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There has been a little buzz on the bulletin board for the San Gorgonio Wilderness Association in regards to the Government Shutdown. As the Forest Service is “closed” does that make the forest closed? There are some that are going on rebel hikes without a permit due to the fact that they cannot get a permit. There is one person that had a great post of a question: “If a hiker hikes in the woods and no furloughed rangers hear him, did he make a noise?”
Can you hear me now?
What about now? This weekend was the September Operation On Target for the Boy Scouts. Operation On Target, if you did not click on the link, is where scouts flash mirrors from peak to peak and communicate with HAM radios. Here is Southern California, we do it every third weekend in July and September.Yet again, we were going to the top of Mt. San Gorgonio sans any Boy Scouts. I arrived at the Fish Creek trail-head at just after three yesterday. It was a nice afternoon and it was a lot clearer up the hill and out of the valley. The sky was blue rather than a hazy grey. Once on the trail I made fairly good time. The trail crossing at Fish Creek looked as if it had more water in it than in July. Then again, after driving on the road to the Fish Creek Trail-head, which was in the worst condition that I have seen in several years, it was apparent that the area received some moisture in the recent thunderstorms.  Fish Creek Of course a little extra moisture never hurt the plant life. There were a few places that wildflowers were showing their color along the trail. Some yellow, red and purple.  Indian Paintbrush Once I arrived at Fish Creek Saddle I chose the location of home for the night. It was forcast to be windy so the site with the best shelter from the wind was chosen. However, there are not may places on a saddle that one can hide from the wind.
I got something to eat and wandered around area. I came across something and could not determine if it was some type of game played by people or a message left by the animals. EDIT – Mystery solved – The game is 9 Mens Morris. Who was playing it is still a mystery . . .
Then night became extremely windy. Oh I hate the wind when it is really blowing hard. I do not sleep well. Add that to a 98 percent waning moon that was out all night and it allows one to see how bad the tent is moving around in the wind. The morning came soon enough. As the sun was rising in the east, the moon was still up in the west.
The trip to the top went fairly well. Being in the Sierras a couple of weeks ago and all the walking I have been doing has put me in better physical shape. I took my usual photo of Dragons Head as I want to climb it some day.  Dragons Head We arrived at our usual place for Operation On Target at 9:45. The wind was howling. We were able to get mirror flashes from Mt. San Jacinto, Palomar Mountain and Washington’s Monument just west of San Bernardino peak. I did get a picture of a flash from Mt. San Jacinto.
I was also able to get a little video of some flashes from Washington’s Monument. To see the flashes, you need to pay a lot of attention to the location of Washington’s Monument. There are three flashes in the first few seconds of the video. EDIT – However, before the video I have a picture extracted that was from the video by a friend.
As you can tell, it was really windy on top. The air was cold as well. We finished up and hiked back to Fish Creek Saddle. From there, we packed our backpacks up and headed down the trail. As is usual, we had people asking for directions. One person in particular was broken off from his group and was not sure of where he was. We passed him just after Mine Shaft Saddle and he asked, “Is this the trail to Fish Creek?” When we were at Fish Creek Saddle packing up, he wandered over to where we were asking where the trail was to Fish Creek. On the way down the Fish Creek Trail, we passed him again. This time he knew he was on the Fish Creek trail. We made it to the trail-head timely and were on our way. It was another great weekend in the San Gorgonio Mountains. I am not a big fan of birthdays and could do without all the celebration. Every year that I can remember, my birthday falls the day before Constitution Day. I sometimes think which is more important or which should be celebrated more. I kind of think of it like Freedom or Birthday? I would rather have my freedom than celebrate my birthday. So with that in mind, have a Happy Constitution Day. May we all continue to enjoy the freedom that we have. May we be able to repel the attack on the freedom of religion, the freedom to bear arms and any other freedoms that may come under attack? John Adams had some thoughts on the subject as well: “We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” ~John Adams October 11, 1798 May I live another year longer to see another Happy Constitution Day and may the Constitution be safe for another year. I pray that the same will be afforded to my children and grandchildren as well. I am getting a little weary of the continued heat. I am also weary of the electric bill as the hot days as well as the warm and humid nights wear on. The days are getting shorter and the nights longer. I just cannot wait for the weather to get cooler. At least the sky was stunning this morning.
