sketches

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I managed not to totally neglect my sketch book this month.

The harbor and beach from a spot above the botanic gardens in Ventura.

There is just a pool of shrubs in what was once a permanent pool on Nicholas Flat.


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Offline Digital Maps (for free) for Hiking

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Since I last wrote about digital maps, the S1 Mobile app has been shut down and the Forest Service released a new map app that looks pretty good. It might be time for a new post on maps. (Check the "equipment" tag for older editions.) USFS app in offline mode showing a section of the Pacific Crest Trail north of Marble Mountain Wilderness including intersecting roads, streams, and contours. As before, this will focus on legal, free ways to have maps stored on your handheld computer (AKA "phone") so you can have them anywhere and any time. While these are free, it does help insure that independent developers keep going next year if you send some money toward them. My criteria for a map app: Works offline. If you only have a map when online, you don't have a map. It is as simple as that. This is non-negotiable. Maps should include contours. I'm looking to hike with these maps after all. Shows location. User configurable storage opt...
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Golden Trout Wilderness tour: Jordan Hot Springs

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Inyo National Forest Locate the trailhead. DAY 1  |  DAY 2  |  DAY 3  |  DAY 4  |  DAY 5  |  DAY 6  |  DAY 7  |  DAY 8 Today is a very easy day. The morning is to be looking for monuments around Casa Vieja Meadows and wandering three miles or so down the trail. The afternoon is to be sitting in the hot springs and exploring old cabins from when it was a commercial concern. The morning sun on the meadow is stunning, and after some battling with the camera in need of a new battery, I can capture a slightly lesser moment of the light. Then, with breakfast put away, I turn my attention to climbing the small peak just north of my campsite. Manzanita makes a feeble attempt to block my way sometimes and I am quickly into a cold wind, but soon find myself on Doc Peak, as it is labeled in the OpenStreetMap. It is another labeled with a benchmark on the 1905 Olancha 30' map and on the more recent 1987 Casa...
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Mount Tamalpais from King Mountain, with a side of Knob Hill

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King Mountain Open Space Baltimore Canyon Open Space Preserve Mount Tamalpais Watershed Click for map. Mount Tamalpais, which is actually just called "Mount Tam" by the people around it, is another one that one could be climbed by a long wiggling drive and a short stroll. However, I don't want to just be there, I want to have journeyed there. There are lots of ways to really hike up it, too. I chose one that looked like it would be an easy drive and let me loop around King Mountain before tackling the big stuff. Somewhere up a steep two-way road with driving down one side and parking, paved around redwood trees, or non-existence down the other, I found a gate and a turnaround. There are maybe five parking spots within a quarter mile of it, but the top one was free and I grabbed it. On a bit of a hill with no curb to turn into, so with the break as tight as I can get it and in gear and a bit of thought about maybe a rock under a tire. The trail is easy to find ...
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Cascade Falls

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Patapsco Valley State Park interactive map link I was charged with deciding on a hike that kids could do, except I have no experience in this or in evaluating what a particular kid can do. Plus, I would be without any parental supervision. Alltrails offered up Cascade Falls as a possible suitable suggestion, except that it would be done on the weekend and is a very popular location. I liked a climb on Garrett's Pass and a drop on the Cascade Falls Trail, which is 4 miles and only 300 feet or so from bottom to top. (It goes from ~20m to ~100m.) That's not so much, right? And I even had the means for up to 2 kids to be self sufficient, able to carry water, snacks, camera, and a light sweater on their own. Self sufficiency for the win, right? The hike would be in the Patapsco Valley State Park, like most my hikes would likely be. This park has a mix of free lots and pay lots. The pay lots have different prices for in state or out of state, weekends/holidays or weekdays. T...
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