Don't worry Mommy...

I wiped my paws before I came inside!

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

Horse Meadows Overnight Trip ~ December 2, 2008

Last week my dad and I went on our first overnight camping trip together. We camped at a place called Horse Meadows, here's a description of our hike... follow the well-built, easy-graded trail (1E04) as it winds up through stands of Jeffrey pine and white fir, passing the broad expanse of Horse Meadow, to the wilderness boundary at Poopout Hill, 2.4 miles and 1,000 feet of elevation gain. We will contour eastward along the richly forested hillside, and after another mile begin to hear the rushing waters of the Santa Ana's South Fork down to your left. The trail climbs 200 feet in the last 0.25 mile and reaches South Fork Meadows, a sloping glen shaded by pine and fir, with lush ferns and grasses sprouting along the several converging streams and in the marshy cienegas.

Here's a picture of our tent. There's just enough room for me and my dad to sleep in it together!

It was so neat to wake up in the morning in the middle of the forest! I decided to do some exploring while my dad fixed breakfast.

My dad set-up our cooking equipment on this picnic table. If you click on the picture you can see me on the left hand side of the photo.

Here's our camp stove, pots and pans and a bag of dehydrated scrambled eggs.

I'm trying to wait patiently for my breakfast... hurry up dad! I'm hungry!

We could see Mt. San Gorgonio while we were hiking. My dad and I hiked to the top of San Gorgonio a few weeks ago! (It wasn't covered in snow when we hiked to the top... Brrrr!)

I loved pouncing on the patches of snow! I ran from snow patch to snow patch... it was SO much fun!

Can you see me crossing the stream? The water was cold!

I can't wait to go on more overnight camping trips! Bye for now... Love, Trooper!

Siberia Creek Trail ~ November 4, 2008

Hi everybody... Trooper here! My dad took me hiking a couple of weeks ago along the Siberia Creek trail. No, we didn't hike all the way to Siberia... the trail is right here in the San Bernardino Mountains close to where we live! Here's a description from one of my dad's guidebooks. Siberia Creek Trail: 7 miles; very difficult. Altitude drop of 3,000 ft. This trail begins at the end of the Lodgepole Trail. It can be reached by using the Lodgepole Pine Trail or the Bluff Mesa Trail and terminates at Bear Creek near the Siberia Group Camp.

Here I am waiting for my dad to bring up the rear (as usual). He sure is a slowpoke but I cut him some slack because he's carrying a big backpack with all of our gear and the most important thing... my food and water! If you enlarge the photo you can see how wet I am. We had to hike through a rain storm but that's okay. I'm not made out of sugar... I won't melt! A little bit of rain never hurt anybody!

Can you see me in this photo? (You can click on the picture to make it bigger.) I'm the black blob in the lower left hand corner standing on the trail with my back to the camera.

I found this nice shady spot along the trail to take a little rest.

It sure is fun bringing all of you along on these hikes with me! My dad continues to buy camping equipment... (a tent, a sleeping bag, a stove and pots & pans). I think that means we're going to go on an overnight trip soon! I'll keep you posted... Love, Trooper

Dry Lake, October 21, 2008

My dad and I decided to hike to Dry Lake today. Here's a short description of Dry Lake from localhikes.com... "If you time this one right, you are in for a real treat. Dry Lake got its name for an obvious reason. As the summer progresses, the lake dries up and becomes a meadow. However, during runoff, the lake is a beautiful alpine reflection of the wilderness, and worth every uphill step it takes to get there." (You can click on the photos to make them larger.)

Okay... I'm ready to go!

There's a lot of pretty scenery along the way...

Can you see me? I'm just to the left of the tree trunk in the center of the picture.

Look at this HUGE Lodgepole Pine Tree!

Here I am cooling my paws in the water...

As we were hiking we came upon this log with a bunch of rocks stacked on top of it.

Yay! We made it to Dry Lake. If you look closely you can see me in the bottom right hand corner of the photo.

I LOVE running through the tall dry grass!

Here I am sneaking up on my dad. This was a really fun hike. I can't wait to see where we go to next Tuesday. See you then! Love, Trooper

San Bernardino Peak, October 7, 2008

Hi everybody... are you ready to take another hike with Trooper? Trooper says, "Let's Go!"

