Christmas Week 2012

Christmas Week 2014

Today, Monday Dec. 30 marks the 10th day up here.  I have told Mary that I believe there is a unique time warp or hole here as the hours pass slowly but the days disappear in a wink.

It been a wonderful ten days and I look forward to a few more!

Day 1

Saturday, Dec 20,2014 a beautiful sunny day and a great day for the journey to the Eastern Sierra cabin to begin a two week hiatus. There had been some snow the week before.  I can only hope that we can get some while we are here.

SNOW! Saturday, Dec 20, Last 1/2 mile

Last Quarter Mile

Christmas Preparation

There was much to be done in preparation for Christmas. Both Mary and I did some baking of our families traditional food items: I did butterhorn dinner rolls, Russian Tea Cakes and Spritz while Mary took on the Lefse, as well as the traditional cooking.

Charlie Brown Christmas Tree

I really like a "real" Christmas Trees. But in this difficult environment I hate to cut down a healthy tree anywhere. But somewhere on our property there would be a tree just right for this Christmas.

Because of the conflict of wanting a tree and not wanting to cut one down, there are criteria to be met. Choose a tree which is just not in a good spot and/or may be struggling or soon will be. 

It was with this in mind the search for this year's tree began.  In the end a tree was selected which was growing out at an angle from underneath a more mature tree.  This tree probably would not last many years and was causing some distress to the more mature tree.  Because of from where it was growing, (underneath another tree), it did not have branches all the way around and was really quite thin throughout.

As I cut the tree down, I had to imagine that the tree was getting excited to be a Grand Christmas Tree.  He became excited that he would be brighter than any other tree and would be adorned with such large pine cones which he would never be able to grow.  Plus, he was so excited to be able to have all the water he could ever drink. He was honored to become the center piece of our humble cabin for almost two weeks.

I am afraid that the pictures do not fairly present how grand of a tree this poor tree did become:

So Bare behind, but fits against wall great!

For a moment or two we had second thoughts.

In Grand Style, Ready for Presents

Christmas Day

As with so many fortunate people, we were visited by some family and with the wonders of modern technology of facetime, enjoyed the company of our Minnesota families.  Of course we then enjoyed a wonderful Christmas brunch and a fabulous dinner later.  In between the meals we needed to get out and enjoy the beautiful winter day with a little hike, not far from here.

When there is no path, we all go the "path less traveled"

After a while, as we entered an opening to a meadow not far from the river, a strange set of rocks were observed.  A large one with somewhat of a concave top with a round, softball sized stone atop. Upon further observation and discussion we wondered whether we had happened upon a Native American mortar and pestle.  The top stone was round and smooth and fit perfectly into the concave section of the bottom rock. There also appeared to be a slight trough-like feature (down and to the right in the pictures). Seems too perfect not to be as we suspect. But what would be ground in this location?

Glove for scale

This question was asked of one of the "old timers" up here.  He thought the Native Americans ground pinyon nuts as well as rose hips.

Day After Christmas

Another hike for the four of us and of course, the three dogs.  This time direction Chimney Peak.

Endless hikes could be had but ours was chosen to get us to a huge out-cropping of white quartz. Seems like the perfect place for gold, but, alas, while this area was, in the past, mined for various things, gold is no where to be found on this side of the mountains.

Father and Son

Back at the truck

Three Days After Christmas

Another great day for a hike.  Brian and Lindsay opt for an aggressive and long climb upwards. Mary and I choose a section of the 2663 mile long PCT (Pacific Crest Trail).  Learn More About PCT

Our journey will take northerly route along east side the South Fork of the Kern River.

Nothing like the sound of a gently moving stream rolling over some rocks

The trail, on which, we have traveled before, is mostly a nice sandy trail with only a few sections covered by snow.  We saw many prints, mainly deer, and maybe a coyote and/or bobcat. We timed our return to coincide with the sun disappearing over the western mountains.  Timing was nearly perfect.

Four Days, post Christmas

This year I lost a number of trees, a couple of which were very tall, to beetles and/or stress due to lack of moisture and today was the day to remove them, which is somewhat of a downer.  But, in the end, it really opened up the view from our deck, and playing lumberjack now and again is really quite enjoyable.

A New Wider View

As the day came to a close the wind picked up to a roar and we all settled in to recount the events of the past days. Two of the dogs were always "on guard" (or perhaps entertained by the wind) and Brody thinking he be a lap dog chose me to snuggle to.

Always vigilant

Not so vigilant because "Life is Good"

Five Days Post Christmas

Dogs, Brian and Lindsay leave.  Weather forecast is for 4 to 8 inches of snow starting early in morning. Absolutely nothing!! Rats!  Maybe some snow tonight.

