CoVID-19: California Closes State Parks To Vehicular Traffic

Hiking Anza-Borrego Slot Canyon in March of 2019

Well, we couldn't stay away. Californians heard the warnings and threats and then, as we do, found the loopholes. Last week it was City parks and beaches and canyons that closed, so everyone (including my family) found county and state park loopholes, or sought the cities where closures hadn't gone into effect, like Oceanside and Coronado. But it's bad. And the numbers keep growing. And we don't want to be like Italy. And I know we are accustomed to a certain lifestyle here in Southern California, that's why we pay the so-called 'sunshine tax' to live here, but now the state parks have had to shut down to vehicular traffic, too. And this is a good little primer from KQED: Can I Go Hiking During California's Shelter in Place? Yes, But Read This First, though I just realized this was posted on Friday, before the state expanded their closures. It's so confusing. I know.

Full press release after the jump.

CoViD-19: A Summary of Hiking Closures

A View of Point Loma from Coronado, taken 12.28.2020

The other day I said I wouldn't post comments from a private group, but I thought this one was important. This is from Nick Gee, admin on the group San Diego Hiking Society, posted Marcg 24 around 9am. This is a constantly evolving situation:

There are numerous updated and current posts about closures to specific areas and lands managed by every agency present within San Diego County. County parks and preserves are still open, except those closed for rain damage. City parks and reservoirs are all closed. Torrey Pines State Reserve is closed. Carlsbad parks and beaches are closed. State parks like Cuyamaca, Anza-Borrego, and Palomar Mountain are open for hiking but not camping in developed campgrounds. Other wilderness areas, state conservation areas, and wildlife refuges are open. National parks like Cabrillo are open for hiking. Cleveland National Forest is open, though the two popular waterfall trails, Three Sisters and Cedar Creek Falls are closed to hiking. That's a comprehensive breakdown of current conditions on Tuesday morning, March 24th.
"The Trails" do not exist on their own. "The Trails" are a product of political acts made by many different agencies and public government entities. We really need to realize this for our future decisions of land use and jurisdiction for public lands and utilities, and private lands that surround them. Let's get serious about our hobby when this is over.

(If you appreciate the posts on this site, please consider a small donation or tip via Venmo/sddialedin or Paypal.)

CoViD 19: No School, No Work. What are we going to do?

People often comment on how much I go out, but I don't think that the reality of what a homebody I am is evident to everyone. But I am. I binge a lot of TV. I read a lot. I can stay in pajamas all day and all night. Financial concerns aside (because if there aren't emergency funds or reprieve for renters, we are effed) it isn't that hard for me to be asked to stay home. However, with all of us home, we are going to be right on top of each other, all day and night, for the foreseeable future, so here are some thoughts of ways we hope to ease this time. In lieu of listings this week, I give you #socialdistancing in San Diego:

PSA: California State Parks Memorial Day Weekend Safety Tips

It's Memorial Day Weekend and not only one of the biggest road trip weekends of the year, but San Diego is always a top destination for the holiday. California State Parks sent this helpful reminder for safety tips etc. that is definitely worth a read (after the jump). 

Palm Canyon at Anza Borrego Desert State Park 

PSA: Wildflower Season May Bring Beautiful Blooms––and Crowds––to State Parks

The following is the full press release from California State Parks regarding "The Big Bloom" or "Superbloom,"expected this spring in places like Anza-Borrego State Park, Ocotillo Wells, and Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve. Be familiar and do yourself a favor and do your research. The traffic dropping into A-B on the weekends gets insane.
Or, if TL;dr: Obey the signs, check the weather, your phone won't work in remote areas, be prepared with adequate provisions and gas for your vehicle, leave no trace, and don't be an entitled asshole (my words, not theirs.) And learn from our mistakes: leave your dog at home. Full press release and tips are after the jump.

Anza-Borrego in 2017 - End of the Bloom

Recap: The In-Ko-Pah 4 Weekend

A few years ago, I was invited to a weird ass festival in Jacumba around the hot springs. The music was cool, but it was mostly high teenagers trying to bum booze, I was laughed at when I checked in for a press pass, and it was unbearably hot and dusty, resulting in us staying for just a few bands and returning home before sunset. If only those people had it half as together as The In-Ko-Pah.

