March 24, 2019

Nibbling the Enchilada




Starting at a mere 500 feet in a Palm Springs parking lot and rising to 10,500 feet at the top of San Jacinto peak, the Cactus to Cloud trail is something to reckon with. Given its extreme ascent (10,000 feet in 16 miles, or 625’ per mile) it’s been dubbed in some quarters one of the hardest trails in the world.

Another component of this trail’s prowess is the temperature swings it can throw at you. At the base, temps climb as high has 115+ degrees and, at the summit, plummet to as low as sub zero.

Today i took a little spin on the Cactus to Cloud trail. It was my first time on the beast so i chose to experience some of its grandeur by climbing 4,000 feet in 5 miles, just enough to get taste of what the full enchilada might taste like. I must say that the flavor was enticing and spiced with magnificent views of neighboring San Gorgonio, the Coachella Valley, cactus and wildflowers.

I’m looking forward to returning for the full course.

P.S. If you’re looking for the other kind of Enchilada, check out Las Casuelas in downtown Palm Springs. They make a fine one that goes down very well with a Cadillac Margarita.

March 21, 2019

Sugar Moon Rising


Was on my way home tonite and noticed at the top of the hill a large, full moon rising in the night’s sky. I quickly assembled my Nikon DSLR and 600mm telephoto lens to capture the moment. Turns out the Sugar Moon gets its name because it coincides with the tapping of the sweet sap of maple trees, and is symbolic of a lot of good to come.

March 19, 2019

Goodbye Winter - I'll Miss You!

Snow Blanket - Big Bear Lake, CAWith the official start of spring occurring this week, I must say that I for one will miss winter, especially this winter, which brought more snow than we’ve seen in Southern California in many years. My best day was a four hour snowshoe trek through knee deep powder in the the San Bernardino National Forest followed closely by several ski runs on untracked powder.

“You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.”   Jack London

March 11, 2019

Escaping the Hordes

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Getting from place to place is always more interesting in the mountains. Here is a shot from Harding Truck Trail on my descent from Modjeska Peak, the lower of the two peaks that are Saddleback Mt. Not a bad place to be when trying to escape from the OC’s 3.2 million people….