A Non-Traditonal Thanksgiving

Sunrise in Joshua Tree

For my entire 56 years on this beautiful planet, Thanksgiving has always meant one thing - celebrating with friends and family gathered around the table laden with the traditional turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pies, and other delectable dishes.  It has always been one of my favorite holidays, embodying all that is best about love, family, and friendship, without all the commercial excess that accompanies the next big holiday on the calendar.  I also like it for it's simple theme.  There is so much pain and suffering in the world today, and we are all fortunate to have so many things to be thankful for, many of which we take for granted on a daily basis.  It is good to stop and reflect on how truly blessed we are.

We have friends who have a somewhat different twist on the Thanksgiving tradition.  They still observe the true meaning of the holiday, but they choose to do it camped in the beautiful surroundings of Joshua Tree National Park.  They have invited us to join them several times in the past, but the pull of tradition is strong, and I, especially, found it difficult to change.  This year, however, with a lot of our family making other plans, seemed like the prefect opportunity to explore this alternative celebration.

We decided to take the entire week off, and began with a visit with Ryan, Jacque and Joss.  Always a treat to see this little bundle of energy

Joss excited to play in some puddles, a rare event her her short lifetime.

In order to get in the proper frame of mind to deal with LA traffic, we stopped at Mt. Pinos on the way down, camping alongside a nondescript dirt road near the base.  The wind was howling, but we were nice and cozy ensconsed in the van.  Saturday morning we rode up the trail to the nordic center, the 8,000' elevation challenging our hearts and lungs. 

The November chill was perfect for riding uphill, and there were very few others on the trail.  After a rollicking high speed descent we were ready for whatever lay ahead on the freeways. 

We drove to the Beachwood Blendery in Long Beach, where Ryan was having a new bottle release, and sampled a few of his award winning beers.  The next day we were able to visit with Jacque's Mom, Mary, who is in the hospital courageously battling through complications arising from her recent bone marrow transplant.  Her husband Ron was there as well, as he is every single day, helping her get through this trying time.  Again, so many things to be thankful for.

Monday morning we said goodbye to Ryan and Jacque as he headed off to work, and we pointed the van towards Deep Creek hotsprings, nestled in the San Bernadino mountains outside of Hesperia.  This hot spring has been on our wish list for many years, but we seldom find ourselves in this neck of the woods.  But since it was basically right on the way to Joshua Tree, it seemed like the perfect time to check it out.

We camped at the private Bowen Ranch, right where the trail to the hot springs begins

The springs are alongside the banks of Deep Creek, a 2 mile hike and 900' descent from camp.  The river corridor provides a striking thread of color through the dry desert landscape.

It was still chilly and windy when we arrived in the middle of the day, but as we descended into the canyon the wind was blocked and the temperatures rose.  The springs were wonderful, and there were only a few other friendly people sharing them.  It can get quite crowded on the weekends, so we were happy to be able to experience them on a mellow weekday.  No pictures of the hot springs, unfortunately, as our cameras were off with our clothes somewhere on the banks, and we never made the effort to retrieve them.  Suffice it to say that it is a very picturesque locale, and very much worth the hike in and out.

Tuesday morning dawned clear and cold, with a blanket of frost surrounding our campsite.  The distant peaks were covered with a dusting of snow from the previous days storm.  After some yoga and stretching in the morning sun, followed by a hearty breakfast, we set out to explore the area on our mountain bikes.  The US Forest Service land here is crisscrossed by a network of 4WD and motorcycle trails, so we were confident we could find something fun to ride and get some exercise too.

Snow covered Mt. Baldy in the distance

Most of the riding was on dirt roads, but they were steep and fun.

A lot of the motorcycle trails went straight up and down the gulleys.  While they made for some fun descents...

They were often too loose and too steep to ride up, so we had a little hike-a-bike as well.

We did find a few sections of the moto trails that wound through the various drainages and were lots of fun to ride.  After working our way back to camp, it was on to Joshua Tree.  We arrived about 4:30, found our friends, and set up camp for the next few days.

Our friends Steve and Shannon, and Robb and Alex, have been coming to Joshusa Tree with some of their friends for Thanksgiving for 15+ years.  A tradition that started with childless couples now includes many kids from kindergarten through high school age.  Donette and I were the only couple without any of our offspring along. 

