Stairway to Stonewall

A body was found near Stonewall Peak in Cuyamaca today. The body is believed to be that of 52-year-old Joseph Roushar, (who appears to have been a local masseuse via a quick Google search) who went hiking about noon on Friday. His jacket containing his cell phone was found at around 7PM the same day. Rescuers began searching during the night and found the body at 10:45AM, about 200 feet below the peak.

I will keep my commentary to myself other than to say be careful out there.

Stonewall Peak is a fairly safe trail, especially when it is dry. There is a guard rail and it is visited often. Don’t be deterred by the occasional accident in the outdoors. Trekking poles definitely help in any sketchy situations.

From the Del Mar Times: Grand Del Mar group prepares for the Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve restoration project.

On March 24, 23 employees of The Grand Del Mar, a luxury hotel in the Carmel Valley area of San Diego, took the time to plant some native plants in an effort to help complete a large restoration project currently under way in the Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve.

Per the Del Mar Times, “the resort employees had guidance from their on-site naturalist Dylan Jones, city rangers Gina Washington and John Garwood, and Mike Kelley from the Friends of Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve.”

The Grand Del Mar donated 250 native plants to be planted. Similar to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, however, the area has been inundated with non-native type of mustard plant, called black mustard. In Anza-Borrego, it’s the dreaded Sahara Mustard. The mustard plants have to be removed before any new planting can proceed.

The Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve has been a special place for me since I moved here to San Diego in 2000. I’ve always lived nearby and have used it for trail running (currently almost every Friday morning), hiking with my daughter, short strolls with my wife, and epic mountain biking. I even sometimes take my lunches and eat at picnic tables there. I can get behind any attempt to make the canyon a little better.

Black Mustard

Regarding The Grand Del Mar, I have heard that the upscale Addison restaurant has a tremendous wine cellar, but I haven’t eaten there. I have, however, dined several times at the Clubhouse Grille. It is a more casual restaurant with a bar which overlooks some of the golf course. It’s rarely busy and the breakfasts are delicious. Every time that I’ve eaten there, I’ve practically had the place to myself. It’s a little oasis in the middle of Carmel Valley.

Give it a try.

Their video compression leaves a little to be desired, but it is a good introduction to the world of desert wildflowers we have here at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. From March, 2010.

03/02/2010: UPDATE: Chelsea King’s body has been found and the search has been called off.

Lake Hodges will never be the same. I will think of her every time I am there and every time I drive by it, which is very often.

These used to affect me before, but, now that I have a child of my own, my heart goes out to her friends and family.

Regarding hiking safety, I don’t know what to say. Lake Hodges was one of the areas where I felt a lone woman could be safe. There are trails like Black Mountain and Woodson Mountain, where the trails are sufficiently filled with people to deter a would-be predator. But that is what I thought about Lake Hodges.

Hopefully, putting this guy away will remove a great percentage of danger from San Diego.

I won’t say any more about this except it is tragic and pointless. There are going to be new debates about the release/punishment/rehabilitation of sexual offenders, but it is really outside the scope of this site.

Stay safe out there on the trail.

Ocotillo on the way to Villager Peak

Every year around this time, people start wanting to know if the wildflowers in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park have started blooming yet. After all, much of the park is about a 2-hour drive from most of the county and people want to know if the drive for a day-trip will be fruitful.

From what I understand, the bloom is about to be upon us. We are expecting some more rain in the park on Saturday, but the weather report indicated that Sunday, February 28th will be beautiful.

The bloom is starting right now, with a great amount in the coming week or so and should last in various forms until April. Reserve your lodging as soon as possible, since March tends to be the park’s busiest month.

The website that I always check is the Anza-Borrego Desert Natural History Association (ABDNHA). They regularly update their observations of the wildflower bloom situation and include recent pictures and descriptions, as well as current locations of blooming flowers.

Another resource is the Wildflower Telephone Hotline at 760-767-4684.

If you head out there, be prepared for wide weather and temperature fluctuations, lots of wind, bring plenty of water, and make sure your vehicle is sufficiently fueled, for the service stations can be few and far between.

