Back from our Sierra Nevada vacation. Most years we go camping in the Southern Sierra. We know about some special camping areas where few people venture. Those places have great views and solitude. These camping trips usually find us hiking everyday and dabble in a little trout fishing. No planned activities, no agendas, no places to see. Perfect.
Over the past several years I have made a Memorial Day Weekend tradition of hiking what I call the San Jacinto Loop. One would be hard pressed to find a more varied and diverse 60 mile route in just about any place in North America; maybe anywhere in the planet. Due to a route that passes through 5 climatic zones, Memorial Day timing is about perfect. Not too hot in the desert and not too cold in the alpine zone. You can read about the 2009 and 2010 trips.
But this year I had to cancel.
Continue reading backpacking trip cancelled. went camping instead.
A month ago we camped at Guajome Regional Park in Oceanside, CA. I wrote about it here.
Upon our return home, I noticed there was a group from PUX (https://www.popupexplorer.com/forum/) planning a camping trip to Guajome the first week of May. Sounded interesting and I posted the following:
We have never been ones to camp with a group. Actually we have only done it once; in 2005 we went to the PUX gathering in RMNP —
But the RMNP gathering was a lot of fun and I made several friends there.
To be honest we have gone camping with others only 4 times in addition to the RMNP trip. We once camped in Oak Creek Canyon, AZ with EveryBodyHauls (who no longer posts here) and thrice we have camped with my wife’s boss.
In fact we rarely even camp in an improved campground. All this being said… we have camped at Guajome twice. Once was last week at site #21. We had a nice time.
Plus I think Wayne and I have a lot in common and it would be nice to meet him (and of course the rest of the group).
So… we have reserved site #21 again for May 2 – 4. Be nice to us, this is a new endeavor and we may not know how to socialize. 🙂
Joyce and I just surpassed our 1,000th night of camping together
This wasn’t a goal or even something I was closely tracking. We started camping as a couple just before we were married in 2002. Considering the fact that we both have full time jobs, getting out nearly 100 nights per year really wasn’t that difficult; although for most people it would be impossible to do because they are to busy dealing with life, instead of living life. I wrote about this in Managing Your Recreation Inventory.
For us, camping isn’t about sitting around a campsite, but about spending time together in the wilderness, which includes hiking, fishing, boating, stargazing, and even generally doing nothing but talking and listening to one another.
We have enjoyed the lowest and highest deserts, the heights of the Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountains, rivers, lakes, streams, oceans, and the deepest canyons. We have seen wildlife of all kinds. We have experienced extreme heat, freezing cold, snow, rain, and balmy weather.
A few pictures from the past…
Yesterday was Joyce’s xx-something birthday. Seems many women don’t like their age disclosed when they hit “milestone” birthdays. Not sure if Joyce minds age disclosure, so I won’t tell you how young she is.
In celebration of her birthday we could have done many things, but Joyce decided she wanted to do a special camping trip. After 13 consecutive camping trips in the desert, she wanted to go somewhere that had lots of green trees and plants, and cool moisture laden air — translation: near the ocean. More than that, she wanted to go to Guajome. This actually surprised me; not her wanting to go to Guajome, but that she wanted to go camping. I had visions of her wanting to do a weekend getaway to a 5 Star resort and/or dinner at an upscale restaurant.