coast to coast

Well, I made it!  On Sunday, the 17th of July, I finally saw the Pacific Ocean!  Oh what a fantastic sight!  I havent seen the ocean in a few years, not even the Atlantic.  Im not much of beach bum, so I don't travel to the Jersey shore very often.  But man, was I happy to finally see that coast.  It first showed itself as I drove through Oakland, looking across the San Francisco Bay to the Golden Gate Bridge, the gateway to the ocean.  It was even more revealing when I entered Point Reyes National Seashore, MUCH more revealing.  This park was given federal designation under JFK and protects hundreds of miles of rocky coast with intermittent sandy beaches.  It also lies directly on the San Andreas Fault line, the point of clashing plates which were responsible for the 1989 World Series quake as well as the Great Fire of San Francisco.  Getting out of my car near the point itself, I felt like a kid in a candy shop, giddy with the potential for new birds, sea faring birds I would never dream of finding anywhere else on my trip.  I found quite a few, almost 10 new species for me in just a few hours at the tip of Point Reyes.  I picked a perfect weather day to be out there too.  Water's were calm and the sun was shining.  I couldnt have asked for a better welcoming to the Pacific coast.  After spending most of the late afternoon out at the point, I drove back towards mainland, and found myself the only designated campground that is near the park entrance.  Being such a select campground, of course they were charging absurd prices for tent camping.  $44 for a spot in the dirt.  Sure they also provided laundry service, electricity, a post office, and probably showers, but I didnt need any of that.  I picked out a spot, awoke at 530 the next morning and busted outa there before anyone knew I was ever there.  I did put $10 in an envelope and slipped it under the office door, a fair tip for what they provided for me: a spot in the dirt.

Windmills everywhere on the way to Oakland

Point Reyes National Seashore

Perfect day to arrive at the pacific

Western Gull.  Theyre everywhere out here, but I'd never seen one before this trip

Sunrise in Point Reyes

Seashore

Harbor Seals!

View from the point looking landward.

