Mount Baldy

the gap that was in sight through out

Three Weeks ago I was getting ready to climb mount baldy with a group  of hikers, I was so excited as the the reviews promised a strenuous hike, and the peak being 10064 feet off sea level, I have never climbed that far, and that made me really want to do it!, how ever the whole week I was sick, and finally the night before I called it off! But my hopes soon started to piece together during my hike on Mount Wilson. I was almost at the top when I was met with three ladies who were hiking together, and Susan, right after invited me to climb mount baldy with them as they already had plans to climb it, I was overjoyed! And that’s how my story on Mount baldy starts.

The Pros

My sister dropped me early in the morning where 

Susan and her Friend Dayan, picked me up and off we drove up our selves, up to the trailhead which stood itself at 6200feet, it was early in the morning, may be 7am. Susan had extra trekking poles and she offered me to have a go, and I gladly picked it as she told me the other day how it helped her when she almost gave up hiking back in the day, and with that, off we went up to climb Mount Baldy!

Devil's Backbone

On top of Mount Baldy

Susan and Dayan are pro hikers, they hike every week and trust me they are fast! Even back in Sri Lanka I’m not the fastest, so it was quite a challenge to keep up with them J, but I was happy with myself as in the first half I kept up with them with no problem what so ever. The mountains are simply pretty I wish everyone sees them! Just like I do, the trail exposed our self to this gap on our left which gave such a great view right throughout the trail! I simply loved it!

The next half was the real challenge, I was tailgating Dayan who is three times my age believe me when I say even a little more! Hiking here in the USA have thought me that there is no retirement age for a hiker, as the other day I met a couple who are 82 and 85! J . any way so we went may be for the next hour or two with no rests at all, I stopped to remove my jacket and that lapse never allowed me to get as close to Dayan I were before, there were few times when I just couldn’t go any further and I stole 10 second breaks just to catch the breath, I took some of the same old medicine I take whenever I get tired, that Is just look above look around and see the beauty in the air! It helped as the climb was no easy. I recalled the phrase “when the going gets tough the tough gets going”, however I’m no tough guy and my strength is in Christ alone!

Every step was a achievement but I knew the prize awaits me at the top! So I pushed onwards and then!!! I reached the Top!! I couldn’t believe my eyes! It was just gorgeous, a full 360 view and I dint know where to look it was that beautiful, so I took some time looking over. It was a little windy so I put on my jacket and got myself seated on one of those Native American thingies, it was acting as a wind breaker and in it we made our selves home and dived into our lunch  I had a sandwich and a banana, and with that off we went back, this time a different trail, it was called the “devil’s backbone” and indeed it was a devil’s backbone lol, but it was a great experience having to walk right on top of the edge where the drop was not just on one side but on both! It was a fast pace hike down, I was doing my bale as usual trying to stay in one piece, we were back by about 12 30 I think, this was probably the fastest but I simply enjoyed the Mount Baldy hike! Truly amazing!



july 2012 with Susan and Dayan

Top of Mount Baldy

Whitney Canyon Park

Santa Clarita Vally i guess ;)

Whitney Canyon Park, not really where I wanted to go but never the less it had two trails so I didn’t care, so after saying good bye to my sister I took one random road leading me up the hill, the trail wasn’t marked really well but hehe in my country its hardly marked :P so this was great! I was eying for the top of the mountain but the further I climbed up I realized the trail I’m on doesn’t seem to lead me up there, how ever I kept on climbing! On my right was a big cliff I wanted to go up there too but thought may be next time. But things went on so that I some how got onto a trail which took me right on the edge of the cliff!!

Cliff of Whitney Canyon Park

walkin on top of it

walking on the edge makes it a lot more exciting than it should! As danger lingers only a step or two away, but Its hard to imagine a sober man walking or rather falling off a cliff, I’m not writing off any possibilities I am merely stating that it’s a not a every day act!  I soon found myself on a basin made out of sheer rock where I took refuge to dig into the meal my sister made for me, I enjoyed the food over looking the santa clarita vally (if I’m not mistaken). While having my brunch I was very eager to locate the little mountain right above Harts park I climbed a few weeks back I knew its somewhere close by but I just couldn’t recognize it, but after some intense look outs I managed to spot the new library building which was coming up then I followed that to located the tiny hill off Hart’s park! I simply love to spot things from above.

with my brunch done with, I started heading back, I started to realize that my dear loved shoe is giving a way, however I simply loved hiking in it, I have put on many miles on that rugged grey boots which I bought in petta for only 2200 bucks! Thanks to Ref that is! J

Hiking in the whitney Canyon park by myself :P
29^th june 2012

This is where i digged into my brunch

Big Bear Lake

Driving up to big 

Myself, my mother and sister were off camping in Big bear lake in San Bernardino, It was slightly tough to book a campsite however we managed to get one, this was a great time to test out my 1st tent which i bought off a sale for real cheap, So early monday morning we started off on our journey, after may be an hour of driving we were driving parallel with the Angeles mountain range, the mountains over here in the U.S are very different to the once i'm familiar with back in Sri Lanka, My sister called them the "paws of a Lion", and indeed they look like gaint paws!

