Mudslides

It seems mudslides have occurred in parts of the station fire burn areas today. It's been raining pretty steadily here in LA for over 24 hours. A couple of weeks ago, most people (including myself) seemed surprised that the hills remained intact after a series of storms rolled through the area. I remember waking up last night thinking this storm seemed to be dumping a heck of a lot of rain. I guess it was finally too much for this particular area.

Mt. Baldy

Some of the most amazing pictures from Mt. Baldy I've seen all winter.

Snow pack

Here's another great website for California snow pack status.

Pacific Crest Trail Update

My ice axe and a couple more pairs of trail runners arrived in the mail a couple of days ago. That brings my shoe total to 3 pairs at the moment. From what I've researched so far, 5 pairs seems to be the number of shoes a typical thru hiker will destroy during the 2,663 mile journey. I had trouble sleeping last night worrying about the financial burden this trip has placed on my shoulders, but while reading a PCT book this afternoon, I remembered why I want to do this. There was a picture of a hiker resting on a granite slab next to a glacier filled lake while a full moon was rising above the jagged mountain ridge. Ahhhhhhh, those moments make all the miles, mosquitoes, and hunger pangs worth while in my opinion.

I started thinking about the first time I remember sleeping under the stars. I was in high school spending the night at my friend John's house in Maryland. A few of us had congregated outside playing guitars and sitting around a fire pit my friend had built in his backyard. A fire pit was pretty much unheard of in the suburbs around DC, as far as my experience to that point. I remember sitting in a lawn chair thinking to myself "I've never slept under the stars in my entire life! I wonder what it's like?" I ended up falling asleep in the lawn chair and awoke the next morning as the sun was rising, covered in dew, but ALIVE!!!

Jan. 31, 2010

I went for a morning walk in the Verdugo's up the fire road from the south side. It looks like they brought in the heavy machinery this past week to perhaps level out the fire road. After last week's rain, the road suffered from erosion and small rock slides. There were some new arrivals on the scene this weekend...

Ceanothus bushes dotted the hillside (above)

Two tone everlasting (above)

Sugarbush (above)

Castor bean (above)

Mt. Thom (above)

Bush monkeyflower (above)

California lace fern (above)

Lupine (above)

Twiggy wreathplant (above)

I love crossing paths with new specimens. This one is called Western Peony (above).

It's amazing how much one can miss, even while walking. I stopped and dropped my backpack for a minute to take a drink of water. When I bent over to pick it up, I looked at this beautiful Black Sage blossom that I definitely would have missed had I not been thirsty.

Permits Now Required for Half Dome

I wonder if the weekend I took this picture last August had anything to do with the decision?

Free Parking: A Thing of the Past?

I heard about this news report on the drive home from work today.

I'm all for protecting the environment, wild places, clean air etc., but not at the price of the people. What's in it for us? More parking tickets? Smaller bank account? Loss of the personal freedom driving a car provides?

The people need a reason or an incentive to "buy into" environmental legislation that severely alters a way of life. Sure the city is rewarded with incentives, but what about the common man/woman? Punishing the people economically just creates anger and resentment and bitterness towards the movement, even if it does clean the air, reduce pollution, and minimize traffic.

Or is it all about the money?