San Mateo Canyon Wilderness area is on of the few big open spaces in Southern California that are close enough to the Pacific Ocean that the habitat is affected by its vast body of water.  The area is lush,  with the canyon bottoms filled with oak and sycamore trees (and tons of poison oak).  Our campground was situated on an old sand bar above a pretty stream tumbling through the rocks, with a small beach where one could relax and listen to the water gurgle if the weather was more cooperative.  While it is still early, the wildflowers in the area are set to explode.  A trip through this area next month should be a very colorful experience.

San Mateo Canyon Wilderness

We car camped in a shallow canyon, that ended up funneling the early morning wind, making for a raucous wake up call for my students.  We hiked into Smugglers Canyon to visit the Pictograph rock, that is an easy very accessible hike for most everyone.  Located a relatively flat mile into the canyon,  this large boulder decorated with red and yellow pictographs makes for a grand lunch stop.  Unfortunately this weekend the rain made it rough to stop for too long.  As I was pondering this boulder and the secrets it contains for the umpteenth time,  I came to a realization.   In my travels to Europe and other places where their long history is recorded in the architecture, I often bemoan the lack of this sort of historical record in my native city of San Diego.  While we do have a past, one that is on display in places such as the Mission, Presidio Park, and Old Town,  it is relatively new; sparse and fragmented. We are often isolated from it in our daily lives.  What I realized when I was looking at this rock,  is the ancient history that I have admired in cities such as Paris is here. It is just not written in building. It is written in the rocks; the places where the people who shaped our region lived breathed and died.  They are not the people from whom I am descended, but they are the people who recorded the past in the place I call my home.

After stopping at the Pictograph rock,  we continued on through Smugglers Canyon to the dry waterfall that provided a spectacular view of the southern portion the Anza Borrego Desert.  We were a bit concerned as to the volume of rain,  and joked as to whether the dry wash we were walking in was going to become a river again.  Fortunately this wash is very wide,  and the walls provide easy escape routes if this were ever a problem. The View as always was fantastic.  We rounded out our Saturday with a trip to a mortero site, and a nice sunset on an overlook just down from these morteros.

After a windy night, we concluded our trip with a hike up Ghost Mountain, and visited the rapidly crumbling remains of the the Marshal South cabin site he dubbed “Yaquitepec“.  Marchall South and his family lived on the isolated, inaccessible Ghost Mountian without the benefit of any modern conveniences from 1932 through the 1940s.  His Thoreau like desert experiment which he documented in a monthly columns in Desert Magazine brings another piece of the rich history of the desert that so many perceive as a barren dead landscape.

Kelty has good solid gear at good prices, and it is nice to see that they have put some time into a site that highlights their products.  I just spent a few minutes on their site, and I am impressed with the ease of use, and the feature they have provided for us users.  I love the ability to save items in a wishlist for future oogling.

Fall is the a wonderful time to be on San Jacinto the temperatures are cool, but not freezing (the overnight low was about 42 degrees), and the crowds were not overwhelming.  I am not sure there is a bad time to visit San Jacinto. The winter is often a snowy wonderland with cross country skis and snowshoes available for rent at top. and spring and summer provide a great opportunity to escape the heat during a visit to Palm Springs. While the drive is not short (in the 2 hour range from San Diego), you do get Sierra like habitat without the Sierra like drive. The views are spectacular, with a variety of terrain, from the sparse desert landscapes looking down on Palm Springs to the lush pine groves of the park. There is a little of something for everyone.

The backpacking trip to round valley is a perfect trip to bring a young one on an overnight adventure. The tram ride up from Palm Springs is an odyssey in itself for kids, while the hike into round valley is just long enough to expend excess energy for a good nights sleep under the stars. There are enough interesting rocks and trees in round valley for an afternoon of exploration, and the hike out, when there are tired legs, is mostly downhill.

If you are looking for a quick weekend backpacking getaway, you would have a hard time doing better than the San Jacinto State Park.

My mind cleared, and my body awakened from the effort of running on the soft sand; I head back to my camp site and begin my week at the beach. I have spent several portions of my life living in apartments on the boardwalk in San Diego, and Orange County, and I am keenly aware of the privilege of walking out the front door onto the edge of the vast Pacific. For those who have not had the privilege of living at the beach there exists the opportunity to camp at the beach. There are several beach campgrounds available, including the Silver Strand State Beach, where I recently spent some time.

