Posts

Peak 4 of 6: Ontario Peak

/in /by

Peak four of six had me climbing over downed trees and wishing for a little more water…

Hiking over downed trees ain’t no joke.

The Hike: You start off the same route as Cucamonga Peak—Icehouse Canyon Trail to Icehouse Saddle, which will bring you at about 5.1 miles one way and about 7,600 foot elevation. At the saddle’s fork in the road, you would veer to the right (again, this area has many signs) where you will take a skinny semi-covered trail for 2.8 miles one way to the peak. Along the way, you’ll get a fantastic view of the backside of Mount Baldy, another popular mountain part of the SoCal Six, and a real leg/ thigh killer.

The bubbling stream that I wanted to jump in.

Eventually you’ll come to a part of the trail with tall grass and chaparral scrubs. There will also be downed trees that can impede your literal path, so you might have to hop over a few of those giants. Hike up a hill and come to a saddle area…keep going. Drink up because if you’re as smart as I was and decided to hike at 10:00 a.m. again, then at this point in the trail, an electrolyte tablet might be worth a try. I, however, had none and, therefore, once I reached the actual peak, had less than 2 liters of water left and more than 7.5 miles in midday heat in front of me. Shortly after this hike, I purchased a 3 liter bladder and electrolyte tabs.

Arrive at the peak and check out the spectacular views.

Driving Directions: (same directions as Cucamonga Peak) From the 210 east towards San Bernardino, exit Base Line Drive, make a right onto Pahua Drive and a right onto Mount Baldy Road. The trailhead is located at the end of Mt. Baldy Road, and there is a lot for those who have Adventure or National Park passes. You can also park alongside the road without any ticketing consequences.

The unobstructed view from the top.

Parking: At the end of Mt. Baldy Road on the left side is a lot for folks who have an Adventure or National Parks passes. If you don’t have one, just park alongside the road.

Roundtrip mileage: 15.8 miles, 8 hours

Elevation: 8,696 feet

Elevation gain: 4,240 feet

What to bring: Water, snacks, hat, sunscreen, phone/camera, Adventure Pass

Consider this: Although this is definitely no Sitton Peak, the bugs were still quite annoying. I blame the heat because, once again, as hard as I tried to get out the door early, I made it to the trailhead by 9:45 am on the dot…with much disappointment. Knowing it was going to be a hot one, I decided to hike a little slower, sip water and stop more often.

 

Intro-ing My Journey with the SoCal Six Peak Challenge

/in , /by

I bet y’all are wondering: where’d the surfer girl go? What’s with the land adventures? What gives?
There comes a time where…nah, I’m not gonna go into this lecture–I honestly got tricked into taking on this challenge after a series of life-changing/stressful events. I needed peace and escape and I gotta credit my best nature-loving junkie pal Sean Jansen with this adventure.
Sean—you started it! You’ve turned me into a land lubber.

And, now I’m forever grateful.

As I was saying…I needed escape from the norm. As the summer crept into air vents and AC bills across Riverside and other sweltering inland counties and states, I knew anything that resembled a beach would be a ZOO. And grumpy territorial locals combined with those touting soft tops, frosted tips and sweet ignorance, (PLUS traffic), had me reeling for an alternative nature-bound escape.

Enter the mountains, which have semi-eluded my interest until now. Hiking is fully a part of my outdoor geekiness. After getting tricked into hiking up one peak, a fellow hiker asked if I was doing the “SoCal Six Peak Challenge,” which I had no idea what that was, but could guess given the context clues.

And so it was ingrained in my brain: hike six peaks in Southern California

Technically there are 12 peaks within this challenge, but the most common one is the “SoCal Six,” which you can find here.
Follow me on my adventure to hike six of Southern California’s noteworthy peaks! Who knows…maybe I’ll do 12? No promises.

Stay tuned to my blog and Instagram. I’ll give ya my skinny on some of Southern California’s not-so-skinny mountain peaks.

Two hard and fast recommends if you decide to attempt:

    Purchase an annual Adventure Pass for $30 or a National Parks Pass for $80. They are available at any REI store or any ranger station.
    Be sure to bring more water than you think you need. I recommend 2 liters at the very least. On a hot day with a long hike and lots of elevation in front of you, I recommend at least 4.5-5 liters. Water weighs two pounds per liter, but trust me—it is worth every pound.

And…don’t worry—there will be ocean waves, too.

Disclaimer: My estimated time to complete each trail is based on my personal pace, which I have averaged at around 2 miles an hour. Your results and experiences may vary depending on the weather, stamina, water supply, mental sanity, etc.

*All photos and videos are my own

The Art of Multitasking

/in , /by
C Street, me and my momma.

C Street, me and my momma.

October is one of my most favorite months to be a Californian. The weather starts to cool, kids go back to school, offshore winds pick up and swells from all directions linger around our coastline. However, much of this year’s October was spent rushing towards my cousin’s beautiful wedding at the end of the month. Most of my time and energy was spent booking flights, painting signs, decorating bottles, configuring a travel budget, packing, airports, driving…and planning time in between wedding madness to surf, of course.
 
Fortunate for me, my ingenious cousin picked a gorgeous venue in Nipomo, Calif.…a 15 minute drive to Pismo Beach. It also didn’t hurt that C Street in Ventura was an easy stop on the way up to Pismo, too.
 
