The Weekend Road

Live the outdoor life.

In Need a Road Trip

(Photo courtesy of Matt Frey)

A good road trip is one of my favorite things in the world, right up there with the Sierras and the St. Louis Cardinals.  Apparently, I’m not alone.  Click here for a great article from Brendan Leonard published on Adventure-Journal.com.  He hits all of the therapeutic aspects of a roadtrip, which I totally agree with.

I like to travel and tend to be away from home a fair number of weekends every year.  I never get the same feeling traveling by plane as I do by car.  Maybe it’s the airports with the TSA security groping, people who refuse to wash their hands after going to the bathroom, the strict timelines, or the lost luggage.  Way too stressful.  When you drive, you decide when to come and go, who to sit next to, and your luggage always gets to your destination.  You’re in control.

When Mrs. Weekend Road and I were on our honeymoon in Costa Rica, we rented a car to get around as we didn’t want to be tied down by plane or shuttle bus schedules.  On our road trip from the beach to Arenal, we were at liberty to pull over and check out a group of monkeys or snap a photo at a scenic overlook. One night while in Arenal, we decided to try and drive the opposite side of the volcano to see the lava flows at night.  Without a car, we wouldn’t have had that opportunity.

I must be into road trips partly because that’s how my family traveled 90% of the time growing up.  In addition to all of the regular Midwest destinations, we drove to Florida, Yellowstone, Niagara Falls, Washington DC, and Rocky Mountain National Park.  I spent many days surveying the Rand McNally Road Atlas, which helped me ace Geography in high school.

These days, road trips are an integral part of my best outdoor experiences as it takes a good 6-7 hours to reach Bishop in the Eastern Sierras or Yosemite on the west side from San Diego.  One does not exist without the other.  I’m about 2.5 weeks from another road trip with my wife and family when we head to Yosemite for Memorial Day weekend.  The days aren’t going by fast enough.

I’m enjoying watching this time lapse video called “Yosemite Range of Light” while planning a quick, last-minute Yosemite/Sierras camping trip with my wife and family.  I’m in the mood to say the least.

A few weeks ago, my oldest nephew decided that he and his girlfriend were coming for a visit in between graduating college and starting jobs.  His brother (also my nephew if you’re following closely) lives out here at the moment, so it made sense.  He wanted to camp even though his girlfriend had never spent a night outside.  With no advance notice, there wasn’t a chance to book a nice, tame, coastal campsite here in California as those sites book up 6 months in advance. 

My typical stomping grounds of the Eastern Sierras would probably be a bit too windy and cold come Memorial Day (it was last year as my group bailed on me inside their pop-up camper while I braved the snowy conditions testing my new Marmot Pinnacle 0 degree down bag).  I was forced to look for lesser known options.

I scoured my print and online resources to find a good match for our group, my standards and the limited planning window.  I was frustrated as many suitable possibilities were booked.  I didn’t want to risk first-come, first-serve campgrounds where I hadn’t been before and I didn’t want this trip to flop.  The future of young people and their connection to the outdoors was at risk.

I considered the Southern Sierras and the Kern River basin with his numerous campgrounds, semi-mountainous terrain and the Kern River, but it didn’t seem epic enough to get these kids hooked the way I am.  I needed something bigger.  More exciting. Something they would always remember.

I kept pushing north on the map and found some available campgrounds just outside the south entrance of Yosemite on Bass Lake a fairly populated lake.  At first, I balked at the idea.  Too many people.  Too many RV’s.  Not wild/remote enough for me.  But then I remembered that who I have on this trip….Bass Lake would be casual enough not to scare off the neophite camper, the weather would likely be perfect, and best of all, a short drive to Yosemite.  A day spent in Yosemite would make the long drive worthwhile and set the hook. 

With Yosemite Valley approximately an hour from Bass Lake, we can get up early one day and make our way there before the crowds turn the Yosemite Valley into Time Square.  I haven’t picked out a hike yet, but it doesn’t really matter.  I’ve got time and I can’t fail when its Yosemite because everything is going to be the best hike they’ve ever done.  The pressure is off.

