Musings
Last Adventurer
#preservethegood

As you’ve seen above, #preservethegood could mean anything – it could mean helping someone in a time of need; it could be picking up trash on a trail, or a wilderness area; it could be educating people on leave no trace principles; it could be making a difference in any way you want; and it could be just about anything you want as long as you are focused in keeping the magic and the unique positive things in this world and this life. In terms of tangible things, I encourage you, my readers and followers to use the hashtag when you post a photo of something amazing; or when you’re talking about something exceptional you – or someone else has done to improve the world. I look forward to seeing how all of you end up preserving the good in 2015, and you can rest assured that as always, I will keep preserving the good where I find it as well, because as Plato says, “Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good actions in others.” 

#preservethegood
Hiking, State Parks
Last Adventurer
Canyon Trail to Waipoo Falls

As I mentioned previously, Waimea Canyon is a site that is most definitely one of the “must-view” locations on Kauai, and in the world; and as I also mentioned, the best way to experience it is to hike it. While there are many great hikes through the canyon, the best hike in my book is the Canyon Trail to Waipoo Falls. It is the best hike to me because at four miles roundtrip, it is accessible, it has stunning views of the canyon from inside the canyon, and it ends at the top Waipoo Falls. It also allows the hiker the chance to swim in a waterfall, which is a once in a lifetime experience.

Canyon Trail to Waipoo Falls

Hiking

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Spruce Street Suspension Bridge

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Spruce Street Suspension Bridge

One of the unique things about San Diego is that it is a city, and a county that is honeycombed with a number of canyons. While these canyons can present a number of practical challenges – in that roads end and re-start and different locations, they provide great spots to explore in certain cases, and great areas for wildlife to travel to and from various habitats. And, in the case of the Spruce Street Suspension bridge, a great man-made object to walk, run, or saunter across on either an urban hike, or a quick visit to see some of San Diego’s hidden history.

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El Vallecito Rock Art

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El Vallecito Rock Art

The Southwest is dotted with two things: interesting geologic features, and interesting man-made features. Like the geologic features, the man-made features range from the recent past, to the ancient past. In my opinion, while there is nothing like a ghost town, or other more modern man-made site, the truly mysterious sites are the ones that are from the ancient past. While there are many sites in the United States that are accessible to visit, there are also sites that are just across the border in Mexico that are equally fascinating as well. 

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La Mesa Secret Stairs

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La Mesa Secret Stairs

One of the best things about living in San Diego is the enormous amount of diversity - biodiversity - and topographical diversity that the area provides. From the beach to the plateaus, foothills, and eventually the mountains, there are plenty of spots that have either been eroded away to form something unique, or altered by man to construct a unique spot. One of the quintessential man-made "secret" spots is the "secret stairway" of La Mesa.

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Status of Meysan Lake Trail, June 2015

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Status of Meysan Lake Trail, June 2015

The more I travel in the Sierra Nevada mountains, the more convinced I am that one of its best spots is also one of the most accessible spots, the Meysan Lake Trail. I first hiked the Meysan Lake trail back in 1998; and when I came back to it in 2013, I wondered why I had avoided it for that length of time. Fortunately I did not have to wait another fifteen years to revisit the Meysan Lake trail, as I hiked it this last weekend. As this trail is very straightforward to follow, I'm going to focus on current trail conditions in 2015 that I experienced.

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Harper's Creek, Cuyamaca State Park

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Harper's Creek, Cuyamaca State Park

One of the drawbacks to living in Southern California is that there are almost too many places to explore. This means that while I have certain favorite locations, it may be months - or years before I get the chance to hike them again. When I do get back to a favorite spot, I'm always interested to see how the trail and area has changed for the better, or for the worse. This last weekend, I had the opportunity to make it back to Harper's Creek in Cuyamaca State Park. Harper's Creek is off of the East Side Trail in Green Valley, and is a great canyon with a seasonal flow of water. 

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Skogafoss

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Skogafoss

In addition to its myths and legends, Iceland is also the land of spectacular waterfalls. These waterfalls are some of Europe’s most powerful because of the precipitation that the island receives along with seasonal glacial and snow melt. One of the largest and most powerful of these falls is Skogafoss, which is located slightly outside of the town of Skogar in Southeast Iceland. Skogafoss means “forest waterfall” in Icelandic; and while there are no trees around the waterfall today, the waterfall itself is a spectacular classic rectangular waterfall that cascades down the former sea cliffs. At twenty five meters wide (75 feet) and sixty meters (180 feet) in height, the fall is an impressive sight that can be seen from a far distance.

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Old Mission Dam

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Old Mission Dam

While San Diego is a young city in terms of history, it has a number of hidden historic gems. Many of these locations are clustered near the current city center (such as the Whaley House), but one of the spots, the Old Mission Dam, is located in the middle of San Diego's largest municipal park, Mission Trails. The Old Mission Dam is a historic structure for a number of reasons, but first and foremost, it is the oldest colonial engineering project on the Pacific Coast.