Not after long we started driving up our selves on the edge of the mountain! and we had a windows role down to let the fragrance in the air to come fill us all, ok i just sounded like writing a fairy tale but trust me this was the truth!  the flowers were blooming yellow in colour and they were on either side giving us a grand welcome to the Angeles National forest!

and soon with it came the Big Bear Lake! "the second largest lake in southern California" so said the boatman. and we started to drive around it!! the chill in the air and the hot sun made it a perfect day! a little chilly but still it was magnificent!  we needed to have our lunch so we parked by a meadow, and we picnicked by the meadow, this was that "perfect picnic"  right off the book! even though i believe in off the book in many things in life! 

And with more energy we went into the little town of big bear, small shops on either side of the road, one shop we stepped into was a Jerky shop, and i was suprissed to see Aligator jerky to be on sale, i was tempted much to have a taste of it, but then i opted to taste elk only on the belief that Alegator is more in demand than the elk, but now i'm wandering whether elk too is a animal that is in demand in the black market, hope i made the right choice. how ever with some elk Jerky as some snacks we went on a touring boat which kind of took around the lake, showcasing houses of actors and what not, the information was real boring apart from a few, but the captain of the boat made it sound real intresting. I 

took time off seated on the steps instead on a chair letting the breeze go right pass me! 

and soon afterwards we decided to head for camp, and there i started to pitch my tent, even though the mordern day tent is advertised to be the least complicated i dont thing it gets any less easier than the simple old school two man tent which my father owned which we once pitched on our garden back in Kandy, any way overcoming a few difficulties we soon managed to set the tent up! and my sister took over getting the inside of the tent ready for the three of us!

We needed fire to cook our dinner so i took out our charcole tin burner which was suggested by my friend Pradhan, we never saw it work so today was the day it stood the test! and sure it passed with flying colours, and thanks to that and later wood burning we had a big dinner, so with that over we quikly snuggled our selves to our sleeping bags where we had a good night sleep.

Early morning was cold as excpected or may be even more than i expected, but soon i managed to start a fire going which at first i used to warm my hand but then afterwards used it too prepare our breakfast! and then after having a good yummy meal i packed my bag with a few warm clothes and a couple of energy bars, with that i started to hike up to Bertha Peak all by myself :P i was excited to use my GPS which i bought a couple of weeks back how ever too bad the batery was low so yea i kept it till i go up the mountain to check the elevation!

So soon i started my long hike up the mountain the first bit was not too tough but the latter became tougher with each step it definitly felt a lot tougher than i normally feel, i was wandering whether it is becuase i was all by my self and missed all the motivation needed which i usually get when i hike up with my buddies back in sri lanka, but as soon as i saw bits of the big bear lake all the breathing calmed down! i took some time off gazing over the lake, it was blue as it can get! back in Sri lanka i remember lakes being green. anyway i kept pushing myself until i reached the tops of bertha peak my gps read 8164 feet thats the highest mountain i'v climbed so far, but then this was not those big hikes, any way i still enjoyed it and will remember it forever!

and i came back down after about four hours where i met my mother and sister who by them sleves did a small walk! at least my sister tricked my mother to walk while she chilled standing in one place :P so after reuniting our selves we headed to a animal rescue center where we saw bears, eagles, raccoon and many more!  surly the bears were the highlight of them all for me! apparently they are very dangoures here in the U.S yet they look adorobale :P.

that ended our camping trip to big bear, so we headed back home along the winding roads, it was a great trip loved it and enjoyied it :)

with akki and ammi 18th, june 2012

Griffith Park

So I was in the States for over a week and couldn’t go on a hike, this was really bothering me but soon after many calls by my sister, she managed to get me to join a hiking club called “the Sierra club” , and after a quick decision I was on my way to hike up with them up the Griffith park mountain range. We started off at around 7 pm, I know this is not the time I’m used to go hiking but the sun above the States decides to set late in the night. So we started to hike I was at the back end of the group which didn’t go to well as all the dust ended up on my face hehe.