In Search of Land

During a winter camping trip to Idyllwild, CA, over beers, my friends and I conspired to someday own a cabin in the mountains.  It has actually been a dream of mine for some time now, but it was nice to have some co-conspirators in on the plan.  When we returned to San Diego, one of the friends started researching vacant lots and found one with a price tag that caught his eye.  We both thought there had to be something wrong with it to be so affordable.  But after calling the listing agent, we thought it was worth the drive up.

We left San Diego at dawn and drove the 2+ hours to Idyllwild to check out the small parcel of raw land that may potentially be the spot.  On paper it had all of the right attributes, outside of town, but close enough not to be hassle to grab supplies, reasonable lot size, and most important of all, the price was right.  Finding the lot was a bit of a challenge as the lot began some 50 yards past where the “road” ended.  Luckily, it had just been surveyed so the corners were staked.  The lot was awesome is many ways.  It was adjacent to protected water district land.  There were many beautiful, interesting oak trees and pine trees with an outcropping of boulders at the top of the hill.  The downside?  The hill - as in, the whole lot was a steep hill.  Not so steep you can’t ever build, but steep enough that building on it would present additional challenges and expense - hence, the reasonable list price.

Despite the setback, the experience was a great learning experience.  It made us think about what we wanted out of our land.  For me, I’m looking for the following:

1.  Trees - I love oak trees, but aspens and old growth cedars and pines are cool too.

2.  Boulders - Fun to play on and are interesting

3.  Adjacent to protected land - fewer neighbors, less development, more nature

4.  Decent looking neighboring homes - you can get some strange folks out in the woods and I don’t want to live next to them

5.  Good access

6.  Quiet

7.  Sunlight

8.  Buildable/Expandable

9.  Bigger the better

10. Pipedream…a stream or lake access

This particular lot had almost everyone of the above criteria, but it wasn’t perfect.  Besides the building issues, access was difficult requiring negotiating (and paying for) an easement or extending the “road” a couple hundred yard.  There was some highway noise.  However, the price was so low that it almost trumped the warts.  I haven’t entirely ruled out pursuing it further, but for now, the search continues. 

(Gold Hill, Mammoth Mountain)

(Gold Hill, Mammoth Mountain)

Campsite or Cabin?

When faced with deteriorating weather this weekend, we were faced with the decision to either continue camping or pack up and head to a cabin.  I wondered, does abandoning the camping in favor of the cabin make you less of an outdoorsman?  My answer might surprise you.

This past Friday, some friends and I left San Diego for Idyllwild, California to do some car camping, drinking and hiking (in that order) on the last weekend of freedom for one of the guys before he is officially put on lock down while waiting for the birth of his first child due mid-March.  It was the first time that this group of guys had gotten together since we did Mt. Whitney last year.  I was stoked.

Half the group left San Diego in time to claim a campsite at San Jacinto State Park campground and get set up before dark.  The others (myself included) left a little later and didn’t arrive until dark.  Once we got there, we headed straight for JoAnn’s, a local bar/restaurant which is our traditional spot.  After cheeseburgers and a couple pale ales, we headed back to the campsite to set up our tents, make a fire and enjoy several more beers.  The weather was absolutely perfect for a campfire.  Little to no wind with temps in the low 40’s just as the weather forecast predicted.  After we burned through our wood and a good chunk of the beer, we hit the sack.  I slept as well as I had in a long time.

The next morning we slept in and waited for our last friend to arrive before making omelets and gearing up for our hike to the summit of Tahquitz Peak via the South Ridge Trail, a 7.2 mile roundtrip hike with a pretty healthy elevation gain.  Like everything I’ve done up there, I thought the hike was fantastic.  We took a winding dirt road to the South Ridge trailhead at 6,480 feet.  I hesitate to disclose this fact, but it’s on the Tom Harrison topo map.  There was an awesome yellow post campsite next along the dirt road just short of the trailhead that looked great.  We all agreed that it would be our campsite for our next trip (we even contemplated driving back to the campground to relocate our stuff to the South Ridge yellow post site, but thought better of it). 