Yosemite National Park

I think I finally found a place that rivals the spectacle that I witnessed in Banff.  Yosemite National Park is massive in every way possible.  I spent two days in the park.  The first day was spent completely in Yosemite Valley, the place where everyone goes to take pictures of El Capitan, Yosemite Falls (the highest falls in North America), and Half Dome.  I arrived in this part of the park early on Friday morning after pitching my tent on the side of the highway just outside the park in Staniclaus National Forest.  The previous night, I spent driving through the entire park, from its western entrance at Tioga Pass, east though the high mountain passes, all the way to the lower, more heavily forested eastern side, without finding an open camp site!  The entire park was booked solid.  I had no choice but to throw up my tent in the woods outside the park.  It was kind of scary at first, but it's legal, and free!  Ok, back to Yosemite Valley....so Im down in the Valley at 730am, before the crowds arrive, hiking amongst giant old growth douglas firs and sugar pines that are easily 200 ft tall and over 5 feet in diameter.  And watching over me the entire time was the towering colossal rock known as El Capitan, which skies to over 3000ft above the valley floor on it's north side.  The hike was great though, with Pacific-coast Flycatcher and White-headed Woodpeckers new birds for me.  At the halfway point, I came upon Bridalveil Falls, one of the known nesting locations for Black Swifts, a rarely seen bird that only nests behind waterfalls, and can usually only be found at dawn or dusk when it's flying to or from its nest site.  I decided I'd go back to the falls at dawn to look for them.  In the meantime, I hiked back to my car, went to a nearby picnic area, and boiled a pot of water so that I could cook about 3 lbs of pasta.  Sorry mom, but my eating has not been the best.  Mostly gas station food, with occasional produce.  Pasta was the best thing I ate today, and I ate it all.  It was a good thing, though, because ahead of me lay a 5 mile out, 5 mile back hike up and out of the valley to Glacier Point, which affords the onlooker unparalleled views of Yosemite Falls, Half Dome, and all the surrounding mountains.  But its a hell of a climb.  Over 3000ft elevation climb.  I was wearing a long sleeve and jeans.  Not the smartest decision, but Im trying to keep the sun off me for a little.  I was huffing and puffing on the way up, wishing I was those people passing me going downhill all cheerful the other way past me.  But the hike was completely worth it.  Although crowded at the top (you can also drive to Glacier Point, which is what most people do), the views surpassed my expectations.  The grandeur of the area was almost sickening.  I housed down a few ice cream bars, a bag of cheetos and a root beer, then napped for a half hour on a rock overlooking the valley.  People were walking around me, but I could have cared less.  I was tired, and I was in a beautiful place.  Nobody was going to bother me at this point.
  Eventually, I knew I had to hike back down before it got dark.  The hike down still took almost 2 hours, but it was easier than going up, as long as you dont mind the pounding on your knees....more to come... computer is about to die!
Hey, sorry for the delay!  McDonald's provides internet but no outlets.  Anyway, after my hike down, I headed over to Bridaveil Falls, about a mile away to watch Black Swifts come into their roost for the night.  These small birds are extremely elusive and hard to find.  Funny enough, they are very selective at choosing a nest location.  They only live behind waterfalls.  During the day, they fly 1000s of feet in the air eating insects, so the only time you can catch a glimpse of one is at dawn or dusk when they come back to their nests for the night.  I climbed hand and foot over some boulders onto a small ledge where I was able to watch a few enter the backside of the waterfall before it got too dark, at which point, I got back in my car and drove back to my roadside campsite for a second night.
Day 2 found me poking around the eastern part of the park, completely avoiding the Valley, where all the tourists would be flocking to on a beautiful weekend like this.  But my time was well spent.  Today I viewed the other famous massive landmark of Yosemite:  the Sequoia.  Sequoia's are the 2nd tallest tree in the world and the 2nd oldest, to the Redwood and Bristlecone Pine, respectively (both also found in Ca).  But in terms of overall size, they are the largest living things on earth.  And its easy to believe.  Yosemite has a few groves of these behemoths, and the one I visited had about 7 living trees, all of which were quite humbling to stand beneath.  I don't lie when I say that one of the trees had a trunk diameter of close to 20 feet.  Another dead tree had a tunnel carved through it which automobiles used to drive through back in the day.  All the trees had to be at least 200 feet high.  Why Sequoias grow so large, I have absolutely no clue, but even when surrounded by an old growth forest of Douglas Firs and Sugar Pines that have trunks of 6 or 7 feet in diameter- respectable no doubt- the sequoias tower over all.
  I was pretty tired after gawking at Sequoias, combined with yesterdays hike, so I rested for a bit in my car, did a bit more hiking, went for a run, and then spent the waning hours of light hiking through a nearby meadow where Great Gray Owls are sometimes spotted.  I'd already missed this bird once in Canada at a staked out location.  But despite my best mouse squealing impressions (anyone can do a mouse squeal; just lick the front of your hand and kiss it.  It gets kind of slobbery but it sounds like an injured animal, which attracts predators), I could not coax an owl out of the forest.  It was pretty dark by the time I decided to head out, and I still had to walk back through the woods.  Im not usually scared of the dark, but the woods get me every time.  Thoughts of Blair Witch Project and other horrors of the like creep into my head.  I just sang to myself and focused on getting to my car asap.  All was fine, and my third night at my roadside tent site went off without a hitch.  Except the fact that my entryway zipper no longer zips.  It's only closed 3/4 of the way.  To keep out the cold, I have to use duct tape on the rest of the opening to seal myself in.  Plans to get that fixed are to come.

Typical Yosemite NP topography

There was a controlled burn going along the road going into the park.  Made for great photo opps in the morning light

El Capitan and the crowds

Yosemite Falls in the distance

View of Yosemite Valley from near the valley floor

Same valley 3000 ft higher

View from Glacier Point.  Half Dome on the right side

out for a stroll?

A Giant Sequoia

The Tunnel Tree.  dead but still cool

A very large tree (sequoia tree)

Grounds squirrel nomming.