Today, sharpened the 2 chains for the chain saw, sorting out fallen tree branches & logs and spent time putting this post together. 

Not sure what the next days shall bring but..."...do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself."

Snake Week: 1st Encounter

I do not like snakes.  I do not know why, since the only snakes I ever saw growing up in Minnesota were the little harmless garter snakes.  They never hurt anybody.  I think the best way to describe my dislike is: if you have seen the great Indiana Jones movies, then I say: "I dislike snakes in the same manner which 'Indy' does."

The first week of July 2014 was our one year anniversary of owning a cabin. During the past year, much to my relief I had never had occasion to meet a snake up here.  And this was fine with me.

But this was about to change, with three encounters in the same week.

The first was a warm-up for the main event a few days hence, then a more pleasant encounter a few days later.

The first event is described in the following pages [Snake, Event One Story ].

The other two will be describe with my next posting when I complete the write-up.

River No Longer Dry!!!!! Why????

Today Oct.25 I was talking with one of the locals and he asked if I had heard??  A week and a half ago the South Fork of the Kern River started flowing and was at normal summer depths within a 24 hour period!!!!  There has been no authoritative explanation and there has been no substantial precipitation.

So the speculation and rumors abound.  Government or pot growers stealing or diverting the water or who knows? Someone has to know.

Thank goodness we have the water and hope it will stay.  Sure would like to know the explanation.

And will a beaver return?? This is a great beaver place of many dams and canals which we saw on our dry riverbed walk [Dry Riverbed Hike]  In the photo below, there is a beaver dam where the blue water ends.

Oct 25 2014 Water!!!; Beaver Dam Where Water Ends in Distance

Several Weeks earlier , same vantage point

Luke Leaves for Minneapolis

September 29,2014 Luke leaves today.

This post has nothing to do with the Sierras we left yesterday.  But there is something unique in Southern California which I pay tribute to.  High in the mountains but in a few short hours, one is at beaches of the Pacific!

Luke's plane was leaving mid afternoon and this is a flight we could not be late for.  So we left mid-morning and drove the 40 minutes to Manhattan Beach, only a short 10 minutes away from LAX airport.

Parked the car, bought to-go lunches and spent a couple of hours on the beach.  We ate, watched surfers, and being all children at heart, played in the sand, waded and let the surf chase us in, after we had chased it out.

A fitting end to a SoCal visit and another SDS day!

Luke Day 4 Two Stick and Misc

September 28, 2014  Day 4 Morning, much like Day 3. Nice breakfast with Luke, Grandma, Brian, Lindsay, and Grandpa.

Mary, Luke and I would be leaving later today, but there was still time to have some more adventure plus a birthday party prior to departure.

A Little Relaxation

We all had some various chores to do and it was decided we would all part and reconvene sometime later.  I went to do my chores and Luke chose to do what boys like to do---climb on rocks.  About 20 yards off our deck to the south are some great climbing rocks and Luke explored and climbed, I think them all.

Luke at the pinnacle

Later, after lunch Brian wanted to take Luke on a personal Uncle/Nephew hike to a special rock and Mary and Lindsay were going to a hike on the nearby ridge.

For me I thought it a good opportunity to make some minor repairs to "The Beast" of "Trip to Manache" fame. [Trip to Manache ]  I retrieved The Beast from the sea container and made easy work of replacing the broken clutch handle.

Upon further inspection of the "field" repair to the foot brake pedal at the river's edge, I determined that little or no improvement could be made to the now only slightly deformed pedal.

Good enough

So The Beast and I were off for a trip "around the neighborhood" whereby there is nothing worth any further writing other than, suffice to say, The Beast was happy to rumble on.

Mary and Lindsay went south and east to the ridge not far from the cabin.  Brian and Luke took a hike north and east to the same ridge, but to a special rock, I call "two stick".  I do not have an account of either of these two hikes, but the ridge and the rock are worthy of note.  For those interested in what makes the ridge and "two stick" noteworthy click here [The Ridge and Two Stick ]

Upon everyone's return we celebrated Grandpa's 63rd birthday, one day early.  It was complete with cake, ice cream, presents and a good time, especially for me.

Shortly thereafter, the truck loaded, we left, down Nine Mile Canyon Road and south to our home in San Gabriel.  All were sad to leave and weary when we arrived home.  A quick unpack and off to bed, was the quiet end of our SDS weekend in the Southeastern Sierra Nevada's.

