Chief Peak via Horn Canyon, 10/28/2011

Above: Ojai, from above Horn Canyon

Below: Chief Peak from the east

I've taken myself off the DL. Back to the dirt. I chose my trail with a wry touch of trepidation. Just about any real day hike in the Southern Los Padres is going to be steep and tough, but Horn Canyon Trail's first four miles are a doozy even by the standards of it's sister trails. I've always leaned toward the school of "go big or don't go" and since I figured myself to be pretty out of shape after months of not having fun, what better way to test myself than a burly 15 mile round trip?

I started up Horn at dawn. I moved through the low forest of beech and oak, enjoying the quiet murmur of the creek, listening to the waking birds. It was crisp, cold really, so I moved fast in order to warm up. Soon I was feeling pretty good and as the trail got steep I was in fine form. I gotta say I felt mustard. I think I was on a pretty good buzz just being out on a trail alone. I didn't even notice the steeps until I realized I was already walking into The Pines Camp.

The Pines is a sweet little campsite tucked in a fold of the great big hill that looms above Thatcher School. The camp is nicely shaded with several species of pine, and a few of the trees have probably been planted there as seedlings. Several of these trees have bear markings on them. A spring box is tucked in the brush on the west side of the camp and is mostly used for horses. The horses, which I've never encountered, have their own picket posts and a bit of grass to crop. Within the past several months somebody has gone to a great deal of effort, crafting log benches for the site. It's pretty nice but the best features of the camp are the wind protection and the sunrise. The mornings here are golden and warm, but I kept on walkin'.

In a little less than 4 hours I was on the summit. Not bad time-wise. I lingered on the top for over an hour. It was too nice a day to just sign in and bail. A long lunch and a cat-nap later I was scrambling down to the fire road.

Above: Ojai, Ventura, and the Channel Islands form Chief's summit

Below: The Sespe. Nuf said.

So here I am, feeling pretty good about my over-all fitness and very happy with my cardio. Smiles all the way around right? Telling myself that I'm a super great guy in super great shape until...I tried to get outa bed the next morning. What the hell did I do with that god damn oil can?!? And where's my Motrin?! And glucosamine?! Hell, bring me a dead shark and I'll eat it's raw cartilage! I had aches that I didn't never have, ever. This, in a word, sucks. So I have a ways to go to get back to the type of shape these hills require.

Below: I saw the tracks of many deer. Guess the deer of D-13 have had an easy hunting season so far. Also, I saw a very large red tail hawk, and from about fifteen feet away I spooked a pretty Coopers hawk with a lizard in it's mouth.

Below: The Pines Camp

I'm not dead. It's been quite a summer though.

This last couple of months have sucked. I want to thank those that expressed concern over my absence from the blog and assure everybody that I'll be back on the dirt later this week.

At the beginning of August I had an accident (that part is unsurprising) which resulted in what is called a "Tripod Fracture". The Tripod Fx is a heavy duty facial injury most commonly associated with a crushing blow to the cheek bone (think: bar fight) in which three facial bones are fractured (see red highlights below). I wish I had been in the bar fight, at least I could have gotten some licks in. Sadly, my story is less dramatic, bordering on the mundane. I got tangled up with the dog while working in the garage. He went one way and I went over him the other way and in the process I did my best to break my wife's Infinity with my head. I contacted the drivers side rear-view mirror with my cheek. Infinity makes superior car mirrors.



The recovery from this has been long and at times miserable. Initially, my face was swollen up so bad I could scarcely open my left eye. I had spectacular bruising to the left side of my face. At the time of injury I had been nearly knocked out and over subsequent days I had post-concussion syndrome (headaches, headaches, nausea and more headaches). Of course, this was all compounded by the facial injury and instability of the cheek... very painful. I experienced bony crepitus in the form of creaks and pops to the sinus (unpleasant). The CT Scan of my head also showed a large quantity of blood in my left maxillary sinus which took a while to either drain (as bloody post-nasal drip) or reabsorb.

