Joshua Tree - Black Rock & Indian Cove Camping

The stark coldness that blew in over the desert that first night sent all searching for our next warmer layer, but returning thankfully to our most highly attended fire pit to date. Don't let the beauty of the above photo fool your, this was taken at dawn, hovering around 28 degrees in long johns and a snow jacket.

Black Rock campground was our first nights destination with a large contingent of new friends that had come to celebrate our friend Stephanie's 25h birthday. After a wonderful sunset hike to a great view of the desert valley, we set in to make dinner and keep warm amongst the gusty winds that had plagued that day.

 

| Georgette is in the green one sleeping! Never cold again |

 This was the first trip where Georgette & I got to use most of our new gear, down mummy sleeping bags, ultralight tents & fleece layers, camping for the 21st century! The luxury of the new sleeping bags may have sealed the deal and spoiled me for the rest of my camping days. I will never buy anything else.

| Black Rock, Joshua Tree |

 The group had collectively spent about 10 days total in Joshua Tree from what I gathered. I myself only spending about 3 days, I think, more than a decade ago. Therefore, Carlos was the captain of this trip. He led us on a wonderful scenic drive through a portion of the park to a wonderful peak in the middle of the high desert with 360 degree views.

| View out of the tent, second night |

In my opinion the hike up the mountain and down was almost more exciting than the actual summit. On a nice 2 mile uphill trek, we cross snow and ice while looking out over the rock ruins amongst the cacti. Curving into a wind blown canyon amongst my favorite section of craggy cliff hanging boulders.

 

| Loving two doors on new tent | 

| Mom's Tibetan prayer flags always hanging in the tent now |

After reaching the summit of Ryan Mountain, we said farewell to some of the group that heading back for Los Angeles, while the other took to a new campsite in a different region of the park. One thing I learned on this trip is how vast Joshua Tree National Park is. There really is endless sights & really wilderness danger. God forbid anyone who vacations here in the Summer.

 

| ABOVE: 28 Minute Exposure / F22 |

The photo above & below was our site for the second night. A STUNNINGLY secluded spot on the edge of a campground looking out into the vast desert, blocked by a wind carved stone. Our whole group, the six that were left, were in total awe at our site for the night. Carlos had scored big time, thanks trip leader.

| Campsite 18, Indian Cove, Joshua Tree |

Not only was the campground stupendous, Carlos had chosen this spot due to it's proximity to a great caving location. Hidden amongst the boulders in the picture below is a wonderful cavern that will take you from crawling like a lizard, to standing tall in a open rock crevasses.

After only a few days in the desert, our normally mountain bound troupe, had been won over by the inland landscape of our wonderful state. There really is endless bounty of sights & sounds within a few hundred miles of the city we call home.

| Pre-Dawn, Joshua Tree |

"One should really use the camera as though tomorrow you'd be stricken blind." - Dorothea Lange

 

Strawberry Peak Hike

Carlos & I tackled one of the more strenuous hikes in the San Gabriel's that we have trekked. It was straight out of my newest gift from my girlfriend, Trails of The Angeles (100 Hikes).

Following many unmarked, rock-slide, & snow covered paths we found our way from Red Box up and around Mt. Lawlor to it's north side, crossing to the saddle.

At the saddle just below Strawberry Peak, there is a junction to follow below the ridge-line to the right you wind down to Strawberry Meadow. Carlos & I chose the faint climber's trail to the left that followed up the ridge-line for a solid uphill mile long scramble.

Greeted at the summit with wonderful views deep into the Angeles & far out into the Pacific. Truly the best view from the front range I have had since moving to LA almost a decade ago.

After lingering for some time on the peak & really capturing the moment in my head, there was the traverse down to think about.  Closing in on about a mile left in the trail you can seen in the photo below the sun setting while we are still on the trail. A wonderful glow came over the whole Angeles forest that eve.

Upper Oso Camping - Round One

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Bounding through a new wilderness, or at least new to our eyes, ears, & feet we were in total awe of our first trek into the Los Padres National Forest, specifically the Upper Oso area.

Having camped in Los Padres before, but some 60 miles in a different direction, the scenery was quite different. If you look at a map of the Los Padres forest you will see that is covers from north Los Angeles all the way up to the Big Sur region, leaving plenty of room for exploring.

Camping at Upper Oso there are several hiking options. The pictures in this post are from the Santa Cruz trail & only from the first few miles of the twenty some it reaches east into the park.