I knew The In-Ko-Pah wasn't at the same location and found an article online to be helpful in giving us some idea where we were going. It was hotter than we expected in the desert this past weekend, and there was music, but that's where the similarities of the two events end. The In-Ko-Pah takes place at The High Desert Tower, a privately owned property in Jacumba, just north of the 8 freeway off exit 77. You know when you go somewhere or do something and you can't believe you never did it before and you kinda kick yourself? That's kinda how I was. I was just in awe the whole time, from the location to the participants to the attendees to the amenities and planning, it was just an incredible experience. I'd heard that the wind was especially brutal last year, so it was probably best that we waited to pop our cherry this year, but still, I can't believe I ever missed it. The In-Ko-Pah was an amazing experience.
Read more after the jump.

Anza-Borrego Superbloom

I know, I know. EVERYONE has been talking about the Desert Superbloom as a result of the heavier than usual rainfall that hit Southern California this year. I mean everyone. Here are a few: National Geographic, LA Times, LAist, Curbed LA, Wired, KPBS, Times of San Diego, San Diego Union-Tribune, Huffington Post, and even the Weather Network. Not to mention every. single. person. you know on Facebook posting photos. So here's one more post to add to the bunch.

There were a few things that compelled us to make Anza-Borrego a destination this year. For one, Nova has repeatedly lamented that she's never been camping. Growing up, my family went to a lot of campgrounds, but with an old camper to sleep in, we never really pitched a tent and roughed it. But in my late teens and twenties, I had a small group of friends who made a tradition of camping in Anza-Borrego, at the Borrego Palm Canyon campsite. Though we slept in tents, it was still not roughing it because I always appreciated the bathrooms and showers, and the honorary group leader, whom we called Toro, who always brought pounds of shrimp and carne asada and eggs and fruit and cases of beer and booze and made some amazing meals over an open flame, but eventually we all sort of fell out of touch and I've not ever been camping since.

The other massive influence, as I'm sure is the case with everyone else, was social media. I saw an "Anza-Borrego 101" seminar/talk at Adventure 16. I can't exactly recall the lady's name, but she sold the park quite well. "The largest state park in California" and "the 2nd largest contiguous park in the continental US" were the kind of factoids we wanted to hear, selling us on a low-cost, close to home adventure. Enough that we made two trips pre-Superbloom, parking at the visitor's center and walking into the Palm Canyon campground along the paved walkway.

I'll say this, too. In case you haven't noticed, I'm not the outdoor type. Or even the daylight type. And we still haven't gone camping. Luckily Darren and I have this sort of overlapping life experience of long car rides with our families, enjoying scenic drives, family road trips and the like. He's an adventurer, and Nova has certainly picked that up from him, whether that's nature or nurture, I don't know. But we have commitments and obligations and I don't do too well being 'off the grid' or away from wi-fi for any stretch of time. But Anza is close enough. This is something we can all do and meet somewhere in the middle...Nova bouldering and climbing, Darren trying to hike as much as possible before losing daylight, and me quietly enjoying the birds, the frogs, the crickets, the beauty of vistas and sounds of nature, while packing a cooler of cheeses and salami and seltzers and crackers and peanut butter and jelly to make sandwiches.

I'm not saying we're experts. We still couldn't find that goddamn serpent. But I think we pulled off a pretty great day trip. With Nova having an activity each day and my work and show schedule, plus having to consider leaving our cat and dog alone all day, I don't think we're overstretched, but we certainly have to plan for anything more than a day trip. But we finally pulled it off before all the blooms dried up. And maybe we've set ourselves up for a future camping trip. And if not, at least we got a glimpse of the Desert Superbloom of 2017.

Recommendations: Check the Anza-Borrego Foundation site. Know a destination. The first couple times, we Google mapped to the Visitor's Center, which had us take the 8 to the 67, through Ramona, to the 78. This time we decided to go the 8 to 78, around Lake Cuyamaca, toward Julian, through Banner. The colors as we descended into the valley were stunning, nothing we could capture with pictures but something we won't soon forget. Most of all, learn about the park. As long as you're not on private property, Anza is one of the few parks where you can literally pull off just about anywhere, so long as you're not on the roadway. There are tons of resources and informative sites to find your own adventure. Also, as painful as it was, leave your dog at home. There are a lot of restrictions about dogs on the trails, and while we got away with it in the colder winter months, she was better off skipping this trip.
Lastly, I know there are some brilliant photographers, and I do not consider myself one of them, but all of these are shot with my Samsung S7 phone. I took all of my cameras in the car, but you have to consider if it's really worth lugging all your gear, plus water, plus other essentials or just trying to soak it all in. I opted for just the phone.

This thing is almost over. The flowers are drying by the day, the colors fading fast, and many say this is probably the last week to really take it all in. If you do, skip the sculptures for another time (unlike us, wasting precious sunlight hours), and find your own flower adventure.

More pictures after the jump.