Days 7- 9
Friday March 7th- Sunday March 9th
I decided to head on up into the hills for the weekend. It has been a while since I have been able to escape from the hustle and bustle of Ventuckey. A weekend wandering the hills and canyons of the upper desert around Ojai's Matilija was a welcome respite. With moving, graduation, finding gainful employment, working ungodly hours, and living out of the back seat of my Focus a respite was just what I needed. I decided on the Matilija because it is super close and more importantly because it is incredibly beautiful.
With the incredible amount of snow the Santa Ynez range has gotten the river would be rushing and the foliage popping. I was excited for days!
By the time I made it out of work and fought traffic up into Ojai the sun was well below the horizon. I quickly packed up and headed out into the hills. After about a mile of hiking through the pitch black night I stumbled upon two wayward kids. They were not "lost" per say, just a little turned around. It seems that the second river crossing had proved to be a little too much for them in the dark. They retreated back down what they thought was a trail and had gotten thoroughly confused. Funny thing is, they were on the trail. They were just about to give up and bed down for the night when I bumped into them. We chatted for a bit and then they agreed to follow me across the surging second river. They figured if I could make it then they would too.
Needless the say the fording of the river was bone chilling yet refreshing. We made it into camp about an hour or so later. I couldn't understand why it was taking so long and why the pair had to keep stopping until we lit up a fire for the night. Neither had hiking packs. One had all his geared in an old Vietnam-era stuff sack bigger then he. The other had all his gear tucked under his arms with sleeping bags and extra clothes sticking out from under his arms pits. I fought hard to stifle a laugh. We built a roaring fire and dried off. Because this weekend was a new moon, I had lugged out the old 1v film camera to shoot star trails and super long exposures. As I set to doing the math for a 4 hour exposure, the kiddies crashed out.
Friday March 7th- Sunday March 9th
I decided to head on up into the hills for the weekend. It has been a while since I have been able to escape from the hustle and bustle of Ventuckey. A weekend wandering the hills and canyons of the upper desert around Ojai's Matilija was a welcome respite. With moving, graduation, finding gainful employment, working ungodly hours, and living out of the back seat of my Focus a respite was just what I needed. I decided on the Matilija because it is super close and more importantly because it is incredibly beautiful.
With the incredible amount of snow the Santa Ynez range has gotten the river would be rushing and the foliage popping. I was excited for days!
By the time I made it out of work and fought traffic up into Ojai the sun was well below the horizon. I quickly packed up and headed out into the hills. After about a mile of hiking through the pitch black night I stumbled upon two wayward kids. They were not "lost" per say, just a little turned around. It seems that the second river crossing had proved to be a little too much for them in the dark. They retreated back down what they thought was a trail and had gotten thoroughly confused. Funny thing is, they were on the trail. They were just about to give up and bed down for the night when I bumped into them. We chatted for a bit and then they agreed to follow me across the surging second river. They figured if I could make it then they would too.
Needless the say the fording of the river was bone chilling yet refreshing. We made it into camp about an hour or so later. I couldn't understand why it was taking so long and why the pair had to keep stopping until we lit up a fire for the night. Neither had hiking packs. One had all his geared in an old Vietnam-era stuff sack bigger then he. The other had all his gear tucked under his arms with sleeping bags and extra clothes sticking out from under his arms pits. I fought hard to stifle a laugh. We built a roaring fire and dried off. Because this weekend was a new moon, I had lugged out the old 1v film camera to shoot star trails and super long exposures. As I set to doing the math for a 4 hour exposure, the kiddies crashed out.
The next morning Lucas (16 yrs old & by far one of the most brilliant teenagers I have ever met) and his companion Matt (19 yrs old and totally disillusioned with it already) treated me to an old Army favorite-- Scoobies. It seems both young men were "survivalists of a sort. They had walked out into the woods with no map, no idea where they were going, no real "gear", and for food only 2lbs or partially hydrogenated bleached flour. Oh but they did bring knives, lots and lots of knives. Just in case right?
They insisted that Scoobies would set me right for the day. They were gidding with excitement for this breakfast treat. Scoobies you see are quite simple and admittedly quite tasty. Mix up a little bit of flour, fresh water from the creek, salt and pepper, and whatever else on hand,
toss it straight in the fire and voila a Scooby.
They insisted that Scoobies would set me right for the day. They were gidding with excitement for this breakfast treat. Scoobies you see are quite simple and admittedly quite tasty. Mix up a little bit of flour, fresh water from the creek, salt and pepper, and whatever else on hand,
toss it straight in the fire and voila a Scooby.
In this case "whatever else on hand" meant a baby rattle snake and
some extra sharp cheddar I had no better use for.
some extra sharp cheddar I had no better use for.
The next two days were rather lazy indeed. Saturday I found a nice little rock next to a soothing waterfall and read all day. As it warmed I would strip down and jump in the pools to lounge. Then air dry and back to the book. When the sun finally began to get low in the sky I hiked up the canyon a couple of hours and jumped in the big water fall. Then back to camp and another night of long exposures.
Sunday was more of the same. You can't really ask for more.
Sunday was more of the same. You can't really ask for more.
Monday morning bright and early I made it back to town without much trouble and back to the daily grind. I was amazed at how fast everything went, absolutely bloody amazed...
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