(One of the many views from the South Ridge Trail)

Again, the weather forecast called for patchy fog, partly cloudy skies with temps in the 30’s.  Believe or not, I would rather hike in the 30 degree weather than 80 degree weather so I was excited for the forecast.  Despite the forecast, we enjoyed a healthy amount of sunshine because we stayed above the cloud cover for most of the hike making for interesting views along almost the whole trail which track the south ridge (its namesake) to the peak.  After enjoying some amazing sandwiches on the summit we hightailed it back to the car with few, if any, breaks on the way back down.

(Old decommissioned fire lookout on Tahquitz Peak)

When we arrived back at our campsite, we noticed that the weather was not looking great.  As the forecast predicted, it looked like it could start raining or snowing at any moment.  It was about 2:30pm and we had a decision to make.  We could either go buy a bunch of firewood and ingredients to make dinner at the campsite or we could use the keys to a cabin and relocate our stuff there.  At first, no one wanted to be the wimp in the group to advocate for the cabin, but my friend who found a sizable hole in his sleeping bag finally spoke up and voted for the cabin.  Another vote for the cabin soon followed.  Myself and another guy voted to continue camping leaving the 5th guy to make the call.  We all knew what he wanted but he didn’t seem to want to be the tie breaking vote.  We let him off the hook and decided to pack up and head over to the cabin.

As we began breaking down our tents, it began to barely drizzle ever so slightly.  The proponents of the cabin began to tout their good foresight while us camping advocates were left to shamefully agree that it was probably the right call. 

After relocating to the cabin a short distance away, the rain had not yet materialized so we were able to hang outside.  We busted out the washers game and our coolers and essentially did the exact same thing that we would have done at the campground.  After a couple hours, it was time for dinner.  Instead of cooking over the campfire as we had planned, we opted for Idyllwild Pizza in town which is also one of the best food spots in Idyllwild.  After devouring appetizers, pizza and more beer, we headed back to the cabin.  By now, it was about 7:30pm and a mixture of rain and snow began falling.  Admittedly, this would have but a huge buzzkill into our camping.  Mid-30’s with wind and rain is absolutely the worst possible weather.  We definitely would have been stuck in our tents from that point on.  It continued to lightly rain/sleet/snow the rest of the night off and on.  We had made a good decision.

So, this all leads me back to the point of this article (yes, there actually is one).  Being one of the two votes for camping, I continued to make fun of my friends a little bit for bailing on camping in favor of the cabin all while knowing that it was the right call.  Growing up in the Chicago area, I know first-hand that mid-30’s with rain flat out sucks.  That night, I came to the conclusion that crashing in a cabin in the woods made us no less outdoorsy than stewing in tents in a state park campground.  While suffering sure has its place in certain outdoor pursuits, car camping is not one of them.  It’s not like we were on some epic adventure that we cut short because of a little rain.  I decided that it’s best not to take yourself too seriously while car camping.  The point of the trip was to enjoy the company of good friends before the impending fatherhood of one of my hiking partners.  Mission accomplished.

(Tahquitz Peak, 8,846 feet)

What It’s Like Being Married to an Outdoorsman

This blog post from TrailSavvy.net really brought a smile to my face.  The second I got done reading it, I sent it to Mrs. WeekendRoad.  After she read it, she wrote back, “on the dot.”  As an outdoorsman, I sometimes take for granted that Mrs. WeekendRoad almost always lets me do my thing and most of the time accompanies me.  Not all wives or girlfriends are so freakin’ awesome.  I’m lucky and I know it.

