Catalina Island- Little Harbor Campground

The Quick and Dirty:
Location - Catalina Island, Little Harbor
Distance - 5 miles one way
Terrain Type - flat to gentle slopes, coastal
Difficulty - Beginner 
Best Time - Fall through Spring
Special Conditions -  private land, bison grazing, off-road vehicles

Duration- 2 days

We bought a Groupon for RT ferry tickets to Catalina Island via the Catalina Flyer earlier this year. Louis and I have been wanting to go back to Catalina since our first backpacking trip there last year.  The Trans Catalina trail from Avalon to Two Harbors is approximately 20+ miles and we were only able to finish the stretch from Avalon to Black Jack campground near the airport.Since we only had a weekend this time around, we decided to skip the portion we hiked last year and took a bus from Avalon to the airport via the Catalina Airport shuttle. Traveling around Catalina was not cheap, the round trip tickets from Avalon to the airport was $26 per person.

The airport shuttle runs every two hours starting from 9AM. We caught the 1PM shuttle on Saturday and was dropped off at the airport at around 1:30. Eyeing the Buffalo burger inside the airport restaurant, we all made a mental note to come back the next day for lunch before we left the island.  

The hike to the Little Harbor campground was pretty fast, downhill for the majority of the 5 miles. I'm not sure what is it about the Catalina trails that gives everyone terrible blisters. By the time we got to our campground, I was limping, wishing I had brought my sandles for the weekend. Seeing the buffalo on the trail just made me more hungry for that burger...

We found a shortcut going into Little Harbor. 

Our four star campground. Camping fees here was $16 per night per person. We were shocked at how expensive it was until we got to the campsite. This savvy campground has well established fire pits, walking distance to the beach, palm trees, picnic tables and porta potties. The rangers even deliver wood to your campground for $9 a bundle!! The best part was, because it was "winter"  the campground was almost empty, we literally had the entire beach to ourselves. 

 Beautiful Little Harbor, courtesy of Edwin's panoramic app on his phone.

Little Harbor ranger station, closed for the winter. 

Back in Avalon, view of the boats and the old Casino.

Yosemite- Young Lakes

The Quick and Dirty:
Location - Yosemite National Park, Young Lakes 
Distance - 24 miles one way
Terrain Type - flat to gentle slopes, northern Sierra Nevada region
Difficulty - Moderate Strenuous  
Best Time - Summer and Fall
Special Conditions -  US national park, entrance fee required upon arrival, backpacking permit also required.

Duration- 4 days

Louis and I spent labor day weekend backpacking at Young Lakes at Yosemite National Park with a few friends. We left Friday morning and drove up to Yosemite National Park's Eastern entrance off the Tioga Road into the Tuolumne Meadows. It took approximately 6 hours to drive up to the national park from Southern California. Lodging is $5 a night for backpackers at Tuolumne Meadows backpackers campsite. We planned to meet the rest of our camping party at the campsite on the first day but never found the campground. Instead, we drove all 20 miles east on Tioga Road to Porcupine campground and setup camp there for the night. We did manage to find our friends some time later at the backpacker's campsite and convinced them to move over to the Porcupine campground since it was close to our starting point the next day:) Porcupine was fine for a car camping campground. We were stuck next to some very loud neighbors and did not sleep very well that night, which reminded us why we enjoy backpacking so much more. 

This was our plan for the weekend. We were not able to obtain a backpacking permit from Dog Lake so we opted for the longer hike starting at Murphy Creek and ending at Dog Lake on Monday. 

First day, at our lunch spot. The weather was about 75, still too cold to swim in the water. 

I brought up the topic of us always wearing the same clothes during backpacking trips to Louis. We are considering wearing something different on our next backpacking trip. 

We found a campsite 1.5 miles away from the Glen Aulin junction and stay here for the first night. 

Really beautiful waterfall next to the High Sierras Glen Aulin campground on our hike the second day. It was a minor detour on our way to Young Lakes

Day two at one of our peaks.

Even the beautiful view could not cheer Edwin up. Ammar is giving Edwin a pep talk about backpacking.

We arrived at Young Lakes and camped at the lower lake. After everyone went into the lake for a dip, we napped and ventured up to the upper lakes. Next time, I think I'd prefer to camp at the upper lakes. 

Alpana, Lisa and I discussing where we are going to eat once we leave the next day. Dinner plans at Tasty Garden in Alhambra for the next day was decided shortly after the photo was taken.

Sun setting, kind of reminded me of Columbine Lake at Mineral Kings. 

Enjoying dinner by the lake

 Day 3, hiking back to Dog Lake's parking lot.  

Last photo of the group (with Ammar as the photographer) before saying goodbye to Yosemite.

Backpacking Salmon Creek Trail, Big Sur

We spent the last weekend of August driving up to the southern tip Big Sur and backpacking Salmon Creek Trail. Louis, Chis and I took off Friday morning from Mission Viejo. Salmon Creek Trail is a part of the Los Padres National Forest, no permit is required for overnight camping, however, a fire permit is required if we wanted to use a stove or start a camp fire. We realized 10 minute into our trip that neither of us had a fire permit and decided to make a little detour to Angeles National Forest ranger station to pick up a fire permit and have lunch. 