Luke Visit Day 3

September 27, 2014 Day 3 begins as I get up and quietly check on our special guest.  He is awake, but had chosen not to get me up, as his ipod was more to his interest this morning.  But we began as we did the day before, me with my cup of coffee and Luke quickly downing a bowl of cereal.

Luke and I went out to the quick chore readjusting my solar panels to match the ever decreasing angle of the fall sun.  We checked the water level in the tank and decided to pump water for a few minutes.

Shortly thereafter the cabin was abuzz with new guests, son and uncle Brian and friend Lindsay.  We had a big day planned and, as is usual, a big breakfast was in order.  Luke whipped up the pancake mix, Brian busied himself with juicing many fresh oranges (from our San Gabriel neighbor's tree), while Mary and Lindsay prepared a bigger table, scrambled eggs and the rest of the fixings and I had grill duty for the bacon and pancakes.  A special Thanks was given for this day, those here and the food. Thus a great breakfast was had, along with varied conversations and a specific discussion of today's events:  Special Luke event prepared and hosted by Brian and a hike up the dry riverbed of the South Fork of the Kern River.

After breakfast, Brian and Lindsay departed for final preparations for the special event and we cleaned up and then relaxed a bit in the cool, yet sunny mountain air.

Treasure was found!!! For details and pictures of the Treasure Hunt click [Treasure Hunt! ]

After the treasure hunt we all decided to work off our lunch by going for a hike up the dry riverbed of the South Fork of the Kern River.  It was an interesting walk seeing the dry bed and several beaver dams and a few other surprises.  To read about it click [Beaver Dams & Dry Riverbed ]

After exploring the riverbed for a while we journeyed west onto a sandy plain, with, trees, and occasional pieces of obsidian.  Rocks to climb, views to enjoy, and some treasures to be found. Some good and some not so good.

My, my whatever could this be?

Mary and I have decided when we come upon carriable trash, we take it out and add to our collection of trash of past visitors.  We have a Homer Bucket in the truck just for this purpose. This is in the spirit of a Boy Scout mantra of "Leave the land better than you found it."  I think today's finds were years, but most probably decades old, but we carried them out.

Treasures of Trash Removed

The sun was close to setting when we reached the truck.  For the very short ride home, Luke and I chose the back of the pickup.

The adventures of Day 3 had concluded, but much enjoyment came from reliving the SDS events of the day.  Family fun, with eating, laughing, and the telling stories was the end to a perfect SDS day.

All are happy including some dogs; Life is Good and Sometimes Funny

Luke visit Day 2

September 26, 2014 Day 2

With his body still being on Central Daylight time, Luke was first to rise and chose to announce his presence to me in a startling way, which brought him laughter, as I suddenly arose.  He was hungry so he made himself a bowl of cereal and I had a cup of coffee, as the “real” breakfast would come later.  The sun was not yet up, but the very top of the mountains to the west were in full sun.  I asked Luke if he wanted to go for a hike and he cheerfully agreed.  Up we went to a nearby favorite spot where we had full view of the valley, and both the mountains to the east and west.  We enjoyed the cool 50 degree mountain air as we watched the shadows disappear on the western mountain with the sun slowly showing itself as it crept up and over the eastern mountains.

Just Before Sunrise, Day 2

We have some time, so let's have try our 4x4 driving. With Grandpa on back, Luke takes control and practice driving the quickly derived course. Forward, reverse, cornering both left and right and at Grandpa's sudden announcement, quick stops, in a safe and controlled fashion. Driving test passed!

Driving Test Passed!

Ok, time to take Grandpa's favorite run-around vehicle for a spin. The "slightly" modified 1957 Willys Jeep complete with over-sized tires, 327 Chevy Engine, wicked sounding exhaust with spark arrestors, and a transmission with both high and low 4 and 2 wheel drive. This is the ultimate driving machine and will take one just about anywhere.

1957 Willys, yes really

Upon our return, and after a few chores fulfilled, it was time to have a great breakfast, Lukes favorite, pancakes, and eggs.  We decided we were going to take the truck up the mountain further to go to Bald Mountain Lookout.  Here, one can see for a hundred miles in most directions.  Luke, Mary and I took to the task of preparing for the day’s journey. Dishes needed to be done, lunches made, and needed checks of the gear we would take, so we were all busy.

Luke had come prepared for the wilderness.  As part of a school project/class he had participated in, he had a great emergency kit complete with compass, bandages, lights, magnifying glass, foil blanket, cooking tin, wire, rope, flashlight, knife and other assorted goodies.  He unpacked his kit to show me what he had and I did the same showing what I had.  We reviewed what we had and then repacked all in our respective backpacks. Mary got her pack and we finished the packing with some extra clothes, lunches and plenty of water.  The three of us put on our hats, grabbed our walking sticks, backpacks and loaded all into the pick-up.