A 22 year old accidentally shot himself with a single-action Freedom Arms 454 Casull while it was tucked in his waistband. He put it there when he went to investigate a noise outside his apartment. The only way to carry a gun safely is in a holster. NOt cocking the hammer would also be a help. The caliber may also be a little big for the average apartment dweller in San Bernardino California. We made the decision last night to get up early today. About 2:00 am it rained for a while. About 5:00 am it began to sprinkle. I was thinking of the best way to pack and keep things dry. Water on tents and other things just adds weight. Just after 5:30 am it stooped sprinkling and I began packing up my things. The others started to stir and Jacob was soon to follow. As usual, Jacob was finished and waiting. All the adults were packed and ready. However, the 7 year old was not quite an early mover and shaker. The moment he had his backpack on, the 7 year old hit the trail. Jacob, not wanting to be the second person on the trail put himself in high gear and headed for the trail as well.
It was a nice cool morning and it made hiking a pleasure. The rain had firmed up the sandy parts of the trail and eliminated the dust issue. On my way back I took pictures of things I had not noticed before or ones I had a different perspective on.  Lost Trout Creek trail crossing Soon I caught up with Jacob. He announced that he had been waiting for 12 minutes. I figured that I took a few minutes to take pictures and it is fine if he is about four or five minutes faster per mile than me. Soon enough I was back at Casa Vieja Meadows. I thought I may see Jacob here, but all I saw was footsteps.  Trail alongside the Casa Vieja Meadows I had given a camera to Jacob to slow him down. He usually stops to take pictures. I am not sure how much it slowed him down, but he did get a picture of the old cabin at the edge of the meadow.
I stopped to take a picture of the view from the holding pen at the edge of the meadow. I am not sure, but I think the peak in the distance is Kern Peak.
I still thought i would see Jacob waiting somewhere. I just kept moving up the trail. It started to sprinkle and I thought, just keep moving. I made it back to the trailhead and there was Jacob. He was sitting in the back of the SUV with his clothes changed and waiting for me. He announced that I was an additional 22 minutes behind him for a total of 34 minutes. I thought 34 minuted faster for 4.3 miles must indicate that next time he carries out the tent as well. he is young. We went back down the trail and met the others. There was a moment to get the picture at the wilderness sign so we took advantage of that. Overall, it was a great trip and I hope to be back in the Sierra Nevada mountains again soon.
After a fairly good night sleep it was time to get up. I have always enjoyed the mornings as there is a certain peace in the forest before others are up and around. After going to Philmont Scout Ranch a couple of years ago, Jacob and I learned to keep our backpacks away from where we slept. If we were visited by a large furry creature, I would rather have it sniffing at a distance that inside my vestibule of my tent.
For cooking and playing games last night, we had a nice table. As I was up early, I heated water for the group. The fire ring was something that we could not use due to fire danger.
After breakfast a couple of us did a little more fishing in the creek. The favorite place was a small pool formed as the water ran over a big rock with the addition of overhanging branches. While we were on our hike, one person from our party got a little too close to the edge trying to retrieve his fishing fly.
Jacob and I decided to go for a hike to Indian Head five miles away. The trail was from our location on the Long Canyon Creek and up through Beer Keg Meadow to Redrock Meadows and then on up to Indian Head. We made fairly good time to Beer Keg Meadow as we were there the day before and knew the trail. From there on out we were in territory new to us.
Of course Jacob was moving faster than me. He usually hikes ahead and then finds a place to wait. I was moving along and heard a big thud behind me. I turned around and there was Jacob setting on a log. I had walked past him. I went back and took a picture as the sun was east of him and we were headed north west.
We came to a meadow area and I snapped a picture as Jacob began to put some distance between us. Things were a little dry. However, the also looked a little refreshed from the rain we had the day before.
The landscape has the contrast of new growth and survivors against those that did not survive the fire. There was a mountainside that looked like it lost all its trees to the south of us.
We continued on until we arrived at the Redrock Meadows area. There is a trail junction there and a sign.
Jacob and I decided that it was best to put the sign back in its proper place. We broke out the bright orange trowel and dug a little in the center of the rock pile, moved a few things around and put the sign in its place. We checked the map to make sure all trail sign were headed the right directions. There was a small holding coral and what looked like an old ranch cabin in the same area. Soon enough it was time to move out of the Redrock meadows area and work our way up to Indian Head.
We started up the trail and noticed a deer in the meadow through the trees. This was the second deer that we had seen this morning. Jacob tried to sneak up and take a picture. We were downwind of the deer so our scent would not be a problem. However, as Jacob got closer, the deer detected our movement through the trees. We got back on the trail, which used a little more thought than usual for the area. Most of the trails we had traveled on were also used by horses and cattle. The trail from Redrock Meadows to Indian Head showed no signs of either. With the recent rains the trail was covered with pine needles and other tree debris. Other than a slight contour in the earth, on the surface it looked the same as all the ground around it. As we got closer to Indian Head, we took a picture.  Indian Head from the North We made our way up over the rocks. The redness of the rocks were a contrast to the lighter granite rocks that we had seen for the past couple of days. Jacob was busy looking at the rocks, the colors as well as the bright green lichens on the red rocks.