(Mrs. WeekendRoad and I backpacking in Denali National Park, September 2011)

"The Renaissance in High Altitude Winter Climbing"

Simone and Urubko on Nanga Parbat

It is an exciting time to be a person just getting into mountaineering.  At first, one might say that it isn’t because all of the best adventures and first ascents have already been had.  That may be true to some degree.  Surely, their were the first ascents of the 8,000 meter peaks decades ago, but generally no one really knew much about them until weeks and months later.  With the sat phones, internet, blogs, YouTube, Twitter, etc., we can follow along closely and monitor teams’ progress, which I find fascinating.  I wish I had the time to follow these expeditions more closely.  In this regard, the article below summarizes the winter expeditions currently in progress.

via Adventure-Journal.com, written by Brendan Leonard…

“It is arguably the most dangerous climbing on the planet, conducted in the harshest, most brutal conditions and in the death zone of elevation where the margin for error if infinitely small, and yet the mountaineering world in the midst of a renaissance of high-altitude winter climbing. There’s less daylight, more cold, more snow, more danger, more bad weather, better odds of getting frostbite, losing fingers and toes, and less chance of a successful summit — and yet five separate tough climbing teams are in or headed to the Himalaya and the Karakoram to try for summits yet untouched in winter.

The biggest assault is a Russian team attempting 8,611-meter K2, the world’s second-highest mountain, and certainly one of the most dangerous. Historically, one in four climbers attempting to summit K2 has died. Only a few more than 300 people have ever stood on top and hardly any of them have had a successful second summit – and that’s trying in the season of good, relatively stable weather.

Each of the 16 members of the Russian team has at least two 8,000-meter summits on his resume and many have three or more. Viktor Koslov, the leader of the expedition, told the Associated Press in December, “This is only possible for a Russian team.” The team expects to take two and a half months to reach the summit, following the Cesen Route up to 7,650 meters and then heading up an unclimbed face to stay out of the worst of the wind. By mid-January, the team had established a base camp and had made it as high as Camp 2 on the Cesen Route, but then watched their base camp and Camp 1 get destroyed in a hurricane. As of January 29, the team had rebuilt base camp and Camp 1, re-fixed their route up to Camp 2, and rebuilt Camp 2. Winds remained strong and the sky overcast, but their goal for today, January 30, was to establish Camp 3.

Also in the fierce Karakoram, two teams will try for the first winter ascent of 8,080-meter Gasherbrum I starting in January. A Polish team and an international team had arrived in base camp in fiercely cold conditions by January 22. As of last Friday, the Polish team had established Camp 1 at 5930M and were scouting Camp 2.

Following their success on Gasherbrum II last winter made famous in the movie “Cold,” climbers Simone Moro and Denis Urubko are attempting the first winter ascent of 8,160-meter Nanga Parbat, also in Pakistan but in the Himalaya. Moro will be looking for his fourth winter first ascent on an 8000-meter peak (following Makalu, Shisha Pangma, and GII). If successful, GI will be Urubko’s third (Makalu and GII). Urubko and Moro announced in January that they will attempt the Messner-Habeler route. The men are not alone on Nanga Parbat – the neighbors in their base camp are a Polish team hoping for the first winter ascent as well.

At last report on January 27, Moro and Urubko were acclimatizing at 6600 meters at Camp 3, while the Poles were in base camp”

Gear Review: Patagonia Nano Puff Pullover

It’s been quite awhile since my last substantive post.  My apologies.  Unfortunately, things have been quiet on the adventure-front, which equates to less inspiration.  No camping.  Very little hiking.  Here’s to getting back on track with a review of one of my favorite pieces in my backpacking kit, Patagonia’s Nano Puff Pullover.

When I first got into backpacking a few years ago, I didn’t think that going light was that big of a deal.  I mean, really, what’s the big deal if your jacket weighs 25 ounces vs. 10.2 ounces?  As I learned over the years, a few ounces here and there add up to pounds, and added pounds adds up to less miles and more discomfort.  Seems obvious, but it wasn’t to me and my checkbook.

At 10.2 ounces, if it wasn’t for the windblocking and instant warmth, you would barely notice that it’s on.  It packs into its own pocket easily making it simple to take it with you on day hikes and backpacking trips.  With a baselayer and Patagonia R1 fleeces, I’ve been comfortable stationary at approximately 20 degrees.  The shell is water repellent and the 60g Primaloft retains its warmth even when wet making this piece versatile in many weather conditions.  I wore it under my hard shell while backpacking in Denali National Park in September and didn’t need anything more.  I typically don’t like pullovers, but the cut and material used on the Nano Puff makes it very easy to slide over your baselayer.

