My Trails

There is a philosophy among nomads traveling on a budget, which states that you must save money in every way possible. But there is also the realization that to deprive yourself of every attraction, luxury, and new activity, makes no sense. There are just sometimes you have to bite the bullet and shell out the cash for something fun. And so on Friday last, Richard and I drove to San Diego to tour the USS Midway, a decommissioned aircraft carrier anchored in the San Diego Bay.

Built in 1945 and retired in 1991, the Midway was active through wars in Korea, Vietnam, and in the Middle East. Pilots based on the Midway shot down several MiGs during the Vietnam War including the first and last. The carrier was particularly important for its contribution in the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Storm, and played a large role in helping to defeat Saddam Hussein and his army.

It was expensive to park and purchase tickets for the tour, but relatively speaking, for a whole day’s entertainment and enjoyment, well worth the price. We arrived quite early but there were still many tourists and schoolchildren wandering the decks and climbing through the maze of passageways. I say tour but the term may be misleading. Everyone was issued a small player that hung around your neck and was fitted with headphones. There were numbers to follow where you could activate the recording and learn about different stations throughout the ship, a self-guided tour to be more precise.

To see the whole ship took several hours and lots of walking. We got to see where and how the men aboard the Midway lived, how they spent their time, and what it may have been like to spend several months at sea. It was really a small city floating on the ocean, and just like in civilian life, it depended how important you were as to how you lived. Enlisted seamen slept in cramped bunks and were fed at a chow line, while officers had better bedrooms, ate at tables, and were served by waiters. The Admiral and Captain had the nicest quarters but also the greatest responsibility for the welfare of thousands of men under their command.

Unless you see it and walk through, it is hard to imagine the size. Numbers in thousands of tons, acres of flight deck, millions of gallons of fuel, and thousand of crew, are meaningless to comprehend, and it seems amazing that something built for $90 million and overhauled for $260 million in 1970 would become obsolete and discarded 20 years later. Two nuclear carriers were anchored across the bay and we could only imagine the changes to electronics, computers systems, and propulsion system. And we are probably talking billions to build them.

We thought it was a good touch when we walked through the dentist’s office. The restorers had pumped the smell of the drill through the room along with an animated patient squirming in the chair, and it made you cringe from memory of unpleasant visits to the dentist. We also liked the talk by a former pilot as he told the story of being launched from the deck by catapult.

I guess Richard and I were still thinking about saving money because we resisted the $8 hamburger at the snack bar. It was well into the afternoon as we left the ship and headed back to our park in Temecula. We stopped at a Carl’s Jr. for a late lunch and ran into a little Friday afternoon traffic coming through Escondido, but still made good time home. Richard would make the same drive in the morning to pick up Dianna coming back from Texas while I would move back south a few miles.

It was great spending a few days with Richard again. I helped him move his car a few miles from an RV park in Aguanga, and he took me all over Temecula looking for a new stove. We would hang out each night watching TV and even went to see a movie. It is not often that a movie comes along that we both are interested in, but the story of Jackie Robinson was just out and something we both wanted to see. We said goodbye on Saturday and I drove back to Blair Valley while he and Dianna headed towards Arizona. They will eventually travel to Texas, Tennessee and beyond.

This coming weekend is the kickoff for PCT hikers. Lake Morrana near the start of the trail has a big party with several outfitter venders, speakers and information about the trail. I plan on going down for a day to see what it is all about. It’s always fun to be around hikers and talk trail with them. I remember the optimism and excitement that you feel before starting the journey of a thruhike, and it’s fun to see it in the faces of those just beginning the dream. I’m hoping that summer will begin soon after that and I can begin my travels further north, too.

It has been several days since I’ve updated my blog, and I have a couple of adventures I must record. At my age, it is easy to forget all the details that make this journal such an interesting read. I know you are anxiously awaiting every word, so here we go.

For three days my van and I crouched in a braced position as fierce winds tried to remove us from the mountain. I admit that I stayed inside and hung on while my van did most of the work. It seemed like the wind got stronger in the night, robbing me of sleep and leaving me wondering what I had forgotten to tie down. Every morning I would look around the campground for items whipped away in the night, and it seemed as if other campers had been blown away, too. At the end of the storm, everyone else had pulled out and I was the only survivor left.

Then the weather turned nice. The wind subsided and temps were comfortable. On Thursday morning, I hiked a short trail to the top of Culp Valley where there were amazing views of the valley of Borrego Springs. Then in the afternoon I found an oasis of palm trees on a little used path to a spring. Despite the wind, Anza-Borrego State Park was a fun place to spend a few days and I’m sure I will be back someday, but now it was time to do a little serious hiking.

In the morning, I dropped my motorcycle off at the Community Center in Warner Springs and drove my van back to a parking lot near Ranchita. These two points are places where the Pacific Crest Trail passes through. The span is only 9 miles of trail, but I figured it would be an easy day-hike and test of my shuttle system. I was on the trail by 8 am and walked into Warner Springs just before noon. As soon as I started hiking, I realized that the PCT is different than the AT in so many ways.