Ive taken a lot of pictures of flowers, but these were some of the most stunning i've seen

Desiring Social Interaction

Up until this point, the amazing birds and scenery have been enough to mask the fact that I have been doing this whole trip basically solo, with few people to communicate with.  My best companion is myself, and it gets old having nobody to talk with except him after a while.  But I am starting to feel a rush to get to the West coast, to see familiar faces, to have someone else to talk to.  Maybe it’s just because I am so close to Hermosa Beach, my final destination where I will get to relax with Justine and her family for a few days in the Los Angeles area.  I think it’s a combination of things.  Honestly, I’m amazed that I have made it this far in one piece.  A road trip like this, all alone, with the risks that come with backcountry hiking and driving down roads travelled by few people, I really am blessed that I’ve successfully made it this far.  Sure, there have been a few blemishes so far, but nothing major.  That being said, I just want to get to LA safely.  There’s still a lot of cool things to see over this final week before I meet up with Justine.  I’m going to try to enjoy it all to its fullest.  But point is, I really cannot wait to make it to Hermosa Beach.  Right now, I’m only 5 hours from LA, but I’m taking the long way there.  For now, its off to Yosemite National Park for a night or two before I hit up the San Francisco area, driving south after that.

Sierra Camping (Tuesday-Thursday)

As I exited Death Valley, I began to pass a bunch of runners with bib numbers on.  They were obviously part of some insane race.  I stopped and asked a man who was following one of the runners in his car what kind of race this was.  He told me the competitors were part of a 135 mile race going from Badwater Basin, the lowest point in the US, to the portal to Mount Whitney, the highest point in the continental US.  I’d once been a part of one of these extreme races back in Ithaca, as I handed out food and water at a checkpoint to the runners who had been on the trail for over 24 hours.  But that was only a 100 mile race during the fall.  This was a 135 mile race!  In the middle of the summer in the hottest place in the country!  Each runner had a car leading the way, providing water, food, and any other needed aid.  In addition each runner had rabbits which would take shifts to run with the athlete, motivating them, pacing them, making sure they weren’t about to pass out.  Most of the athletes had already been running for over 24 hours, and still had quite a ways to go.  I continued passing runners for over an hour along the main road out of Death Valley.  How epic would it be to be a part of something like this?  Run from the lowest to highest points in the US?  Maybe I could do something like this, I thought to myself.  Then I saw a girl passed out, probably the victim of heat exhaustion, being tended to by her team.  I was already sweating myself, and I was in my car with the AC on.  What a bunch of nuts.

Some of the crazy runners in the desert. 

I eventually made it my destination the Sierra Nevadas.  I purchased a 2-night backcountry camping permit, and hit the trail into the mountains.  I had to make sure that I brought with me all the essentials and nothing extra.  I packed just enough food for two days in the wilderness, my tent, and a few other things.  Then hit the trail, hiking into the mountains about 2.5 miles before having to pitch my tent as darkness quickly approached.  I’m obviously a novice at this whole backcountry camping thing, as I forgot a few things.  First off, I couldn’t fit my sleeping back in my pack, so I decided to bring my fleece blanket instead, thinking that would keep me warm enough.   I forgot, however, to take into consideration the drop in temperature as I climbed in altitude to about 10,000 feet to camp.  The patches of snow should have been a clue to the cooler temperatures in the mountains.  Setting up my tent, I was chilly.  I had already removed my tshirt, which was wet from sweat on the hike up.  No worries, just let me grab the long sleeve that I packed…..yea, I forgot to pack that too.  So it’s like 40 degrees, all have for warmth is a windbreaker a fleece blanket.  Again, another restless night of sleep ensued, this time because I was too cold.  I awoke in the morning with freezing feet.  Had to rub them out for 5 minutes to get the blood flowing again, work out the cramps.

I did have a wonderful day in the mountains once I got into the warmth of the sun.  I did a 9 mile hike up over the Keargass pass and into Kings Canyon National Park.  Spectacular views of 13,000 foot peaks, alpine lakes and meadows, and lots of boulder hopping.  But another rookie mistake, I hadn’t planned on hiking such a long and strenuous hike when I started out, leaving behind all my water, packing only an orange and some pretzels.  6 hours later, I made it back to base camp, housed the rest of my food and water.  Completely drained, I napped. 

