Big Sur and Pine Ridge Trail

When I lived on the Monterey Peninsula the Pine Ridge Trail into the Ventana Wilderness was one of my favorite hikes to quickly get to a remote area. A downside is that trail access is easy, Big Sur is popular, and California trails are notoriously crowded. That means that on weekends, when the weather is good, there will be others on the trail with you. If you have the gear and are willing to brave winter weather the trail could be yours alone.



One recent December I had a weekend without plans and decided to head to Big Sur for a solo hike and camp in Ventana Wilderness. As it turned out, a cold front was predicted to move through on Friday night, with rain, wind, and a drop in temperature. My philosophy with weather is summed up by explorer Ranulph Fiennes who reportedly said, "There is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing." Admittedly, winter in Big Sur is not severe, but I did pack my winter sleeping bag and an extra fleece layer.



I arrived at Big Sur Station in mid-afternoon, packed up, and started to hike in. There were about a dozen younger folks hiking out with dogs, guitars, and ukuleles – I guessed that I had missed a good party. My goal was Barlow Flats which was seven miles in but... Continue reading... 

Joshua Tree: A Land of Subtle, Stark Wonder

I’d never been to Joshua Tree National Park before. I’d heard about it from friends, and often said to myself I should go there, but I never got around to it. Like a lot of things in California, it was so close that it was easy to forget it was there. California is like that, so full of things to see and experience your choices become as congested and difficult to maneuver as the freeways of Los Angeles.  A friend of mine, back from teaching kids in Korea for the winter, asked me to join him on a day long excursion to this special place, and not having seen him in almost two years I could not refuse. Besides, it would be good to get away after a truly awful divorce from someone I thought I could trust. This is also a common thing in California.

Joshua Tree National Park, California

Like most people, in my youth I thought of a desert as a barren, boiling wasteland choked with sand. I thought of Lawrence of Arabia leading a charging army of fierce desert nomads. Deserts were places for the lost and the damned, filled with shallow graves just off the road and swarmed by nefarious hitchhikers and shady characters. Giant worms ridden by noble Fremen charged across endless dunes. It was easy to believe the Hollywood vision. And nothing could be further from the truth (except when it is). Deserts (yes there are different kinds), as varied as any other environment you’ll pass through, team with survivors, creatures so well adapted they thrive in places that can suck the life out of a person in a few hours.

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