A few weeks ago, long after I thought that I should be feeling better, I experienced a change in my symptoms. The headache returned with a vengeance my eye blackened up again, and my fractures again felt unstable. In a word...hell. After my headache had worsened for the fourth straight day I was concerned enough to go get scanned again and revisited the appropriate specialists (I don't recommend ever letting a doctor scope your sinus). Naturally, I'd developed sinusitus and a sinus infection. This can be a serious problem: think fractured bony sinus, with an infection that can get between the crack and go to the brain. This is a problem that should never be ignored and I wound up on more narcotics and antibiotics.

Let's see, what else happened... After the initial injury I was starting to feel better and went bouldering with Dave Rivas on 09/11 and got a bad case of contact poison oak from handling some of his gear. So add a round of steroids to the misery.

In the midst of all this I've managed to complete (and personally did 70% of the work) a house remodel: brand new kitchen, brand new laundry room, and a host of upgrades to the rest of the house. My home, at least the inside of it could model for a Pottery Barn catalog.

So, with all this bullshit I have either not had the time or not felt well enough to enjoy being outside since mid-summer. I have run out of things to fix around the house, I'm feeling outa shape and soft, and I'm eager to get back to "normal". I think I'm good to go, so I look forward to doing some local exploring in the coming weeks.

Again, I'd like to thank those of you kind friends that wondered if ole Crash Stillman had actually managed to remove himself from this mortal coil. The Devil ain't got me yet!

Minnie Holland Rocks, 09/11/2011

On September 11th, Davi and I braved Hwy 1 and the hordes of flag sporting Harley riders for a little boudlering on some out of the way rocks off the Mulholland Highway above the Santa Monica Mts. The spot is named "Minnie-Holland" rocks.

These are a scattering of 5 or 6 decent rocks with highish top-outs. The rock is the same pockety stuff found all over the range: Camarillo Grove, Purple Stones, Echo Cliffs, Malibu Creek, etc...

We had a real fun day falling off rocks when we didn' manage to get up them. Sun, coastal breezes, and a little climbin'.
At the end of it, I'd gotten a nasty dose of contact poison oak. The stuff had apparently been all over Davi's gear and it stuck to me. I got a bit steamed about that, but hey, I should have known better than to haul around his gear given that doesn't get poison oak and therefore doesn't even think about such things. My bad luck, but let's not detract from a fun day.

Further examination of the Topatopa Bluffs, 08/31/2011

I can think of no reason that a human being would have for going where I went today. And I have the cuts, scrapes, and bruises to prove it. I guess I should back up a bit and explain.

Below: click on the pic to see where I went, and will not need to go visit ever again.

Back on the 27th of July I went up Topa for a preliminary recon of the top of the Bluffs. This was to be the first step in a plan to find a way to the bottom of the bluffs, and then establish a climbing route back to the top. This was actually a serious idea to me, for some time. I have now been thoroughly disabused of that notion (hubris?). Suffice it to say, that after today that plan has been scratched.

Yesterday I drove up to Ojai and the overweight bureaucrat behind the desk at the USFS office gave me a permit and the gate combo for Nordoff Ridge Rd. This morning I drove up and hiked all over the top of Topa. I can now say that I know the top of that mountain as well as any and better than most. I descended to the edge of Topa Topa's three major prominences and descended the two drainages that bisect them. I can assure anyone with the same crazy idea I had that just getting down the bluffs will end in bloodshed and frustration, as it did for me.

Below: back in 1983 an equestrian club put this UFO looking water trap up on top. I'd known about this for years, even though it is now off the beaten path and can be difficult to find.

Below: Every way I tried to get down became a brush fight that I eventually lost, and I'm a tenacious guy. Who is now covered in scratches.

Below: Just one of the day's numerous insults.

