California Secrets

by Neil Woodburn on

I’ve lived in California almost all my life and therefore took it as a challenge when National Geographic Adventure recently published an article entitled, California Secrets: Hiding in Plain Sight. 

I had to ask myself, are these places truly secret? And, if nobody knows about them, are they really worth mentioning?

Well, it looks like the magazine did their homework for the most part.  Check out the link for a detailed write-up of the locations, but in the meantime I’ve spotlighted a few of the “secret” places below.   

Channel Islands — “Hiding in plain sight” is the perfect description of these islands.  Located just off the coast of Los Angeles and Ventura County, few locals even realize they exist.  The result is eight wonderfully isolated and rugged islands perfect for weekend escapes, camping, and snorkeling.  Only Catalina, the furthest south of the islands, registers on tourist radars. 

Mount San Jacinto – Rising above Palm Springs, this would be just another mountain in the distance if it weren’t for the aerial tramway that jaunts visitors to the summit from the desert floor below.  There is a great hike up from the opposite side but I can’t tell you the disappointment I felt the first time at having backpacked up to the summit only to run into a gaggle of overweight tourists who had taken the easy tram route.  Damn!  I hate that. 

Sespe Creek – Never heard of it and never been.  But, judging by the great Adventure write-up, I am truly missing out. Located above Ojai, a few hours from Los Angeles, Sespe Creek is loaded with slot canyons, hot springs, and hidden swimming holes.  This is definitely going on my summer itinerary this year. 

Following Scott’s Footsteps

by Erik Olsen on

History buffs, particularly those with an Antarctic bent, all know the tale of Sir Robert Falcon Scott’s epic walk to the South Pole. It was, in a word, gnarly. And no one has really duplicated the feat, that is of making the trek to the South Pole and back.

Well, Ben Saunders, said to be “one of today’s most exciting and successful polar athletes” (or so says his site), is attempting a rather amazing feat starting this October. Ben and his team will manhaul 400 pound sleds from the edge of Antarctica to the South Pole and back, some 1,800 miles. Wow.

We’ll try our best to keep an eye on the team as they gear up and get ready. But for now, check out their site and if you feel like it, kick in $100 to “buy a mile”.

Outward Bound Video

by Erik Olsen on

Some city slickers spend an awful lot of time in their offices and apartments wondering what the outdoor life is like. How can HEY challenge themselves like the folks they read about in Outside Magazine or National Geographic Adventure? Well, as you probably know, where are lots of outdoor schools that you can enroll yourself in to get away, to thrust yourself into Mother natures gnashing maw and learn a bit about yourself in the process (such as: do you have an allergic reaction to poison ivy?). But maybe you want to get a slightly better, even visual idea of what these schools entail? How your limits will be tested, how your heart will explode in your chest, how you’ll cry like a baby when confronted by a bear.

Well bearing (ha!) all this in mind, I think you will find this nicely produced video from Outward Bound a satisfying way to learn some things about doing the outdoor school thing. Sure, its promotional. No weeping wooses here. But its also punchy and entertaining.

Plague Closes Campground

by Erik Olsen on

That darn plague. It shows up in the darndest places. There you are having a great time with friends in a Utah National Park, and some little critters go and get all plaguey on you. Next thing you know, you get bit and run around frothing at the mouth before falling down dead. I hate it when that happens.

OK, this aren’t quite that bad, but according to this Yahoo news report it seems that there is a plague problem in Utah. In fact, officials have temporarily closed a campground at National Bridges National Monument in Utah when they found that some field mice and chipmunks tested positive for the bubonic plague. The Black Death in Utah? Say it isn’t so. That’s almost as ad as 3.2 beer.

But worry not, dear Gadling readers. Scientists say that the plague rarely if ever jumps from rodent to human. Not in, oh, several hundred years or so. And how did that turn out? I forget.

Hiking Everest, Sans Legs

by Erik Olsen on

All I can say is wow, double wow.

You’d think that climbing Everest is hard enough with all your limbs, but the guy in this story, a Mr. Mark Inglis climbed the mountain with no legs at all. The New Zealand-born double amputee lost both legs years ago in another climbing accident, one where he got frostbite and had to have the limbs removed. But rather than have that be some kind of deterrent, some kind of message that climbing is dangerous, very dangerous and perhaps you might find another vocation, this ballsy dude went ahead and reached the top of the tallest mountain in the world, no legs be damned. Amazing.