I don't have a lot of narrative for this post. At the close of my trip, the plane ride from San Diego to Minneapolis passed over one amazing site after another. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.
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Friday, July 31, 2009
Salton Sea
While in the vicinity, I wanted to see the Salton Sea up close. This body of water has a long and checkered history. It didn't even exist in any permanency until the early Twentieth Century when a poorly constructed canal near Yuma diverted the spring floods of the Colorado into the Salton Sink rather than the Gulf of California. At its heart, this birth was really a colossal, man-made diasater. The book Salt Dreams, which I read a few years earlier, chronicles this history.
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Though it has its boosters, I, for one, can't describe the sea as a pleasant destination, but as curiosity it warranted a quick view. Not content to simply drive by it, I wanted to hike at least part of the shore. I found a good place to do that at Salton Sea State Recreation Area on the northeast shore. Lacking any formal trails, the open shoreline is easy to traverse on foot. I planned to hike down about a half-mile along the higher solid ground and walk back all the beach proper.
Stepping out of my climate-controlled car in to the oppressive, late-afternoon heat, I headed south across the barren land with the sea about thirty to four yards off to my right. Along the way a bird–my cousin suggested it was a plover—kept flying around me, feigning dive-bomb runs, and generally making a lot of raucous noise. Cute at first, it got old rather fast.
Having hiked the appointed half-mile, I stopped for a few minutes to rest on a park bench facing the sea, but it was far too hot to stay out for any extended period. I stepped on to the beach and started hiking back to the car. Rather than sand the beach was comprised of what appeared to be crushed sea shells that were very hard to walk on. The air smelled of dead fish. Pockets of scum floated on the water. The clamorous plover returned to menace me. I got salt in my eyes. All told, I suffered a total assault of the senses on the return, but I didn't expect an English garden. I got the experience I sought and in just the perfect quantity at that.
Trip Statistics
Length: 1.1 miles
Time: 33 minutes
Elevation Change: negligible
Total Climbing: negligible
Max. Elevation: -202 feet
It was far easier to hike on the land further from the sea than the beach. Comparatively, more pleasant too.
This is actually the nicer of the two seashore pictures I kept.
The plover pulls up from a bombing run. He and his friends never came closer than arms length, but that didn't stop them from being an annoyance.
After the hike, I continued on my clockwise circuit of the sea along CA-111.
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Though it has its boosters, I, for one, can't describe the sea as a pleasant destination, but as curiosity it warranted a quick view. Not content to simply drive by it, I wanted to hike at least part of the shore. I found a good place to do that at Salton Sea State Recreation Area on the northeast shore. Lacking any formal trails, the open shoreline is easy to traverse on foot. I planned to hike down about a half-mile along the higher solid ground and walk back all the beach proper.
Stepping out of my climate-controlled car in to the oppressive, late-afternoon heat, I headed south across the barren land with the sea about thirty to four yards off to my right. Along the way a bird–my cousin suggested it was a plover—kept flying around me, feigning dive-bomb runs, and generally making a lot of raucous noise. Cute at first, it got old rather fast.
Having hiked the appointed half-mile, I stopped for a few minutes to rest on a park bench facing the sea, but it was far too hot to stay out for any extended period. I stepped on to the beach and started hiking back to the car. Rather than sand the beach was comprised of what appeared to be crushed sea shells that were very hard to walk on. The air smelled of dead fish. Pockets of scum floated on the water. The clamorous plover returned to menace me. I got salt in my eyes. All told, I suffered a total assault of the senses on the return, but I didn't expect an English garden. I got the experience I sought and in just the perfect quantity at that.
Trip Statistics
Length: 1.1 miles
Time: 33 minutes
Elevation Change: negligible
Total Climbing: negligible
Max. Elevation: -202 feet
It was far easier to hike on the land further from the sea than the beach. Comparatively, more pleasant too. 
This is actually the nicer of the two seashore pictures I kept.
The plover pulls up from a bombing run. He and his friends never came closer than arms length, but that didn't stop them from being an annoyance.
