme Knitting Quarterly".  LOL  This 'project' added a little extra fun to our already amazing day!
Thank you, Bill, for taking the photos!

If you missed the story of our canyoneering adventure....click HERE.

Zion Get-Away

Hubby and I spent last week at Zion National Park.

Ahhh...one of our favorite places to be!

We started at the end of winter and the season officially changed to spring while we were there.

So, now, we've officially been there during all four seasons.  It's wonderful there at any time of year.

On this trip, the temps ranged from the 60's to near 80 for day time highs.  Nights were cool but not too cold.  I'm not sure how cold it got but I don't think it went below the 40's.

There were clouds a few times while we were there but most of every day was sunny. 

We went just before the busy season was to begin. 

The shuttles officially started the day after we left. 

Check out how empty the visitor center parking lot was...

It was very obvious that it was spring...trees were changing so fast that they often

looked different and more green in the afternoon than they did in the morning.

Nature is amazing!

These trees were the most surprising.  They barely had buds when we arrived.  A few days later the buds were bigger.  The next morning, the trees were covered in red...

As the day went along, the red blooms stretched out and became pale green.

Here's what the trees looked like a little further back...

We noticed these white, fuzzy looking balls on shrubs all over the park.

There were millions of them.  They look soft and fluffy.  I wondered what they were.

I wondered if they were the result of some kind of bugs.  

I tried to crush one between two rocks to see but it was just as hard as a rock and uncrushable.

Hubby found one on the ground and tried to peel the fuzz/white back but it was hard too.

We asked a ranger a couple days later and he told us that the white balls were created from a wasp.

The wasp injects a protein and it's eggs into the plant.  The protein causes the plant to create

the hard green shell to protect the eggs.  I wonder how the wasps will ever get out since it's SO hard.

This little lizard sat near us in the sun for hours one afternoon

while hubby read and I did a little needle felting.

Check out those long nails and the saw tooth edge of it's ear...  

We saw deer again on this visit.  They looked woolly from their winter coats.

We even saw some lounging around in the afternoon. 

I bet they were enjoying the warming weather.

This trip started out as an extension to hubby's grandmother's 90th birthday celebration.

She wanted to go to Las Vegas to celebrate.  Since Vegas (about four hours away) is over half way to our favorite place, Zion, it made sense to go there (about two to three more hours).  The Zion part of the trip quickly became a celebration for hubby's 50th birthday (this month) and my 50th for last year.

We were able to get reservations for the whole week at Watchman Campground in the park.

And, we scheduled a day to do something we've been dreaming of for years...

a canyoneering adventure!  So exciting!

Hubby's grandfather came down with double pneumonia a couple weeks before the trip.  He is doing fine now but grandma's 90th birthday celebration plans were changed.Vegas was cancelled and she had a wonderful party at home.  But, because we'd already paid for our trip, we kept with our plans and went to Zion.  We just eliminated the stop in Las Vegas.  We were relieved about that because we don't really like Vegas.  Although, we'd planned to hike in Red Rock Canyon while were there.

Maybe, we'll do that another time.

Our week in Zion was wonderful.  And, our canyoneering adventure was amazing!  

My next post will be the story and photos from that day.  :-)

Fine Details

My husband and I went up into the local mountains last weekend and camped.  We had looked forward to four days of relaxation and cooler temps.  The temps were cooler than at home but not anything like the cool mountain air we had hoped for.  We went mountain biking one morning but it was so scorching hot that I started feeling awful and we kept it short.  The only other exercise we got were a couple of short hikes and walks around the campground with the dog. When we got out and about from the campground, I played around a little with my new phone and snapped some pictures.  We found some plants with beautiful, feathery seeds.

  These were so pretty, glowing in the morning sun.

The fine details are amazing.

All the little swirls remind me of photos where the camera shutter

has been kept open and lights have moved about to draw swirly designs.

The feathery coverings on these seeds look even softer.

Click on the picture for a a better, closer look.

I'm not sure, but it might be some kind of milk weed. 

They're popping out of pods like this...

The soft, fluffy coverings on these seeds are longer and look like soft hair.

It appears that something on this plant must be quite tasty to these bright red bugs.

I'm impressed with the photos I took with my new Razor phone.  I was surprised to see how many features it has, including macro, zoom, various lighting and color options, etc.  It even has a feature that takes panoramic photos and it matches the scene as I turn and snaps automatically as needed.  And, I love how I can just tap the screen where I want it to focus.  I have a lot of playing and learning to do with it.  Not to mention LOTS of learning with the phone in general.  It's my first "smart" phone and I was very frustrated with it for the first few days.  I'm starting to get the hang of it now but...as with the camera feature...I have a LOT to learn.

As for our long weekend...it was a nice getaway.  Hubby did a lot of reading while I did a lot of knitting.  We enjoyed our time together along with good food, drink, and the beautiful scenery of the Idyllwild area.  It's one of my favorite local places.  I'm always amazed that it's only about an hour from home and so worth the drive every single time we visit.  

Hiking Devil's Slide

When my husband arrived home from work last Thursday evening, he asked if I'd like to go for a hike or something on Friday. He had a rare day of no meetings and thought it would be a great opportunity to take a day off and spend time together. What a sweetie! And, what a great thing for him to have a day off!