So what did I learn today? First, I'm not doing that again. Second, and obvious (now), I am not going to put up a new route on the face of Topa. And third, all deer trails end with you wondering what the hell the deer was on when they went there. This is an apt lesson, and the irony does not escape me.

Pine Mountain and Environs, 08/28/2011

I am still relishing every second of not working on my house anymore. In that vein, and having done a full day up the Matilija furnace yesterday, I thought I'd head to the highest hill I could find. It's telling, I guess, that on a day when half of SoCal was headed straight for the beach, a true mountain boy turns his head (and steering wheel) in the opposite direction. Charlie don't surf!!
After several hours of bouldering in the pines my forearms ached and my tips were raw. I just couldn't believe how nice a day it was, too good to say, "Okay, done bouldering, headed home."

I just had to start taking some pics (you should be able to click on the pics to enlarge them).

Above: The boulders of the the "picnic area"

Below: I gotta try this. He was taking off just as I rolled by. He eventually caught a thermal that put him up, I would guess, at 10,000 feet.

Below: Ventura and the Oxnard plain.

Below: Lockwood Valley and the Cuyama Badlands

Below: the Pine Mountain and Reyes Peak ridge

Matilija heat, 08/27/2011

Ladies and gentlemen, I have gotten my free time back, therefore, I am. What I am not, is a guy stuck toiling away on a brand new kitchen anymore. It's up to the professionals now. I did the front half, they do the finish work. I cannot describe how happy I am to be out in the sun and getting dirty. Even if it is 105 degrees.
Why, it was so hot I saw a snake sippin' a Slurpee. So dang hot that lizards stood in my shade. So hot the turtles took off their little shells and complained about the humidity. Well, I've walked through the furnace a time or two and good ole Satan himself has shared with me his passion fruit iced tea. And a few tips for loving the heat.
I, at times, have lived throughout the desert southwest. I've learned a fair bit about staving off heat stroke. Seen it in others plenty of times. Far easier to prevent than treat, believe you me. I always get a wry grin out of the people I see on the trail on scorching days. Most of them look distinctly unhappy. First rule: know thyself.
Despite the heat I had a really wonderful day out there. I'm that stoked to be back at the things I love, that I'd look forward to hiking in a canyon in triple digit temps. So, I look forward to making up for some lost time. See ya soon.

Topatopa Recon, 07/27/2011

Okay, kids... all the griping I do about not having enough time to do the trails, peaks, and climbing, yeah. It's one of them summers. You may recall (though I hope don't care) that a couple months ago I was a busy boy...hammers, saws and other implements of destruction directed at my laundry room. That project is done, but it only got me a third of the way to the finish line. For the past month I've been tearing out my kitchen, floor to ceiling. New everything. Now we're down to about three weeks until installation of many thousands of dollars worth of new stuff. Very exciting, disruptive, expensive. I need this to end so I can get back to doing what I love.
Bear with me, I'll be dialing up the mountain stuff as we get into September. For now, I'm stealing away when I can. Today it was up the Suffer Machine (Topa Topa) for a brief recon.

I made it to the summit of Topa in my customary 3:15hrs. After a nice break up top I started ambling around the top of the bluffs. I was looking for an easy-ish route down the bluffs from the top. My purposes for doing this may develop into a substantial blog entry of it's own so I won't spill all the beans yet. I'll put it this way, I have a good reason for plotting and planning a trip to the base of the bluffs. It doesn't look like getting there will be all that difficult.

Interestingly, the front side of the bluffs is riddled with deer trails. In fact, it was a good day for wildlife. I saw 3 deer, 2 hawks, a fox , and many other smaller critters. I did not, however, see anyone else for the entire day.

Above:
Deer trails abound on the face of the Topa Topa Bluffs.
Below:
Hines Peak from the Topa Ridge

Below: Looking down a large gap in the Bluffs.

Below:
Further proof, if needed, that any time you might think you are on a road untravelled, you will encounter a beer can with a bullet hole in it.

Above: The Bluffs. I got plans.