Moments in Dirt and Ink

Lacks Creek Management Area, Aracata BLM (Map link. Green/blue line for day 2.) DAY 1  |  DAY 2  |  DAY 3 Water just kept on settling out of the air all night. It wasn't raining, but it might as well have been. When the stars were long vanished, I went ahead and set up that useless tent I'd brought by the light of I'm not sure what. No stars, no nearby cities, maybe the half moon was up somewhere above the thick fog, but still no need to turn on a headlamp. It was just that little bit warmer and drier and somehow a little bit of heartburn finished up too. Everything inside the tent was dry again by morning. The morning was a slow one under all that mist. The sun breaks over the edge of the hills just as a thin spot in the fog passes. Of the three central trees, the evening bear was up at the top of the one on the left. I grabbed my food bag and wandered along the old road that makes a flat area for the campsite (as near as I can guess). I didn't get ...

Six Rivers National Forest (Map link.) I must admit, there was something slightly harrowing about going down 2N17 to Becker Racetrack the day before. The Forest Service topo says it's an improved (but unpaved) road and the Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM) even claims I can do the unimproved portions of the road with any street legal vehicle. I had no reason to push it because my planned loop starts shortly after the end of the improved section. It still seemed steep and full of big, sharp rocks when going down. Somehow it didn't look so bad in my mirrors. This road is seasonal. The MVUM doesn't say what the season is but the gate was open and did not have the Port Orford Cedar closure information of the seasonal gates that were still closed. Someone had recently cut out the fallen trees, but there's a mass of standing dead waiting to come down along most of it. It was a worry as I chose a place to camp among the green trees at the edge of the meadow. It wasn't a ...

Lassen Volcanic National Park Click for map. After waiting far too long for the Visitor Center to open (9 AM is hours after the sun comes up!) because someone absolutely has to have some coffee, but cannot think all the way to buying some to have on hand, we headed off to see at least one thing that makes the park unique. The regular route is still closed by snow, but the boardwalks are open, so we are starting from a less traditional location. It is hard to believe that the spotty bits of snow around could be causing grand trouble to the shorter route that could not be fixed with a shovel in less than an hour, but at just over 5 miles and 1200 feet gain, this does not seem very hard to hike either. Parking is getting a bit crowded, though. It is quickly left behind as we take off into the trees. There they are, the trees. This looks like a super easy path. The gentle and rolling path passes by a sign next to a trail so light that there must be very few to take it. Over o...

Kings Canyon National Park Sequoia National Forest Giant Sequoia National Monument Click for map. DAY 1  |  DAY 2  |  DAY 3  |  DAY 4 It was another mild night, but the mosquitoes very nearly vanished early on into it. The sun comes quickly here and the morning golden hour is really quite something. I enjoy it with breakfast and happily the mosquitoes seem to be slow to wake up. Our northerly view from near camp: the morning sun as it hits Ball Dome. Morning over Ranger Lake. We head out to the trail again and wander gently downward, still high above the valley bottom. The air seems a lot clearer today and the snow on the far mountains is much more defined. The snowy distances.

Cleveland National Forest Picking up my little sister after she has gotten rid of her rental car, we are on another geocache hunt. Today the primary prey is not just the oldest in the county but the oldest remaining in the state hidden in September 2000. Stopping off by the side of the Sunrise Highway, we are joining at least forty other cars of those who are also out to enjoy the area. The area boasts interpretive signs, a kiosk, port-a-potties, and a trash can that is clearly serviced next to a sign noting there is no trash service. The forest is really gearing up to be compliant with the latest ruling on the Adventure Pass in the Laguna Mountain Recreation Area. Many active at their cars are pulling out road bikes to continue along the highway. More are fiddling with mountain bikes for a trail. We head over to the start to find a map of an elaborate trail system and various other bits of information, then head on in. Meadow with sparse pines and very clear, wide dir...