The trail was so smooth I could actually take my eyes off of my feet for a few seconds – which hardly ever happens on the AT – and the climbs are so gentle you’re not even aware your going up. The bad part is that you’re walking in the sun most of the time. The AT is mostly in the cooling shade of the woods and I never had to worry about sunscreen lotion – I lathered up with spf for babies before I walked out.

I didn’t realize that I would meet so many PCT thruhikers on the trail. There were 8 hikers at the community center in Warner Springs, stocking up on supplies, picking up mail drops, taking showers, and using the computers to update blogs and journals. It was fun talking with them and comparing stories of their hike and mine. I rode my motorcycle back to the van and pushed on.

That afternoon I moved to a campground on Palomar Mountain. It is a long, winding road to the top, but the campground has showers and is close to the observatory, two things that I wanted to see. I called Richard and Dianna and asked them if they could ride up the next day and tour the observatory with me. They said yes. So the next day we wandered through the museum and climbed the path to the dome and telescope containing the 200 inch lens made at Corning Glass Works, only a few miles from where I used to live in NY. After the observatory we rode down the mountain to Pala, CA, and had ice cream at the casino. It was a fun day.

Tonight I am on top of another mountain. I drove north to Anza, CA, continued into the San Bernardino NF, and wound up a rutted forest road to a campground on top of Thomas Mountain. Down below in the valley the sky is shrouded with fog and mist but up here the sun is shining bright. I drove my motorcycle up some of the forest roads checking out other campsites and enjoying the views. There was one other person camped here but he left and now I am alone. I’m not sure this is where I should be tonight – another forecast of high winds and cold – but I will hunker down and make the best of it. At least I have good cell signal and lots of TV stations.

The weather was getting warmer each day so I decided to get to a higher elevation. I needed to do laundry, fill up on water, and pick up some groceries, so it seemed like a good time to move. I’m now at a campground north of Borrego Springs called Culp Valley, surrounded by hills and huge boulders, and boasting an altitude 1000 feet higher than Blair Valley. I’d driven by here a couple of times on my motorcycle but never stopped in to have a look. It is a nice campground with quite a few secluded sites and a restroom for convenience. I will probably be here for a few days before I move on to the San Bernardino National forest.

View

The winds have picked up to hurricane force. Well, maybe not quite that strong, but a good gale force wind I’m sure. Last night the van rocked and bounced as I lay awake listening to things blow around outside. I finally got up and went outside to find my motorcycle had blown over and the TV antenna was twisted off. I moved everything to the lee side of the van and fought my way through sideways blowing sand and rain to get back inside; it was hard to even open the door against the force of the wind. Needless to say, I didn’t get much sleep last night, and as soon as the wind lets up, I should go look for my gas can and a couple of other missing objects.

I have no cell service here but I can pick up a lot of TV stations (as soon as I fix the broken antenna.) It has been quite a while since I’ve had any TV reception and I spent most of last night flipping through channels, trying to decide what to watch. I don’t think I watched one program all the way through – probably not the most productive way to fill up on entertainment.

I’m back camping on the Ogilby road near Yuma, AZ. I will only be here for a couple of days. I needed to make a trip into Mexico to buy some drugs… legal medications, of course… what were you thinking? As long as I had to drive back to the border, I took advantage of cheaper Arizona gas and stopped at a couple of big box stores to resupply. I even took in a movie.

It is pretty hot here and it doesn’t even cool off much at night. Last night I didn’t get under the covers until early in the morning. The good thing is that the desert has very few bugs. I can leave the windows and doors open and not be eaten. It has helped, too, that there is a breeze.

Tomorrow I will head back into the higher elevations near Borrego Springs. It will be warm enough to do a little hiking on the PCT soon, so I’m looking forward to walking a few trails in the near future. I don’t know why but it always seems easier to blog when I’m hiking.

Ps. The movie was called “Emperor” about the occupation after the war with Japan. I hope I didn’t give away too much, Daryl, and Richard, I’m sure it is entirely factual! It didn’t get good reviews, but I thought it was good.

I had an enjoyable two days at Roosevelt Lake. It is nice to go back to a campground where you know how to get around and are familiar with the area. So many times I have stopped at someplace, and a day later, found a nicer one. This time I drove in and parked like it was home.

I was talking with another camper that explained to me how the season works for camping here at the lake. During the winter, you can stay for up to six months, while the summer season is limited to a 14 day time limit. I don’t know if I have found anyplace that is nicer than here for the price. I keep thinking that it would sure be nice to have a boat, but I don’t have anyplace to carry it. No Richard – I’m not getting a trailer!

Tonight I am in CA, just south of I 10, at a LTVA called Willey Wells. I was a little disturbed when the road passed a California State Prison and I met two Border Patrol vehicles within a mile of the campground. The camp host assured me that the escaped prisoners always run north to the highway and the illegal Mexicans pass through without bothering anyone. I’ll lock my doors and sleep light tonight!

The camp host was very nice to me. After I explained that I was just spending the night, she said, “Go ahead and pick a spot – I won’t charge you.” There are not many RVs here and the road was pretty bad for the last few miles, but the park is in a nice area and she made me feel good about California with her generosity.