After the Storm: Super Sunday

Some signs of mud and trail erosion in Griffith Park.

Super Sunday: Part 1

Canterbury Bells (above)

Common groundsel (above)

Lupine (above)

Gazania (above)

I wonder if someone poured a bunch of gazania seeds along the hillside here?

Eucalyptus tree (above) Thanks Lebird!

Red stem filaree (above)

Mediterranean mustard (above)

It was a spectacular clear and crisp day in LA today. If I had known it was going to be so perfect, I would have picked a new trail to hike. Nonetheless, it was a great morning in Griffith Park, and new wildflowers were making their presence known. The mustards and filarees were abundant, but every so often, something new was peeking out from the hillside. Again, I find it fantastic that some of the flowers I stumble upon by sheer luck, and I'm sure many keep their treasures hidden from human view altogether. Every one seems unique in their own way, greeting the sun and the passerby with a hearty "Hello!"

Super Sunday: Part 2

Sow Thistle (above)

Fuchsia-Flowered Gooseberry (above)

Bush sunflower? (above)

Bermuda buttercup? (above)

Blue dicks (above)

Golden currant (above)

South Coast Morning Glory (above)

Temperatures were not cold enough to produce snow in the front range of the San Gabriel's after Friday and Saturday's storm passed through.

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!!!