Buckhorn Peak is probably one of the shortest trails you’ll ever see me write about. It’s so minor it isn’t on most maps, and is shown as little more than the top of a hill on the GPS.
So why hike it? Because when you just happen to stay out a little too late on a Saturday night with friends, don’t get going until 11:00 the next morning, but still feel the need to hike under the pines, this is the perfect trail. That’s just a theory, mind you. Really. *cough*
Posted in Hiking
Out of town again over the weekend, so I’ll leave you with a little internet Zen for this Friday.
The website for Redwood Creek Wine is probably one of the most peaceful websites I’ve yet found on my journey through the web. I’m not ashamed to admit that I’ve thrown on a pair of headphones, surfed over there, and just closed my eyes and listened, wishing I were in the tranquil, idyllic environments depicted there rather than stuck at the office.
That the artwork for the flash is done in that beautiful, 1930’s travel-poster style I love is an added bonus. Plus, for a limited time, you can get posters of some of the artwork. Sweet.
They don’t make a half-bad bottle of chardonnay, either.
Posted in Random Thoughts
So today is my birthday. The big ‘ol lifeclock will tick over to 34 at about 4:32 this afternoon.
On the plus side, I’ve made it four years past where my lifeclock should be according to Logan’s Run. Good movie, by the way. I bought the DVD for six bucks a few months back and was surprised how well it stands up after 30 years.
And bonus points to you if you recognize the song lyric in the post title.
Still, 34. I haven’t quite decided how I feel about this yet.
Posted in Dating, Family, Friendship, Life, Random Thoughts, Stuff I Like
So, I went out on the Something tonight.
We met outside of the movie theatre. I bought tickets for both of us, so she offered to buy dinner.
Had a very nice meal with some good conversation. We went to the movie, made jokes to each other during the previews. We enjoyed the movie.
The after the movie was over, she mentioned that she had to get up early for work the next day, gave me a couple of hugs, asked me to take show her some of the better trails, and bolted for her car.
Was it something I said?
Posted in Dating, Life, Random Thoughts
Okay, so I know what y’all are thinking: “Yeah, fine, GeekHiker. These trips and hikes and photos and stuff are all well and good. But when are you going to post the stuff we really want to read about: your trials and tribulations in the dating world. Having women blow you off, confuse you, or otherwise set out to break your spirit. Get to the good stuff, dammit!”
Yeah, I’m clairvoyant like that, and I know that’s what you’re thinking.
Okay, fine.
Posted in Dating, Random Thoughts
A few of the other stops that we made along the 395:
MONO LAKE
Mono Lake is one of the dominant features of the Eastern Sierra. And of course, I didn’t manage to snap a single decent photo of it. Damn.
Mono Lake is actually the remnant of a huge ancient lake that covered a large swath of land here. The lake is estimated to be over 1 million years old. Now reduced in size by the passing of geologic time (and a little help from the DWP), Mono Lake is still a fascinating place.
Posted in Travel
The Verdugo Mountains are a short mountain chain standing between the mountains of the Angeles National Forest and the vast alluvial plain that makes up the Los Angeles basin. Like the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains, which terminates at Griffith Park, it’s an island of natural area in the middle of the suburban sea.
Topping out around 3,000 feet, the Verdugo’s do provide expansive views in every direction, at least on clear days. Views of the San Gabriel Mountains (the Angeles N.F.) soaring above the basin, the straight streets of the San Fernando Valley, the open basin of greater Los Angeles stretching out into the ocean, and the lands of the Inland Empire.
Posted in Hiking
There are many things to be seen along the 395, of which we only managed to cover a few on our trip. Today I’ll start with the preeminent attraction, Bodie, and hopefully cover the other sights we saw tomorrow.
BODIE STATE HISTORIC PARK
The ghost town of Bodie is, quite simply, everything a ghost town should be. It covers a large area, has dozens of old buildings, and a classic old west history.
Panoramic View of Bodie from the City Cemetary
Bodie’s history begins at the end of the Gold Rush in the western Sierra Nevada (a history I was steeped in as a child) when miners traveled east in search of a share of the Comstock Load. By 1879, Bodie’s population was over 10,000 people and had a reputation. A very, very bad reputation. As one little girl wrote in her diary upon learning she was going to Bodie: “Goodbye God, I’m going to Bodie.”
Posted in Travel
Agh, spent too long editing pictures to cover the full trip – here’s a little something just to get started. Pictures too!
The trip that made me so darn tired the other day was a group trip to Bodie and the Eastern Sierra Nevada mountain range in California. It’s an area that I hadn’t been to in years, and naturally enough, it was one of those trips that was just enough to whet my appetite for more.
Posted in Travel
As I write this, on my lunch hour at work, I’m running on only about 10 hours sleep out of the last 72. And a huge chunk of that was spent driving about 800 miles total over the weekend. The fact that I can put together a coherent sentence at all is, really, quite a feat.
Just my fortune then that my IM friend Copasetic Fish, bless her sweet heart, did a post in her blog about how cool my blog apparently is. She even left out how much time I spend in this blog not on actual hiking, or even on geek stuff, but instead on lamenting the state of my pathetic love life.
Given how much cooler & better written both her blog and the other blogs she cites are, well, needless to say, I blushed.
So now (‘cuz, you know, no pressure or anything) I’ve got to get off my lazy sleepy ass and post. So the crowds of new folks who will no doubt show up at my door (all one or two of you) have something entertaining to read.
But, would anybody mind if I caught a little shut eye first?
Posted in Friendship, Random Thoughts, Writing
The GeekHiker 