January, 27-28, 2012
Packing the night before, James and I were ready and eager to hit the trail on Friday at 4:00PM. Our little dog Andy was one of the guys this time. We went through our lists discovering James didn’t know where is headlamp was, plus his “10 Essentials” bag had only three items inside.
Shortly before leaving, I checked the forecast, which called for warm temperatures (in the 80s) during the day and warm evenings In the low 60s. High wind advisory—30 to 45 mph winds. We weighed our packs before leaving and each pack came in at 11-1/2 pounds base weight. Pack weight was about 13lbs.
We took Amber’s car since she was leading another leadership training course. We parked on Roosevelt as I did last time, took a phone, put Andy on his leash and headed down the trail into Eaton Canyon. With James leading, he kept a good pace into the canyon and across the dry streambed onto the road leading to the trailhead at the bridge. Once we got started up the Toll Road, we slowed but still kept a respectable pace.
The day was warm and breezy. The Santa Ana winds gave us clear skies allowing us to see well beyond Santa Barbara Island. The road was full of people and cyclist. We eventually had to put Andy back on leash due to the people.
One turn got our attention: a small landslide in one of the gullies above was kicking up dust and dropping rocks. We watched amazed while walking closer to the horseshoe turn clearly seeing rocks falling, and dust clouding the area but no animals or people. A fire truck was coming down the road and I stopped him to ask what was causing the slide. He said the wind was “ripping” up there and causing the slide.
James and I continued on, taking only four breaks total; one to pee and the other three to sip water. We arrived at the sign after about 1hr 20min.
The sun had set and our eyes were slowly becoming adjusted to the dark. James suggested that we allow our eyes to acclimate as long as we can. I agreed until we got to the campsite at Upper Campground. I could not distinguish flat ground. We walked to the edge of the hill, overlooking the city there was a group of potential rowdy mountain bikers drinking beer and laughing by a fire they built. We thought they were spending the night, learning later they were just there for the evening and leaving later.
I suggested to James to check out Fuji above us but he wanted to stay where he felt comfortable. I decided from the beginning that this was his trip and I wanted James to make most of the major decisions, so we stayed.
James found a site that was fairly flat, although we later discovered I was on a slant. By now the wind had picked up and we literally had to hold our packs from blowing down. Anything we pulled out from our already light rigs, would blow away if we didn’t hold it. I knew we were in for an adventure!
I asked James what our first task should be. He said boiling water, which I thought made sense, if it wasn’t so windy. I explained that we need a shelter set up so we can use the stove without it getting blown out. He agreed. I pulled out the Tyvek (recently softened by wash) and laid it on the ground, holding it down using large rocks on each corner.. We were on a small knoll—a crown but up against a pine tree. We chose this spot because it was positioned in a way that I could use the tree to pitch the tarp in an “A” frame, using a 9-inch nail on the opposite side. I strung up the Kelty Triptease by the light of my red light, and then pulled the silnylon tarp out and tried to maintain control of it in the wind. Just before leaving on this trip, I pulled off 3.5 oz of Velcro from it’s edges, bringing its weight down into the 13oz range.
I gave James a few stakes which, he used to fasten down the tarp. Once all four corners were staked, I pulled on the ridgeline creating an amazing “kite” effect! The wind was actually blowing from our 7-oclock, causing the windward side of the tarp to nearly collaps. I strung up an additional two guy lines from the center ridgeline out 90 degrees, which kept the side of the tarp up off our bags at night.
Once the tarp was up, I pulled out the alcohol stove, poured in about 1-1/2 oz fuel and lit the Super Cat. I placed the stove and its windscreen at the base of the tarp where our heads would be, yet outside the cover of the tarp. It was a risk with the winds, but to my surprise, there was only a light breeze inside the tarp, allowing the stove to work just fine. The only issue i had was hat little wind actually did come into contact to the stove, cause minor flare-ups, which reduced efficiantcies. Within minutes, our three cups of water was boiling and we pulled out or chilimac/mashed potatoes/refried beans mix in a freezer bag and poured the hot water in. the meal tasted wonderful!
Before I pulled the stove out, and began boiling water, I poured two cups of cold water into a bag of butterscotch pudding, which I bought at the 99-cents store. That, mixed with eight spoons of dried milk. I mixed the concoction for 2 minutes as suggested on the recipe, and then took a wet bandana and wrapped the bag. Since the air was relatively warm (65 degrees), and the wind was blowing, I would use evaporation to chill the pudding, instead of the recommended refrigerator.
After the chilimac, I pulled out the pudding, which set nicely and we had dessert!
Cleanup was simple since we basically used only freezer bags. We had hot tea and decaf coffee afterwards and then set up the bear bag adjacent from our camp. The mountain biers were still partying as I swung the line over the branch, using my new chap stick tube and micro carabineer for the PCT method. James was busy cleaning his bowl since he didn’t want to use the bag.
Once everything was set in camp, James and I walked over to the edge of the hill and looked at the city lights. The wind was blowing pretty good, making our view especially clear. I checked the thermometer and it read 60 degrees. Not bad for February!
Back at camp, we removed all our smellables, found places on the ground for our packs so they would blow way and turned in. I was on a hill, sliding to my right. Rather than make a big deal about it, I found downed branches and a couple rocks, building a burm along side and under my side. I laid down the Tyvek and then my Neo-Air, creating an almost cradle effect. It worked, and I slept sound without any sliding.
I did sleep relatively well, despite getting hot a few times. The wind blew hard all night, making an annoying slap. I eventually twisted a stick into the dirk, placing my stocking hat on top, and then lifting the side of the tarp on top of the stick and hat. This allowed the wind to pass through the pitch instead of on top of the pitch, which caused the tarp to flap. At the same time, I allowed much-needed air into the tarp, which surprised me!
Morning came with calm. No wind; not even a breeze. Two deer caught the attention of Andy and eventually James and I. It was about 6:30am. I got up and started boiling water with the Super Cat. I went through a lot more fuel than we should have due to poor planning. While the water was heating I took down the bear bag and pulled out our oatmeal bags and summand James from out of his slumber. I made enough water for two cups of hot beverages and oatmeal. Cleanup was simple, as was the take down of the tarp. We did take our time, enjoying the mountain and each other. Once we were packed up, we hit the trail and walk down the hill and back to the car.
My trail runners worked great, especially with the thin socks. No issues at all. I decided not to bring the Northface jacket, which was a good idea. I never used the long johns but I did wear the base shirt and Capoline long sleeve to bed, only wearing the “puffy” at night and in the morning. I brought three pair of socks: thins, light Smart wool (SW), and the thick SW. I only wore these up and down the hill, while wearing the thick SW to bed and early morning. I never wore the light weight SW. No camp shoes needed; I loosened the laces and was perfectly comfortable.