Following my trip up the west side of the Carrizo Plain I cut over to Elkhorn Road, which starts out just west of the San Andreas Fault and then crosses it to run along the base of the Temblor Range on the east side of the plain. A small ridge known in various places the Elkhorn Scarp, Elkhorn Hills and Panorama Hills separates this area from the rest of the plain. With the exception of the northernmost section, Elkhorn Road is pretty deserted.
[Click ânextâ below or scroll to the previous post if you missed it!]
You can hike into the Temblors in a few locations, I chose one that seemed quite promising given the number of other cars (5-6) and the colors I could see in the hills. Itâs apparently an old grazing area and while gated it isnât posted, so entry isnât a problem.
I declined to peak out on the Temblors. Instead I did a short hike low down along a dry creek, then I doulbed back and hiked about halfway up on the main trail, gaining about 1,100âČ of a possible 2,300âČ. The mountains were yellow, orange and lavender. As I hiked up, I went through all those colors -- mostly yellow at my elevation, but some traces of the others as well. Iâve seen desert mountain wildflowers before, but nothing like this.
It must have gotten to me. I found myself singing on the way back down the trail. And I donât sing. Fortunately, there was nobody to hear my very poor rendition of âSloop John B.â And donât even ask why that one popped into my head.
After making my way down I decided to continue south on Elkhorn Road, rather than doing something sane like doubling back to the north and paved roads. It is not the kind of road that a Honda CR-V with street tires should regularly be subjected to, but other than a healthy dust coat, it came through beautifully. After about an hour of moving slowly to avoid tire damage, I exited the plain to the west, finding myself in the small oil town of Maricopa. From there it was an easy drive to the freeway and home.
Itâs been a while since I really got out of town. Wildflowers in much of southern California hit their peak last weekend while I was away, but decided I would head to the Carrizo Plain today to check out what was there, do some hiking and generally just get away. Good call.
The drive up through Ojai on Route 33 was unremarkable by Route 33 standards. Itâs a beautiful road and well worth the drive or ride just by itself. Entered the Plain from the south and headed up Soda Lake Road which is the main route through. It varies between poorly paved and unpaved, with the unpaved sections generally being better. Flowers at the south end are past their peak, but moving north, everything is in bloom.
Not only that, but the surrounding mountains (The Caliente Range to the west and the Temblor Range to the east) are also covered with flowers of varying coloration. I stopped at multiple locations before arriving at Soda Lake that -- for a change this year -- actually has was water in it! Still, easy to see why it got the name. Like many desert dry lakes itâs shores and lakebottom are caked with alkali salts, primarily sodium bicarbonate.
Soda Lake was also the last place I saw much of humanity. I continued past it to the northeast, but rather than continuing north and exiting the park on Highway 58 as most sane people do, I doubled back on Elkhorn Road which runs down the other side of the plan, adacent to the Temblor Range on the other side of the San Andreas Fault.
More on my excursion to the Temblor Range in Part 2. Click next or scroll to next post.
"Southwest one-niner-three-six, cross Santa Monica VOR at or above seven thousand, cleared stadium visual runway two-four right, tower on final, good day!"
Haven't been away since the New Zealand trip. Even a quick family run up to Oakland for the weekend was a nice escape, and nice to be back to good weather.
Also nice that I can still keep up with ATC when I want to, even though I havenât flown myself in years.
Just noticed that since I edited a number of items from New Zealand, theyâre no longer showing up in the correct order when viewed in the tumblr app. Everythingâs fine in a normal browser.
I started this blog primarily for the New Zealand trip. It was pretty rough and limited by the frequently-poor internet connections. I shared it with only a handful of people in that state. Now that Iâm home, Iâve edited the text and done a bit of post-processing on the photos. Iâve uploaded higher-resolution versions of the ones Iâve liked and generally tidied things up so it flows better.
Itâll probably be a while before I can do another major trip, so for now Iâll be posting micro adventures and reprising the best of my travel and adventure photos in a format that will allow them to really stand out.
Iâve got to travel more, and I may have to do it outside the US.Â
When I started this blog a couple of months ago, I had not traveled outside the US in several years. As a mostly-solo traveler I had become far too accustomed to the crappy way the needs of solo travelers are served in the US, where "single accommodationsâ means little more than âsame thing a family gets, but weâll give you a 10% discount.â Unfortunately, the structure of the U.S travel industry doesnât do much for me. More and more, Iâve stayed home.
When I travel I donât want to be committed to the schedules or detailed itineraries of an organized group, so I tend to be on my own or with one other person of similar mind. But I also donât want to be alone every moment and some things -- like hiking in alpine terrain -- are best done with others. So I want to be in places that favor encountering people with similar interests. Thatâs a niche that the US tourism industry doesnât fill very well once youâve hit a certain age, and not all that well even when youâre younger. This trip reminded me that my particular niche is better served elsewhere.
