In a world of so many great photographers and writers, I am venturing into some unknown territories, leaving comfort zones, finally very willing to practice the art of seeing. By maintaining the practice of posting daily photos, I hope to continue learning about the possibilities that I trust are out there for the taking.
I’m in a Starbucks in Mammoth and have my computer with me (of course), so thought I’d post a few photos. We are having the time of our lives up here.
View from our apartment over Woods Lodge of Crystal Crag, Mammoth Crest and Ducks Pass to the left. We stay in this very small, one room, apartment the first week. We love the view but find living in one room a bit confining. Don’t get me wrong, we still love being here.
Ray took this photo of me trying to get closeups of the birds we feed on our balcony. Each morning we wake when we wake, usually around 6:30am, have coffee, read a spiritual reading out loud from Simple Abundance, have oatmeal, read and then go for a hike (after we’ve had enough lazying around most of the morning!!!)
This was unreal. I was taking photos of the Lodge (last picture below) when out of the corner of my eye, I see something moving to my right. I look and it’s a light brown, small, bear. He looks at me (we are 10 feet away from each other), I look at him. He turns back to look ahead of him as he continues to the other side of the Lodge.
I follow him with my camera. I’m so excited, most of the photos I took are blurry. But I got this photo of the bear climbing over a fence while another vacationer was in a chair outside his cabin reading not very far from the advancing bear. The man doesn’t see the bear. I yell, “Hello!” The man looks up from his book and immediately begins to run backward with his chair in his grasp and his eyes and mouth wide open indicating he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Obviously he was scared to death. I wonder what he thought of me moving closer and following the bear with my camera?
Ray and me near the top of Mammoth Crest after our hike yesterday. We both feel the altitude. Ray is doing great. I’m thrilled he is hiking with me.
This is the view looking north from the top of Mammoth Crest, 2+ miles up the trail from our cabin. LR…..Like the view of the Minnaretts, Ritter and Banner?
This is one of the photos I took that I might submit for the September photo class assignment #1 on Walls, Windows and Doors.
Meeting Rick and Katie this morning for the second time this week sure makes it easier to keep my commitment to daily exercise. This is the third week Katie and I have met Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 5am to hike the close-by, local Bump & Grind hill. The hike is about 4 miles and usually takes us about an hour and 20 minutes. We aren’t fast but we keep up a pace where we probably sweat a half a pound of water on these humid, warm summer days. When we begin our hike it’s still dark and cool compared to later daytime temperatures around 108 degrees.
Rick was excited to see the sunrise this morning. He kept wondering when the sun would pop-up over the mountains. At the moment the sun appeared, I asked Rick and Katie to pose for this shot. I focused on the sky so the camera would expose for the sunrise with fill-in flash selected to light up Rick and Katie.
Fifteen minutes into my morning walk, I called and woke Sandi up asking if she’d like to join me on the walk. Sandi lives 1 mile away from me. 10 minutes after my call, we met and were walking the Westin golf course.
Sandi and my shadow.
Returning home I caught these figures out of the corner of my eye. The sun was in front of the figures off to the left a bit. The couple who own the home and property across the lake bought this lakeside lot opposite their home just so no one else could build and they could create the view they wanted. That’s having $$$$$.
One of my upcoming classes has to do with numbers. So I’ve been looking for anything with numbers on it. This is a color photo I desaturated and added a photoshop filter to it.
Mailbox on street. Ray couldn’t figure out what was to the right of the numbers. It’s the gutter of the street filled with water.
And when I walked back to our home at 6:45am, Ray was backing his golf cart of the garage.
I don’t have time to hike but if I don’t, I’ll be sorry.
Great views of the remaining snow on San Jacinto and San Gorgonia Peaks. I’ve seen photos of the snow and deadfall the PCT thru hikers have had to deal with up on SJ.
This sign put my mind to rest. I’ve been worrying in Mama was still going to watch over Baby.
I saw about 6 of these guys.
Katy and Leah proudly displaying their new Class of 2008 PCT bandanas. Katy and Leah started April 1st at the border.
Jan, Katy and Leah
Zeke, Jan, Leah and Katy at the famous Paradise Cafe, one mile west of where the PCT crosses Hwy 74. 
This morning I received the following email………
The subject to the email was:
A Humble Suggestion.
And we all know I am VERY humble.