After the hike, I continued on my clockwise circuit of the sea along CA-111.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Maryland
Yesterday, I crossed another goal off my list of biking destinations, Maryland. This accomplishment means I can now take credit for riding to five states from my apartment: Pennsylvania, of course; New Jersey, no big deal; Delaware, it counts; New York, big deal; and Maryland.
I had to decide between to general routes two reach my target, the very northeast corner of the state. I could either head straight to Wilmington staying close to the Delaware River and then cut east or I could follow a more northerly route. I had used the former to reach Wilmington in 2008; the challenged a tougher ride with more hills. I ended up taking the northerly route out and southerly route back.
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The forty-plus mile ride out took a little over four hours including one fifteen minute break, about average for me. Hills posed more of a challenge in the last twenty miles that I expected. It seemed I was either struggling up one or coasting down another. Though forty miles is not a terribly long distance for me, I felt rather fatigued as I reached the Maryland stateline.
Before crossing in to Maryland, I stopped to find the stone marker at the point where Delaware's northern border with Pennsylvania transitions from an arc to a straight line. I won't go in to the history, which is interesting, but also quite confusing. Here I also set-out on foot to find the tri-state marker where Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania meet. I had trouble finding the trail and when I did discovered there wasn't much path between the thorns. Still a half-mile away after one-mile of hiking in twenty-minutes, I abandoned the effort.
After resting a the arc monument, I continued west and officially entered Maryland. A quarter of a mile later, I was back in Pennsylvania.
The ride back was not particularly pleasant. I wanted to take a the most direct route, and that entailed riding on more-heavily trafficked roads than I usually prefer. It was also mid-day and the temperature was close to, if not over, 90 degrees with very high humidity. Still the comparatively level terrain and southwesterly wind blowing off Delaware Bay aided me most of the way. With some effort I maintained an 11 MPH average, pretty good for me under the circumstances.
As I got closer to Philadelphia, I calculated the ride would be short of a century (100 miles) by about ten miles, the approximate length of loop around the Schuylkill River in Fairmount Park. For most of the return ride, I doubted my endurance would permit this extra appendage to the ride, but after a spontaneous rest stop in Sharon Hill, I got my second wind, which was enough to allow me to add the extra miles to the trip.
An interesting post-script to the trip: Today to kill time before my haircut appointment, I browsed through a Borders and came across a book, How the State got their Shapes, that describes exactly the kind of geographical oddities like the arc monument I saw on my ride.
Elevation Profile
Statistics
Length: 100.6 miles
Time: 11 hours 30 minutes
Avg. Speed: 11.2 MPH
Max. Speed: 34.0 MPH
Avg. Cadence: 55 RPM
Cumulative Ascent: 5250 ft.
Max. Elevation: 447 ft.
I forgot to bring my camera. Here are a couple of pictures of the Arc Monument I pilfered from the Internet.
I had to decide between to general routes two reach my target, the very northeast corner of the state. I could either head straight to Wilmington staying close to the Delaware River and then cut east or I could follow a more northerly route. I had used the former to reach Wilmington in 2008; the challenged a tougher ride with more hills. I ended up taking the northerly route out and southerly route back.
Full Screen Version
The forty-plus mile ride out took a little over four hours including one fifteen minute break, about average for me. Hills posed more of a challenge in the last twenty miles that I expected. It seemed I was either struggling up one or coasting down another. Though forty miles is not a terribly long distance for me, I felt rather fatigued as I reached the Maryland stateline.
Before crossing in to Maryland, I stopped to find the stone marker at the point where Delaware's northern border with Pennsylvania transitions from an arc to a straight line. I won't go in to the history, which is interesting, but also quite confusing. Here I also set-out on foot to find the tri-state marker where Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania meet. I had trouble finding the trail and when I did discovered there wasn't much path between the thorns. Still a half-mile away after one-mile of hiking in twenty-minutes, I abandoned the effort.
After resting a the arc monument, I continued west and officially entered Maryland. A quarter of a mile later, I was back in Pennsylvania.