Iâm not going to call it a resolution, but the goal this year is to travel more. Unless something unexpected happens in my life, much of that travel will be solo. If that means âoutside the US,â then so be it.
In the US, travel alone outside big cities seems to involve the choice of sitting in a bar talking to a bored bartender (assuming there even is one) or being alone in the motel room with the TV. Campgrounds are often designed for isolation too: private outdoor living rooms with their own private fire pits, private camp tables, etc. As I noticed the first night on the road, even the campground/holiday parks in NZ are designed with shared, communal facilities. Great for those of us who may want to spend our days alone but connect with others for an hour or two over dinner.Â
When I first learned to ski, I routinely stayed in the kinds of places I found in NZ. There were dorm rooms at the base of Snowbird and shared rooms available at most of the Alta Lodges. I had fun times in those places, often meeting people whose interest in being there aligned pretty well with mine (which is to say, people who were there to ski and didnât care about the spas, restaurants and other âresort amenitiesâ). When I finally sold my Snowbird share this past year, the decision came down to the reality I didnât enjoy being there anymore, and accepting that I was still seeking something that hadnât existed in that place in years. [I am told the St. Moritz still exists in Aspen. Good on them.]
In a way, that led me to New Zealand. The time and money I wonât spend at a Utah ski area this month were instead spent at holiday parks in Wanaka and Te Anau. Thatâs the best trade Iâve made in years.
One of the most fun nights of my whole stay was sitting in a TV lounge, watching rugby with a bunch of other people who all came from countries where rugby is not played, trying to figure out together âwhat are the rules of this game?â Not a loud expensive bar scene. Not a forced event. Not a planned âgroup activity.â Just a bunch of people on vaguely-similar, intersecting journeys, sitting together and laughing about something none of us understood, rather than hiding out in a tent, campervan or cabin, let alone an insular motel room.
I made some friends on this trip, which is more than I can say for any trip in a long time. I enjoyed a mini-romance and a couple of not-quite-romances. I ended up doing some things I wouldnât have known to do, because people I met along the way suggested them or invited me along.
The world does not end with the Lonely Planet Guide. Some of my fellow travelers took me beyond the guidebook to locations that were either new, temporary or just offbeat enough that they werenât common knowledge. Out of respect for all involved, I havenât discussed them here. I met other people who might have been fun to travel with if only because they shared my outlook about what travel should be. Maybe Iâll travel with some of them in the future. Maybe, in some other place, Iâll be able to show them the stuff I know that Lonely Planet doesnât.
Perhaps thatâs the greater lesson. I like traveling with a block of time and minimal plans, not beholden to a schedule or detailed itinerary. Thatâs what makes it a vacation for me. Where I live, itâs been hard to find people to go along with that. Maybe I just need to seek it elsewhere.
Hereâs THE PLANÂ (Top image, click through here for details)
Hereâs THE RESULTÂ (Bottom image, click through here for details)
Really, donât kill my career just yet. This was all within the parameters I pretty much committed to before leaving. I knew the earthquake had redefined the last few days of my trip by eliminating the chance to ride the Kaikoura coast. In retrospect I should have realized that I would not be happy with a typical tour that involved moving on every day or so.
Looking back, what I got wasnât that far off from what I should have expected: a smaller number of stops with longer stays at each of them, far more local âin and backâ trips from the various places I stayed, and one major âmissâ due to weather. (The bulk of the west coast.) I also did not anticipate (but should have) that I would like Christchurch as much as I did and that I would spend more time there than planned.
Itâs what happens when you go to a place you donât know and discover things you never considered along the way. Those âunknown unknownsâ they teach you about in project management class.
In retrospect, I should have concentrated the trip even more: Fly to Queenstown, pick up campervan, split the time between Te Anau and Wanaka with some side trips, drive to Christchurch with a stop at Tekapo for the observatory tour, and then perhaps rent a motorcycle for a few days of day trips from Chch.
It was an introduction. I could spend months just to do the things I wanted to do to the depth Iâd like to. Iâll be back.
I really enjoyed this bike for this kind of trip. It was everything I needed it to be at a reasonable cost and very low fuel consumption. When loaded it was a bit sluggish in the corners but a willing hauler that could still pass slow trucks with ease when asked to. When unloaded it was a lot of fun on twisting roads and mountain passes.
Great torque at the low end meant that a lot of roads just didnât demand much shifting. This quality shone through in places like the Crown Range pass or Kennepuru Road near Queen Charlotte Sound.
For somebody of my size, the bike is pretty comfortable for 2-3 hours but feels a bit cramped beyond that. If I had planned on a lot of long days, I would have done well to go for something bigger: BMW GS700, V-Strom or similar mid-sized âadventure bike.â Same would have been true if the trip called for a lot of cruising at US highway speeds, but much of the appeal of this trip to me was going slower.
I cannot imagine wanting to use this bike for 2-up riding. As it was, the difference was noticeable when I left the top box off, so a passenger would have made the bike much less fun. I think the positioning of the box (high and back) causes it to have an out sized effect even when lightly loaded. If I were to do this again, Iâd set myself up with a lot less stuff and skip the top box entirely.