Anyway, you might want to let your loving readers know you’re not going to be posting on your blog as much, now that you are in intensive pre-hike mode. We miss your stories and photographs, but will understand.
Shame on me. I’ve been so into finally taking action on the planning and training for my upcoming backpack trip, I’ve totally neglected this blog and all of you. I remember how frustrated I was when I was daily following my favorite Adventure Journalist’s blog and she’d let days go by without a word, and then later, when she stopped maintaining her blog all together because she got a “real” job.
I apologize for not having given you a head’s up on what I have been doing. I was wrong to not have taken the time to briefly let you know that I wasn’t able (as the title of my blog says) to “daily” making entries. I will continue to write in my blog until I leave on the backpack trip, even if all I write is….”I’m here, but swamped.”
What I have valued most in keeping this blog is enjoying how many of you follow along with me in my life. It means a lot to me. I feel your love, your interest and that I am important to you. Well, YOU are important to me too. I want to show how important you are to me by continuing to write until I leave on my trip.
Now, reflecting on what my thinking was that I hadn’t explained my lack of blog entries, I see that it was all about me and how I’d look if I simply wrote a simple sentence saying something like, “Sorry, I’m into planning and training my hike and won’t be posting as often.” I was afraid I’d look selfish and self centered! Ha. Well, what I feared, I created.
Selfish self centered….that is the root of our trouble. p.62
I’m back and I’m never too swamped to say thank you to my loving readers.
p.s. Photo of me yesterday crossing the “raging” (tee hee) Whitewater River while on a hike with the Hiking Group. Not to make an excuse but…taking on being the facilitator takes a lot of time (especially the way I take on the commitment). To encourage continued participation and interest for those who haven’t signed up yet, I write hike day information emails, take photos during the hike, post the photos later, write an after hike writeup. Here is yesterday’s writeup:
Hi Hikers,
What a great hike today. Thanks to Ginger, Jaqueline and Joe for making this hike so nice.
I wish more of you could have been there. Temperatures never rose over 84 degrees. The wind kept us from being too hot. Flowers galore!
Our hike began from the parking lot at the Wildlife conservancy (The old Whitewater Trout Farm). Robert, the manager, was there to welcome us. I’ve talked to him a couple of times and he now knows me and our hiking group. You see, the facility isn’t open for another 2 months or so. But they let us park inside their close gated parking area.
As you will notice from the photos I’ve uploaded to the MHCC Hikers album, we crossed the Whitewater River a number of times. What troopers everyone was. No complaints – just laughter.
We hiked along the south side of the river bed for about 1.5 miles. We then crossed the river for the third time and climbed another mile to the ridge.
After a short break we headed back down the flower filled canyon switchbacks. It was on the way down that Ginger spotted an orange and black beetle on flowers. When we looked closer, we noticed there were orange and black beetles on ALL the flowers in this one area. It’s mating season and they were into it big time. I do intend to go back when it isn’t windy to get some good macro shots of these beetles.
There was more talking on the return hike and I enjoyed getting to know Joe and Jaqueline. Ginger is a regular MHCC hiker and I always love when she is on a hike.
Jaqueline led the way through the trail less river bed.
Then Jaqueline ran across a rattlesnake making its exit into some bushes off the side of the trail. I think Jaqueline said that she only saw the last foot of this huge rattlesnake before it was out of sight. Once I realized what she was excitedly pointing out, I gently put the tip of my trekking pole on the rattle that was barely visible under the brush. Mr. Snake was a big one. Mr. Snake let us hear his distinct rattle letting us know he did not want to be disturbed. We respected his wishes and hiked the last ½ mile back to our cars.
This hike was a little sampling of what life on the trail is like for the through hiker. Everyone said they had a great time and enjoyed the hike.
I know these hikes require a big time commitment, but the flowers won’t be out the way they are now for long.
So save the date……..Next Saturday, March 29th there will be another PCT hike….
We will repeat the shuttle hike we did two weeks ago when we hiked 7 miles through the back Mary Poppins-type flower filled hills. We will change up the ending of this hike though and go a different way.
Hike: Moderate
Time commitment: 6 hours.
Meet at Pavilions, near the WAMU bank parking.
Meeting time: 7:30 am!! (It’s getting hotter.)
Bring at least a quart to quart and a half of water.
