Kern River Camping 2013

The Kern River Flowing Slowly

 I always say that the more bruises I come home with after a camping trip the more fun I had. Well, I'm typing this blog with a wrist brace on my right arm due to a fall I had while camping at the Kern River. It is not the only bruise, or the only fall, just the one that I was afraid I might have broken a bone, but x-rays showed I didn't. The other bruises cause me to limp but they are getting better. I'd blame age for my clumsiness, but the real culprit is booze. I'm fine with beer, but when I was offered margaritas, that did me in. That and vodka and a shot of something too.

I first started camping at the Kern River in 2001 and have been many times since, but not every year. Up until two years ago we always camped at the same location, but last year it was very crowded at that site, as were all the other known spots. Luckily my friends found this isolated site just of highway 99 about 10 miles north of Kernville. We call it Camp Judy after my friend who found it.

Not Quite the Super Moon

 I arrived Friday afternoon and quickly set up my tent so I could relax with some beer. The rest of our friends arrived about an hour later. The weather was perfect, not too warm and very clear, with no smoke from fires like there usually is. As a bonus, it was the first day of Summer, so it would be light late, and on Saturday we had not only a full Moon, but a Super Moon, which I think is when the Moon is at its closest distance to Earth. The photo above was taken the day before. I have no Super Moon because my camera stopped working when it fell into the river.

The Crew Relaxing

 Two years ago the river was rushing with whitewater and too dangerous to cross. Lots of rafters and kayakers came by. Not this year. As you can see from the photo below the water is hardly moving. In fact, the wind was blowing up river and pushing the inter-tube up stream. This did make it nice and safe to sit out in the water. Also, the river wasn't deep at this spot and I easily walked across to the other side.

Slowly Tubing in the Kern River

 On Saturday, a few of us took what we thought would be a short walk up the river. Turns out we were gone for two hours. We had no real plans on where to go, but we made up rules along the way such as no back tracking. Well, we got stuck in a few places where the water was deep and the current was fast, so we did need to go back and find another route. I brought my camera to take photos, but even when I held it above my head I slipped on a mossy rock and fell in the water with my camera. It got water inside and stopped working. After letting it dry out it is now working so I don't need to buy another new digital camera.

We kept our meals simple, with some eggs for breakfast, red beans and rice for diner and on the second night we had some steak, chicken and carne asada. Well, I say it was simple, but that's because I didn't cook, only eat. I brought stuff for making sandwiches during the day.

There are a few Rapids

Everyone was having fun, despite various injuries, including someone who did break a bone in her arm, until 8:30 Sunday morning when a group of 25 loud people showed up and set up their day camp site right next to where we were. That's the downfall of camping in a primitive site where you don't have reserved sites. Once we heard the baby start crying, we very quickly packed up and left way earlier than we planned. Another sad trend at the Kern is people writing graffiti on the rock and leaving lots of trash. We assumed this group were the type to do that.

I was ready to make the five hour drive home, so I said my goodbyes and drove south, hitting traffic as I approached the 15/215 merge.

Overall it was a great trip, and I'm looking forwards to going back next year. I can't make that long trek more that once a year. And next time - no hard alcohol, just beer.

Hiking around Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve

Visitors Center

The last time I was in this area was in the late 80's, late at night after work. My friends and I drove out to the Elfin Forest/Harmony Grove/Questhaven area because we heard rumors about mysterious religious cults, drug houses and hell holes. When we stopped in front of the drug house and got out of the car, within a few seconds all the outside flood lights came on and we jumped in my car and drove out, along the narrow, windy road, very fast. That was a fun night. Well, there are still strange religious retreats out there that are hidden behind gates, fences and hills, but now there is the Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve which is popular with hikers and mountain bikers.

Owl with Sunglasses

At the main parking lot there is a very nice visitors center. Almost as nice as one you might see at a national monument or state park. We didn't spend very much time inside, but long enough to takes some photos of stuffed wildlife wearing sun glasses.

