Day 8: Cloudy With A Chance Of Gridlock

The morning began with a trip to Will Rogers State Historical Park, not far from yesterday's stop at Temescal Canyon. I learned what kind of house a person could buy with a large fortune in the 1920s. Now I just need a time machine and a vast fortune. The confusing and woefully under-labeled trails offered great views--very similar to yesterday's, though the Southern California coastal region continues to be thrifty with the sunshine the past few days. The park also offered some of the most expensive per-mile hiking to date. I still don't understand how the state of California is so broke when they're practically printing money with their state park fees. Next, we opted for the longer and more scenic route to San Diego down the Pacific Coast Highway. Shame on me for forgetting that the road doesn't always live up to its name every mile of the drive...there are plenty of stretches where you're a lot more likely to see filthy oil refineries, grizzled bums, and gang-riddled ghettos than amazing views of the Pacific coastline. My right knee started to get sore from all of the back-and-forth between the accelerator and brake. On the plus side, I got to drag race a red Ferrari through a short stretch of Huntington Beach. I was briefly winning until the other driver noticed that the light had turned green. Once the PCH ended, I-5 was a parking lot down the rest of the coast, with eight lanes of barely-moving cars as far as the eye could see. It turned out to be a very long drive to cover a relatively short distance, but generally scenic nonetheless. Upon arrival in San Diego, there was enough time for some hiking at Torrey Pines State Preserve, which has some unique foliage and is located next door to the golf course that Tiger Woods made famous a few years ago. Once again, a little short on sunshine, but it was a nice hike down to Flat Rock, which compensates with visual appeal what it lacks in a creative name. The only downside was that the high tide kept me from climbing all over that thing. The sea was angry that day my friends...

Day 7: Duct Tape & Dr. Scholl's

My ailing feet felt a little better this morning, and with the help of a roll of duct tape and two of every item in Dr. Scholl's famed line of footcare products, I found a combination that made hiking possible and was worthy of an official MacGuyver two enthusiastic thumbs up. The first hike of the day was out to Ronald Reagan's old ranch in Malibu Creek State Park. The journey was more interesting than the underwhelming destination--these days, the "ranch" is nothing more than some state park offices and storage space. It didn't seem very presidential at all...in fact, the only political thing I learned was that the Reagans were a large and gastrointestinally-challenged bunch; the grounds included an impressive number of porta-potties. After taking down camp, we relocated inland a bit to Woodland Hills, CA. The evening hike was at Temescal Canyon, with some great views of the mountains, the ocean, and L.A. Not to mention some pretty impressive houses. At the top of Temescal Canyon was a cool rock formation called Skull Rock. Some quality hiking...especially since I had doubts that I'd be able to walk any extended distance today. Time is flying by...this trip is now past its halfway point, which means that it's time to turn these underwear inside out. This must be what Prince William feels like when he wakes up every morning...

Day 6: More Magnificent Malibu

Today was day number two in Malibu--any city that shares a name with my fine, tan car warrants at least a second day's stay. The hike of the day was Ray Williams trail at Point Mugu State Park, just off Pacific Coast Highway north of Malibu. Once again, there were some great ocean views despite low clouds that refused to go away. The trail offered a wide variety of terrain, with prairie grass, wooded areas, shrubbery, and plenty of rock. The end of the hike was unexpectedly prolonged by a diamondback rattlesnake in the trail that didn't seem too anxious to move along. All told, it was 10.7 miles of quality hiking despite the lack of sunshine. The only downside is the deteriorating shape of my feet--the right one is covered in blisters, and the left is in some severe pain on the bottom, bruised from miles of hiking on jagged rocks. Not sure why the right foot didn't suffer the same fate, but I'm glad it didn't. Let's hope a night of sleep does wonders for my ailing left foot...

Day 5: Malibu

The day started with a brief stop at Vasquez Rocks, a park that's appeared in a bunch of movies and TV shows. William Shatner himself battled space aliens on these rocks. Then it was on to Malibu Creek State Park to set up camp, then some hiking at Charmlee Wilderness Park...amazing how hard to find places can be when you ignore signs. The park had some great ocean views...the trail made it feel like I was sitting on my front porch with the Pacific and Highway 1 for lawn ornaments. Before dark, I got down to sea level for a close-up of the ocean near Dume Point in Malibu. I closed the day by devouring a rotisserie chicken back at the campsite. I'm not talking movies when I say "gone in sixty seconds." I went at that thing with a ferocity and clarity of purpose typically reserved for Olympic athletes. I can guarantee that the two German guys one campsite over have never seen anything like that back in Munich. Now, since this is bear country, I'm going to throw that chicken carcass into one of the campsites with annoying children...

Day 4: California Bound

Today included a brutal eight-hour drive from the Grand Canyon across endless desert to Palmdale, CA, northeast of L.A. The only thing southwestern and southeastern California have in common is an abundance of sunshine; other than that, they couldn't be more different. The coast has water, palm trees, mild temperatures, and millions of people...eastern California has dirt, shrubs, insane heat, and miles of emptiness. We were able to squeeze in a few miles of hiking at Devil's Punch Bowl before darkness set in at the end of the day. The views were as spectacular as the pine cones were large...

Day 3: More Canyon...Could It Be More Grand?

Overnight lows were in the mid-30s...never what you want to see, especially when sleeping in a tent. My biggest problem was my refusal to put anything under my sleeping bag, which made for a rocky night. Today's hike was from the rim of the Grand Canyon down to Indian Gardens on Bright Angel Trail, 9 miles round trip. I seem to be at least somewhat over my old fear of heights. But like I've said before, the thought of falling into the canyon is pretty much on par with everyday life at work. I learned today that I enjoy being in the canyon a lot more than being at the top of the canyon--interestingly, the quality of the people goes up the further you go down...so many annoying tourists and children up there. As I approached the rim on the hike out, I passed a guy smoking and drinking a can of beer on the side of the trail. Classic...go America!

Day 2: Grand Canyon

Hiked Camelback Mountain first thing in the morning...perhaps my fastest time ever. Got to watch part of the French Open final before the rain delay...too bad I won't be anywhere near a TV tomorrow. Headed north to the Grand Canyon and stopped to hike at Red Mountain along the way. They're building roundabouts near the the Grand Canyon park entrance...seems like a terrible idea with all the Asian tourists driving around here...