The drive took about five hours from San Gabriel valley. As always, Highway 1 is scenic and beautiful. The Salmon Creek Trail head is approximately 20 miles north of the Hearst Castle turn off or 3 miles north of the Ragged Inn. The parking lot for the trail is easy to spot it is after a big bend on Hwy 1 shortly after passing the Inn.

Hairpin right before Salmon Creek trail parking lot. 

 Our goal was to hike to Estrella camp the first night and do a day hike to Coast Ridge Road on  Saturday.

 Dakota and Estrella Camp

 It was a crowded weekend, we managed to find one last campsite near the creek in Estrella, and the creek was running! I was a little worried about the availability of water at the creek since it's been such a dry year.

Overlooking the Pacific ocean, it was an overcast day. 

 Poison oak was everywhere on the trail. It completely covered the trail at parts between Estrella and Coast Ridge highway.

 Dakota helping Louis filter water from the creek.

My friends from Norcal met up with us on Saturday morning. Dakota and Bubo became immediate friends. 

Louis was attached by a nest of yellow jackets on our way into Estrella. This is how we prepared for them on our way out. 

Mt San Gorgonio

We backpacked Mt San Gorgonio last weekend with Dakota. It was her first backpacking trip and she finished the entire trip like a champ!

Louis, Peter and I left Saturday morning at 5AM, Mt. San Gorgonio is located near Redlands by the 215 and 15 freeway. It is within the San Bernardino National Forest so dogs are allowed on trail. A permit is required for overnight camping, we had to fax in the permit to the ranger's station 5 days before the hike. We arrived at the ranger's station at 8AM and picked up our permit. The drive from the ranger's station to the camp site is about 30 miles. From Hwy 38, make a right into Fish Creek Campground, the roads are rocky, high clearance vehicle is recommended, however, we made it in okay with our Mazda Protege. 

The elevation at Fish Creek is 8160 feet, Louis is prone to altitude changes so he took the hike slow with Dakota. From the parking lot to Fish Creek campground is 2.6 miles. Water is abundant first week of August within the first 2.6 miles, the hike was easy and the weather was perfect, it took us 1 hour to get to the first camp ground. Half a mile from Fish Creek campground to Fish Creek Saddle is the last water supply before Fish Creek Saddle. We filled up our water packs full and set out for Fish Creek Saddle. The hike from Fish Creek campground to Fish Creek Saddle was 2.3miles but the altitude gain was tremendous and it felt like a very difficult hike since most of the trails were exposed to sun. 

Dakota hiking behind Peter on the way to Fish Creek Saddle campground

We got to Fish Creek Saddle campground around 1:30PM, the next nearest water is on the way to dry lake and the water source looked murky and filled with algae from far away. We decided we had enough water between the three of us to climb Mt San G, and opted not to refill at the lake. 

 Dakota chilling at the campground before we set out for the Mt San Gorgonio climb

On to way to the peak

The beginning of switch backs and climb, we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into!

 Perfect weather, breezy 70 degrees.

Rain clouds moving in

On our way to the peak we spotted the1950s military cargo plane crash site. The cost of salvaging the plane was too much, the debris' been left here at the crash site since the incident.

 The last half a mile of the hike was tough, the switch backs seemed never ending. Make sure to go right for the peak and follow the sign.

 Peak photo. It was 6.5 miles from Fish Creek Saddle to the peak at 11502 feet above mean sea level. Near the top, I definitely felt the altitude and had trouble breathing. We had to slow down our pace considerable. Dakota was too preoccupied by chipmunks to take a good group photo.

 Louis proposed at the top! He was suffering from a mild case of altitude sickness. The speech he had prepared went out the window and he got straight to the point. :)

Dakota with her backpack ready to explore the woods

Dakota at the top of Mt San Gorgonio

By the time we got back to our camp site at Fish Creek Saddle it was 7:30PM. It took us 5 hours to hike 13 miles up to the peak, not too shabby. We went to sleep and woke up next morning at 6AM. Because we are running low on water at this point, we skipped breakfast and decided to hike down to Fish Creek camp and refill. The hike down to Fish Creek camp took much less effort and we were out to the parking lot within 2 hours. 

 Once last family photo before the parking lot.

Dakota

Louis and I adopted a dog last weekend from a private animal rescue group in Lake Forest. Her name is Dakota and she is 3 years old and is an American Staffordshire Terrier mix.She was rescued by the private rescue from a high kill shelter in Ventura County. Apparently she was left by her owners in the shelter and has a bit of separation anxiety. Poor thing. 

We've been looking for a dog for awhile, someone to jog and backpack with but never quite found the right one. My friend Josh and I found her outside an adopting event outside Pet Smart, she was sitting quietly in the corner, waiting patiently for someone to adopt her. Since Louis was away at his pistol class that day, we took her home for a test trial while waiting for Louis to come home. We were amazed how calm and well behaved she were, we immediately fell in love.

 Dakota saying Hi to Louis in the back yard

 Sleepy Dakota

 Getting sleepy playing in the backyard

We are planning on a backpacking trip in a couple weeks after Dakota gets settled into our home. I'm so excited to have another running buddy. 

Mainland China

I spent the last leg of my Southeast Asia trip visiting friends and family in China. After making a quick stop in Hong Kong (eating delicious food and shopping) I flew to Fuzhou airport to spend some time with my extended family. Funny thing is, I can't seem to find any of my family photos from the trip...

Coffee and dessert with childhood friends