Wee Walkabout
Matilija Wilderness, Calif.
June 2012
You know how some old folks can feel an approaching storm in their bones? I'm the same way when it comes to adventuring. As the weeks go by without a proper adventure I can feel it in my bones. The beckoning. The calling. The wanderlust grips me. It builds up over time. I can feel it in my bones I say and my bones were itching. A wee walkabout was in order.
On a whim I pulled out the dusty maps and had a look. Its time. Long overdue. Long overdue. Bits and pieces started to pull together. Daydreams and ponderings. Would this trail work? Hows about this? I could link this and that with that and this. Walkabout. Sunshiny daydreams. I measured mileage and ran the numbers. Found one that looked promising. Could work. It just could work! I could feel it in my bones and my bones were itching.
I packed up the day pack. The dog knew something was up. She felt it too. Walkabout. I crashed early but couldn't sleep. My bones were itching. Anticipation. Like waiting for Christmas morning, couldn't sleep. The alarm interrupted my daydreaming. 4am. 4am. 4am. Dang, way too early but get up I must. Quick coffee, okay two. Power bar, protein shake, cup of yogurt. I like to start lite. Heavy breakfast just bogs me down. Warm shower to wake up, warm up the muscles. Shake off the lack of sleep. Trailhead by 5am, daylight just slowly starting to seep in the corners.
The first climb is hard but doable. The cool morning air helped. So did my excitement for the day. Walkabout. My bones were itching. We climbed higher and higher. Ortega Ridge by sunrise. Watching the Ojai Valley wake up. Come to life. The sun rose higher, crested the mountains, bathed us in warm light. We pushed on. Making good time. Further and further in the shadows. Walk on. 7 miles in we stop for a quick lunch. Lunch I say but its only 10:30. Still we have been up for over 6 hours. Lunch it is. Sun climbs higher. Starts to burn. No shade anywhere. Barren rock and scrub brush. High desert. Walk on. Last climb of the day. Brutal. Sun in full force now. 1500 feet in less then a mile. Big climb slows us down. Walk on.
Oretga Hill by noon. We stop and admire the ocean views. Enjoy the peacefulness under a shade bush. Miles away but just below us. C Street. The Oxnard Plains. Santa Monica Mountains in the distance. Just below us. We start the descent. Temp reaches 90. Shade disappears. Necks burning from the unforgiving sun. Thighs burning from the sharp descent. Temp reaches 100. The poor dog is panting panting panting. Crawling under every bush she passes to escape the suns menacing glare. We push on, coaxing, cajoling, begging. Walk on. Temps reach 110. The heat of the earth burns through my shoes. Foreheads on fire. Shoulders scorching. The valley below us, green and lush. It beckons. Siren song green and lush. I pick up the dog and carry her the rest of the way.
Maple Camp just after 1pm. The last 1.7 miles took over an hour. Poor dog. She could barely walk. So hot. Damn. She crawls into the stream. Collapses in a puddle. Happy. We relax. Sigh of relief. Big big sigh. Another quick lunch. Avocados and fresh mozzarella. Heaven. We soak in the stream. Pure bliss. 11 and a half miles in. Feeling good. Feeling strong. Feeling refreshed. Half way home. Walkabout. Adventure. Half done. My bones were still itching. Walk on. Maple Camp> Upper Matilija> Middle Matilija> Matilija. We cruise. Cross the river a dozen times. Two dozen times. Three dozen times. I lose track. Up the canyon wall, down the canyon wall. Up and over and across and down and back up again. We pause to admire a waterfall. Every waterfall. Sunshiny daydreams indeed! We soak when we can. Cold mountain water, fresh. Running free. Running fast. Feels amazing on the poor knees. And just like that it was over. Done. We had arrived. My bones were sore but no longer itching.
We reach the parking lot in short order. Made good time. Not great but good. Acceptable. Still feeling strong. Feeling refreshed. Can't wait for a cold beer and sunset. Wait. Something's not right. Something's off. Where the heck is my ride? Where is the car? I sit. I collapse really. Defeated. Now all of a sudden exhausted. Inside I'm screaming. An hour passes, still no one shows up. Where the heck is my damn ride? I pack up the day pack, pack up the dog. We hitchhike. Get lucky but not so lucky. We bum a ride from a suspicious couple in the dusty bed of their pickup truck. The dog is scared, doesn't like doing 60mph down a mountain road in the bed of a rusted out Toyota. But just to highway 33. Its a start. Better then nothing. An adventure I suppose. I had asked for it after all. Keep hitchhiking. Sticking out the thumb. No one stops. Light starts to fail. Legs hurt. Dog wants to sleep. Another car, stick out the thumb, another denial. Inside I'm furious. Another hour passes. Nothing. Dark soon, 6 miles to the car. Uphill. Another car, thumbs up, another denial. Another and another and another and another. No. Nope. Nadda. Nothing. Zip zap ziltch. Walk on.
Finally we get lucky. Kindly soul picks us up, swings us over to Wheeler Gorge just as the sun is finally setting. Long day. Walkabout. Crazy adventure. Done. Happy. At last. Walk on.
Matilija Wilderness, Calif.
June 2012
You know how some old folks can feel an approaching storm in their bones? I'm the same way when it comes to adventuring. As the weeks go by without a proper adventure I can feel it in my bones. The beckoning. The calling. The wanderlust grips me. It builds up over time. I can feel it in my bones I say and my bones were itching. A wee walkabout was in order.
