Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! Tonight I'm making some saffron buns to share at the celebration. This is a mid-December Swedish tradition I will share tomorrow. My family will be happy they are not subjected to the saffron.

Provisional Hike

Sunday, I scouted a local trail to use for my provisional hike to become a hike leader. You can know this top secret, coveted information before it's even published. The hike will likely be to Echo Mountain and Inspiration Point in Altadena, CA; 10 miles round trip with 2700 ft elevation gain. It's a historic hike, tough, but well worth it. You'll encounter spectacular views of Los Angeles and ruins from a railroad and hotel. Please join!

A Hike to Weigh the Pumpkin

A special thanks goes out to my neighbors who let me use their scale to weigh my pumpkin. The result of the great pumpkin contest of 2010 is that the pumpkin weighs 21.1 lbs. The winner may email to claim the prize...the pumpkin. The hike to my neighbor's house was the shortest one I've set out on lately.

I have kept an active hiking calendar lately which brings me all sorts of happiness. My dad and I hiked in the San Gorgonio Wilderness Area a few weeks back. We nearly made it to the peak of San Jacinto (second highest peak in Southern California) but turned back when we feared a blizzard. A blizzard did not hit but the fog rolled in. We tired ourselves out enough from the climb up the "Devil's Slide" trail. The name says it all: steep. The next day we hiked to Tahquitz Peak where some volunteers for the National Park Service had opened up the fire look-out. I highly recommend this jaunt if you're in the San Jacinto area.

The next weekend, we participated in a compass and topographic map navigation weekend at Joshua Tree National Park, in the Indian Cove Campground. The week prior, we had to complete homework. In the homework we mapped a 9 mile trail through extremely difficult areas with rocky terrain where people have actually been lost. We thought we would take this hike on Saturday. No. And definitely no. We had much to learn before we embarked on a hike that would take at least 12 hours with advanced nav skills. Thus, the first day we practiced our skills, and on the second day we were set off with our new knowledge to find 4 locations using the compass and map, around 2 miles of hiking. Someone I knew, not naming names, took off without referencing the compass and found himself lost for nearly 2 hours. I, on the other hand, found my true calling and made it to the final destination in second place (I know it's not a race). Navigation is a unique skill which could save you from being lost, and the act of navigating is just plain old fun.

One thing almost threw me off my navigation trail. I spotted my first tarantula and nearly turned back running.

Hence, the next weekend, I participated in an off-trail hike in Joshua Tree National Park where we sought several out historic mines in the middle of the desert, around Queen mine. Again, using the compass and map is very fun!! We succeeded in finding the three mines we hunted for. Near one stood a cozy house made in the rocks. The miners had made shelves, installed a window, and fashioned a kitchen area. Impressive.