More than I could chew in 35 images!
Yesterday I started out from my backyard to see where the trails would take me. I was setting out to do some geocaching and to journal my hike with my Canon SD870. I wasn't out to shoot art, just record my trip, snapshot style!
I began my journey at around 11am, and 6 hours and 40 minutes later I had walked a total of 10.86 miles (I know, because my GPS tells me so!). I walked the last 40 minutes in the dark, hobbling along on weak legs. I would have been fine, except that I was one almond butter sandwich shy of what I needed, and I really needed the time to sit and rest a bit, but didn't feel like I could afford to stop as it got darker and darker.
Here's the elevation profile of my hike:
So here goes: my journey.
I started off right out my backyard. It's a short but steep hike up to the trails. You can't see my house in this shot, it's a bit off to the right, but this is on my way bushwhacking up the hill to the trail:
As you can see, a gorgeous day. Cool at 57F, but perfect for hiking. I was excited.
I got up to the trail, which at this point is really a fire/utility road. I took a 360 pano up there. We're headed up the path just right of center.
While much of the country is buried in snow, this is the beginning of our green season. The summers are hot, dry, and nearly everything is brown. We've been having rains, and it's starting to green up. It'll get greener, but it's really nice. It's nearly noon, but in the shade there's still plenty of dew, making everything feel so new. These made me think of LordV and the folks in the macro forum.
This is a utility and fire road. At this point it's called Fairview Road, and is actually an extension of a residential street. But soon I'll be on Westlake Edison Road!
I'm hiking in the Santa Monica Mountains. I'm not far from where they shot M*A*S*H. Look familiar?
It's a great feeling to get out into this.
So, I'm out here to find some geocaches. Looking for the first one (which I didn't find!), I came across the remains of a critter. There were actually several in this little area. I guess it's someone's dining room.
In the far range is the image of Lincoln's face in profile. Can you find it? You can see this as you come down the 23 FWY headed south. From the freeway the image of Lincoln is actually clearer.
The vehicle gates have a map of the trail system on them.
One of the caches was up by a utility station. It was a great view, from high up.
The view from the cache.
And the cache!
When you're geocaching you always sign the log. If the cache is large enough there's goodies in it. You take one and leave one. Here I took the card game and left one of my signature carabiner pens. Oh, and I signed the log, of course!
I used the cache tin as a tripod.
Another cache. It's amazing what people walk by everyday, never seeing. Just because they're not looking.
This sign tells you that the historic trail you're on isn't really historic.
This bench is the landmark for one of the geocaches. And there you can see Lincoln again!
Fire roads can get pretty narrow. Later on, I'll be on foot trails.
A lot of the caches use ammo boxes. They're rugged.
I walked along with this fellow for quite a ways. He helped me navigate through one section of the trail, making sure I took the right turn. Where he left me off is where I left the fire roads. He's also the one who told me I could make my destination before dark. :wxwax
At this point I'm starting to get a little concerned about getting out before dark. Sun's going down, and I'm about 4 miles from my destination. This is when I knew I had to revise my goal!
The trail's changed a bit.
The last cache I bothered to find was here. I found this CO2 cartridge, and packed it out. I don't know how many caches I passed after this point, but I'm sure I missed plenty of opportunities. This made 11 for the day, so I was OK with that, and just knew I had to get out ASAP.
This pano is taken at the same spot.
Onward and upward!
Dang. Getting worried.
I saw this road from a bit back, and was immediately heartened that I had found a way out!
Denied!!!! So close, but I can't use the road, and have to continue on...for another 2 miles. At this point I'm tired, but fine. It's the push to get out with some light in the next mile that nearly killed me, and made the last mile misery.
I'm on the little wisp of a trail that crosses the road at this point. See it?
Ruh-Roh!
Too dark to take pictures, I busied myself with hobbling and trying to avoid a twisted ankle. Luckily, in one of the caches I had pulled out a glow stick, which I know cracked open to help light my way. It wasn't a lot of help, but it was something. I called my wife, letting her know where I would come out. Then I called her back and asked her to bring a flashlight, in case she had to come up the trail to get me. I called a third time to ask her to bring a PBJ sandwich. I had been pushing hard, and needed something.
I ended up making it out all on my own just as my wife pulled up in the car. We headed over to Sharkey's. Beer and food good.
I began my journey at around 11am, and 6 hours and 40 minutes later I had walked a total of 10.86 miles (I know, because my GPS tells me so!). I walked the last 40 minutes in the dark, hobbling along on weak legs. I would have been fine, except that I was one almond butter sandwich shy of what I needed, and I really needed the time to sit and rest a bit, but didn't feel like I could afford to stop as it got darker and darker.
Here's the elevation profile of my hike:
So here goes: my journey.
I started off right out my backyard. It's a short but steep hike up to the trails. You can't see my house in this shot, it's a bit off to the right, but this is on my way bushwhacking up the hill to the trail:
As you can see, a gorgeous day. Cool at 57F, but perfect for hiking. I was excited.
I got up to the trail, which at this point is really a fire/utility road. I took a 360 pano up there. We're headed up the path just right of center.
While much of the country is buried in snow, this is the beginning of our green season. The summers are hot, dry, and nearly everything is brown. We've been having rains, and it's starting to green up. It'll get greener, but it's really nice. It's nearly noon, but in the shade there's still plenty of dew, making everything feel so new. These made me think of LordV and the folks in the macro forum.