Trooper and Jim decided to hike to the top of San Bernardino Peak. Here's a description from summitpost.org... San Bernardino Peak, together with its twin peak, San Gorgonio Mountain, just five miles away and 900 feet higher, anchors the western-most end of the San Bernardino Mountains. At 10,649 feet (3246 meters), San Bernardino Peak is quite a landmark. This is the view from the top of the peak.

Trooper always manages to find the shady spots...

Here's a view of Mt. San Gorgonio. Trooper and Jim hiked to the top of Mt. San Gorgonio two weeks ago.

One of the landmarks along this route is Washington's Monument. From summitpost.org... In 1852, Colonel Henry Washington and his Army survey party were directed to erect a monument atop San Bernardino Peak. The monument was to be an east-west reference point from which all future surveys of Southern California would be taken.

Trooper says, "Thanks for coming along on this hike with me... I hope you had a good time!"

San Gorgonio - September 30, 2008

Trooper really lived up to his name last week. Trooper and Jim hiked all the way to the top of Mt. San Gorgonio (elevation 11,499-ft.) which is the highest peak in Southern California! Not only did they reach the summit but they completed the trip in one day. (All of the pictures were taken by Jim.) Here's Trooper walking along the trail...

From the Sierra Club website... San Gorgonio Mountain, the highest peak in Southern California, is surrounded by nine peaks over 10,000' in elevation. It lies in the San Gorgonio Wilderness Area (34,718 acres). Created in 1931, the Wilderness designation will preserve this area in its unspoiled state as long as it remains protected. As you can see, the view from the top is spectacular.

Here's Trooper taking in the view...

Trooper and Jim came upon this plane wreckage as they were hiking down the mountain. According to Wikipedia... On November 28, 1952 a Douglas C-47 Dakota, serial number 45-1124, crashed at the 11,000 feet (3,400 m) elevation on the eastern face of San Gorgonio Mountain. The C-47 was enroute from Offut Air Force Base, Nebraska to March Air Force Base near Riverside, CA when it struck the mountain at night in the middle of a storm. Thirteen people died in the accident.

The large bell on Trooper's collar is a bear bell. The bear bell jingles loudly while Trooper is walking... hopefully it will scare the bears away while he's hiking in bear country.

Trooper says, "That was fun dad! Where are we going next week?"

Santa Ana River Trail and Aspen Grove, September 21, 2008

Today my dad took me for a hike along the Santa Ana River Trail. Here's a description of the trail from summitpost.org: The Aspen Grove trail, located within the 59,000 acre San Gorgonio Wilderness, offers the Southern California hiker a unique opportunity: visit the only grove of Quaking Aspen (Populus Tremuloides) between the Sierra Nevada and Baja California. The remnant grove follows the banks of Fish Creek, and is a popular destination during Autumn. A typical year sees the leaves reaching their peak golden-yellow color during October, offering a pleasant addition to the dominantly evergreen foliage found at similar elevations throughout Southern California.

Do you see me hiding in the foliage? Don't my eyeballs look like little headlights?

Isn't this a pretty place? I love splashing in the water!

Here I am resting on a rock. Look at my muddy paws!

The Aspens are the yellow-gold colored trees. Aren't they pretty?

Hurry up Dad! Let's keep hiking!

My Dad says that in a month or so these Aspens will be completely golden-yellow. I can't wait to come back and see the Aspen trees again!

That was our hike for this week. My dad is going to go firewood cutting next Tuesday and he's not sure if I'm big enough to go along on that trip. (He doesn't want me to get into trouble while he's busy cutting the firewood.) Maybe we'll get to go on another hike next Sunday... stay tuned!

Dollar Lake

When we adopted our puppy Trooper a couple of months ago, my husband had high hopes of Trooper becoming a good hiking partner. As you can see, Trooper is a terrific hiking buddy! (All of the photos were taken by my hubby... and yes, Trooper really is as goofy as he looks.)

Here's Trooper taking a little breather on the way up to Dollar Lake.

Somehow my husband always manages to get Trooper to pose by the sign posts.

When Trooper first started accompanying my husband on these hikes he was a little apprehensive of the water. Now that he's bigger, he loves splashing in the streams! Here he is watching the water rush by...

Now he's posing by the Pacific Crest Trail sign post...

Trooper is also an expert at finding the shady spots. Sometimes I think we should have named him Ferdinand (after Ferdinand the bull) because he loves nothing more than to lie down in the shade and enjoy the sights and sounds around him.