Big Sur, California (more local history here)

Warning: Bad photos from a broken camera. 

Once the home to of the Esselen, Ohlone, and Salinan people. Most folks here lived nomadic and hunter-gatherer lifestyles. The first Europeans to arrive in the area were Spaniard settlers around the mid-1550s and most of the original population died from diseases or lived in missionaries where the culture and language eventually faded with assimilation with Mexicans and Spaniard ranchers. 

When California became “United Statian” territory following the Mexican-American War, pioneers came into the region in search for land. Anglo-Americans and Mexicans mixed in this area, and the name Big Sur came up. After the Gold Rush passed, the area was left to the wilderness against until the construction of Highway 1 in the 20th Century.

Big Sur is my favorite place in California. If I had all the money in the world, I’d probably become a burly hermit in a cabin somewhere in either Big Sur, Washington/Oregon or Montana. Maybe it is a lot of fond childhood memories … 

Ansel Adams Wilderness, California (more local history here)

Trail: Thousand Island Lake Loop

Distance: 16 miles.

Note:My failing, ten-year-old point-n-shoot camera is ailing. Please excuse the poor quality photos.

Located in the Sierra Nevadas Mountain ranges of Eastern California, Ansel Adams Wilderness (originally Minaret Wilderness because of the jagged mountain peaks) was renamed after the esteemed photographer, Ansel Adams, who spent much of his life lugging around ancient photography equipment and taking gorgeous photos of the American wilderness.

Ansel Adams Wilderness was once the home of various Amerindian groups such as the Sierra Miwok, Washo, Mono, and Shoshone for three thousand years. The area I travelled in specifically was used as a trading route. Though the Spanish had colonized much of California, the Sierra Nevadas were left alone until the Californian Gold Rush attracted many miners and American entrepreneurs from the East.

The trail I hiked ends at a gorgeous lake called Thousand Island Lake, though I started on the trail later that I expected, so I wasn’t able to make it. I think the autumn season is the best time to visit the area if you have time, because it is so crowded during the summertime.

I was so underprepared when I went; I hiked thirteen mile in the wilderness with a pair of chucked with holes in them. Consequently, the snow started seeping into my shoes and soaked my ripped socks. To make matters worse, the trail was extremely rocky and my feet hurt so badly by the time I was done, haha.

I am rewriting a lot of old blurbs. Don’t mind me.

Baldy Mountain - Bear Canyon Trail (UP) & Main Trail + Devil’s Backbone (BACK)

Some of you know I went to Mount. Baldy last weekend, apart of the San Gabriel Mountains in Los Angeles County. I had to turn back because I lacked proper equipment and it was storming. The snow had mostly melted at the bottom, but I came back with a vengeance anyways.

I went to the top of the summit with a small group. It was around 10,000 feet above sea level and the view was just amazing. Poor bloke passed out from exhuastion. You could see the Californian islands off the coast - Catalina and San Clemente. From the other side, you could see peaks as far away as San Jancinto, Saddleback Mountain, etc. 

There was one part that was rather dangerous called Devil’s Backbone. The trail is very narrow, and if you slip and fall, you are good as dead because it will be complete free fall until you were smashed open by a rock or tree. What made is really nervous wracking this time was because the ridges were covered in snow and ice, so you would have to climb over it or trek past it. 

To be honest, I was scared out of my mind. Devil’s Backbone (Photo 7 & 8) is notorious for killing hikers during the winter due to high winds and ice. I think a conversation I had with a journalist behind me was, “Oh my God, I am going to die. Oh my god, I am going to die. Wait, wow, that is a nice picture. Hold on one moment. Pause. Oh my god, I just looked down. It is so steep. Oh my god. I am going to die. I am going to die.”

For more local history.

Convict Lake, California

Warning: I have decade-old point-and-shoot camera that is on the verge of breaking, so the photos are less than stellar.

A beautiful lake hidden in the Sierra Nevada forests off Highway 395. I took this shot sometime in the autumn on a crisp day. I caught random rides from people. I was really lucky, haha.

The lake has a rather interesting history. The reason why it is called Convict Lake is because there was a band of men from Nevada who were escaping imprisonment. They traversed through a horrible blizzard across the mountain ranges of the Sierras and finally arrived here. However, the police caught up with them and had a showdown here where one bloke was killed. The men who survived the long, long trek from Nevada to California were eventually caught and returned to prison. I guess … at least they had ‘fun’? 

For more local history.