The above photo was my favorite captured on the trip. The light coming through the canyon as the sun was setting was magical. The creek was dotted with yellow changing leaves where a real dynamic with all the green tree tops interplay through out the entire hike. The green trees in the background really pop getting the full setting sunlight.

Cheers to Carlos for capturing the best photo of me on a trip yet. I must say I don't end up in many of the photos, but I feel my presence is in the framing.

The above photo is another experiment in my learning about star photography. I will try to find the data on this one, but I know we are looking at over forty minutes of exposure, pointed towards the southern sky. The photo has the orange glow I believe b/c the Santa Barbara city lights are about four mountain ridges back in that direction.

This trip saw our coldest temperatures yet, hitting in the high twenties on the second night. The photo below is a fun shot of Carlos & I wearing headlamps, treakking back and forth to his car to put away things for the night.

Upper Oso Camping - Round Two

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Not even a month had passed and we found ourselves back at Upper Oso Campground in the Santa Ynez Valley. Out again for a soul quenching "appetizer" trip for one night.

The first set of photos in the post are from the Aliso Canyon Loop. A medium jaunt I particularly like through all different types of hiking elements. Taking the connecting trail from our campground we were looking at a little over four miles.

You can see in the photos we encountered ridge lines, forested glens, canyon creek, grassy meadows & Native American knowledge to boot. Mugwart (poison ivy solution) & the new edible spearmint plant are the two coolest new tips.

With winter in full effect for a few months now, the landscape still hinted at green in many places, but the overall tone of the land was an off brown that was laden with chaparral.

Afternoon led to evening, often as it does, we all set into different camp site roles. Some chopping wood, others setting up dinner elements, while another got the fire started.

We have grown accustomed to only leaving the fire warmth for minutes at a time. This is a definite sign that you are amongst the winter months b/c there is no time for careless card games at the table by the lantern.

As the hours pass & conversation of the next meal & the next weekend anyone is free flows into the night, I have been slowly working on developing my long exposure & time lapse photography skills. Fortunately enough, I can step away from the fire for a few minutes to set up a picture then come back it's warmth while the seconds tick by, slowly capturing the night sky.

In the photo above, there was a consensus from the four campers that we had caught something special on film. When you click to enlarge, look in the upper right side, these appear to be two brilliantly blue shooting stars.

This photo above was my personal favorite of the trip, due to it's careful planning & execution.  This photo was taken for thirty seven & a half minutes, looking roughly towards the north. You can see the star trails swirling in the night sky. The foreground was painted with small portions of fire light & a while headlamp for a few seconds at a time.

The above photo is a very "noise" capture of the night sky with a heavy saturation added to it to bring out the different stars. The yellow light is a particularly bright shooting star.

The last of the night time photos before bed. Here is a thirty second exposure of the north sky, lightly painted with a headlamp in the foreground.

The night led to morning, as it often does, seeing the temps dipper to 32 degrees. Above we see Collin making first efforts at a fire & a start to the day. Close behind him, below, we see Carlos & our newly criscend mountain woman, Stephanie, rising from their slumber.

Chilao Camping - October 2010

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 For some reason there was an amazing one night trip that slipped through the cracks & must be written about. This outing was taken in the middle of October when the weather in Los Angeles was still hinting at Summer heat & chill in the evening night.

With a few new friends along for the trip, we set up along the ridge within the Chilao Camping area. Part of a western upper loop, but the campground reached up to a beautiful plateau view that attracts all the campers at sunset.

A good afternoon traverse, off trail with some interesting navigation routes, that all led to a good time. Lunch spot on a fallen tree below, looking out over the plateau. 

 Finishing out the day with a hearty dinner & some great beers looking out over the below valley. The San Gabriel's have been providing some excellent adventures this past year.

"Be as a bird perched on a frail branch that she feels bending beneath her, still she sings away all the same, knowing she has wings." ~Victor Hugo

"But the place which you have selected for your camp, though never so rough and grim, begins at once to have its attractions, and becomes a very centre of civilization to you: "Home is home, be it never so homely."  ~Henry David Thoreau

"Impossible" Lunar Eclipse - 4:00 to 6:45am

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Here is a series of photos taken during the lunar eclipse this past week on December 10th. This first photo timed around 4:50am.

The clouds were a bit of a bother the whole evening. Carlos & I drove up to Mullholand Dr, just west of the 405 and found a good turn out. A few pictures down below you can see our basecamp.

We stayed for about 2 hours that morning. It was really a neat site to see the sun coming up directly behind us, while shadowing the moon & creating the eerie red glow.

Basecamp below. Sunrise.