Look forward to seeing you,
Linda Jeffers
p.p.s. Maybe you know this already, but in the top right hand corner of my blog there are 3 small photos. These photos change as I update my flickr.com online photo site with photos. I have a folder on flickr for the Mission Hills Hikes and Hikers inside my Dayhiking folder. Here is a direct link to my Dayhiking folder: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gottagolinda/collections/72157603498143009/
Looking west up to San Gorgonio from the mountains above the White Water River and the White Water Trout Farm.
I wish I wasn’t going to miss Carol Leigh’s Macro Class that starts June 15 as I really would like help with macro shots.
Off to take the Mission Hills Country Club Hiking members off for a hike in this area today. I think there will be 11 of us.
Yesterday I made sure I could park in the White Water Trout Farm parking lot. The car break-in had been on the street an 1/8th of a miles from the Trout Farm. I talked to Robert at the Trout Farm yesterday…..he is the person I had stopped to talk to when he was driving by me after my break-in last Friday. He lives in a ranch nearby and is also the manager of the Trout Farm. Robert remembered me and told me that the break-in has freaked out all the neighbors. People are now locking their doors at night. Robert did say that they have not had break-ins up there before. It was a freak incident. Great.
I have got to get to training for my NM hike. Too soon, Cupcake will pick me and JJ up on April 25th to drive to the ADZPCTKO kickoff weekend I attend every year. I will be all packed up for my CDT hike as Cupcake will drive me and my hiking partner, La Zorra back to the beginning of our hike in New Mexico (We will leave on the Sunday at the end of the ADZPCTKOP weekend). I’m 12 pounds heavier than I’ve ever been before starting out on a long backpack, my body is untrained, AND I haven’t planned a darn thing for this hike yet. It is time to make the hike a priority and stop letting everything else get in the way…… like car break-ins!!!!
By the way, JJ is a friend who is a PCT thruhiker this year. JJ will have already begun hiking north on the PCT and will hitch down to my house from the trail up Hwy 74 on the 24th, spend the night, clean up and EAT before Cupcake picks us up and we all drive down to the ADZPCTKOP weekend. Lots of hikers who will have started the PCT early will also find a way to get back down to this fun kickoff weekend held every year, for the last 11 years now.
Yesterday morning Katy and I recommitted to hiking the Bump and Grind hill, which is only 7 minutes from home, every Monday and Wednesday mornings at 5:30am. How easy it is to get back to a routine once I stop it for some lame excuse. I can’t afford to make one excuse or I’ll just make a ton more.
Katy and I both commented on how wonderful it was being out early enough to see the sunrising.On our hike we talked about how much better we feel the rest of the day when we have exercised early in the day. I, of course, forget how much better I feel during the day when I listen to my head, while I’m still under the covers, when it says to me, “It’s too early to get up…..or…….you can exercise later on (and then rarely do).”
This morning Ray and I took a 50 minute walk in our neighborhood. Look at the snow still in the San Jacinto mountains.
Off to get ready to drive in to the Book Study.
I got myself out the door. That was the hardest part. The hike I took this morning, into the hills south of Hwy 111 and north of the San Jacinto Range, was just what I needed even though my head toyed with me until 11am telling me it was too cold to go hike. Normally I just go out and exercise. Lately though, I don’t seem to have the will to do it.
Hiking south east above Eagle Canyon.
Photo taken facing north from the same vantage point as previous photo. The city pictured is Cathedral City next to Rancho Mirage.
The top center of this 3rd photo is north.
Here is the question: What time of the day is it?
This is where I initially fantasized I’d take all the MHCC members that just signed up on the hiking sign up sheet below. I am their fearful leader. 
I photographed the sign up list on my way out of the MHCC Fitness Club Committee Meeting tonight. There is another half page of members who signed up to go hiking under this top sheet. That makes about 48 in total. Hmmm. This is going to be interesting. I am the hiking coordinator (before tonight, previously referred to as the hiking leader). I am worried, very worried about my $$$ liability taking these hikers out on the trail. We decided at the committee meeting being a coordinator is not really a leader. Well, that’s fine for those who head up the running club, the walking club, the biking club (which rides in the MHCC complex, not on the streets). But I am taking people out of MHCC, not up to Mt San Jacinto, but out onto the trails where lots of things can happen to young, experienced hikers. Am I crazy?