cuts deeply into men's hearts

It don't stop...



I got home from the Condor and (literally) laid around for 2 days. But, Spring Break won't wait. Now, no one in the family but me is enthusiastic about Henry Coe,  they claim it's too steep (OK, true) with no redeeming value (false!) and decline to return. So we loaded up the Surly Big Dummy and drove ourselfs over to the Arroyo Seco side of things.



The boys and I rolled out mid-afternoon, to be joined by our queen bee around dark.  She brought burritos out with her. That's how seriously we take this adventure stuff.



How could things go smoothly? While packing the bikes I decided to cram the 26+ front wheel in the Big Dummy, since it would be all dirt and that's a muuuuch cushier ride. Hey, I've done it before. But- and there's always a but- I neglected to think about the fact that since the last use, I'd re-installed the front rack and it didn't clear the top of the 26+. So we lingered in the buggy parking lot while I tried to raise the rack. Eventually, I came to the conclusion that barring a complete removal and re-installation it would not be perfect. There was a buzz twice a revolution. Of course I attempted to run it. We got onto the dirt road before I cracked and removed it entirely. With such a load on such a bike, it doesn't really matter if the front end is weighted in terms of balancing things, so NBD. I sent D back to the car to stow it. J and I continued lumbering onward.

D caught up with us a bit later, and I asked him where his pack was...




...so he went back to get it. He's been there enough he knows the way.




This type of thing.










1st things 1st, I sent J down to the river to make a corral for those beers. The boys got a 40-piece container of gum and chewed up the whole thing in 2 days. Which reminds me- _ick had some fancy Japanese caffeine gum he'd pull out on the Condor, and every time I scrambled over to nab a piece like a trained monkey. That stuff was clutch in the darker moments of bonk...


Still kind of dismayed at how imposing this monster tent is...





Some folks just like to read in comfort. Their adventure is a bug-free zone and a nice book.



Other folks like a good game.



...and that damn bocce set must have weighed 12lbs. Not kidding. So it was 3 days, 2 nights of lounging. We hiked some, and played games some, and sat on rocks in the middle of the river after demanding that our youngest child go somewhere else so we could enjoy the peace and nature sounds and coffee undisturbed some, and enforced some swimming (well, the water was still pretty cold- and actually fairly silty too, from the recent rains) some, and watched the campfire burn some, etc. Mellow camping.




Kids these days...

empty as a pocket

As if everbody would know what I was talking about. Mostly, February (as opposed to Spring) Break. Kids get a week off of school. Gotta do something.




My posse's getting big...



The boys and I drove over to the put-in and loaded ourselves (meaning me) up with camping gear for 5. Don't worry, though. This time we went ultra-light. We left out the folding camp chairs, the 2 burner propane stove, the cast iron dutch oven, etc. We are so soft nowadays that we just hauled out sandwiches for the 1st night's dinner and enough fixings for a couple breakfasts (DON'T forget the coffee!) and lunches. The ladies were to meet us the next day- bringing burritos for the 2nd night's dinner, and themselves.





and my posse's getting bigger.

My posse's always ready, cuz my posse has velocity.














We set up camp and gathered firewood before settling in.







Break.



It is still February...






The new (6man!) tent is roomy. And weighty...







Everybody helps. Breakfast dishes...




...and grab assing.




Kid bikes. NO racks?!? That's how soft.







We messed around camp, throwing rocks, jumping in the (refreshing!) river. We were visiting Spring, but barely- it's plenty chilly. The lupines are just sending up their flower buds. A couple weeks and blooming things will be in full swing.  As we got antsy and pulled out bikes, who should arrive but the ladies?




So the lot of us cruised over to check out the old adobe/Girl Scout Camp and the waterfall. Nobody wanted to ride but me, and I think I know why.








Waterfall. I've not seen it running so big before. The water was waaaaay too cold to get hecka excited about it, to be honest. Although that did not stop the Newt King from his appointed role:







Back to camp...





I brought those eno party lights again, and we had ourselves a dance party. It's nice the kids will still get up off the wall with us...



Break.




In the morning, the ladies stayed for coffee but then left us mens to our own devices agains.



We cruised over to that 1st swimming hole and checked it out. It is a steep trail (steep enough to have ropes fixed along one section) and the beach is underwater right now. We checked the beach across the river, and found it covered in refuse. I don't understand how folks go to such effort to get to a secluded and unspoiled spot and then proceed to literally trash it. I envision young assholes who talk a good outdoorsy game and then don't meet each others' eyes as they slink off, leaving their garbage behind...I would enjoy teaching them some manners.

So, we cleaned it up and hauled it out. I forgot to mention the garbage left behind at the campsite nearest the waterfall. Which we also cleaned up and hauled out. Motherfuckers.



We got back to camp, made lunch, I cracked my last beer (saved in the creek per the Newt King's advice), and we packed up our own camp.













As if everbody here would know exactly what I was talking about.

spirits refuse to fade away

but they will rotate, so's to prevent stagnation. Stag nation. Like it's comrade, Rust, it never sleeps but it also don't work as hard so you can beat it if you're willing to put in a little effort.