Pros:

  • Ultra lightweight
  • Packs into its own chest pocket
  • Cut for layering
  • Comfortable
  • Windproof
  • Water repellent
  • Deep zipper for ventilation

Cons:

  • No hand warmer pockets

Bottomline:

Buy this insulation piece if you’re looking to cut weight and still want to carry an insulation piece.  It’s a great match for the Sierras.  And don’t be afraid of bright colors.

the Outage: Discovery's 'Gold Rush': how NOT to live off the land

I’ve watched Gold Rush on the Discovery Channel many times and enjoyed it.  This blog post from The Outage outlines my feelings about the show perfectly in a way that I was never able to articulate.  Well done.

theoutage:

Gold Rush logo

Over Thanksgiving, thanks to a marathon of old episodes, we cemented our addiction to Discovery’s hit reality show Gold Rush. The series follows gold mining crews determined to hit it rich in northern Canada and Alaska.

In some ways, Gold Rush and this website address the same topic:…

(via theoutage-deactivated20120306)

1,700 miles of Pacific Coast Trail produced a truly “epic beard.”   Check out his website at thehikeguy.com.

Missing Hatchet is a short film chronicling a canoe trip in northern Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, of fishing, paddling, waiting out the rain, laughing through the idle time, and the pure, simple happiness of building a fire and cooking your dinner on it.  Sometimes the simplest things are the most enjoyable and this video captures that perfectly.

I emailed a link of this video to my five friends who joined me in a short trip to the Boundary Waters in May 2011.  We had an absolute blast despite the fact that we got skunked in the fish department (which my friend was all too quick to point out). 

Missing Hatchet is so well-made it makes me want to take some classes at a local art school.  In my opinion, the only thing missing from the video is some footage of the friends sharing some whiskey around one of those perfect campfires.

I’m not sure what I think about off-roading.  By off-roading, I don’t mean driving down dirtroads to reach trailheads.  I do that and love getting some dirt on my truck.  I mean the activity of doing nothing more than driving your 4x4 SUV (typically, a Jeep Wrangler) up, over and through stuff that you wouldn’t normally otherwise be able to do.  I’m guessing it’s pretty cool at first, but it seems that it would get incredibly old after like two times.  I guess you can’t knock it until you try it, but when I was scrambling up Lawson Peak in the Cleveland National Forest outside of San Diego a couple weekends ago, I felt way better for having actually hiked up the trail instead of fat-assing it in the backseat of some dude’s Rubicon.  I’ll admit though…the thought of hitching it down did cross my mind.

I’m not sure what I think about off-roading.  By off-roading, I don’t mean driving down dirtroads to reach trailheads.  I do that and love getting some dirt on my truck.  I mean the activity of doing nothing more than driving your 4x4 SUV (typically, a Jeep Wrangler) up, over and through stuff that you wouldn’t normally otherwise be able to do.  I’m guessing it’s pretty cool at first, but it seems that it would get incredibly old after like two times.  I guess you can’t knock it until you try it, but when I was scrambling up Lawson Peak in the Cleveland National Forest outside of San Diego a couple weekends ago, I felt way better for having actually hiked up the trail instead of fat-assing it in the backseat of some dude’s Rubicon.  I’ll admit though…the thought of hitching it down did cross my mind.

Climbing, Mountain Biking and Kayaking.  The best of the best try to answer the question.

Deep North:  A Trip to the Arrigetch Peaks really makes me want to get out there.  The climbers’ love for being in the mountains and being with friends really shines through.  I get an incredible amount of joy out of just being in the mountains and camping with friends, so it was refreshing to hear pros talking about the same.  Even though they get paid to be out there, they still get it.  They were happy to be on an expedition and didn’t really worry about whether they were actually going to get an opportunity to put any new routes in the Brooks Range in northern Alaska.  Ultimately, Patagonia climbers Tommy Caldwell, Hayden Kennedy and Corey Rich enjoyed great weather and put up a new route they estimated at close to 1,500 ft and rated at 5.11 + X, M2.  Disclosure:  I have very little understanding of what that means exactly. 