Donette and I both used to rock climb a fair amount, but over the years that sport has kind of fallen by the wayside.  Don't worry said Steve,  the climbing would be kid focused, and therefore "easy".  Not that it actually worked out that way.  For one thing, the older kids are darn good climbers, and the adults are also all good climbers who want to challenge themselves.  As a result, there was a dearth of "easy" climbs set up, and we got to jump right back into it.

Needless to say, an 8 year hiatus from rock climbing did little to improve our strength, stamina, or technique.  But we managed to thrash our way up most of the climbs, and it was a ton of fun.

Our group occupied this nice little cove in the rocks

Shannon teaching Rowan to belay

Jessa works her way up the rock

We all know it's a good idea to keep the kids well fed, so Robb set up a rope close to the table

Steve climbs one of the routes right in our camp

Solar powered Luci® lights illuminate our bounty

Part of the gang gathered around the campfire

Thanksgiving dinner was a potluck affair, with Charlie and Mandy cooking up the main course, some perfectly grilled tri-tip, quite an accomplishment on the rudimentary campground grills.  Prior to beginning our feast we all circled around the campfire and shared the things we were thankful for.  Some of the children spoke about how this was how they had spent every Thanksgiving during their lifetimes, and how it was the highlight of their year. For us it may have been a non-traditional setting, but the heartfelt sentiments and thankfulness expressed by ever single person present was as traditional and heartwarming as any Thanksgiving can be.

Post Election Reflection

Like many of you, I woke up the morning of Wednesday, November 9, feeling a little stunned.  Shocked.  Baffled. Nervous about the future.  After months of contentious election coverage, I wasn't really in the mood for more continuous negativity, which pretty much surrounds us nowadays.  The solution, load up the van and head for the mountains.  Donette was in Portland for a little mother-daughter time, so it was just Luna and I.

Now, where to go?  With only a 3 day weekend, I didn't want to set my sights too far.  With some brand new tires on the van, I searched out some off-highway choices.  I came across Dove Springs Canyon road, which traverses the mountains south of Weldon and ends up at the Jawbone Canyon OHV area.  It didn't look too difficult, a plus since I was traveling alone.  I left late Thursday evening, spent the night near the Kern River at Lake Isabella, and headed for the trailhead Friday morning.

The Lake Isabella area had been hit hard by wildfires this year, and there were large areas of devastation.  Many homes remained intact with the surrounding areas burned.

Burned Joshua forest

Badly burned tree

This property wasn't so lucky, with a pile of charred treasures

Not sure what business is being transacted out here.

The trailhead was well marked, and the road was pretty smooth, although quite sandy in places.  Since it was down in the bottom of the canyon, I took the opportunity to climb a nearby ridge, hiking up about 900' above the road to get some exercise and better views.  It was dead calm, and incredibly quiet.  Only the occasional birdsong broke the absolute silence.  Ahhh!

Airing down the tires to start the dirt section

Trailhead was well marked and easy to find

Nice, smooth sandy road, for the most part

The road gradually climbs to the low saddle in the middle of the picture

After hiking back to the van and resuming the drive, I did start to see a few fellow off-roaders, usually on motorcycles.  However, in 20 miles I only saw 4 groups, so not very crowded at all.  At the top of the pass, about 5,200, the road crosses the Pacific Crest Trail.  There is a nice pullout there with a picnic table, so it made a good rest stop.  I pulled out the bike and, resisting the urge to ride the PCT, rode up a side road instead.  It was steep and sandy, making it quite challenging.  After a little out and back I returned to the van to find a group of three motorcyclists.  They were a little surprised to see me ride up on a mountian bike!

The PCT heading off into the desert hills

One big pipeline headed to LA on the Eastern side near Jawbone Canyon

After completing the drive, I headed up 395 to Lone Pine.  My goal was to camp at the end of a dirt road that heads up to the Tuttle Creek trailhead.  I had been there once before, in the late spring, to attempt a ski descent of Mt. Langley.  That turned out to be an extremely challenging adventure, and this time I was on a more relaxed pace to just spend some time in the mountains.  The road was in pretty good shape until 1 mile from the end.  Someone had gotten stuck there and chewed up the road in a narrow, rocky section.  I made one attempt to get past, but with the van teetering on three wheels as it tried to climb over the rocks and thru the holes, I decided not to push it and backed down to a nice large campsite at about 6,600', with expansive views of the Owens Valley.  That night we were treated to another calm evening and a beautiful moonrise.