Soon I  started seeing the busy city life right above its nose, it was Glendale and Burbank according to Charles whom I met along the way, I could hear a bundled up package of noice by the city, that was a first for me, even though its not some thing nice for the environment.

Glendale or Burbank

Los Angeles

We soon climbed our way right to the top of Griffith park, this was even more exciting as I saw Los Angeles in one side and the Angeles Mountain range on the other side, this was my first hike in the USA and this was the first time I was looking down a mountain with city life all around me.

I wish the group stayed up there much longer but they were super fast so with hardly a break we pushed through, And guess what I saw next, I saw the “Hollywood” sign sitting on the mountain only a few meters away, but this was from an angle so yea I wont count it, because I am hoping to go up there with my sister some time soon.

holly wood 

By now the night was approaching and we were heading down to where we started, I forgot to take my flash light along so I had to depend fully on the moon light, however It was not at all dark Like in Sri Lanka, I loved this so much but this just made me want more!

Griffith Park Hike with the sierra club, May 2012

Urban trek

South Fork Trail

So my sister told me of a animal housing like thing where farm animals were(hart park), so since I had nothing to do that day I thought I would go there, it’s a bit far so my sister suggested me to take the bus, I’m here for over two weeks and I’m yet to try the bus, the buses doesn’t seem to be that friendly like back in Sri Lanka hehe, so I sticked with the friendlier guys I knew, my two long legs :P .

So I mapped out a route for me to take, and I managed to couple it with a small trail called the “the South Fork Trail” that Jacquie told me of, Over here in the USA every thing is well marked so yea its hard to miss, at least that’s what I’m thinking upto now!

back in the days of wild wild west 

I started off from home at around 1 30 pm not the best time of the day, but yea that didn’t stop me from walking, and soon hit the south fork trail, it was slightly dusty but I still loved it, the santa clarita river was supposed to be flowing right next to the trail which would have been fantastic but nope that wasn’t the case it was all dried up L I’m guessing that’s how it is over here. Any way that didn’t take away any of the adventure, rather the dried up river let me cross over to railway avenue which ran parallel to the south fork trail. I mean I had to get on to the other side if I were to get to “Hart Park”.

Earlier on when I was drawing my route on the map there was a road that cut across south fork trail and railway avenue, but when I got there I realized that it was a bridge going above railway avenue, so that’s when I had to cross over the dried up river, I wasn’t sure whether I was doing some thing illegal lol so I did that quite fast but guess what? Because of the fear factor I suppose I couldn’t jump of a 3 feet  fence, It was funny but yea I managed to dust off and hit off on my urban trek.

Soon I came to Hart’s museum I believe it would have been around half past four, the farm animals were closed for visitors at that time, but that didn’t hurt me at all as the animals in there were not of the extraordinary list, sure would have loved to see them though, any way I soon realized that this park, houses to artifacts from the times of the old “wild wild west” , so soon I started to explore them, there was a small village like thing with a couple of houses, a school and a tiny church, the good old west would be incomplete without a train running through, and so the Hart’s Museum had that too!! In fact a whole train station.

It was a nice experience to have experienced a bit of the old times of the wild wild west.

Top of Hart Park

As I  was walking around the park all by my self I stumbled upon a sign board which read “trail head” I was excited and soon followed its paths, and It so turned out to be my first hike by my self, I’ll simply say the more official looking one. it wasn’t any way close to a jungle or any thing like that, so it was a pretty good starter, I soon started catching the glimpse of rooftops I mean hundreds, so I pressed on upwards and soon I was on top of Hart’s Park, it was truly awesome, I saw so much of wildlife I mean I surly saw over a dozen types of birds and I even saw a squirrels and little rabbits. however this hike turned out to be a bit tougher than the other ones as breathing started to become very much tougher, I got a little bit of the wheeze, it wasn’t pretty but I managed to climb down really slow and steady, where I found a bench to ease the breathing.

Urban trek which turned out to be a nice little hike, by my self

31 May 2012 - city of Santa Clarita CA 

Soaring above the sky

I’m flying right above the north pole! I simply didn’t expect the plane to take this crazy route to go to LA, I guess I didn’t take the “globe” factor into account when I drew the imaginary route my self.