It's October Break (you know- when the kids get a week off of school) and we ain't got the resources to ride the highline thru the Himalyas, tour the Continent's finer salons, or explore the most picturesque of the lesser known slot canyons but. BUT. We can discover the wonders of nature, rolling in the rushes down by the riverside. A quick and dirty overnighter way down Arroyo Seco way?



That's all you had to say.

The stripped downest of trips. The kids all carried they own sleeping gear, no extras (i.e. folding camp chairs, 2 burner stoves, cast iron dutch ovens, or the like as per past trips), and we had the barest of food set ups...means poppa can forgo the big Big Dummy, and we can all fit in one car for the drive out to the trailhead. Yes, they are unwilling to ride the 45 miles to the ride. Soft.



The weather has begun to turn, (though central California is never that cold) and we don't love the yahooery that runs rampant at the "gorge" anyhow, so it was an easy unanimity to keep rolling rather than head down into the shadows and the yelling in favor of keeping on towards the sunshine and the quiet.






So after all that, there is the this:







And you can lounge creekside in the hammock hoping the beer fairy shows up...

(fond) farewell to Summer

This is the way Summer ends, and it ain't a whimper. No whingeing!

As per the way of things, we rolled out of the driveway at 3:39pm. Well, there was some stuff to find, some stuff to pack, some stuff to organize, then the bikes revealed their various issues- including but not limited to: broken spokes, misaligned brakes, flat tyres, a whole new rear end for the Big Dummy, and the old standby...loose bottom bracket. Etcetera.

Why not find/pack/organize/wrench the day(s) before? Oh please. Like you have it all together. And, plus where is the exciting frustration in that?

Bros only. The ladies were to join the party the following evening. We asked around, and of the boys' friends only _ooper was on board. He had no idea. His folks don't camp, and he doesn't do a whole lot of outdoors. Still, nothing trumps Willing. It is all you need.


Since the government of this country (don't kid yourselfs everbody else, either) is run by monied interests, the park was "closed." Not closed to anyone who doesn't need the government added "value" of a shitty paved campground and enclosed pit toilets. Still, I briefed the boys on stealth.

We were like ghosts.

Any of you following at home have surely noticed how I am employing the slow boil frog torture technique to my children in terms of loading them progressively heavier each time out. It is working great. Also, J took the 24" this go round. He is getting bigger.

Here he is, passing the FNG.

That was Day 1. We arrived and set up camp. The older boys were sour that I'd only brought the 4 man tent and they didn't have their own. I did not care about their feelings in this matter, especially as I was sleeping outside the stinky boy tent anyhow.



Day 2= lounging. Coffee, oatmeal, and waiting for the temps to warm up enough to swim.  We divided our time amongst the swimming holes. The water was COLD. There was also a deer leg in the creek downstream from the horse bridge (now flagged as unsafe for pack stock...), which was a source of fascination and revulsion. Later we found another leg, and then the full remains. There are lions out there, and I love it.

After lying on my sleeping pad for a couple hours in my fly proof suit while the boys yelled and threw things in the creek,

I rolled out to meet the ladies. They reckoned riding in at night would be "scary". That whole process took some time, and almost went awry. I'd forbidden the boys fires and knives while away, and told them I'd be back well after dark. It is good for them.

After a successful moonlight cruise, we showed up with burritos and partied. Happy circumstance that the kids' "Fall Break" fell on the week leading up to the Full Moon! The ladies brought minimal gear in with them, but did bring another tent...

so the boys got their very own satellite camp, and in the morning J stunk it up for them.

And, base camp...

As an aside: food bags were hung from the oak limbs behind the tent. Trash, too, at night. We did have a visiting skunk for nights 2 and 3 (even disciplined camper kids will drop food, etc) but they are bad climbers. No problems.

 The wild cherries (Prunus ilicifolia) were going crazy.

And so were the tarantulas (Aphonopelma eutylenum).

We were careful with them. Nobody wants to hurt a big hairy spider. Though...I'd be lying if I said the idea of a tarantula vs. big-ass crawdad did not occur to us. Relax. We just staged that in our minds' arenas. Think about it. My money is on the crawdad.

Boba Fet in her bug-proof suit. It was awfully buggy. Moving around was fine, and the water was fun, but there was NO relaxing in camp. It did not spoil the fun, but I'd be remiss to not mention them.

Brooks saddles.

 Day 4 dawned. We moved quickly, since L had to be at work by 11am. The ladies left us with most of their gear, and went their own way...

We found so much trash left out. What kind of person goes out with a packing blanket and a pair of dorky white sneakers? The kind of person that leaves same tied up in a tree "for later". I'm totally in favor of this guy's can-do attitude, and completely disgusted with his soft, self-indulgent bail-out.

J caught a Pacific gopher snake (Pituophis catenifer catenifer) on the way back out.

That right there is what it's about. You don't need any fancy gear to go out in the woods and have a fancy time.

“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn.”

 John Muir knew what was up .

 

 D, behind my freaky floating collar bone.

The dregs of a Good Time.



Hey. Do NOT get hung up over gear. Don't let a perceived lack prevent you from a kick-ass adventure. All's you need is a pair of sneakers, a packing blanket, and the Will to keep a hold of them...