by sdpacatc | Apr 19, 2015 | Uncategorized
I am always doing little videos to go along with my hikes, and the more comfortable I get shooting and editing these videos the more I end up doing for my hikes. So I was excited when the folks over at Roxant decided to send me a Pro Video Image Stabilizer to try out. I have to say that I’m still getting used to how to make the best use of this while shooting my hiking videos but I can really see it helping me out with the quality of video that I start out with.
Check it out:
https://www.ihikesandiego.com/roxant-video-image-stabilizer/
by sdpacatc | Mar 27, 2015 | Hikes, Uncategorized
Recently a friend of mine Mark and his business partner where on the Food Network show “Food Fortunes”. Mark comes on some of my group hikes and I have heard him talk about his company’s products but I never followed through with trying them out. After seeing the show I contacted Mark and asked him for a sample of his cereals as pictured above. They where all great, check out the write up and his cereal.
Earnest Eats Product Review
by sdpacatc | Sep 11, 2014 | Uncategorized
Eagle Peak
Not to long ago I was reading a blog and this story about a hiker who got caught up in Mt Baldy in torrential downpour, ” a 1 in 500 year event”. She was lucky to have already meet up with someone at the top who was properly equipped, who had not skimped on packing his ” Ten Hiking Essentials”, it possibly saved her life. That got me to thinking and I decided any readers of my blog could benefit from knowing or refreshing their knowledge of the ” Ten Hiking Essentials”. So here it is.
https://www.ihikesandiego.com/ten-hiking-essentials/
by sdpacatc | Sep 8, 2014 | Uncategorized
What to do if you are attacked on the trail by a Mountain Lion or a Bear.
I was hiking yesterday with some friends and we got to talking about what you should do if attacked by a mountain lion while out on a hike, I always felt that if you are in a group of people your chances of getting attacked are much less, little did we know that very day a 6 year old boy would be attacked by a mountain lion while hiking with his family and another group of hikers, 9 other people altogether. This got me thinking as to what you should do, since I am not a wild life expert, I will defer to people that know better.
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Make yourself appear as large as possible.
- Make yourself appear larger by picking up your children, leashing pets in, and standing close to other adults. Open your jacket. Raise your arms. Wave your raised arms slowly.
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Make Noise
- Yell, shout, bang your walking sticks against a tree. Make any loud sound that cannot be confused by the lion as the sound of prey. Speak slowly, firmly and loudly to disrupt and discourage predatory behavior.
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Act like a predator yourself.
- Maintain eye contact. Never run past or from a mountain lion. Never bend over or crouch down. Aggressively wave your raised arms, throw stones or branches, all without turning away.
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Slowly create distance.
- Assess the situation. Consider whether you may be between the lion and its kittens, or between the lion and its prey or cache. Back slowly to a spot that gives the mountain lion a path to get away, never turning away from the animal. Give a mountain lion the time and ability to move away.
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Protect yourself.
- If attacked, fight back. Protect your neck and throat. People have utilized rocks, jackets, garden tools, tree branches, walking sticks, fanny packs and even bare hands to turn away cougars.
Not to be an alarmist, as there have only been 13 verified mountain lion attacks in California between 1986 and 2013, resulting in three fatalities, aged 35, 40 and 56. The last attack was in July 2012 when a lion attacked a 63-year-old man as he camped near the Yuba River in Nevada County. But the victim managed to fight the animal off. So even though the statistics show that your really not in that much of danger from mountain lions I think its still best to be prepared and know what you can do to stop an attack from occurring in case you ever meet up with one on a hike.
With that story in mind it got me to thinking about the other animal attack that always gets brought up when hiking. Here in San Diego I highly doubt that you will ever be attacked by a bear, you would have to find one first, but if you are an avid hiker chances are that you will eventually venture up in country where bears are more prevalent therefor its prudent to know what to do in case a bear attacks you as well.
- Remain calm and ready your bear spray ( or other deterrent). Stay together if you are in a group; you will appear larger and more intimidating if you stick together.
- This may sound funny but it goes into that category of know before you go: Grizzly bears and black bears tend to behave differently in a given situation, so it helps to know which species you are dealing with.
- Females with cubs or bears defending food sources may appear to act aggressively as they defend their cubs and or food, so determine if either is present.
Now that you know what your dealing with…..
- If you see the bear at a distance, respect its need for personal space. Do not approach it and give it as much room as possible. ( duh ! )
- If you encounter a bear on the trail, or in a campsite, stop what you are doing and stand your ground. Identify yourself by speaking in a calm and appeasing tone. Back away slowly, preferably in the direction you came. Walk, don’t run, and keep your eye on the bear so you can see how it will react. In most cases the bear will flee.