This is a utility and fire road. At this point it's called Fairview Road, and is actually an extension of a residential street. But soon I'll be on Westlake Edison Road!
I'm hiking in the Santa Monica Mountains. I'm not far from where they shot M*A*S*H. Look familiar?
It's a great feeling to get out into this.
So, I'm out here to find some geocaches. Looking for the first one (which I didn't find!), I came across the remains of a critter. There were actually several in this little area. I guess it's someone's dining room.
In the far range is the image of Lincoln's face in profile. Can you find it? You can see this as you come down the 23 FWY headed south. From the freeway the image of Lincoln is actually clearer.
The vehicle gates have a map of the trail system on them.
One of the caches was up by a utility station. It was a great view, from high up.
The view from the cache.
And the cache!
When you're geocaching you always sign the log. If the cache is large enough there's goodies in it. You take one and leave one. Here I took the card game and left one of my signature carabiner pens. Oh, and I signed the log, of course!
I used the cache tin as a tripod.
Another cache. It's amazing what people walk by everyday, never seeing. Just because they're not looking.
This sign tells you that the historic trail you're on isn't really historic.
This bench is the landmark for one of the geocaches. And there you can see Lincoln again!
Fire roads can get pretty narrow. Later on, I'll be on foot trails.
A lot of the caches use ammo boxes. They're rugged.
I walked along with this fellow for quite a ways. He helped me navigate through one section of the trail, making sure I took the right turn. Where he left me off is where I left the fire roads. He's also the one who told me I could make my destination before dark. :wxwax
At this point I'm starting to get a little concerned about getting out before dark. Sun's going down, and I'm about 4 miles from my destination. This is when I knew I had to revise my goal!
The trail's changed a bit.
The last cache I bothered to find was here. I found this CO2 cartridge, and packed it out. I don't know how many caches I passed after this point, but I'm sure I missed plenty of opportunities. This made 11 for the day, so I was OK with that, and just knew I had to get out ASAP.
This pano is taken at the same spot.
Onward and upward!
Dang. Getting worried.
I saw this road from a bit back, and was immediately heartened that I had found a way out!
Denied!!!! So close, but I can't use the road, and have to continue on...for another 2 miles. At this point I'm tired, but fine. It's the push to get out with some light in the next mile that nearly killed me, and made the last mile misery.
I'm on the little wisp of a trail that crosses the road at this point. See it?
Ruh-Roh!
Too dark to take pictures, I busied myself with hobbling and trying to avoid a twisted ankle. Luckily, in one of the caches I had pulled out a glow stick, which I know cracked open to help light my way. It wasn't a lot of help, but it was something. I called my wife, letting her know where I would come out. Then I called her back and asked her to bring a flashlight, in case she had to come up the trail to get me. I called a third time to ask her to bring a PBJ sandwich.
I had been pushing hard, and needed something.I ended up making it out all on my own just as my wife pulled up in the car. We headed over to Sharkey's. Beer and food good.
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Canon 7D w/BG-E7 Vertical Grip, Canon 50D w/ BG-E2N Vertical Grip, Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L USM, Canon 18-55mm, Canon 580EX II Flash and other goodies.
Ignorance is no excuss, so lets DGrin!
Aaron, would have been a hoot. One day we'll do it.
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David,
Thanks for sharing a view of my neighborhood that I wouldn't likely see from that viewpoint. Was the man on the horse named Frank? I think that he's the brother of someone else I know in the area.
My neighbor is with LA County Fire - he maintains the fire roads in the area of Malibu State Creek Park/Agoura/Westlake/Chesebro...I think he has a map of all the trails.
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I didn't catch his name, Kathy, sorry. I thought about it just after he left. I was jealous. He was not only riding a horse, but also drinking a beer. It looked good.
I was figuring that the Topo maps on my Garmin and the Google Maps on my iPhone would do me fine, but I'm starting to think that a good old paper trail map would be a nice addition to my backpack.
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I sent a link to my friend who owns horses in Old Agoura. I think it's his brother. Also, I will check with Jeff about the fire road maps to see if they're available ...
Flash Frozen Photography, Inc.
http://flashfrozenphotography.com
Whoever the guy on the horse was, he was very nice.
Of course there are maps. There are maps of everything! And it's part of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. I just need to go pick one up.
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10+ miles on those trails...
I was sore yesterday. Today I'm just grumpy from lack of sleep, but that's another story!
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Or - I can bring a model or two and *make* it a shoot day...
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It is beautiful, and so much more now than in the heat of summer, IMO. Much more enjoyable. I don't do the geocaching often enough. It's a hoot!
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Thanks, Andy. There's just no way I was gonna lug an SLR on this hike, and when I got back I didn't have the energy to do any more than a quick pass through LR. But the photos still tell the story, even if imperfectly.
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I grew up in the Conejo, so I know. Now is perfect, especially outside of the paved areas!
SWMBO had placed a cache out here in a state park in 2003, and we went to do some maintenance on it Thursday, because the folks at Geocaching kept sayin' it was toast. We're going to try to do it more often, if for no other reason than to give us another excuse to be outside :ivar
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Kathy, I found my map and ordered a spare, to boot!
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I am also planning to hike daily for next 20 days till back to Uni. Need to burn some fats
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