CalActive.com Activities Blog

Today I was up at the crack, grinding some breakfast watching the rains pour in. Come ocho I headed over to the back bay for a mysto morning kayak. Tricked out in my grande blue backpacking pancho, I pushed off just as the bands of showers were pushing through. Only minutes into the paddle the wind switched and I was sailing towards jamboree with a stiff wind at my back. It was nice to be cruising at such a brisk pace, doing very little work and enjoying the scenery. However, what goes up must come down, and what leaves the beach must come back eventually, and I knew it wasn’t going to be pretty fighting the wind for a mile or two. My sit on top is great on calm days, but tracking upwind is a bitch. Letting the work ahead of me slide, I leaned back cozy in the seat and checked out the water fowl. Lots of Egrets and Tall Herons. After it rains, all the trash gets washed out of storm drains and ends up in the bay before making its way to the ocean. It’s a sickening feeling to be in a tranquil place observing majestic creatures stepping over styrofoam cups and plastic bags. Yeah, it’s only bad like this on the first big rain of the year, but that’s still unacceptable. Let’s keep the bay clean. dig.

So I flipped the yak around and decided to start heading back. Luckily, there was a waterway between the reeds and the cliffs that provided a slight wind break from the chop of the main channel. Not only was it mellow paddling against the cliffs, but I was able to spot a little cave in the rocks that I never noticed before. I definetly want to get in there, but I’m not sure I could scale down the cliff and get in. Definetly a challenge to come back to. I finally fought my way back to shore and was relieved to get on my feet again. Another day on the bay.

Well, we knew it was coming, and it’s finally here. Rain. Yes, rain, wind and more rain has descended upon us like mongols riding down the steppes. The storm is here, and I’m pumped. This weekend I was thinking about doing some back country snowboarding in the local mountains, and there just isn’t a base yet at 8,000ft. Hopefully we’ll get dumped on and come sunny saturday I’ll be building kickers and dodging trees.

This morning, however, was a completely different story. It was a sunny morning and I woke up early and did a hike from the base of the canyon to top of the world with a hot girlfriend on mine. Twenty minutes before our hike I was rushing out the door, and pounded a big bowl of cereal. Thinking nothing of it, we charged up the mountain and I was feelin strong. Just before the top, bam, my stomach just lost it. The dairy had to go, and that was it. After about three good hurls my enitre cereal breakfast was sufficiently puked out for some lucky deer to lick up later. I felt fine after that and we continued our hike. Note to self, don’t do intense physical exercise right after downing a large amount of milk. Next time, I’m nibbling on a chew bar and saving breakfast for afterwards.

So sayeth the south africans, ain’t nothing but a monkey’s wedding. That’s when it’s raining but also sunny out. This afternoon the coastal trails were a dream. Brilliant sun cutting through the canyon while rain was drizzling down. It’s such a unique weather set that it inspired in me a sense of time. I’m not sure I remember the last time I was out enjoying a sunny rain. Was it a soccer game I played as a squirt? Can’t be sure how accurate that memory is, though I remember the smell of the grass. Suppose it’s good I’m makin new ones then. I guess some things only happen every once in a blue moon.