Silver Strand is located on the Coronado Peninsula, just minutes, and a bridge crossing away from Downtown San Diego. The campground is directly adjacent to a natural beach which, unlike most beaches in Southern California, is not groomed. The campground requires you to have a self contained vehicle (unfortunately no tent camping). Reservations for the spots go very quickly in the summer, but it seems to be the best campground in San Diego to find a last minute open reservation. The beach has lots of day parking, and is one of the least crowded beaches in the city.

Like all of State Parks, Silver Strand is in danger of being closed down due to the unfortunate incompetent actions of our State Government. Please go to Save Our State Parks to see how you can help keep Silver Stand and so many of our other parks open.

We spent the weekend hiking and exploring a lost world: a world that once was a busy place for so many, but now has been returned to nature. Only hints remain of the people who occupied it for so long. We contemplated the marks that have been left by generations of people, and survived to this day to remind us that there once was more than the hustle and bustle of our busy connected lives. We spent time learning to stay comfortable when the conditions are not perfect, and how to survive when you have nothing but your wits and the few things on your back.

We had time to stop, and appreciate the wonders of our protected places. Places free of the encroachment of our rapidly growing civilization. Places free of suburbs, paved roads, and power lines. Places that will remain protected for generations; as long as we remain vigilant and protect them and care for them.

The day before I arrived in Salt Lake City for the Outdoor Retailer convention, they held the Backcountry Basecamp at a local ski resort.  One of highlights of the Basecamp, and an event that I following with wonder on Twitter, was the demonstration of the AvaLung.

The AvaLung is a device created by Black Diamond that allows an avalanche victim to breath under the snow and keep one alive long enough for a rescue.  Normally it is integrated into a pack and has a breathing tube slung over a shoulder.  One must get the breathing tube into your mouth in order to be effective. The AvaLung draws air from the surrounding snow,  allowing one to breath.

To demonstrate the effectiveness of the AvaLung, show director Kenji Haroutunian agreed to be buried in the snow alive for 1-hour while using the AvaLung to maintain life.  Paramedics hooked him to monitoring devices and kept careful track of him during the burial.  Twitter followers were treated to periodic updates as to his condition.  After an hour he was unburied, and was in good spirits, suffering no damage other than being cold.

Video from the Backcountry Basecamp

Avalung Website

WBC-

The Wilderness Basics class will begin on January 20th.  The class is filling up very fast, and is expected to reach capacity so sign up soon.  There are a number of fantastic trips being planned during all of the outings weekends.   The Snow Camp is on for the Eastern Sierras and looking to be memorable.

Outdoor Retailer Winter Market-

I will be attending the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market that runs from January 21st to January 25th.  I will be twittering it live from the show floor as I visit manufacturers of outdoor gear. I have been furiously setting up my schedule to bring you information from a variety of manufacturers from Merrell to Brookes Range Mountaineering.  I will be writing a number of posts on Outside San Diego covering the happenings at this premier Outdoor Gear Convention.

follow me on twitter

The Grand Canyon Gear Shootout 2009-

Starting in February, Outside San Diego will be bringing you the “Grand Canyon Gear Shootout” During the shootout; gear manufacturers will bring their best, battling it out in a variety of categories to earn the right to earn the title of winner of the “Grand Canyon Gear Shootout 2009” and a place on the “Ultimate Grand Canyon Gear List”.  The winners will then be a part of a four-day trip below the rim and each winner will be featured in a test report here on Outside San Diego.  Stay Tuned for more on the Grand Canyon Gear Shootout 2009.

In addition to all the extras that will be a part of Outside San Diego, we will continue to bring you the best of the outdoors in San Diego, Southern California and beyond.

While The Slot is a short hike after a long trip from San Diego, it is just one hike in an interesting area.  While you are in the area, be sure to walk up West Butte to the east, and if you are interested in camping, Hawk Canyon, just a short drive to the east, provides a superb overnight destination.

To get to The Slot, you follow highway 78 to road marker 78.2, which is marked as Buttes Pass Road.  You follow this road north until you come to a dirt parking area, which marks the East end of the slot located directly to the north.  Find a way down into the canyon to the north, and follow it west, and the walls will soon close in around you forming the slot.