Salmon Creek, Big Sur, California

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

Mount. San Gorgonio, San Bernardino National Forest, California

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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

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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.

China

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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

Indonesia

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The plane ride from KL to Bali was a little under three hours. Since Bali is south of the equator, the weather was much cooler, the island has a strong resemblance to Hawaii.
First meal of the trip, food is cheap here if you are willing to look for street food. A piece of meat, some veggies (usually kale) and an egg served with rice is roughly 1 dollar to 1.50.
We stayed at The Haven in Seminyak, Bali. The area is very touristy, filled with restaurants and shops for tourists. To get away from the crowd, Azrina and I decided to explore the city on foot.
The lush trees and tropical plants amidst the Balinese architecture made the walk very pleasant.
We found the beach, the waves were definitely more intimidating than Tioman Island waves in Malaysia!
Rice field in the middle of the city
I love the Balinese doors

Local soccer game

Day 2: We hire a taxi driver to drive us around the touristy spots of the island

Tanat Lot Temple, the temple sits on a large rock off shore and has been known as a popular tourist destination.
Local kid on vacation taking a photo with Azrina, apparently they’ve never seen a Malaysian before…

Lunch

The rice cakes marinated in peanut sauce, delicious!

Green beans and tempeh, according to Azrina, the tempeh is Bali is tastes much better than in Malaysia.

We also visited Uluwatu, another sea side template and a few local beaches, Padang Padang and Nusar Dua. I got lazy with my camera and did not take any additional photos.

Day 2: Bike tour at Ubud $40 per person

On the way to Ubud, the tour guide brought us to a coffee farm famous for its Luwak Kopi. Luwak Kopi is made from beans of coffee berries which have been passed through the digestive track of the Asian Palm Civet, who looks more or less like a weasel, washed and roasted. It’s apparently the world’s most expensive coffee.  The beans are supposed to taste less bitter and more aromatic.
Coffee beans defecated by the weasel.

The little girl who lived on the farm

Our sample of the coffees and teas at the farm

Getting ready for our bike ride after breakfast

The local kids posing for the camera

Harvested rice bushels

The kids knew what to do with the cleaver

Lunch with an ice cold Bintang