It all started on the 19^th, I was getting ready to go for my Big akki’s (sister’s) Graduation!! So with a lot of last minute packing as I finished my year end exams only two days prior, I hopped on to the plane leaving that night, This is my first trip overseas and I am highly excited.

One thing I love is to be on mountain tops and today I’m higher than any peak I can ever conquer, however this is a whole new setting, every time I look over the window I feel like jumping off to grab a piece of some action, but I just can’t, so I guess that’s why I just called it a “whole new setting”.

How ever this ride is indeed breath taking, last night I looked over the window and  I could see the lit streets down below, amazing! and I could see cars moving around just like in GTA 2 hehe(you got to be old but still young to have played that game), soon day light came and with that everything came to light and I could see the desert below, unending lengths of lifeless land was brought to life with its sand dunes and dusty rugged mountains, at one point I even saw a few snow capped mountains.

Flying over Green land 

Soon the deserts disappeared to let the mighty ocean have a bit of views, and soon afterwards I saw flat land with more life in it, I could clearly see that some of It was cultivated land, farm lands I suppose, the farm lands and the roads that divided them surly kept me looking over the window.

I was able to spot Half dome from the plane!

I realized that the plane will be flying over the north pole only when it changed it’s camera angle on the map. If one were to draw a picture of north pole, it will only have white, brown and blue in it, pretty plain isn’t it?  I doubt It, as cracked iced floating formed a perfectly complete puzzle that even the best of puzzle masters wouldn’t have been able to fit, and the mountain cliffs made it look even more interesting!

I am truly enjoying my ride, and cant wait to meet my sister, and sashin later on!

PS – I don’t think I was flying over the north pole it was the edge of Greece land, I woke up suddenly and thought it was north pole hehe and that’s when I started writing so I thought I’l simply leave it like that.

19-20/05/2012 – CMB-DBX-LAX

                                                                                                          

Kandy by Train

Bible Rock 

I’m Finally Writing on the move, Kandy is the destination this time, This is One journey which have been on the side-line waiting to be written upon, However going to Kandy is an everyday journey, but this doesn’t let the beauty fade away!

I’m traveling by train the most preferred out of a few options, and if anyone would ask me what’s the Best way to get to Kandy I would most certainly say that it is by  train, The intercity train makes your ride faster in fact the fastest ways thus far, Oh I forgot about the Air taxi :P. You could start this Journey either early in the morning or late in the afternoon like I am right now, The First part of the journey is more about flat land, but not just any, some of them being cultivated with the Rice crop, it is an Ideal site to see to the Eyes of a perfectionist, for some reason or another I see a  field of rice crop brings in a lot of hard work, I see it every time along my journeys, let it be preparation or harvesting.

Amazing sites off the Foot board

Along this journey I meet a lot of travellers and I do get a chance to exchange views, one of them being they just loved traveling on the Foot board of the train, It never clicked me enough cause for me travelling on the foot board is more a norm than an extra ordinary act, however I do know its danger and believe it’s not for the faint hearted :P But let me encourage everyone to at least try it once! It doesn’t have to be by yourself though. I am encouraging you not because I want to make you into a stunt man/woman but only for you to experience the beauty of nature with no frame in the picture.

Alagala

Bouncing the way further into the mountains you begin to feel the unruly nature a little bit more, no mountain seem to look the same and the vegetation begins to change. This is the best part of traveling to Kandy on the train, This is the time I stand up and move to the footboard, but be aware a bridge might be on its way just like the one I passed right now, the bridges gives you sprouts of difference, every time you go on one of them, everything sounds different and if you look over your window you are sure to see a lovely river or creak flowing through two mountains, It’s simply amazing.

Roughly after passing the 3^rd or 4rth tunnel or Kadigamuwa to be more précised you got to be alert while the left stands out with roaring mountains the right(side) gives you a glimpse of how cool Sri lanka could be, Mountains next to each other the sun Brightly shining down at them, few seem to stand out, out of all the mountains(may be because I climbed them my self but) I am sure that no one would miss Bible rock or bathaleygala, a rectangle shaped mountain which looks just like sigiria this stands out while the rest make it look better, the whole picture is quite hard to explain but it is a full 180dgrees of pure awesomeness of it’s Creator, I hope I didn’t underwrite the left hand side of the journey lol, right after passing ihala kotte you got to look up on to your original left where you will see Alagala not lacking a bit of it’s Mightiness, A high mountain with scary cliff which might tempt you to ab-sail hehe,

This is one awesome Journey you all need to do, and now with “exporail” people with all comfort zones can take this trip.

The Train ride to kandy is simply amazing