EISPIRATEN

That first picture makes a really nice wallpaper background on my wide monitor at work.

Nice videos. The second one looks like its just trying to hide its "bounty". From what I remember from my biology days they'll gorge themselves, 'hide' the leftovers (like this lion is trying to do), then come back later to fill up their tummy again. They usually won't stray too far from t...

Bow hunting season started two (or was it three) weeks ago. That UFO-type thingy that went WHOOSH! by you last weekend? That wasn't a sparrow dive bombing you . . .

Nothing new here that isn't already done on other public spaces. Getting a special use permit to have exclusive short-term rights to use an area is pretty normal. I've seen it at/near the beaches here in OC many times - filming episodes of 90210, Dexter, John in Cincinnati (sp?), videos (the Offspri...

Somewhere on the northern side of the range where its not as populated, amybe west of the Mountain High area. I'd rather see the moring sunrise over the desert landscape than the southern side's views of endless suburban sprawl. It'd be nice and quiet so I can drink beer and wine in peace. It'd also...

How does that ridge ascending from Bishop Pass to the summit of Agassiz look? "Oh hell no" or just "brutal but doable?" I've read trip reports about it but looking up close I think the route finding would be the hardest part. Seems like you could plan out a way to scramble up th...

How about a song for no other reason than I ran across it while browsing Youtube for something else. One of the original viral videos from the early days of Youtube (it got over 10 million hits when origianlly posted in 2005). Its a Korean guitar player known as 'funtwo' interpreting a late-17th cen...

Nice. Haven't been back there since a few friends and I did North Palisade from the west side a few . . uh . . decades ago. Its amazing how few people you see out there once you get across Bishop Pass. That prominant peak in the background just left of center of your camsite photos - I'm pretty sure...

Comparing it to the mottled granite rock its on (for size; how big was it?) I'd guess its an aphid of some type, though its missing a few classic aphid features on its back ( so my second guess would be some type of beetle). They're also easy to identify if you have a picture of the mouthparts; they...

Definately a thistle (sunflower family). Since its dried out with no flowers or leaves its hard to pin it down, but by the long spikey things on the bud-ends I'd say its a yellow thistle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centaurea_solstitialis Possibly a Malta Star Thistle, but they tend to have shorter...

IF the Pro Cycling Challenge is the race I'm familiar with, that's a bicycling road race that requires closing down paved roads , not dirt tracks, trails, and unimproved dirt forest roads. It'd be something like closing down roads for a marathon here in the L.A. basin. A better example might be the ...

Presidents have used their power to designate areas as national monuments for a long time when Congress wouldn't act. While it doesn't offer the same protections as a national park, it does help save quite a few areas from development/plundering. Teddy Roosevelt did it quite often, such as with Pinn...

Your first time in Yosemite Valley? Try the Yosemite Falls trail - about 3.5 miles/3000 ft to the top of the falls (yep, LOTS of gain!). Its popular, though not as popular as Half Dome, so get an early start and you'll avoid the crowds going up it.

I hear of this about once a week in many different places. I f I had to guess I would say the coyote was just sizing things up while considering if a meal was available. To him I would say: ]] The above (sizing up your 'pack' to see if there are any weaklings) or it was following along to see if yo...

Interesting version of ACDC's 'Thunderstruck':

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4Ao-iNPPUc

Cool! 8) Q: How were you planning to come down from the summit? Via the normal 'hiker' route? If so, it might have been a good time to hike the three miles up the Meysan Lakes Trails (up to the Grass Lakes) to get an idea of where the best (easiest) decent route is. If you were planning to rap off b...

Similar devices have been used for decades; there was one developed for distance runners right after the the Mexico City Olympics, but it disappeared pretty quickly. And if you're only using it for an hour a day at sea level, then spending the other 23 hours without it, how really effective it would...

If you don't worry about cougars while hiking in other mountain ranges around L.A. you shouldn't need to worry about them in the Santa Ana Mtns either. Southern Orange Conuty has grown exponentially since that incident, and Caspers Park is no longer an isolated area. Here's an old SGMDF thread (2009...

No really good backcountry campsites in the Santa Ana Mtns, but there are a few developed camprounds that allow fires in specific areas. Two off of the Ortega Hwy (SR64) I can recommend are: Caspers Regional Wilderness Park - This is a county park just up SR64 from San Juan Capistrano. They've got a...

Four people? You already have a two-person tent, so why not just buy another two-person tent. That way you have the flexability for a two-person trip or a four person trip. You're screwed weight-wise if three persons are on the trip whether using 2 two-person tents or one four- person tent; that's l...

Dang, that sucks. I've never been out there without seeing water coming over the falls. Sometimes it was just a trickle, but its always flowed all the way down.

Try this:

I have a 1995 edition of the Jerry Schad book for Orange County. He describes a hike for East Horsethief Trail with the following directions to the TH: Exit I-15 at Lake Street, continue south (Lake Street becomes Robb Road). at Mountain Street, 2.5 miles from I-15, turn west and go 0.5 miles throu...

I haven't seen much in the San Gabriels Mtns, but try the PCT in the San Bernardino Mtns - its covered with MTB tread marks, and some of the curves on uphill/downhill sections are starting to rut out. It might be the same in the San Gabriels, I've just never been back in teh areas where the PCT runs...

I'd say its a claw from a bear. Talons are more curved than what you have in the picture, and it would have to be a really big bird to have a talon that size (and loose it in some violent encounter). A bear loosing one would be pretty odd, too, but it does happen; maybe a bear encountering another p...

The farther north you go up the California coast, the denser (and taller) they seem to get. There's a combined State/Federal reserve about 1 1/2 hours north of SFO off of the 101 thats right on the coast - you can literally walk right out of the dense forest onto the beach.

A little more on my comments above. Gotta agree that most bag manufacturers' ratings these days are kinda sketchy. MArmot. I bought a Marmot 'Never Winter' bag (30F rating) before the EN system came into effect, and when MArmot bags were conservatively rated. It's still warm after 10 years of summer...

My experiences: Get a longer/wider bag. You can always fill the extra space at the bottom of the bag with clothes/shoes. And the added gitrh can be helpful if you get into a situation that's a little colder than expected - just add a layer of clothes. Marmot Sawtooth: I bought one of those a few yea...

You can also do Los Pinos Peak from Trabuco Canyon. The end of the canyon turns into the Trabuco trail, follow it up until the split and take the right trail (NOT the West Horsetheif Trail), and that'll get you to the saddle with the teal posts shown in scottawr's photos. From there its about a 1 mi...