The ride back was not particularly pleasant. I wanted to take a the most direct route, and that entailed riding on more-heavily trafficked roads than I usually prefer. It was also mid-day and the temperature was close to, if not over, 90 degrees with very high humidity. Still the comparatively level terrain and southwesterly wind blowing off Delaware Bay aided me most of the way. With some effort I maintained an 11 MPH average, pretty good for me under the circumstances.
As I got closer to Philadelphia, I calculated the ride would be short of a century (100 miles) by about ten miles, the approximate length of loop around the Schuylkill River in Fairmount Park. For most of the return ride, I doubted my endurance would permit this extra appendage to the ride, but after a spontaneous rest stop in Sharon Hill, I got my second wind, which was enough to allow me to add the extra miles to the trip.
An interesting post-script to the trip: Today to kill time before my haircut appointment, I browsed through a Borders and came across a book, How the State got their Shapes, that describes exactly the kind of geographical oddities like the arc monument I saw on my ride.
Elevation Profile
Statistics
Length: 100.6 miles
Time: 11 hours 30 minutes
Avg. Speed: 11.2 MPH
Max. Speed: 34.0 MPH
Avg. Cadence: 55 RPM
Cumulative Ascent: 5250 ft.
Max. Elevation: 447 ft.
I forgot to bring my camera. Here are a couple of pictures of the Arc Monument I pilfered from the Internet.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Palm Canyon Trail
Not deterred by the previous day's desert hikes, I ventured to Anza-Borrego State Park, the largest state park in the lower forty-eight states, for one more adventure in to the hot unknown. I left the cabin plenty-early to arrive at the trailhead in the early morning. The temperature was already eighty-nine degrees when I set out on the Palm Canyon Trail loaded with a back pack full of water.
The trail climbs through a small in canyon, the dry floor covered with scrub-brush, a sandy wash, and plenty of beige, brown and tan boulders. With the morning sun still low enough in the sky, a the canyon walls still cast a few welcome patches of shade along the trail. Even after only a mile of hiking I became so accustomed to the parched setting the my first glimpse of the oasis came as quite a shock. A dense stand of fan palms perched on the slope of the canyon. I can only imagine what the explorers a travelers of past thought after crossing a hundred miles of desert.
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As I got closer to the oasis, I encounter a group of volunteers set-up across the trail, part of a annual Bighorn Sheep census project. They shared the shade of their tent and pointed out some sheep on the hill. It took me awhile, but I eventually saw one, though they said there were at least three.
The oasis was quite a site. Through center of the valley a weak stream trickled through the soil and tumbled between gaps in the boulders. All sorts of plants a grass grew along the stream. To one side stood a stand of 20-30 fan palms, the trunks still encased in the fronds from prior years housing all sorts of critters. I climbed a short distance passed the oasis to a huge boulder raising twenty feet above the ground, a great place to survey the oasis and everything beyond it.
I returned along a slightly different route that coursed higher on the canyon slope that he main trail that tracks through the wash. The views of Borrego Valley were grand. By the time I got back to the car (11:45) the temperature had climbed to 102 degrees.
Trip Statistics
Length: 3.7 miles
Time: 2 hours 21 minutes
Elevation Change: 507 feet
Total Climbing: 1,184 feet
Max. Elevation: 1,343 feet
The trail climbs through a small in canyon, the dry floor covered with scrub-brush, a sandy wash, and plenty of beige, brown and tan boulders. With the morning sun still low enough in the sky, a the canyon walls still cast a few welcome patches of shade along the trail. Even after only a mile of hiking I became so accustomed to the parched setting the my first glimpse of the oasis came as quite a shock. A dense stand of fan palms perched on the slope of the canyon. I can only imagine what the explorers a travelers of past thought after crossing a hundred miles of desert.
Full Screen Version
As I got closer to the oasis, I encounter a group of volunteers set-up across the trail, part of a annual Bighorn Sheep census project. They shared the shade of their tent and pointed out some sheep on the hill. It took me awhile, but I eventually saw one, though they said there were at least three.