It was almost 5 when I decided to head out of the mountains.  I still had one more night worth of backcountry camping to use.   But with the cold weather coming and my food supplies exhausted, I didn’t really have a choice.  I spent the night at a campground just outside of the town of Independence, where the sleeping temps were much more accommodating.  With a full moon lighting up my camp site, I took a quick sponge bath (I hadn’t showered since before visiting Death Valley) before falling fast asleep under the stars.  

Mt. Whitney, highest point in the continental US

After a cold night's sleep, at least I had this to wake up to

View of Kings Canyon National Park from Keargass Pass

One of the big Jeffrey Pines in Kings Canyon

Dehydrated, tired and hungry, atop Keargass Pass. 

Death Valley National Park (Monday-Tuesday)

I made the drive from Las Vegas to Death Valley National Park on Monday evening.  The park itself isn’t too far from the strip, maybe only 2 hours, so I only made one stop at a gas station/convenience store off the highway before the last turn to the park entrance.  But what a stop, this gas station was nearly empty of conveniences.  Most of the shelves were bare.  But what it lacked in food and water, it made up for in alien apparel.  Turns out this spot is about as close as you can get to the high security Nevada military base which holds Area 51.  For those who haven’t heard, Area 51 is supposed to be this place where the government has captured and is performing studies on aliens.  Nobody is allowed into the area, so whats really there remains a mystery.  But this gas station certainly believes that the aliens exist.  All sorts of alien shirts, posters, bumper stickers were for sale.  They even had a photo booth to get your picture taken with an alien (not sure how that worked).  To add to the creepiness of the place, the back of the convenient store was a “historic” brothel museum and a small 24 hour strip joint.   I left with my gas and headed out before it was too dark.

Shady strip joint probably being enjoyed by the two truckers in the parking lot

 As I made my way to Death Valley, the outside temperature kept increasing, even though the sun was getting lower on the horizon.  The drop in elevation from 2000 ft to below sea level explained this weird phenomenon.  By the time I arrived at my campsite at the bottom of the valley, it was 10 at night and 102°.  I went to bed on the picnic table provided for me at around 11 and it was still over 100 out.  My first night’s sleep in California was probably one of my worst of the trip, and not because of the heat.  I awoke on my picnic table at 2am to a strong breeze of hot air, and it kept me up.  I wasn’t about to sleep on the ground, lest I be attacked by some poisonous critters.  My only choice was to set up the tent.  I figured I could do that in 20 min and be back asleep real soon.  Wrong.  The dark alone extended the setup time.  Then the tent’s entryway zipper decided to cease zippering.  With only 3/4 of the door flap closed, I had to duct tape the rest of it shut.  Then the continuing wind kept lapping the sides of the tent, which kept me up.  My attempt to throw clothes up against the edge of the tent to make the fabric taught and stop the noise was only semi-successful.  I eventually fell asleep out of frustration with the whole situation.

The next morning was a bit better, but still hot.  Up at 6:30, I packed my stuff up, and drove down to Badwater Basin, site of the lowest point in the country at -260 ft below sea level.  Its all salt flats which have been deposited there over thousands of years after being carried there from ground water.  By 8, it was already back into the high 90’s and the sun was bearing down on me.  I drove back to the main hub of the park, the Furnace Creek Ranch.  Not sure where the ranch get’s there water, but they’ve created their own little oasis, with the only green space in the entire valley.  It’s the only place for miles that has trees.  Somehow they’ve been able to maintain a fairly green 18 hole golf course, as well as lodging, tennis courts, a swimming pool, a general store and bar/grille.  Pretty neat place, where people from all over seemed to gather, like animals at a watering hole.   Everyone was speaking foreign languages too.  Who knew such an inhospitable place would bring tourists from so far off.  I hiked around here for an hour, doing some bird watching.  Not many birds in these parts, but the only birds that I did find were around the ranch.  At around 11, I decided to head out.  I hadn’t quite stayed long enough to witness the 115 degree temps expected for the heat of the day, but I didn’t care.  I’d had enough of the heat, and desired the cooler temps of the Sierras just 100 miles away.  

Badwater Basin, Death Valley National Park

The only water in Death Valley is extremely salty.  This is where the name Badwater basin came from.

-260 ft

This is what you can do when you own the only gas for 100 miles

Sand dunes heading out of Death Valley