:: Life on Planet Dan-E ::

:: Saturday, November 30, 2002 ::

Happy Thanksgiving to all my readers (all six of you)! I hope you had a good one and ended up eating way too much.

I started off my Thanksgiving by going on a nice like hike up in the local mountains. It wasn't at all planned that way, starting with fact that I unexpectedly woke up at 8:00 in the morning (I was up until 4:00am the night before). My original plan was to see if I could somehow manage to stay in bed until 5:30pm or so, eat dinner, and then return to bed. As it was, my attempts to go back to sleep proved futile, despite my best effort (Dark Side of the Moon just doesn't do it anymore). So around 8:30, I got up, took peak outside and saw that it was quite a lovely day and it was then I decided right then that I really needed to go on a hike.

Where to go. Well, I had about eight hours to work with and my first thought was Joshua Tree but I quickly nixed that since it would take at least two hours just to get there. I remembered a friend of mine telling about some nice hiking trails up in the Santa Monica Mountains so I spent about five minutes looking up her e-mail so I could get directions, info, etc. In case you guys have never been there, you should know that the Santa Monica Mtns are nowhere near Santa Monica. You have to travel a good 30 miles north from the point where the 10 freeway hits PCH.

I finally left the house around 10:00. Traffic was mercifully light (though left-lane stragglers were in abundance, those bastards) and the weather was typical SoCal (warm, sunny, few clouds) which made for a great drive up PCH. I was rather surprised how many people made a trip out to the beach that day as there was more cars parked along the street and the lots for more filled than your typical late November afternoon. An added bonus was the side street I had to take to get to the trail. It's a very narrow, windy, mountainous road with a lot of hairpins and the occasional sweeping, decreasing-radius turns, which was a great opportunity to test out the grip of my new tires. I hadn't driven like that since my last car and I have to say, it was almost as fun as the hike itself.

The trail is called "Mishe Mokwa" and it's a series a smaller trails that all connect together into a circuitous route about six miles long. It was quite overgrown with a lot of shrubs and branches in the trail so it evoked the feeling of walking through an untamed forest - if that forest happened to have clearly marked trail. It took me through the mountains and treated me to some very spectacular views. I was worried initially about the hike testing my level of fitness since the map I picked up at the ranger station said that portions of the trail would be "moderate to strenuous" but as it turns out I'm in better shape than I thought. That or the trail wasn't nearly as hard as they made it out to be. Most likely the latter. Still, I walked at a brisk pace so I did work up a good sweat. I wasn't straining but four liters of water through my system wasn't enough to keep my calves from cramping. I just sweat too much. Then again, it made the peak of the trip much more enjoyable since I had to work up to it somewhat. The highest point was Sandstone Peak (elevation 3,111'). It offered 360' views from the coast all the way out to the Valley. And I have to tell you, from that angle, the Valley doesn't seem like the seedy, porn-capital-of-the-world cesspool it is. But seriously, thanks to all the winds from the week before, the view was unobstructed all the way around and as a result, quite breathtaking. I stayed up at the peak for about 20 minutes to take in the view. I would have stayed up a little longer since I brought along a book to read but unfortunately, there were other people who hiked up to that spot and I really wanted to be alone.

I worked my way back down to my car and cleaned myself up while taking in the view of the sunset. I would have liked to see it all the way down but that was still a good hour away and I wanted to get home in time for dinner. Since I'm rarely out here, I decided on a different route home. Actually, I headed north on PCH for a few miles just to see where it would take me. If you go far enough there comes a point on this highway when last bits of beachside property disappear completely and the only thing between you and the ocean is a thin strip of rocky beaches. *This" is what drving down PCH is about. After a few miles I headed back after hitting a landmark called Bass Rock since the only thing beyond that of any real interest is Santa Barbra. Well, that and a military missle testing facility and I'm guessing they don't take too kindly to strangers drifting in asking for a tour of the place. I drove until I hit Point Dume where I stopped at a gas station to get a drink but instead of taking PCH the rest of the way back, I cut across the mountains via Kanan Road, which eventually hit the 101 freeway. Kanan was a nice drive as well. It didn't have any sharp turns but it's a great, relaxing drive through the hills (literally too, as it takes you through a couple of tunnels). Freeway traffic was light and the rest of the drive home was uneventful. I need to do this more often because there are some days (weeks even) when a guy just needs to go on a hike.

:: Miscellaneous Ramblings by Dan-E at 6:53 AM [+] :: | 0 comments
.....