To say that it’s been a hell of a winter would be a gross understatement. The Santa Cruz Mountains have been hit with too many atmospheric rivers to count, a freak snowstorm, power outages, landslides, road closures, and flooding. At least one historic record has been broken. For those that say it doesn’t rain in California, this winter has proven them very, very, wrong. Maybe Mother Nature is finally cashing in on years of rain dances?
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| Freak snowstorm near our house |
If I needed a reminder that humans are not in control, this was it. Our beautiful, peaceful Santa Cruz Mountains turned into a disaster zone. We cleared debris from streams and culverts to prevent water from undermining the road. We burned hundreds of tree limbs and tree tops that came down in our backyard from the heavy snow. We had to walk home one day through a field, about half a mile, when our road was closed for repairs. The longest stretch that we went without power was six days. We were essentially indoor camping. We survived off PB&J and soup, took showers at work. It redefined my sense of what “clean” clothes were. Thank god for our wood burning stove: not only was it a practical way to heat the house, warm up food, and dry clothes, it provided a small glimmer of hope on the dark winter nights. Other “highlights” from the past month: I carefully shimmied across a landslide with Denali, almost got beheaded by a falling tree limb, and navigated a river crossing that was as deep as mid-thigh.
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| This is supposed to be a paved road |
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| A driveway near our house |
One silver lining is that the storm forced me to stay put, slow down, and finally work on the blog. That is, once I’d procrastinated in every way possible, from decluttering our entire house to reading three books. I’m going to try something new this time: nine pictures and nine stories, to summarize our travels the past few months. Because I’m way behind!
Long Beach Island, New Jersey (Sept 2022)
If you remember, my last blog post left off with us returning home from our road trip. Naturally, the next place we went was as different from the Alaskan backcountry as you can get: the Jersey Shore. We spent a week vacationing with my family and generally vegging out. I grew up going to the Jersey Shore with my family, but for Owen it was his first real “beach week,” so he got a crash course. Luckily, it wasn’t difficult for him to adjust to our routine of eating donuts and icecream, going for several bike rides a day, and laying out in the sun.
Southern Oregon (Sept 2022)
After beach week we flew back to California and took one last road trip up to Oregon for Owen’s cousin’s wedding before our sabbatical ended. Along the way, we explored the southern coast of Oregon. This photo was taken at Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor. It took a couple wrong turns until we found this secluded beach. We even found a dead octopus washed up on shore! It was a bittersweet trip, fun to be on the road again but sad our vagabond lifestyle was finally coming to an end.
Toiyabe National Forest (Oct 2022)
We lasted three weeks back at work until we had to bust out of the Bay Area and go camping. We went to the Sierra Nevada in search of rare pockets of fall colors. We found a secluded place to camp at the end of a forest service road and got to experience not just fall but also winter with a dusting of snow the next morning. This photo was taken after I went for a chilly trail run with Denali, when I’d warmed up by the fire with a cup of hot apple cider. It tasted like liquid gold.
Southern California (Nov 2022)
For the first time in years, we did not spend Thanksgiving at a campground. Instead we visited Owen’s uncle and his partner in southern California. The day after Thanksgiving we did the grand tour of the area: lunch in Palm Springs, the desolate Salton Sea, Salvation Mountain. Our goal was to finish the day off by watching the sunset from some sand dunes nearby. We were a little late for the sunset and we arrived at a scene altogether different than what we expected. The dunes were bustling with hundreds of people riding ATVs and side-by-sides. We went for a short jaunt up one of the dunes, then hightailed it back to the truck so as not to get run over.
Anza-Borrego State Park (Nov 2022)
On the way home from Owen’s uncle’s house we detoured into Anza-Borrego State Park for a day. As California’s largest state park, a day is nowhere near long enough to fully explore it but we hit the highlights, at least the ones we could reach in our 2WD Yaris. Dogs aren’t allowed on the trails so I attempted to solo hike a loop trail called The Slot while Owen stayed back with Denali. The trail wound through a spectacular, narrow canyon… and then disappeared. I teamed up with another solo hiker who was similarly lost. We tried a few routes before giving up and hiking back the way we’d come. Luckily I didn’t mind retracing my steps.
Mount Shasta (Jan 2023)
For New Year’s we took a trip to Mount Shasta in northern California. In the winter, the Everitt Memorial Highway, which goes partway up the mountain, only gets plowed up to Bunny Flat at 7,000 feet elevation. The rest of it shuts down to car traffic and turns into a thoroughfare for cross-country skiers, snowmobiles, and snowshoers. We made the trek on snowshoes. There was something invigorating and humbling about standing below the hulking beast that made it a good place to start the new year.
Truckee (Jan 2023)
Every year for my birthday we go to the mountains so we have a chance of being in the snow. Some years, it’s hit or miss. Not this year! We stayed in Truckee, and there was already several feet of snow on the ground. Then, the morning of my birthday I woke up to it snowing! I grabbed Denali and we went for a run in the powder through the neighborhood. It brought me back to my days as a kid in New Jersey, traipsing through the woods behind my house on snow days.
Lake Tahoe (Feb 2023)
My friend Lowell had stellar timing with her visit to California for a ski trip with us: she came during the small window when our power wasn’t out and the highways to Lake Tahoe were clear. Our first day skiing we couldn’t have asked for better conditions: it was a bluebird day with stellar views of the lake. The second day, I could barely see my hand in front of my face- it was dumping snow. While Owen and Lowell were flying through the trees, I just tried to stay upright. That is, until I realized that falling didn’t hurt with all that snow! The adventure didn’t stop at the end of the ski day, either. On our drive home, Owen helped shovel and tow a car out of a snowbank.
Death Valley National Park (Feb 2023)
This was our fourth time going to the hot springs in Death Valley for President’s Day, so we weren’t the newbies anymore. We were the ones telling the newcomers about the baseball game, the potluck dinner. This year, there was a new event: the National Park Service hosted a stargazing talk. A crowd of around 60 people gathered, and I overheard one man say “hell, it’s like we’re in Yosemite Valley.” But of course he was joking. This was nothing like Yosemite Valley, unless Yosemite Valley has clothing optional hot springs, wild burros roaming through camp, and hundreds of people camped in the middle of the desert for one weekend a year.
It was the rejuvenating weekend I didn't know I needed, the calm before the literal storms. It's tough to guess what the weather will throw at us next, but I'm going to assume winter is not finished with us just yet.
