Devil's Punch Bowl Hike Map

Devil's Chair Trail

I've been meaning to post this FOREVER!!!!!

I did a successful hike to Devil's Chair over in Antelope valley. According to maps and rangers, the hike was 7.4 miles round trip, with an elevation gain of 1400 ft (Half Dome is 4800 ft).

It was a lovely day out.  Not too hot. Actually, not hot at all. It was GREAT.  Come this time real soon, this part of the state is unbearable!




So, we started off!  I had 1 camel bladder pack of 2 liters of water, some snacks and a husband.

We passed over some water!

And we went under bit trees...

and around scary left over tools and a wheel barrel...


At some point... we lost brian. He had started jumping a head of us with his super long legs, and before we knew it... he was out of sight!  It turns out, He stopped to rest/smoke, and we passed him!  But his newly sprained ankle had been bothering him, so decided to rest and wait for us to return on the way back.

And then... WE MADE IT DOWN!


And we had some snacks... even phallic ones!

A couple shots of the view...




And then, back up we go!




Shannon stopped to take a little nap...

Look at this incline!



and Shannon found a friend along the way...



and I spotted Brian! (good thing he was wearing such a contrasting color!)



and a turquoise lizard!



All in all, it was a good hike. I was pooped! And had to drive home cause Brian's foot was still bothering him. A good prep for HD.

oh, did i mention the snow we saw?!

Ode to my convertible pants

I had these amazing convertible hiking pants.  They were "Titanium" and were made by Columbia.  I saw my friend Heather with a pair, and fell in love.

They were dark brown.

They zipped off above the knee, making them shorts.

They were super rugged. They were big enough for me to move around, and do the tiny bit of "climbing" that I ever did, getting my knee up super high.

And they were big enough to house a pair of jeans underneath them like below!

I loved them.  They are as ever present as the family dog in a sequence of family photos throughout the years. My go-to hiking pants, and most worn object on each camping trip!  They dried quickly, easy on easy off. Legs on, legs off.  Even had tear up sides to not have to remove my chunky hiking boots.

Well, long story, short... I lost some weight, and therefore, these pants became reminiscent of the Vanilla Ice/MC Hammer pants.

 I had to practically TIE them up with a belt.

But it was ok! Cause I would just ZIP over to REI and get a smaller size. I had already typed in "titanium" to the search and they came up! So I ordered the smaller size, with my 20% off member coupon and went to pick them up with their "free shipping to store" feature.

I ran to the changing room to try them on, you know, JUST TO BE SAFE... and AGHAST they did not fit! I was bummed, but just went upstairs to the women's department and scooted around looking for them to get the next size up.  I asked an associate, and then the realization came... my PANTS WHERE DISCONTINUED! And the ones I a newer version (the ones in my hands), which was NOT the same.  They fit differently, hugged differently, were not the same size ratio...

I sent my old pants to my mom, the day I placed the order for my new pants... not like I would taken them back...

But uuuuggggg, I have to find new beloved convertible pants for Big Hike! I always just assumed I would wear those!  I will see this as an adventure, and not so much as the travesty (yes, I'm being OVERLY dramatic)

Devil's Punch Bowl

So, tomorrow, we are venturing out into the desert for a little hiking and site seeing. Its a part of California where 2 fault lines meet, called, Devil's Punch bowl. They are the San Andreas fault and the Garlock Fault.

For more information on the Geology, check out this very basic website

http://www.devils-punchbowl.com/pages/geology.html

The hike will be about 7.4 miles round trip. It boasts spectacular geologic views, that I would like to take pictures of.

I always think to do this hike... in July, when temperatures reach 115 degrees... NOT ideal for hiking. Especially since I don't care to sweat. But tomorrow's forecast is high 68, low of 47... just perfect.

We'll pack a little lunch and hopefully hit the trail at around 9:30. Its guestimated that the hike takes 4 hours... which I'm kinda scared about, but I need to get over that fear real quickly! HD is RIGHT around the corner, and I am not in the shape I had planned to be!

If everything goes as planned... I'll be home showering by 1:30pm. We are packing our nice walkie talkies incase Brian needs to turn around. He's coming off of a sprained ankle from two weeks ago, so, fingers crossed!

Lost Palms Oasis Trail map!

Planned Hike!

Below is a planned hike I'm gonna take when we hit up Joshua Tree NP in may for our first camping trip of the season!
I've been to JT many times now, and always get excited when I get to see a new part of the park that I have yet to explore. This looks like a good practice hike for us! Below are the details of the hike, copied and pasted directly from Localhikes.com. Thanks LH!
Joshua Tree NP - Lost Palms Oasis and Overlook

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Highlights:	Palm Oasis, desert views, desert flora, boulder formations
Near:	Desert Center, CA
Scenery:
Distance:	8.5 miles round trip
Elevation Gain:	1200 ft
Hike Time:	4.5 hours
Difficulty:	Moderate
Trail Condition:	OK, but a few difficult spots
HikeType:	Out and Back

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Summary: This is a nice hike that leads to a hidden and secluded palm oasis. It is similar to what you have seen in Bugs Bunny cartoons, but there wasn't much water when I visited.

I saw tracks and droppings of Desert Bighorn, but none of the elusive beasts.

The hike follows a well trodden path, which is clearly marked at every possible wrong turn. There are posts with arrows which guide you in the event of a wash crossing a wash, plus the footprints are just as useful of a guide.

Some of the hike is through sand. It is a little loose, but not enough to make this a strenuous hike. However, the distance combined with the wash walking (it is minimal) and the steep climb up and down into the canyon make this a moderate adventure.Although there are nicer areas to hike in Joshua Tree, this destination is a grand one, and recommended at least once.

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Trailhead: Take the 10 East from Los Angeles. Continue past Palm Springs and head towards Chiriaco Summit. The turn will be a few miles before you reach the town, and you will see a sign that says Joshua Tree National Park.
This is the South Entrance. Drive for about 7 miles until you come to a junction with Cottonwood Springs Road. You will see the ranger station ahead on your right. Turn right here and park in the parking lot. Here is where you begin your hike. Follow the signs. The trail is well marked.
You can also start at the campground which will add an additional 1.6 miles to your hike round trip.

100 days to go!

I remember when I hit that milestone for my wedding! This is so much tougher!

My friend Jessi organized a hike yesterday in the Santa Monica mountains. She described it as the Boney Mountain trail, but that is NOT the trail we took. The only problem is... I have no idea WHAT trail we took. And google maps isn't too good cause there are thousands of trails in the Santa Monica Mountains....

I'm only curious to know... how far we hiked. The elevation gain... and the "level of difficulty"... just so I can gage where I'm at.

But we started at 10:15 and ended around 1:30 pm. We even stopped for lunch for 15 minutes or so.

This hike was really neat. Very up and down, which my thighs, calves and ass appreciated. Its amazing how when I'm going up and up and up for so long... heart POUNDING... just knowing that at some point, you'll be going down down down. But when that time comes, my poor little toes feel all crushed and that's when the thighs and knees feel the pain. 136 pounds of weight pounding on my joints... I would relish in the moments of hills again. I can never be pleased!

I don't know where I'm at in training, but I can say... I need more. But I'll nice to myself. Here are some photos from the hike. Half of the hike, we were walking through clouds. It was really cool.

103 Days to go!

Half Dome Permits....

CHECK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't explain how relieved I feel to be done with THIS hurdle! Thanks to my friends who were at the computer with me at 6:30 AM this morning.

I swear, it feels like the hike it self will be a piece of cake after the struggle to get my camp reservation and then the permits :)

This is NO JOKE! ;)