Happy New Year!

As someone who is from the Midwest and spent many childhood days enjoying the Great Lakes, I really enjoyed this blog post from our friends at Merrell about The Fresh Coast Project. merrellorigins: ARCHIVING THE FRESH COAST Ed Wargin is holding on to the coast, one photograph at a time. A long-time professional photographer, Wargin has transformed his connection to the Great Lakes as a Minnesota native into a project documenting the region. The Fresh Coast Project sits at the intersection of art, history, wilderness, and memory, as Ed Wargin captures the details along the 10,000 plus miles of shoreline that make up the Great Lakes. And he’s using (gasp) both digital and film mediums. Digital photographs are the primary vehicle for most of the images we see these days. Especially when hanging in the internet world. So…all of us here. Part of the core mission of The Fresh Coast Project is utilizing film as a marker by which to tangibly track the Great Lakes. These are real pieces of wilderness memory that Wargin is creating—moments of wildlife, land, and water—that will serve as artifacts of something as changeable as a shoreline. First of all, looking at just the digital versions of these photographs makes you want to hop on the next floatplane to the upper reaches of the lakes. (Now is your opportunity to find a floatplane, right?) These images are simply beautiful. But they also succeed in drawing you in to a kind of intagible place of memory that Wargin creates with his carefully curated choices of scene and mood. The rocks and trees and bullfrogs are not a tourism plug. Their detail suggests more about the Great Lakes-as-resource, that the region is connected to real communities of people, industry, wildlife. By archiving the coast, Wargin hopes to create stewards of the future. “The project is not so much about telling you the story of the Great Lakes, but it is about telling your grandchildren the story of the Great Lakes.” The Fresh Coast Project is an ode to the ol’ Spirit of the Lakes: one that dips its canoe into the water and navigates the landscape and knows its inhabitants. Wargin is creating physical evidence of that spirit. Now carry it with you. From the dock, -KK All photos courtesy of The Fresh Coast Project

As someone who is from the Midwest and spent many childhood days enjoying the Great Lakes, I really enjoyed this blog post from our friends at Merrell about The Fresh Coast Project.

merrellorigins:

ARCHIVING THE FRESH COAST

Ed Wargin is holding on to the coast, one photograph at a time.

A long-time professional photographer, Wargin has transformed his connection to the Great Lakes as a Minnesota native into a project documenting the region.

The Fresh Coast Project sits at the intersection of art, history, wilderness, and memory, as Ed Wargin captures the details along the 10,000 plus miles of shoreline that make up the Great Lakes. And he’s using (gasp) both digital and film mediums.

Digital photographs are the primary vehicle for most of the images we see these days. Especially when hanging in the internet world. So…all of us here. Part of the core mission of The Fresh Coast Project is utilizing film as a marker by which to tangibly track the Great Lakes. These are real pieces of wilderness memory that Wargin is creating—moments of wildlife, land, and water—that will serve as artifacts of something as changeable as a shoreline.

First of all, looking at just the digital versions of these photographs makes you want to hop on the next floatplane to the upper reaches of the lakes. (Now is your opportunity to find a floatplane, right?) These images are simply beautiful.

But they also succeed in drawing you in to a kind of intagible place of memory that Wargin creates with his carefully curated choices of scene and mood. The rocks and trees and bullfrogs are not a tourism plug. Their detail suggests more about the Great Lakes-as-resource, that the region is connected to real communities of people, industry, wildlife. By archiving the coast, Wargin hopes to create stewards of the future.

“The project is not so much about telling you the story of the Great Lakes, but it is about telling your grandchildren the story of the Great Lakes.”

The Fresh Coast Project is an ode to the ol’ Spirit of the Lakes: one that dips its canoe into the water and navigates the landscape and knows its inhabitants. Wargin is creating physical evidence of that spirit. Now carry it with you.

From the dock,

-KK

All photos courtesy of The Fresh Coast Project

(via merrellorigins-deactivated20120)