Hike - Ranger Station - Colby Trail

Sunday December 21, 2008

The rain and snow this week left the ground wet and impressionable. The native fauna prowled the trail this week and left marks. Mountain lion tracks. The pepper spray was in pocket. I think it would just make me tastier.



Today the sun was warm and the ground has completely dried. The view of Glendora was awesome.



I met Hans on the trail today. He works with Matt at the San Dimas facility. A company hike may be on the radar for New Year's Day.

GMR - ice

Saturday December 20, 2008.

The road was lined with hay bales for a luge skateboarding pilot film sponsored by Animal Planet. Quite an interesting collection of folks. The skateboarders that normally frequent the mountain weren't out today.



It was a nice fast SDSR stage today. Fastest time ever posted: 34 minutes 45 seconds. Average speed of 6.6 miles per hour and average power of 150 watts. This now bests the best time of last week of 35:35! The first mile was 20 seconds faster, the second mile was 15 seconds faster, the third mile was 10 seconds faster, the last portion was 5 seconds faster. Yes I was slowing down. But very pleased with the results.



The shadow of the mountain kept ice on the road. It was wise to stop and soak up the warmth of the sun and catch up with the events of the week.

Dawn

Thursday December 18, 2008. Dawn over the maintenance shed. Some days off of work are so much better than others. At least one of us was smart enough to take a gorgeous day off from work.



How different and magical the world looks hidden under a cloak of white.

Here is the view for the working stiffs from Santa Ana 38 miles away. The mountains are peaking out under the clouds. Another time when a real camera was needed.

More weather

Wednesday December 17, 2008. The latest storm has left the roads slippery with cold wet snow and ice. The intrepid explorer Matt ventured out once more this week to experience the rare event of a white winter here in southern California. The maintenance shed is just out of reach.

California Dreaming

December 11, 2008.

Sunrise before the storm!



Photo courtesy of Bill

Snow!

Monday December 15, 2008 16:00 PST.

Amazing how the road I sweated on all summer long takes on a new look with a winter coat of white. Maybe this is the reason I was chilled to the bone on the wet Saturday ride!



The maintenance shed in all its glory.



Photos courtesy of Matt.

Mystic Canyon

Sunday December 14, 2008. After the cold and wet of Saturday, I decided a slower activity such as hiking would be good. The vistas were gorgeous viewing the mountain from the "other side", the city with its sprinkling of red and gold trees. however I didn't bring a camera. The definition of cold on Sunday was 38F warming to 60F. My sister in Montana reset my definition of cold today saying it was a very brisk -2F!!! Yikes.