The map at the trail head shows all the trails and distances. We decided to follow that main trail, called the Way Up Trail. For some reason I had the idea that all the trails were flat, but I was way wrong. This trail climbs steeply up the hillside and before you know it you are looking way down at the parking lot. It wasn't hot so we didn't need too many breaks, and luckily I was well stocked with water.

Small creek 

 Once you go over the small creek the vegetation along the trail is your typical dry chaparral, with no trees for shade. There are many trail markers along the way to let you know what trail you are on, the distance you've traveled, and what facilities are located at the trails end, such as benches and restrooms. We had no specific goal other than to view the reservoir which I had never seen.
 

One of many trail makers

 The trail wasn't that crowded, and we talked to other hikers and bikers along the way asking them about the  trails and what to see. So we just kept heading up and then towards the direction that we thought the lake was until we finally saw the reservoir. It isn't all that big, or at least it didn't look big, but the water was very blue and clean. I think I read an article about how they were going to pump water in from Lake Hodges but decided not to because that water was much dirtier and would have ruined this lake, which seems to have no recreational use. It is just for drinking.

Me with Lake

 We continued exploring, and found even better views of the lake like the one below that was at a summit along a trail that led to a Lake Hodges lookout. We didn't take that trail because it was too long and I've seen Lake Hodges many times. In the background you can see Mt. Woodson and Iron Mountain. You can also see how low the water level is.

Olivenhain Reservoir

On the way back down, we took the botanical garden trail, expecting to see a garden. Instead it was just another trail but with posts with numbers on it that probably referred to some guild that told you about the plants in that area. Near the bottom there were trees with shade, and then we had to walk across some rocks to get over the creek where kids were swimming in the slimy, green water as the parents watched.

I wished I had recorded the trip on my GPS so I'd know how far we walked. We were hiking for less than two hours but it was a pretty good workout. On the way home I took a different way out that took us though the new community of San Elijo Hills. I knew this places existed, but I had no idea how big it was. All the buildings, houses and even the school looked like they were just build. It was well landscaped and probably an expensive place to live. Once we got back to freeway we stopped at Rubio's before heading back home.

Black Mountain Hike

Black Mountain From Blackhawk Trail Head

Black Mountain, located in northern San Diego, is a mountain that I've seen thousands of times but had never hiked to the top of. It was on my list of local peak to "bag", so finally, on June 1st, National Trails Day, I decided it was time and gathered two friends to join me in the hike. We started from the Blackhawk trailhead, which is on the south side of the mountain.

The weather was a cool 72 degrees, but it sure felt a lot hotter. I didn't know what to expect as far as trail conditions, but I believed that the trail to the top was shorter than my usual hike up Iron Mt., which you can see in this photo of me. Mt. Woodson is directly behind my head and Iron Mt. is on the far right.

Me At, or near the top of Black Mt.

The trail was very rocky with lots of medium-sized rocks covering the whole trail in some spots. I had good boots on but I still had to watch my step on the steeping sections. As we hiked up it looked like we took the wrong trail, as the peak was on the other side of a valley and we didn't seem to be getting closer to the peak even after hiking for 30 minutes. Plus, there was no one else on the trail.

Finally the trail met up with a junction and there was a man with his three sons and he told us we were on the right trail to the summit. I'm not sure how long it took to hike up as I didn't look at my watch and I wasn't recording this hike on any GPS. We took many breaks on the way up so it took much longer than the hike down which we made in less than an hour.

Over-development below Black Mountain

 From the summit, on a clear day, you can see 360 degrees for long distance. It was foggy towards the west so you couldn't see the ocean. It was clearer looking north and east. Pictured above is the dense housing developments that were all built since the 1990s. That used to be 4-S Ranch, which was a real ranch with fields, farms and horses. Also it was a popular, and dangerous place to go off-roading.

Steve and Judy at Summit of Black Mt.

Even at the summit we only saw a few other people, including one mountain biker who flew down the hill with a Go Pro camera on his helmet. After the hike we were all tired and ready for a beer or two, or three. Now that I've done this hike, I don't need to do it again, but I will if the opportunity comes up. Maybe I'll try a different route up.