- If you are in your campsite or other places bears shouldn’t be, and your sure the bear is a black bear, consider trying to move it out of the area. Ensure the bear has a clear and safe escape route with no people or obstacles in its way. Stand tall and look it directly in the eyes. Yell at the bear and firmly tell it to leave ! ” Get out of here bear ! ” Keep a can of bear spray ready in case the bear approaches to closely. Never try to move a grizzly bear !
- Sometimes a bear that feels threatened will act aggressively to defend against a perceived threat. This is often the case with a mother bear with cubs, a bear defending a food source, or a surprise encounter. It may pop its jaws, or swat the ground with its front paw while blowing and snorting, and/ or it may lunge or “bluff charge” toward you in an attempt to get you to leave. – In this situation the bear doesn’t want to fight any more than you do. It is simply trying to communicate that you are to close. Try to appear non-threatening by remaining still and calm. Ready your bear spray, by removing the safety lock. Speak in an appeasing voice and back away, increasing your distance from the bear. Leave the area immediately.
by sdpacatc | Mar 30, 2014 | Hikes, Uncategorized
Looking towards Iron Mountain from Mt Woodson Summit
Blue Sky to Mt Woodson Summit
I read about this link to the Mt Woodson hike here in the San Diego Reader
Distance: 11 miles
Elevation Gained: 2357 feet with the top at 2816 feet.
Time to complete the trail: 4-5 hours.
Directions There: From I-15 take the Rancho Bernardo Road exit and turn right to continue on Espola Road for approximately 3 miles. Make a left into Blue Sky Ecological Reserve parking lot, which is open sunrise to sunset except for summer when open at 6:30 a.m. Vault toilets but no water available. Blue Sky Reserve Trailhead
What a perfect day for a hike. Blue sky, nice temperature, it just rained lightly the night before and there was still a scattering of clouds in the sky to give a little shade. Evidently everyone else thought the same thing because the line to get up and take your picture on potato chip rock looked like a Disney attraction line. The nice thing about taking this approach to the Mt Woodson summit was one the extra mileage, I’ve got to keep the miles on the legs as I get them ready for Cactus to Clouds. Another nice change of pace was the nice stroll through a nice grove of oaks, reminds me a little of Northern California. There is a little creek trail that is cool to take on the way back to the trial head, but it comes to an abrupt stop and you need to tromp through the brush to get back to the main trail. I would also love to see more people actually clean up after their dogs or at least push it off of the trail so that the rest of the people enjoying the trail don’t step in it, so keep your eyes open.
Weather forecast for the hike:
The location could not be found.
by sdpacatc | Mar 24, 2014 | Hikes, Uncategorized
Heading down to the Devils Backbone from the peak of Mt Baldy
Climb for Heroes is a charity event to raise money for wounded veterens. All tax deductible donations go directly to The Heroes Project’s mission to organize climbs to the highest peaks in the world, each with our injured marines, soldiers and veterans. The event is held on Mt Baldy. I’ve been up Mt Baldy before and came back down the way I went up for this event and thought to myself that this way was kind of a joke after going up the shorter but much steeper side of Mt Baldy with the Sierra Club Ski Hut, but I’m here to tell you that the longer but less steep climb up to the notch and then along the Devils Backbone was no joke and still left me feeling like I had smoked a whole pack of cigarettes afterword’s. The event was well organized, signing in was a breeze, there was a nice little breakfast for you provided by Tender Greens. The first 15 minutes or so is this nice super steep road / trail that makes its way up to the main service road from the parking lot of the Mt Baldy Ski Area. Once up to the road its a nice long slog up to the “Notch” at Mt Baldy, technically the bottom of the ski area. A nice place to stop and take care of business before moving on. After passing the notch you will work your way up the ski area and towards the Devils Backbone. Once past the Devils Backbone you will see the peak ahead but the best is saved for last as you climb up the last hill close to 10,000 feet and sucking in O2 like its going out of style. The event has stations along the way where you collect coins that you then turn into the event coordinators at the bottom for swag. You will meet up with some of these vets at the different stations or even see them along the trail, stop and say hi. At station 3 they had beer and soda, but knowing there was still a but kicker of a hill coming up I decided to take a beer to go and celebrate at the top instead. This is a fun event for anyone living in Southern California and I would defiantly suggest this to anyone who likes to hike, and or supports our wounded warriors.
Posing with Mark Zambon
The route taken for the 2014 “Climb for Heroes”
Google Earth: The Route for Climb For Heroes 2014