On a whim I pulled out the dusty maps and had a look. Its time. Long overdue. Long overdue. Bits and pieces started to pull together. Daydreams and ponderings. Would this trail work? Hows about this? I could link this and that with that and this. Walkabout. Sunshiny daydreams. I measured mileage and ran the numbers. Found one that looked promising. Could work. It just could work! I could feel it in my bones and my bones were itching.
I packed up the day pack. The dog knew something was up. She felt it too. Walkabout. I crashed early but couldn't sleep. My bones were itching. Anticipation. Like waiting for Christmas morning, couldn't sleep. The alarm interrupted my daydreaming. 4am. 4am. 4am. Dang, way too early but get up I must. Quick coffee, okay two. Power bar, protein shake, cup of yogurt. I like to start lite. Heavy breakfast just bogs me down. Warm shower to wake up, warm up the muscles. Shake off the lack of sleep. Trailhead by 5am, daylight just slowly starting to seep in the corners.
The first climb is hard but doable. The cool morning air helped. So did my excitement for the day. Walkabout. My bones were itching. We climbed higher and higher. Ortega Ridge by sunrise. Watching the Ojai Valley wake up. Come to life. The sun rose higher, crested the mountains, bathed us in warm light. We pushed on. Making good time. Further and further in the shadows. Walk on. 7 miles in we stop for a quick lunch. Lunch I say but its only 10:30. Still we have been up for over 6 hours. Lunch it is. Sun climbs higher. Starts to burn. No shade anywhere. Barren rock and scrub brush. High desert. Walk on. Last climb of the day. Brutal. Sun in full force now. 1500 feet in less then a mile. Big climb slows us down. Walk on.
Oretga Hill by noon. We stop and admire the ocean views. Enjoy the peacefulness under a shade bush. Miles away but just below us. C Street. The Oxnard Plains. Santa Monica Mountains in the distance. Just below us. We start the descent. Temp reaches 90. Shade disappears. Necks burning from the unforgiving sun. Thighs burning from the sharp descent. Temp reaches 100. The poor dog is panting panting panting. Crawling under every bush she passes to escape the suns menacing glare. We push on, coaxing, cajoling, begging. Walk on. Temps reach 110. The heat of the earth burns through my shoes. Foreheads on fire. Shoulders scorching. The valley below us, green and lush. It beckons. Siren song green and lush. I pick up the dog and carry her the rest of the way.
Maple Camp just after 1pm. The last 1.7 miles took over an hour. Poor dog. She could barely walk. So hot. Damn. She crawls into the stream. Collapses in a puddle. Happy. We relax. Sigh of relief. Big big sigh. Another quick lunch. Avocados and fresh mozzarella. Heaven. We soak in the stream. Pure bliss. 11 and a half miles in. Feeling good. Feeling strong. Feeling refreshed. Half way home. Walkabout. Adventure. Half done. My bones were still itching. Walk on. Maple Camp> Upper Matilija> Middle Matilija> Matilija. We cruise. Cross the river a dozen times. Two dozen times. Three dozen times. I lose track. Up the canyon wall, down the canyon wall. Up and over and across and down and back up again. We pause to admire a waterfall. Every waterfall. Sunshiny daydreams indeed! We soak when we can. Cold mountain water, fresh. Running free. Running fast. Feels amazing on the poor knees. And just like that it was over. Done. We had arrived. My bones were sore but no longer itching.
We reach the parking lot in short order. Made good time. Not great but good. Acceptable. Still feeling strong. Feeling refreshed. Can't wait for a cold beer and sunset. Wait. Something's not right. Something's off. Where the heck is my ride? Where is the car? I sit. I collapse really. Defeated. Now all of a sudden exhausted. Inside I'm screaming. An hour passes, still no one shows up. Where the heck is my damn ride? I pack up the day pack, pack up the dog. We hitchhike. Get lucky but not so lucky. We bum a ride from a suspicious couple in the dusty bed of their pickup truck. The dog is scared, doesn't like doing 60mph down a mountain road in the bed of a rusted out Toyota. But just to highway 33. Its a start. Better then nothing. An adventure I suppose. I had asked for it after all. Keep hitchhiking. Sticking out the thumb. No one stops. Light starts to fail. Legs hurt. Dog wants to sleep. Another car, stick out the thumb, another denial. Inside I'm furious. Another hour passes. Nothing. Dark soon, 6 miles to the car. Uphill. Another car, thumbs up, another denial. Another and another and another and another. No. Nope. Nadda. Nothing. Zip zap ziltch. Walk on.
Finally we get lucky. Kindly soul picks us up, swings us over to Wheeler Gorge just as the sun is finally setting. Long day. Walkabout. Crazy adventure. Done. Happy. At last. Walk on.
Total miles: 21.2*
Hiking time: 6h23m
Total trip time: 14h12m
Elevation gained: 3700 feet
Low point: 1514' High Point: 5322'
Daytime Low: 52.4 degrees Daytime High: 112 degrees
*including the hitchhiking
Hiking time: 6h23m
Total trip time: 14h12m
Elevation gained: 3700 feet
Low point: 1514' High Point: 5322'
Daytime Low: 52.4 degrees Daytime High: 112 degrees
*including the hitchhiking
Sunrise.
High Point.
Overlook.
Noonday Hot.
Soak.
Mini-fall.
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