We relaxed and had lunch on Indian Head. We noted the cones that formed on just the upper or top branches of the fir trees. That was something that we had not really noticed before as we always seem to be on the forest floor or on a peak with only a few trees around. It also was amazing how the red rock contrasted with green tees in the valley below.
Toward the north east Kern Peak can be seen as well as the Redrock Meadows below. Looking at the map, Kern Peak is not real easy to get to as the trail comes in from the north.
We headed back towards Redrock Meadows for our return trip. It was nice to see the area from the reverse prospective as there are always things that you do not see when you are headed one direction. At Philmont Scout Ranch one of our Rangers parting comments was, “Stop and turn around to see what you would not see unless you were headed the other direction.”  Redrock Meadows and Indian Head We made good time on our way back. Jacob quickly got back to one of his favorite places, sitting in my camp chair on a rock above our eating area. I broke out the camera and mini tripod to take a picture.
As it was late in the afternoon we began to get things together for dinner. Jacob collected water and I cooked. As we ended dinner the sun was beginning to settle in the west. Jacob and I decided to go upon the rock south west of our camp site to watch the sun go down. The clouds in the west added to the opportunity for some color in the sky. There are two shots that I like and I could not pick one, so I put both in this post. They were taken about 10 minutes apart. We were actually beginning to go back to camp when the sky started lighting up in orange. The day was a great day and the hike was fun. Soon it would be off to a early night to turn in as we were going to arise early to make our way back to the trailhead.
I wanted to catch the sunrise and did not think to set an alarm on my phone. I have learned to put my phone in airplane mode and the battery will last a couple of days taking pictures, using a GPS application as well as checking my sunrise and sunset application. It was nice to not have email, texting or phone service. However, there are just some applications that it is difficult to live without. So I look at my phone, the time was 6:14 am and the sunrise was 6:24. I hurried out into the cool morning air to find the morning sky painted with the soon to be rising sun. Casa Vieja Meadow is a nice place. The hike there is 2 miles with an elevation drop of 650 feet.  Sunrise over Casa Vieja Meadows  Sunrise over Casa Vieja Meadows and Nine Mile Creek While out wandering around I met up with a group that came in after us. They were camped a couple hundred yards to the south and were headed down to Jordan Hot Springs. Upon my arrival back to camp I dropped the bear bag and proceeded to begin to cook breakfast. Soon enough we had finished breakfast and began to strike camp. Jacob and I traveled with A couple friends, Bret, Eric and Eric’s 7 year old son. I used the trail sign as a place to prop the camera up to take a picture. It was just after 10:00 AM and we were on our way. We were headed towards Long Canyon or Redrock Meadows if you look at a map. The trail has a few ups and downs with 170 foot elevation gain over the two miles that we were going to travel. We took a couple of pictures on the way. One that indicates what type of weather we were going to have later in the day.
Of course, if you are Jacob, who can take more pictures than me on any trip, you will find interesting things to take pictures of. Jacob pointed towards the east and said, “Look a snake.” I said, “Where.” He replied, “Right there.”  Snake Head Rock Before noon we arrived at camp. Jacob immediately started taking pictures waiting for the others to arrive. We then set up camp and prepared our lunches. The sky was growing a little darker. As we were finishing eating our lunch it began to rain. It was nice to have the tents up, everything in its place and the packs covered. As for the scenery, it was beautiful.  Long Canyon Creek at split of Red Rock Trail and Long Canyon Trail Within a couple of hours the rain slowed up. Jacob and I went for a short hike put to Beer Keg Meadow. It was about a mile up and back.  Beer Keg Meadow Upon our arrival back to camp I did some fishing and Jacob climbed around on the rocks and carved some sticks. I had several nibbles, a couple of good bites, lost one on its way out of the water and caught one trout. It was fun trying to get a fly to move where I wanted it to. At least I can now say that I have caught a fish on a fly with my fly rod. It has only taken several years. Then again, it has been three or four years from the last time I went fishing.  Jacob hiking behind camp Later in the afternoon Jacob wanted to visit a rock outcropping. He said that it was important. We went up and he said, “Can you smell the smoke?” I said yes and it was probably from the fire up north. While we were up there, I thought, why not get a couple of pictures.
We traveled back down to camp where we prepared dinner. After dinner played a couple of games. I introduced Bret and Eric to Left, Center Right (LCR) and they introduced Jacob and I to Flux. LCR is a game of chance rolling dice and does not take a lot of thought. However, Flux is a game where the rules and the conditions for winning are altered throughout the game, via cards played by the players. Hence, the game is in a state of “Flux”. It was fun, until was getting late and we were all to cold to remain up. Today is the day that Jacob and I are heading to the Golden Trout Wilderness in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. First thing on agenda for the day was to pick up the recycling for the Beaumont Cross Country team at 6:30 AM at Jacobs residence. After the pick up it was off to Walmart for a few supplies and fishing licenses. I was just in time to catch a good sunrise over the 10 Freeway.
