A break in the rain at last!

While rain in Southern California is more welcome than a Brett Favre interception to a Saints fan, after 4 straight days of downpour it was nice to see blue sky again.

Not wanting to play safe and hike the concrete jungle of downtown Ventura, I packed the dog in the car and took off for Sulfur Mountain. Normally a well traveled trail for mountain bikers as well as hikers and equestrian lovers, rain and dirt make a muddy mess that's not for the faint of heart!  80% of the trail was easy walking but that 20% was like slogging through, well... mud!

The views were well worth the extra work however, with snow covered mountains to the north the Channel Islands to the south and lush green hillsides all around. This was my first hike on Sulfur Mtn and while I knew parts of the trail were on private cattle ranch land, I was surprised as just how many bovine were parked on the path. Train (our black lab) was taken aback by the size of the beasts but once they started trotting down the trail in front of us, false bravado kicked in and the chase was on. Fortunately, he was on a long leash so the story has a happy ending!

Just about out of 2 liters of water 2 hours in, we decided to head back to the car, but not before the dog decided on a short bath in some really dirty water. Never hike without lots of towels for the ride home! A little less than 4 hours after we started, we were back in the car heading home having hiked about 6.5 miles and having made a few new 4 legged friends.

With so many great hikes to choose from...

where do we start? At hike # 7, Potrero John Trail in the Sespe Wilderness. My 82 Great Hikes of Ventura County describes this as an uncrowded, lightly used trail, and they're not kidding! Could be the fact that its a bit off the beaten path... the trail head is 21 miles north of Ojai on Highway 33... or that you need a wilderness permit to use this part of the Los Padres National Forest. Whatever the reason, the lack of humanity made for a serene experience.

What started as a loose shale trail, quickly turned into well packed dirt that led into a narrow, steep walled canyon. Crossing Potrero John Creek several times, with the aid of my trusty Laki hiking poles, added to the beauty of the terrain. While we saw lots of tracks, we never saw any wildlife other than a boat load of lady bugs! What do you call a group of lady bugs anyway? I know crows travel in 'murders' (no surprise, since that's the first thing that comes to mind when they start their annoying cawing!), and clams cluster in 'beds' but what about these delicate creatures? A bevy? A swarm?

Hiking past what we thought was the 1 mile mark, the trail continued on, although rough and unmaintained. Previous hikers were kind enough to leave colored markers on the path to give us a hint of direction and even provided a tow rope tied to a tree to assist in climbing a large boulder that blocked the path. Can I now add rock climbing to the list of training activity?

If you live in the area, and are looking for a remote hike that is actually only about 30 minutes from town, put Potrero John on your list. The creek adds pools, cascading water and a few small falls to this amazing trek!

Each destination begins with a small step...

Its true! You never get anywhere without taking that first tentative step. Cliche, I know... but sometimes you don't need to be original to convey the point.

So here I am, taking the first step. Talked about it many times, thought about it even more. Could of, should of, would of... right? What was I afraid of? Why did I procrastinate? All the usual suspects! Not enough time, too many responsibilities, who wants to listen to me rant anyway?

But now not only do I have time, I have a reason! Drum roll please...... in a nutshell; Quest 4 Higher! What the... you say? Yeah, you have time alright, too bad the brain cells are no longer firing!

Quest 4 Higher is the moniker given by three friends of mine (and me makes 4) to our goal of summitting Mt Whitney, which at 14,500 feet (give or take a few) is the highest peak in California and the lower 48 states. On paper it sounds easy, just another hike in the woods, but in reality, it will test us in many ways. Can we acclimate to the altitude? Can we acclimate to each other over a 3 day journey? Can we acclimate to the commitment to train for the quest? To each I say... YES WE CAN!

And with that, another blog is born...

But the blog title is Latte Lenore? What's that have to do with climbing a mountain? Well, like many things, the best ideas spring from those moments when you sit down with a great cup of coffee and a good friend... Latte anyone?