I am not sure if I am going to be able to get out there for the peak of the blooming, but I hope you do.

Update 02/25/2010: The Anza-Borrego Desert State Park page updated their information about the Wildflowers and included a map. Scroll to the bottom and click on the PDF, or you can get it below:

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park Wildflower Map (PDF – 1.71MB)

Charity Workouts

I wanted to write a quick blog about a friend of mine, Brian, who leads a workout boot camp at Balboa Park. It’s called Charity Workouts in San Diego and they workout on Sundays. The boot camp was named “Best Workout with a Purpose” by San Diego CityBeat and Brian was named Volunteer of the Quarter by Outdoor Outreach.

If you’re going to get in shape and are looking to join a fun boot camp on Sundays, you may as well do it for charity.

Details:

What: Boot camp for fitness and fun
When: Every Sunday @ 9:20AM
Where: 3088 5th Ave, San Diego, CA (Café Bassam)
Cost: Donations only ($5 is appreciated)
Why: 100% of all proceeds benefit San Diego Charities (e.g. Outdoor Outreach)
Details: www.CharityWorkouts.org
Email: CharityWorkouts at Gmail.com

Some people call it Mount Woodson. It is a pretty good hike with about  1,221′ of elevation gain in 1.8 miles if coming up the east side. If coming up from Lake Poway, it can be pretty grueling. At 10:45 AM yesterday, a hiker on Woodson Mountain found a body off the trail. The authorities sent in a helicopter to confirm it was a body and airlift it off the mountain.

The deceased hiker was identified as 60-year-old Donald Allen Fobes of Oceanside, per the Medical Examiner’s Office, who has not yet determined how he died, but will perform an autopsy today.

It’s possible this hiker was out during heavy wind and rain and was simply unprepared for it. It is also possible that he had a health condition that caught him by surprise. I just have to say, be careful out there.

Update:  ”The coroner’s office reports that death resulted from natural causes related to a heart condition.”

Take care of yourselves and see a doctor before starting any strenuous activity.

Lately, I have found myself trying to find space on the calendar to get outside and go hiking. The weather here in San Diego has been absolutely perfect for hiking, biking, running or getting outside in general.

This time of year has historically been slow for me, work-wise. The good news is that my clients have been keeping me really busy, which is making up for a slow year. In addition, holiday social engagements have been taking up my weekends. The bad news is that I have fewer, if any, chances to make it outside.

As a result, the number of peaks that I complete may be slowing down.

I want to be clear about this: I am not complaining about having plenty of work and spending time with friends and family. It’s just that, like most of you, I have a strong urge to go outside, get some fresh air, and get away from it all.

The question is:

How do you balance your work and other commitments with your desire you go outside and run, bike, hike, etc? For those of you lucky few who were able to marry your passion for the outdoors with work, how did you successfully accomplish this?

I absolutely love comments and feedback.

I just installed a spam filter for my comments, so if you have any problems let me know from my contact page or from any of the Social Media links above.

Some consulting work has been keeping me off the trails lately. I expect to start summiting some peaks in the coming weeks. Keep an eye out for trail posts, some videos, and some gear reviews.

Interesting article from the Carmel Valley News on the San Dieguito River Park, which I will be hiking through on the way to my 100 peaks. They’ve accomplished a lot in a short period of time. I can’t wait until they are done with the whole trail and we can walk it from end to end.

San Dieguito River Park progress exceeds expectations

This section of the Coast to Crest Trail, in the Del Dios Gorge, was completed about three months ago.

The restoration in the 1980s of 75 acres of habitat in the San Dieguito Lagoon west of Interstate 5 in Del Mar proved so successful that residents of the North County coast began imagining an even bolder plan — restoring a 55-mile corridor from the beach to the base of Volcan Mountain, north of Julian.

“If you want a vision, you might as well dream big,” said Karen Berger of Solana Beach, one of the early volunteers in an effort that eventually created the San Dieguito River Park, a park and trail system that will one day provide a path for hikers, bicyclists and horseback riders to traverse the entire 55-mile length of the San Dieguito River from its source on Volcan Mountain to its mouth at the Pacific Ocean.