Several hours later I was back to Banning to pick up Jacob. We were traveling to the Blackrock Trailhead just outside the southern boundary of the Golden Trout Wilderness. About the only picture of the adventure that evening was one Jacob took traveling across the desert on Highway 395.
We arrived at the trailhead about nine in the evening and made out way about two miles in to Casa Vieja Meadow. We quickly set up camp for the night and turned in. Once upon a time there was this older lady. She had a big house and had children and grandchildren living with her. They were all over the age of 17. All five of them. The eat her food. They lounge in the air conditioned house. They driver her vehicles. They sleep in beds at her house. She pays the gardener. She pays the pool maintenance person. She pays the utilities. She pays for practically everything. One day a bad thing happened, water started to leak from the refrigerator. It went all over the floor and made a mess. It kept leaking and was making a bigger mess. The cold water feeding the refrigerator needed to be turned off. All the kings horses and all the kings men along with all the children and grandchildren could not shut off the water valve under the sink. She had to call a knight from a different land to rescue the house from the slow dripping flood when no one in the land could turn the valve. When the knight arrived he found the older lady mopping the floor. He also found a valve that was easily turned to the off position. The knight wonders if the children and grandchildren have any gratitude at all. For if they did, you would think that they would mop the floor or turn the valve at the very least. What do you think?
Update – The knight stopped by tonight to install a valve behind the refrigerator and turn the cold water back on to the kitchen sink. A quick and easy job. Today I thought I would walk towards Mt. Rubidoux. I usually get about 5 miles in when I do that. As I walked, I chose the route that drops down against the river bottom. There is usually a cool breeze coming from the west in the evening. I made may way around to the west side of Mt Rubidoux and started hiking up the trail from the dog park. I could see that the sun was getting close to setting in the sky. I wondered if I would make it to the top before the sun disappeared. With just a sliver of the large fiery round ball left to see in the west, I reached my goal. There was a cool breeze on top and the sky filled with hues of oranges and yellows. Stevie the dog was happy to take a break while I snapped a few picture.
Tonight Stevie the dog and I made the decision to walk to the park and around Lake Evans. The sun had cone down and the evening had finally cooled off. We were in the far side of the lake when there were four furry animals that proceeded to go into high alert as Stevie did the same. Being a good sport we followed with all 16 feet of leash. The racoons proceeded to the nearest tree. Stevie proceeded to the same tree. As the Little furry creatures scampered up the tree Stevie stood on her hind legs and barked. She got down and move around tree where she stood on her hind legs and barked. She quickly did it again. She was excited that she found some furry friends. She also had wrapped the leash around the tree as I was taking the picture. I am lucky I stood away from the tree or I may have been wrapped as well.
Today was the appointed day to celebrate the year mark for Elizabeth. There were many activities for the youngsters. There were three young people between the ages of 12 and 13 months old. They played see if we can catch Stevie the dog as well as sat and played in two different pools. One pool with two sections and a slide.
As for the birthday girl, she had a lot of fun. There were cup cakes and a couple of regular cakes. One kake was even decorated to match the birthday girls outfit.
There is nothing quite as fun as watching a one year old systematically try to eat a birthday cake. The other cake was a nice looking cake.
Soon after the candles were lit, we sang happy birthday to her and she wanted to get on with the purpose of the day, to eat the cake.
Soon she we sitting in the chair and doing everything she could to devour the cake.
As for the adults, we ate the other cake as this one did not look like it had a piece to spare. Today Elizabeth turned 12 months old. It was a busy day preparing for the party tomorrow. However, the was enough time left at the end of the evening to light a candle, sing Happy Birthday, and let Elizabeth enjoy her cake.
Tonight I took a walk up Mt. Rubidoux from the new Ryan Bonaminio Park at the Tequesquite Arroyo. There were a lot of people making their way up Mt. Rubidoux from the park. I felt as if I was on the freeway or something. It was obvious that the sidewalk was not wide enough for the people. There were families, friends, couples loners and several dogs. Some more friendly than others. Stevie and I enjoyed the walk to the top of the mountain. It was a three mile walk with an elevation gain of 570 feet before heading back down. That puts me close to 60 miles for the month. As of tomorrows walk, I will have three months in a row over with over 60 miles of walking and hiking. As for Mt. Rubidoux, even if it is a small mountain, you can still get a picture of the city from the top.
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