The oasis was quite a site. Through center of the valley a weak stream trickled through the soil and tumbled between gaps in the boulders. All sorts of plants a grass grew along the stream. To one side stood a stand of 20-30 fan palms, the trunks still encased in the fronds from prior years housing all sorts of critters. I climbed a short distance passed the oasis to a huge boulder raising twenty feet above the ground, a great place to survey the oasis and everything beyond it.
I returned along a slightly different route that coursed higher on the canyon slope that he main trail that tracks through the wash. The views of Borrego Valley were grand. By the time I got back to the car (11:45) the temperature had climbed to 102 degrees.
Trip Statistics
Length: 3.7 miles
Time: 2 hours 21 minutes
Elevation Change: 507 feet
Total Climbing: 1,184 feet
Max. Elevation: 1,343 feet
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Joshua Tree National Park
I am trying a slightly different format for this post. After hiking Cuyamaca Peak and driving the Pines to Palms Highway, I arrived a Joshua Tree National Park with about five and half hours of daylight left, in which I managed to squeeze five short and one moderate hike. This post covers all of them. At almost 3 miles and with a healthy climb, only the moderate hike, Ryan Mountain, justifies a separate post, which I'd do if someone expressed interest.
I didn't have high expectations heading into the park. Unlike other National Parks that I've visited (Yellowstone, Crater Lake, Hawaii Volcanoes), Joshua Trees' namesake attraction seems outright tame, a mangle-armed yucca that looks interesting but hardly the foundation for an entire park. However, the Joshua Trees are just one small attraction in the expansive park. Others include desert–actually two, the Mojave and the Colorado—mountains, desolation, and a spectacular sunset.
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From the moment I exited the freeway and began up the long, slow incline through the park's back entrance, I knew I was in for a treat. I calculated that at only a quarter-mile in length, I could brave the 104-degree temperature to hike the first available trail, Bajada Nature Trail, which had plenty of trailside signs dedicated to the hotter Colorado Desert. A long drive way, but still in 104-degree heat, the Cholla Cactus Garden didn't have any signs, but set amid a forest of demented little cacti, it led through a much more interesting scene. My inability to locate the Arch Rock Trail was disappointing, but I did have a fun off-trail scramble trying to find it.
In the nearly two hours it took to hike the Ryan Mountain Trail, I only saw one other person. Not many people are loopy enough to visit a desert park in July and of those that do few hike long trails up mountains. Little daylight remained when I finished Ryan Mountain. With what remained I hiked through Hidden Valley, a perfect hike for the end of the day, and still made it Keys View for the sunset.
I didn't have high expectations heading into the park. Unlike other National Parks that I've visited (Yellowstone, Crater Lake, Hawaii Volcanoes), Joshua Trees' namesake attraction seems outright tame, a mangle-armed yucca that looks interesting but hardly the foundation for an entire park. However, the Joshua Trees are just one small attraction in the expansive park. Others include desert–actually two, the Mojave and the Colorado—mountains, desolation, and a spectacular sunset.
Full Screen Version
From the moment I exited the freeway and began up the long, slow incline through the park's back entrance, I knew I was in for a treat. I calculated that at only a quarter-mile in length, I could brave the 104-degree temperature to hike the first available trail, Bajada Nature Trail, which had plenty of trailside signs dedicated to the hotter Colorado Desert. A long drive way, but still in 104-degree heat, the Cholla Cactus Garden didn't have any signs, but set amid a forest of demented little cacti, it led through a much more interesting scene. My inability to locate the Arch Rock Trail was disappointing, but I did have a fun off-trail scramble trying to find it.
In the nearly two hours it took to hike the Ryan Mountain Trail, I only saw one other person. Not many people are loopy enough to visit a desert park in July and of those that do few hike long trails up mountains. Little daylight remained when I finished Ryan Mountain. With what remained I hiked through Hidden Valley, a perfect hike for the end of the day, and still made it Keys View for the sunset.