Time to visit the Bald Mountain Lookout where there are spectacular views in all 360 degrees.  [Bald Mountain]

This will certainly be an SDS Day, well it already has been! What is SDS? [What is SDS?]

Luke Visit

From Minneapolis, Luke came on Thursday Sept. 25, 2014 for four days of totally new adventures.  Certainly as super SDS weekend! [What is SDS?]  What follows in the next few Posts is a condensed chronicle of how I experienced the weekend with Luke.

Whenever I have guests visit, wherever I am, I think my sensitivity to my surroundings are heightened and often make note of things, which by myself, I would not otherwise pay much attention to.  It was this in mind that I began to write this post, writing of many observations during the three plus hour drive.  It soon became apparent that this posting would be, well, very long. I thus decided each day of his visit would be post and there would be links for detailed versions of some activities.

Luke visit Day 1, Summary and Links:

Late morning Thursday we picked up Luke at the airport and headed North and a little west.  This would lead us to the desert cities of Palmdale & Lancaster onward to Mojave and views of the world largest wind farm.  A quick stop at the Jawbone Ranger station to see “Mr. Bob” the 116 year old resident tortoise and then passage through the unique Red Rock Canyon to the turn-off to Nine Mile Canyon Road where the temperature is a hot 96 degrees.  This road rises up from the desert floor about a mile in elevation over the nine miles, yielding a great views at each switch-back. At the top, it has cooled to a comfortable 77 degrees and the remainder of the 13 mile journey is through  forests of pinyon pines and open areas remaining from the July and August 2000 Manter Fire, which burned over 74,000 acres.  A detailed description with some photos of this day can be found at the link: [Trip to Cabin--Day 1].

After arriving we all busied ourselves with the miscellaneous chores to get the cabin ready for the stay: Putting the food away, turning on the water, checking the solar system, getting the grill ready, lighting the stove pilots.  We then hiked up the hill to our potable water tank and after short instruction on how to determine how full it is by tapping on the tank surface. With all this completed the cabin is a go for the long weekend.

We explained to Luke that here our schedule is determined as: 

 "We eat when hungry, go to bed when tired, get up when we wake up and in between we do what we want to do."

As the sun set the temperature drops significantly, so we changed to long pants and added layers.

The black sky was not to disappoint, as the jet black sky was peppered with those small shining lights and with the dusty milky way flowing across the center.

After the stars, we introduced Luke to the game of Qwirkle.  He quickly got the hang of it and it was a fun way to top off the first day.  Given the two hour change for Luke and the excitement of the day, we all retired early, but I do not know the time.

But an SDS Day to be sure! Tomorrow promises to be the same, except totally different.

The countdown has begun to our next visit to the mountains.  This Thursday our oldest grandchild, Luke, will fly from Minneapolis to LAX. For his recent twelfth birthday his parents gifted him a ticket to visit Grandma, Grandpa and his uncle all by himself.  Of all the things to do on a trip to California, he wants to visit our cabin in the mountains.  I think we shall do some journaling and posts to capture some of his SDS moments. For me, I think the next few days shall pass ever so slowly.  I cannot wait to share our special place with such a special person. According to AccuWeather the weather looks to be perfect, 70's and 80's during the day with "abundant" to "brilliant" sunshine and mid to low 40's in the night. The next story begins Thursday.

As Mary and I were exploring, we, being law abiding citizens, lost our SDS attitudes and were very unhappy.....for about five minutes.  The campground was empty, but a great place to stay.

My first post on my first blog!

The details and background of the blog can be found in the page link to the "Single Digit Syndrome" page. The essence is to share words, photos and stories of the Sierra Nevadas in California. For me these items will come primarily from the Southeastern Sierras where we have a small cabin.

Being originally from Minnesota and a transplant to California but three years ago, all I see and do in the mountains is new to me. From the very unique climate, at an altitude of over 6400 feet, almost no rain, to the hearty plants and animals who eek out a living, I see something new to share every day. And when the term "off the grid" is used here, it is literal.

The first story I will share is the story of my first ever major motorcycle trail ride. I only learned to ride a motorcycle a couple of years ago, so going on a trail ride up here, at one point, seemed to be an unattainable goal.  The story can be found under SDS Adventure Stories,First "Real" Trail Ride---To Monache Meadows.   Bottom line of the story, you're not too old to ride.....prepare and practice.

One of my favorite views (hopefully NOT an SDS event):

And a sunset from our deck

I hope to hear from others of their SDS stories!
"Single Digit Syndrome"