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
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Rainbow Falls

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Rainbow Falls

I recently made it out to the Devils Postpile, and here’s what I have to report: it is indeed something you need to see. My former boss was right: this is an area that is remote and lesser known than its bigger cousin, Yosemite. I say “lesser known” because I am well aware that it is directly outside of Mammoth. This is not something that should dissuade you from visiting: even though it is directly outside of Mammoth, it is still tucked away in its own corner of the Eastern Sierra. Also, in this case, being tucked away next to Mammoth is a good thing: there are well signed parking areas for the park from which you will take a shuttle into the park during the summer months. While Devils Postpile is named for the amazing geologic feature of the park – the columnar basalt “piles” that formed over one hundred thousand years ago from cooling lava, and the basalt is amazing to see, I think the best day hike in the park is the hike to Rainbow Falls.

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Lost Palms Oasis

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Lost Palms Oasis

As I mentioned last week, Joshua Tree is mostly known for climbing, not hiking. But, as I also talked about when discussing Mastodon Peak, there are some great hikes in the park should climbing not be your cup of tea. Most of the hikes recommended by the National Park Service, like Mastodon Peak, are short and sweet – good for getting out into the desert, and seeing what is going on in the park, but also somewhat “bad” as they leave you, the hiker wanting more. Don’t get me wrong – there are plenty of longer hikes into the interior of the park – but most of these are multi-day backpacking trips. However, there is no reason to despair about finding a longer hike in the park: Joshua Tree is a big place, and there are plenty of options. The best, and most scenic of these options is the Lost Palms Oasis Hike.

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Tales of Terror from the Yosemite Backcountry

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Tales of Terror from the Yosemite Backcountry

Yosemite is known for being one of, if not the most beautiful National Park in all of the United States. In fact, beyond that, Yosemite is a place that is known world-wide as being a place of amazing natural beauty. Having worked there, visited there, and having spent more time there than a majority of people, there is nothing I can or will say to dispel that fact. But, like most large open expanses that are wild in the world, Yosemite has a dark side

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Cottonwood Springs to Mastodon Peak

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Cottonwood Springs to Mastodon Peak

Joshua Tree National Park is known for one thing, and one thing only: rock climbing. This is a good thing: there are many great routes in the park for climbing. As I have climbed there many times, and have recommended it to many people, there is no way I could complain about that association. However, there’s a lot more than just climbing going on at Joshua Tree. There’s excellent stargazing; excellent spring blooms; and excellent hikes, both day, and multi-day. One of the shortest and the most popular hikes in the park is the hike from Cottonwood Springs to Mastodon Peak. There are two ways to do this hike: first, as a loop trail from the Campground (“the Mastodon Peak Loop”) or as part of the longer hike to Lost Palms Oasis. The loop trail is 2.6 miles long roundtrip; and if you add the Mastodon Peak section of trail to the Lost Palms Oasis hike, you are left with a hike that is 8.2 miles roundtrip.

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Smugglers Cove Olive Grove and Ranch

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Smugglers Cove Olive Grove and Ranch

The prime example is the olive grove that sits directly off the Smugglers Road trail about .1 miles away from Smugglers Cove. Olive Trees, while beautiful, are by no means native to the island; and were planted over a hundred years ago in order to harvest the fruit for commercial purposes. Today, the groves of trees are still standing outside Smugglers Cove in their orderly, neat rows, waiting for a non-existent harvest. While I’m not usually one to celebrate invasive species in National Parks, in this case I’ll make an exception. There’s something about these old trees waiting on the shore of a now-empty island that stimulates one’s imagination while hiking. On a hot, summer day it’s easy to imagine that you have left California, and are hiking one of the Mediterranean islands near Spain; or are in an empty part of the Iberian Peninsula. However, if the scenery doesn’t remind you of Europe, there’s plenty of other ideas that could sprout in your imagination as you pass through the grove. And, even if you don’t imagine anything as the wind whispers to you as it passes through the branches of the grove, the grove is a great spot to sit on either your decent or ascent from Smugglers Cove, as it provides some much needed shade on the hike from Scorpion Ranch to Smugglers Cove.

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Abandoned Oil Well, Santa Cruz Island

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Abandoned Oil Well, Santa Cruz Island

ast week, I mentioned what I think is the best hike in Southern California – the Scorpion Landing to Smugglers Cove trail on Santa Cruz Island. Even though I listed about twenty gazillion good reasons in the limited space I had about why that hike was the best hike in Southern California, I have some follow up points about why this hike is the best in Southern California. The first of these bonus tips is this: if you have the time, and the energy, there are some interesting ruins along the trail that are quite accessible, and more than a little mysterious. The largest set of these ruins is the ruined oil well that is just off the Smugglers Road, two miles up the trail from Scorpion Landing.

2012 Orionid Meteor Shower, 10/17/12-10/25/12

As I always say with all these astral phenomena, unless you've been living on the moon​, you know that something is going on in the sky. This weekend, its the Orionid Meteor Shower, which according to all reports, is particularly strong and visible this year. It may have already caused a giant fireball that was visible in Northern California - or not. Perhaps that giant fireball was the work of batsquatch, lemurians, or just plain old 2012 apocalypse-time-hijinx. In any case, the best time to view the shower - wherever you are in North America, will be anytime after 11:00 p.m. PST, October 20, 2012 (Saturday) to dawn on October 21, 2012 (Sunday). You can rest assured that I'll be out watching, and you should be too - should be a lot of fun. And, if you're interested in science, help NASA out, and check out this app here. More info: here, here, and here.