The weather finally started cooling down last week which made hiking a comfortable possibility. We quickly decided on a trail in the San Jacinto Mountains near Idyllwild, called, "Devil's Slide". We got up early Friday morning, had a good breakfast, loaded our day packs and drove up the mountain.  We made a stop at the Idyllwild ranger station for a permit for that trail and a wilderness parking pass.

It was a beautiful day!  The sky was blue with some desert clouds building in the distance.  I think the temperature was in the 70's to low 80's.  The humidity made it seem warmer, especially in the sun, but after the heat we've had the past few weeks, it was really nice!

There were interesting and beautiful things to see right from the start of the trail.

Check out this twisty tree.  I wonder what makes some trees do this?

Here's the whole tree.  It's dead but still standing strong and beautiful.

We saw another one later that day...

 Gorgeous blue sky!  And, more dead trees...but...the color and texture is beautiful!

So are the lines and shapes.  Strong and pretty!

This one looks like a dragon.  Click on it to make it larger and check out the scary looking head!

Little babies...trees of the future.

Hubby found a ring of bark on the trail, cleared out the center, and put it on my wrist.  A bracelet!
It was strong enough that it stayed on all day and didn't break when I took it off.  

The trail was two and a half miles long with 1700 feet of elevation gain.  It was a very good workout!

The terrain varied from smooth dirt, roots, rocks, steep drop-offs along the side,

and a couple of muddy sections.

There were a few sections that leveled out...slightly.  But, most of the trip up was just that, UP.

Lots of climbing!  There were some switchback sections that climbed pretty quickly.

At one point, we looked down and saw four sections below us.  I couldn't get a good

picture though because of all the trees.  But, here are two shots of some of them.

The steep climb made for a quickly changing view when we looked down the mountain and into the distance.  We started below the level of "Suicide Rock" (on the right side of the photo) but quickly climbed to a point that it was straight across from us.

And, in a very short time, we were above it and much farther away.  There was a marine layer over the valley that was slowly burning off and, even farther away, we could see clouds over the ocean.  What an incredible view it must be on a crystal clear day!

There aren't many flowers right now.  But, I did spot a few...like some Indian Paintbrush...

Some teeny, tiny flowers...

I think this might be Buck Brush...

Ranger's Buttons!  So cute!

We saw a few berries.  I think this is a Gooseberry.  Wicked!  Even the stems!  Hubby lifted a leaf out of the way so I could take a photo and it pierced his finger.  Ouch!

The above photo and the one below are from the same bush.  I love the colors in the one below.

More thorns!

We saw lots of lizards darting around and jumping from rock to rock.

Some were laying around, enjoying the sunshine.  They even posed for pictures!

So cute!

Now, I have more photos to use for sculpting lizards in my ceramics class.

Hubby is taking the class with me this semester.  :-)

We kept seeing tiny fur balls darting across the trail so fast that we couldn't get a good look at them.

We assumed they were chipmunks but weren't sure until this one actually sat still for a moment.

There were busy gray squirrels too.  Some of them had huge, fluffy tails.

I wasn't able to get any pictures of them.  But, I got a picture of this skinnier tailed squirrel
running around.  They all seemed quite busy getting ready for winter.

After a couple hours of hiking, we made it to the saddle junction.  I think the elevation is about 8,000 feet at this point.  There are lots of signs and trails that take off from this point.  Including, a trail that leads to Tahquitz Peak...the peak we went to last year but from a different side.

Even the famous Pacific Crest Trail runs through here.  A 2,663 mile trail that runs through the Cascade, Sierra, and other mountain ranges from the border of Canada to the border of Mexico.

At the saddle, we noticed strange things growing on the trunks of some trees.

Weird!  Creepy!

And, really big!

I also spotted this yellow growth.  The color is pretty but I wasn't about to touch it.  Eeeew!

From the saddle, we decided to follow one of the trails for a while and see where it lead.

The terrain started changing from mostly brown to partly green.

And, all of a sudden, we were surrounded by green fern.

The farther we walked, the greener it became and the fern got taller and taller.

It went from a few inches tall at the beginning to hip high further down the trail.

The clouds were getting bigger and gently drifting in front of the sun, giving us periods of shade.

It was gorgeous and magical up there.  I had no idea we'd find anything like this when we reached the saddle.  It was worth every steep step and all the heavy breathing and sweat!

We even came across a wet, boggy area.  I wonder if it's always there or if it was from the recent monsoon storms?  Either way, it's pretty cool and provides much needed water for the wildlife.

As we hiked back down, the clouds got thicker and darker but

we never heard any rumbling and they didn't seem to get any bigger or closer.

After our hike, we headed into the town of Idyllwild for a bite to eat.  We wanted to try a new place and decided on "Restaurant Gastronome".  They had outdoor seating under the pines with a terrific view of the mountain we had just climbed.  I had a delicious sandwich made with tender chicken on a soft, fluffy thin bread (I can't remember what they called it) with lettuce, tomato, purple onion and a yummy raspberry sauce.  Hubby had a delicious barbecue chicken wrap.  And, we had some ice cold beer.  The weather was wonderful, the food was delicious, and the company...there are no words to describe how wonderful he is!  I'm a very lucky girl!  Thanks, hubby, for a wonderful day!