End of the road at Tuttle Creek

Saturday I hiked up the trail to the old stone ashram, nestled in the woods at about 8,000'.  It brought back memories of Nepal, thinking about all the labor to build a stone and wood house miles from the end of the road.  There were gorgeous views outside each window, and surprisingly little vandalism or graffiti.  The morning sun was just hitting the bottom of the canyon as I arrived,  so I spent some time there stretching and soaking up the warmth.  I then followed a slight use trail higher up the drainage.  The last time I was here this area was covered in weak, crumbling snow, and we continuously punched thru the barely covered brush.  Skis on or skis off, it was a sufferfest of a climb.  This time was much easier, as it was relatively easy to find a clear path thru the shrubbery and up the steep slope. 

Tuttle Creek trail, Mount Langely in the distance

The Ashram

 

Great views from every window

You can barely see it when approaching from above

After about 3 hours of hiking I had covered about 4 miles and gained over 3,000' of elevation.  I decided that was plenty for the day.  After a snack I retraced my steps, and encountered a few fellow hikers making their way to the ashram.  It appears to be a somewhat popular hike, but judging from the faintness of the trail above the ashram, it also seems like most people turn around there.

Back at the van I loaded up and descended to explore the Alabama Hills.  I have driven past them many times, but never really got off the main road to look around.  It was a very popular destination this weekend, and every nook and cranny was filled with climbers, campers, motorcyclists, and day hikers.  I drove further and further out on the main road, looking for an uncrowded spot. I cam across a side road with signage saying not suitable for cars or pick-ups, but 4x4's only.  Sounds promising!  It turned out to be easily passable by almost any car, but hey, if the sign kept the crowds down that was great.  I found a nice cozy campsite with two low rocks guarding the entry.  The van would just barely squeeze between them - perfect!

I pulled out the bike to do a little exploring, and came across a singletrack trail cutting right thru the middle of the Hills.  It was pretty loose and sandy, and made for tough riding. I did get to enjoy the beautiful golden glow of sunset at 3:30 in the afternoon.  The sun disappears early when there is a 14,000 monolith between you and the west.

Evening light in mid afternoon

The real sunset, at the appropriate time

Luna loved the rocks near camp, and excitedly scampered up and down, sniffing out all the caves and crevices filled with rodent poop.  She is quite the climber with her four claw grip, and the rough, textured rock let her ascend virtually vertical faces.

Of course, the first thing you have to do after getting out of the van is roll in the sand to get a complete covering of dust...

Then explore all the little caves and crevices...

Discover that this rock is really grippy...

And stare off into the desert from the highest point around.

While I enjoyed the campfire

Sunday morning I rode the bike a little further up the sandy motorcycle trail, then returned to pack up.  I decided to explore another road I have never traveled, and left 395 and headed up towards Kennedy Meadows and Sherman Pass.  Traffic was virtually nil, and I pretty much had the road to myself as I climbed quickly from the desert floor.  A little past Kennedy Meadows is the Blackrock recreation area.  I  couldn't believe all of the motorcycle and mountain biking trails in this area.  Lot's of dirt roads for access to the trailheads as well.  I sense another trip here in the near future to explore some of these trails and camping areas.

The air quality in the Owens Valley seemed quite good, but as I headed  into the heart of the Southern Sierra it got worse and worse.  I took a side dirt road up to the Bald Mountain Lookout, and the air was hazy with smoke.  I hadn't heard of any recent fires, but something was obviously burning.  Approaching Sherman Pass visibility was down to just a few miles.  On the descent into the Kern River valley, I finally saw the source, and a large fire was burning high up above Johnsondale.

Bald Mountain Lookout

Pano to the south, Domelands barely visible in the haze

The hazy view from Sherman Pass

This drive was not the quickest way to the Eastern Sierra, but it was the quietest.  In the 70+ miles from 395 to Kernville I only saw a dozen cars.  In the future, I would only take this route if I had time to stop and spend the night enroute, as it was much too long in the van for a single day.

After 3 days of peace and quiet it was back to radio, newspapers, and political conversation. It is encouraging to see many people trying to push past the negativity and move forward.  It is equally terrifying to see some of the bigotry and hatred now being openly displayed.  I am confident that our nation will eventually get back on the right path and continue to move forward, but it won't be easy.  In the meantime, it is comforting to know that all it takes is a tank of fuel and a few hours behind the wheel and you can get lost in the majestic beauty of what really makes this country great.