After battling Los Angeles traffic for two hours, I felt it was time to take a pit stop in Ventura with my mom for a bite to eat and perhaps a look around. We stopped and shopped, I introduced my mom to Thai food and any store that read ‘antique’ on the sign, you can guarantee we were rummaging through milk glass, old cameras and horribly cheesy ‘gone surfing’ signs.
 
The afternoon northwest winds picked up and I decided C Street might still be worth a check. Even though the wind was up, there were still two-to-four-foot rights and lefts coming off the point. I paddled out and much to my surprise, the water temperature didn’t phase me and the people weren’t as grumpy as I thought they might be. Even though I was still technically in southern California, it didn’t feel like it at all.
C Street, inconsistent and uncrowded.

C Street, inconsistent and uncrowded.

 
As we made our way through Santa Barbara and arrived at the hotel that was situated across from the Pismo Beach Pier, almost immediately I concluded there will be surfing, come hell or cold water, 60 pound suitcases or google maps constant epic failures. *NOTE: Download the Waze app for maps and whatnot…works way better than Google!*
 
I was going to do it all…and with a smile.
 
The next day, I took my time waking up and found myself blurry-eyed in my 3/2 Patagonia wetsuit with surfboard in tow walking across hotel properties towards the pier. Overcast skies met a dark blue/grey ocean and fine brown sand. It was different here…no noise, no traffic, train or obnoxious tourists…just the sound of crashing waves and the occasional family peeling sand dollars and razor clam shells from the sand.
I took this opportunity to breath deep and absorb the peaceful atmosphere…Huge boulder islands sat plainly on the sand and in the water outside of the hotel’s cliffs, boiling with each ebb and flow of the 2 foot swells…I bet that cove can fire on a big swell, I thought.
As I pressed onward to the pier, little two to three foot waves rolled through. There were a lot of longboards in the water…I hope they’re not too aggro, I though as my feet found the silty bottom. I pushed off and began the paddle in the frigid 55 degree water with only my 3/2 between the Pacific and me.
Pismo Pier looking pretty chilly.

Pismo Pier looking pretty chilly.

 
As I sat just outside of the “crowd” of 6 people, I realized they were all college kids from Cal Poly discussing midterms, projects and megalodon theories. Ah please don’t talk about megalodon, I thought. Right before I paddled out, I spotted a large sea lion just inside and thought, that’s a good thing, right? I would be a toothpick for megladon compared to that fatty sea lion. Yep that’s what I will keep telling myself.
But being a toothpick for a toothy creature is not on my to-do list, so I paddled closer to the crowd. Waves came and went and I caught a couple and day-dreamed about scoring overhead  Moro Bay tee-pees, crowd: non-existent.
 
Suddenly, a gal on a ginormous longboard paddled up and smiled “Hi! How’s it going?”
Non-local status revealed. Boy, that was fast.
The rest of her giggling girl clan paddled around me with one eye on the waves and one on me as I explained where I was from and why I was here.
Among these college girls were marine bio majors, business majors, accounting majors…we talked travel story, sharks (they seem to be a popular topic up here), diving, sand dollars, wipeouts… They couldn’t believe I didn’t have any booties on and told me to try Scuba booties. Scuba booties have a better grip on the bottom and just feel warmer. Noted, gals!
 
The wave of the day came through and all four ladies were on it together. As I hooted them into the wave, I knew it would break on top of them, but it was too late to warn. They didn’t care as they laughed their way over the falls and through the whitewash.
My hands took on deep purple hues and I knew the time had come to return to wedding madness. We all collected on the beach and they didn’t hesitate to give me a ride back to my hotel. I have a place to stay in Pismo! Yay!
What a good way to start a crazy day!
 
Although the next morning I stayed with the bridal party and opted not to surf, I heard it was firing. But, as my cousin’s Maid of Honor, I didn’t want to leave her side and the thought of surfing that morning felt unnecessary…besides, between 10 girls and 2 showers, I don’t think it would’ve been fair had I taken up the majority of the hot water to bring my purpled limbs back to life.
My cousin, Ashley, had a 1920's theme for her wedding. Pictured are me, Ashley, Kristy and Kerri.

My cousin, Ashley, had a 1920’s theme for her wedding. Pictured are me, Ashley, Kristy and Kerri.

The wedding came and went in a wave of emotion and glory. Speeches were made, dances were danced, cake was cut and rose petals tossed. For a brief moment, I breathed a sign of relief as I watched my happy cousin and her husband drive off into the chilly foggy Nipomo evening.
Ohh fog…maybe the surf will be glassy tomorrow!
Hmm check out is at noon, maybe between breakfast and packing up decor and clothes into two cars….
 
I paddled out Sunday morning and didn’t see my gals. It was still small, still foggy and still cold, but I didn’t care. Something about surfing in a new place with a lot of swell potential and kind people really made me appreciate my sense of adventure.
Oftentimes, we sequester ourselves to one city, one break, one peak…it isn’t until we venture out of that comfort zone do we learn to appreciate what we have and learn about how we can grow. If there is an opportunity to learn about a new spot, take it! Multitasking is an interesting art who’s end goal is to satisfy all parties. It seems as I grow older, the opportunities to venture out for my own selfish need become less and less.
 
I guess what I’m trying to say is: When you’ve got the chance, go for it. It might not come again for a long while.