Joshua Tree National Park / Rock Climbing Trip

Another long overdue post. One of my recent trips to Joshua Tree National Park in December 2010.

I did this trip on Dec 05, 2010. A three hour drive from San Diego, I arrive too late to JTNP to be able to camp, but got up early enough the next day (resting my ass off in a nice hotel close to JTNP) to join my rock climbing group to do some pretty neat climbs (mostly 5.7 crack climbs ).

Half Dome Hike - July 3, 2010

Long overdue post. Almost six months have passed since I had done this hike (did it on July 3rd, 2010). Probably one of the best hikes I have done so far. Can't wait to get back and do this hike once again. Amazing scenery all along the way.

Some pics I took during my half dome hike:

Palomar Mountain Hike (May 9, 2009)

I had been asking for a nice, slow paced, relaxful and shady forest hike that had some decently dense vegetation. My hiking friend Stephen picked the palomar mountain for this weekend's hike which fit my description perfectly. Most of the palomar trails are wooded flat terrains at around 5000 feet above sea level. These forest trails are an ideal hike for a summer day where there is plenty of shade and beautiful breezes.

Overall, at the Palomar mountian, we hiked up the entire loop of the palomar map, covering several trails in a single day. We started off from the park headquarters towards the chimney flats trail, and then towards the thunder springs trail until we came across the Doane pond (which apparently is popular for trout fishing). We relaxed for a bit there and then hit the doane valley nature trail, then up across till the end of the french valley trail. We then backtracked back via the baptist trail, passed through cedar grove campground and across the adams trail , boucher trail and finally reached our starting point via the silver crest trail. About 10-11 miles of nice and peaceful forest hike on mostly flat terrain littered with huge old oak trees, and plenty of burnt and fallen tree stumps (the baptist trail was a tad bit steeper).

I had plenty of good photo opportunities along the different trails but unfortunately most of the wildlife pictures I was able to capture came out pretty bad to the point that it was not worth uploading. I even ran into a group of photographers on a field trip led by a lady teacher from Palomar College. I ended up getting a free lesson from her on how to use those heavy speedlite canon flashes.

Some Wild Flowers:


I dont' remember but I think they are one of them oak tree seeds? Too bad the squirrel in that movie Ice Age didn't know about this area. I heard they are edible when cooked in a certain manner.


Skunk Cabbage, apparently named because of their smell. They smelled fine to me:


I forgot the name of this plant but the fine threads on the stem give you a nasty itch:


The grey goose squirrel, maybe:


Apparently, this is where the water comes out of the mountain, Stephen says:


One of them very old type of can openers. Stephen mentioned that thing must have been lying there for decades:


Palomar is so named after these type of pigeons, the brochure said so:


Another new trick I learnt from Stephen. If you are hungry, its safe to eat these things. Tasted like almonds to me, and walnuts to stephen who apparently ate several.


The photography teacher I met on the trail, with the strangest looking camera I had ever seen in the recent times.


Doane Pond, famous for trout fishing:


Wild Flowers:


Deer!


Plenty of fallen tree trunks, branches and burnt vegetation along the trails:


The woodpecker has been real busy on this one:


Wild Flower:


Who want's to go back to civilization? ME...somebody's gotta pay the bills.

The El Capitan Hike - The hike of all san diego hikes

Brutal. And brutal all the way up. And brutal all the way down.

First Thoughts: Of all my past hikes, the easiest part of hiking was the one where you reach the top and then you back down to the starting point where its all supposed to be downhill and easy. Not quite so for the El Capitan trail. The 12 mile trail (with a sheer 4000 feet of elevation gain in just six miles) snakes it way across several smaller hills with really steep ups and downs before you get to the topmost part of the mountain and then back. As such, it gets pretty difficult on either directions. The trail is considered extremely strenuous even for intermediate-to-advanced hikers and you have to be not just in better physical condition but also well equipped with plenty of water, a hat and a snack to help you through.

My Gear: Having learned my lesson well from the last San Bernardo hike (where I attempted that six mile hike over an elevation of 1000 feet with just a 20 oz bottle of water and temperatures hovering at high nineties), I geared up fairly well for the El Capitan. A generously packed day pack (Futura Pro 42) with a snack, 100Oz water pouch (CamelBak 3L Unbottle), a few extra bottles of water just in case, a nice big hat and plenty of sunscreen.

Mistakes Learned: I still made a couple of mistakes by ignoring two more critical items (good hiking shoes, and walking sticks). Your hike shoes need to have a really good grip (and mine were basic nike running shoes) and those walking sticks can be a life saver. Because of those steep up and down climbs, those walking poles can you give you good support. It is very easy to slip and if you do, the trail is pretty rocky and one side of the trial often tapers in a dangerously sheer vertical drop. But I nevertheless did the trail without them and survived. A bad choice and I got lucky.

Solo all the way to the top and back: I decided to go solo on this hike since my hiking group consisted of pretty advanced hikers and I knew there was no way I can catch up to their speed. I also wanted to do it at my own slow pace (since I was a beginner hiker), and enjoy the scenery around and spare some time for photography.


The El-Capitan himself!!!


No wonder its called the old jeep's trail


Wild Flower


Somewhere close to the top


Burnt Trees - Remands of California Wild Fires


Wild Plants


Wild Flower


Trail Pointer


Wild Plant

Sailing on The JADA, the all-wooden sailing boat from 1930s era

It's actually been more than a week since the trip and I can't seem to remember much except that it was fun (like everything else). The JADA is an all-wooden sailing boat built in early 1930s. It was my first trip abroad a sail boat so I was able to see in person how the sails were hosted and the boat navigated via the sails. Really interesting. Brad, I think was the shippie onboard, and I also met a professional photographer who gave some splendid tips on photography.

Some of the pictures that I took while I was abroad the JADA:


Enjoying the sun:


Pirates Ahoy!!!


Sheesh..musta got on the wrong boat..THAT's the boat shud hav bin on:


Hmm...


Hmm....


Hmm...what do you think this is? titanic?


Hoisting the sails:


Ship engine/navigation control:


Cabin:


And I thought I had parking problems:

San Bernardo Mountain Hike (19th April, 2009)

Whew! While there was not much of scenery involved on the hike, this was to be my first seven mile hike over an elevation of about 1000 feet, and at day temperatures hovering at high nineties. The trail was a mix of flat dirt trails and some steep rocky climbs and way too demanding for a beginner hiker like me. But Stephen from my hiking group who turned out to be professional hiker gave me plenty of useful tips that I definitely intend to follow for my next hike.

I wish I could have taken more pictures along the trail but I was so dead exhausted and at one point, almost decided to turn back with the rest half of the group who couldn't take the high temperatures any longer. But Stephen, Jen and Martin stuck on to continue up the trail, and I am glad I decided to tag along. Nothing is more thrilling than the experience of reaching at the top. One more mountain conquered. Veni, Vedi, and Vici, my roman and non-roman brethren.

And yup, this time I learned my lesson. Plenty of sunscreen lotion, lots of water and some snack bars can really make a huge difference.

Martin, Jen and Stephen at the top of the bernardo mountain:


View from top:


Trail Path:


Poison Oak!