Monday, July 20, 2009
July 19th Bike Ride
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Statistics
Length: 48.5 miles
Time: 4 hours 52 minutes
Avg. Speed: 10.6 MPH
Max. Speed: 26.8 MPH
Avg. Cadence: 55 RPM
Cumulative Ascent: 2350 ft.
Max. Elevation: 500 ft.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Pines to Palms Highway
After my morning hike on Stonewall Peak, I set out for Joshua Tree National Park, a three hour drive away. The entire route from Julian to the park was scenic, but one particular stretch, California 74 between Anza and Palm Desert, was especially so. Dubbed, I later learned, the Pines to Palm Highway, the highway crosses the Santa Rosa mountains east of Coachella Valley, the home to Palm Springs. I stopped a number of times to take pictures along the road. Here are six of them.
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Monday, July 13, 2009
Stonewall Peak
While I had explored most Cabrillo National Monument on foot the previous day, I had not really completed a true hike, at least not the vane of a Stonewall Peak trail, the 4-mile (round trip), climb I tackled the next morning. Setting out around 7:00 AM in the morning, only one family preceded me on the trail, which I perceived as beneficial since they probably cleared away all the spider webs. The ascent took a little under an hour. The trail climbs steeply via numerous switchbacks. Often I could see the trail on the slope above without understanding how it got there. Even in the still cool early morning, I appreciated that the mountain shaded me from the heat the rising sun, a benefit I lost on the way down. Along the way, I saw a lot of wildflowers (some that didn't smell so inviting), plenty of lizards, and countless charred tree trunks. A massive wildfild raged across the region in 2003, denuding most of the hillside.
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I spent forty minutes at the top—well not quite the top. A swarm of red ants infested the cairn that marks the true peak. As I climbed on the rocky summit, I wondered why the family the left before me rested about a 50 yards from the end of the trail. At first I thought the pests were bees, but the family said they were red ants. I never got close enough to challenge their assertion.
Deprived of the summit, I was not deprived of splendid views, particularly north toward the town of Cuyamaca, Lake Cuyamaca, and North Peak. I have a cousin who lives in this little town. He built a fantastic cabin not far from his house, which he availed to me for my visit. I could see all this and the aftereffects of the 2003 fires that nearly destroyed it all. To the west, I saw Cuyamaca Peak, the second tallest in San Diego county—I don't know what the first is. A longer trail climbs this mountain. Maybe, I'll try that one on my next visit.
Trip Statistics
Length: 4.1 miles
Time: 2 hours 33 minutes
Elevation Change: 883 feet
Total Climbing: 1,093 feet
Max. Elevation: 5,723 feet
Elevation Profile
Stonewall peak viewed from the town of Cuyamaca the evening before my climb.
The view from Stonewall Peak looking toward the town of Cuyamaca, where my cousin lives. The cabin he let me use for several nights is near the center of the picture along the line demarcating the gray burned trees from the green spared ones.
East view from Stonewall Peak
North View from Stonewall Peak
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I spent forty minutes at the top—well not quite the top. A swarm of red ants infested the cairn that marks the true peak. As I climbed on the rocky summit, I wondered why the family the left before me rested about a 50 yards from the end of the trail. At first I thought the pests were bees, but the family said they were red ants. I never got close enough to challenge their assertion.
Deprived of the summit, I was not deprived of splendid views, particularly north toward the town of Cuyamaca, Lake Cuyamaca, and North Peak. I have a cousin who lives in this little town. He built a fantastic cabin not far from his house, which he availed to me for my visit. I could see all this and the aftereffects of the 2003 fires that nearly destroyed it all. To the west, I saw Cuyamaca Peak, the second tallest in San Diego county—I don't know what the first is. A longer trail climbs this mountain. Maybe, I'll try that one on my next visit.
Trip Statistics
Length: 4.1 miles
Time: 2 hours 33 minutes
Elevation Change: 883 feet
Total Climbing: 1,093 feet
Max. Elevation: 5,723 feet
Elevation Profile
Stonewall peak viewed from the town of Cuyamaca the evening before my climb.
The view from Stonewall Peak looking toward the town of Cuyamaca, where my cousin lives. The cabin he let me use for several nights is near the center of the picture along the line demarcating the gray burned trees from the green spared ones.
East view from Stonewall Peak
North View from Stonewall Peak
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Exton Square
I got back on my bike for the first time in nearly a month. Despite the downtime, I chose a rather ambitious destination, Exton Square Mall. Located on the western fringes of the Philadelphia suburbs, this was the only one of the six Philadelphia Area Malls for which I have responsibility in my company that I had not ridden (or walked) to. Given the distance, I knew it would be challenge, but my experiences last year taught me it was feasible to do in a day—I closed out the season ridding to Hopewell Furnace, which is further west than Exton Square.
Not following my normal pattern of taking lighter traveled road, I rode directly west along State Road 3, for at least half the distance to Exton. The gambit paid off. The ride wasn't that unpleasant and it allowed me to make to the mall in about three hours. After buying a smoothie at Dairy Queen and walking the mall, I decided to return via a more circuitous route. I headed northeast, utilizing the Chester Valley Trail for few miles, though it was hard to find a completed section. After about fifteen miles, I connected with the Schuykill River trail, a main recreation corridor in Philadelphia, which brought me back to Center City.
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Trip Statistics
Length: 70 miles
Time: 7 hours 18 minutes
Avg/ Speed: 9.6 mph
Avg. Cadence: 53 rpm
Cum. Ascent: 3,049 ft.
Max. Elevation: 604 ft.
Not following my normal pattern of taking lighter traveled road, I rode directly west along State Road 3, for at least half the distance to Exton. The gambit paid off. The ride wasn't that unpleasant and it allowed me to make to the mall in about three hours. After buying a smoothie at Dairy Queen and walking the mall, I decided to return via a more circuitous route. I headed northeast, utilizing the Chester Valley Trail for few miles, though it was hard to find a completed section. After about fifteen miles, I connected with the Schuykill River trail, a main recreation corridor in Philadelphia, which brought me back to Center City.
Full Screen Version
Trip Statistics
Length: 70 miles
Time: 7 hours 18 minutes
Avg/ Speed: 9.6 mph
Avg. Cadence: 53 rpm
Cum. Ascent: 3,049 ft.
Max. Elevation: 604 ft.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Cabrillo National Monument
I spent a long Independence Day weekend exploring in and around San Diego beginning with Cabrillo National Monument on Point Loma, a spit of land that protects western edge of the entrance to San Diego Harbor. Named for the Spanish captain that discovered the harbor in 1542, the small park contains a concentration of varied attractions: a monument the park's namesake; a historic, but actually poorly-sited lighthouse; tide pools; WWII coastal defense improvements; and probably most popular, splendid views of the San Diego skyline several miles away.
Clouds obscured the skyline views when I first arrived, but as the day progressed they thinned enough for appreciable, if hazy, views of downtown. All told, I spend over three hours at the Monument, including a drive to the tide pools. The map below traces my pedestrian wanderings around the main visitor center including a hike out the one significant trail, the two-mile Bayside Trail.
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Trip Statistics (Bayside Trail Only)
Length: 2.2 miles
Time: 1 hour 4 minutes
Elevation Change: 316 feet
Total Climbing: 377 feet
Max. Elevation: 413 feet
Elevation Profile
Clouds obscured the skyline views when I first arrived, but as the day progressed they thinned enough for appreciable, if hazy, views of downtown. All told, I spend over three hours at the Monument, including a drive to the tide pools. The map below traces my pedestrian wanderings around the main visitor center including a hike out the one significant trail, the two-mile Bayside Trail.
Full Screen Version
Trip Statistics (Bayside Trail Only)
Length: 2.2 miles
Time: 1 hour 4 minutes
Elevation Change: 316 feet
Total Climbing: 377 feet
Max. Elevation: 413 feet
Elevation Profile
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