Navigation by cellphone proved to be adequate to my purposes. I was glad I brought my auxiliary battery because this bike doesnât have a power port of any kind. (I believe it is an option on the 2016 model.) I never ran out of juice even when running the phone with display on all day long. At times I regretted not bringing my Garmin, but those times were rare. I was mostly on well-established roads and didnât have much trouble even without consulting the electronics.
The luggage provided by Motorent was pretty standard and fairly adaptable. I tend to prefer more square-shaped, top-loading luggage as it makes it easier to keep essentials easily accessible on top, but eventually sorted out an arrangement that worked.
The Givi touring screen is at best a mixed blessing. It definitely meant a less water on me for the few days I hit rain, and probably fewer bug-hits. The bugs are plentiful and I think I killed thousands of them. My visor got a lot of cleaning every day.
The downside is that the Givi is just tall enough to get the airflow off your upper chest and right onto the center of your face visor. That means that your visor can be buffetted by winds. When the conditions are gusty itâs particularly bad. the forward-facing curve of the thing looks cool but probably makes the turbulence worse than it might be (Google âVon Karman vortexâ). All-in-all, not a huge deal most of the time, but I have a notion that I would have liked the bike better with the stock windscreen.
Oxford heated grips were wonderful on the days that I needed them, but for the most part stayed off. My RevIt Gore-tex gloves did a pretty good job on the cold and wet days even without any help.
Motorent made it really easy to pick up and drop off, and kept my excess luggage while I was on the road. Theyâre one of the few companies in New Zealand who have the Hondas, which is a major plus if you donât want the bulk and expense of bigger bikes. A very strong recommendation.
Which is weird, because my flight left Christchurch (with a slight delay) at 2030 on the 22nd. And I left Auckland at 2300/11pm, which the clock on my computer tells me is about an hour from now.
Iâm confused.
The cats are not confused and are glad to have me back. The time in ANZâs premium economy passed quickly despite a bumpy ride. I especially like the decorative graphics in the left-side lavatory. I want to read that guidebook to the nude ski resorts of New Zealand.
Iâll unpack tomorrow then settle in to ignore the holidays. The day after tomorrow itâs my brotherâs turn to hop on a plane and get out of the country for a bit. Iâm beginning to look forward to the next adventure, with perhaps a bit less reluctance than this time.
After returning from the north, I had some notion that I might spend the last day with the bike on a local ride, maybe just to the port of Lyttleton or out to Akaroa.
I woke to a clear but windy day on Tuesday and after spending so much of the previous day riding in body-slamming winds, I decided to stay put. I took the bike over to a self-serve carwash and cleaned off the worst of the bugs, then fueled up and parked it for the final overnight. I returned it Wednesday morning.
I still had my bus pass and made good use of it to explore additional neighborhoods further from the central area. I also kept finding new little things just a few blocks from the hotel. You see more as you spend more time in one place just watching. I call this, âpeeling back the onion,â and itâs yielded great photos over the years. Some places are particularly good for that kind of study and I found Christchurch to be one of those places.
The Breakfree is a pretty good place to meet an interesting variety of people. Last week most of the people in the lounge were in town for a telecom sales meeting. Not my usual crowd, but there were a few sales engineers with whom I shared some professional interests. This time we had a youth wind orchestra, a fun and rowdy group of Brits, and a handful of people stopping in Christchurch for a few days before leaving for Antarctica. I befriended a scientist who was going to one of the outlying Antarctic stations and we explored a bit together.
There are lots of little things designed to fill spaces or make some ugly feature (like the big hole in the ground across from the hotel) seem just a little more normal and less uninviting than they might otherwise be. Some of these work better than others.
My second to last day (Wednesday) was beautiful, probably the best I had. I left the camera in the room, we took the bus to the beach and then switched to another to Lyttleton. Had lunch in Woolston, then made our way back to the hotel before heading out for another walk in the other direction. Walkable cities are so nice compared to where I often find myself.
Last day
I wrapped things up with a visit to the International Antarctic Centre. Itâs right at the airport and a pretty common last stop for travelers to the US given the departure schedule. I checked my bags, walked over to the centre, and stayed until they closed. I watched the Little Blue Penguins waddling around, skipped the interactive Antarctic storm and enjoyed the large-screen documentary. Most of the penguins here are injured rescues.
I walked back to the terminal and breezed through security. Used the last of my NZ cash while waiting for my delayed flight. That was it.
Places and people that made it great
Big shout-out to the Breakfree Hotel. Great, convenient place to stay at a decent price for a solo traveler. Everybody was amazing including all the other guests I spoke with. (Well, there was that one perpetually-drunk guy on the 4th floor who always told me to get out of his way, but nothing is perfect.)
And just around the corner, Great Coffee Fast. Not a major production, just a nice place to stop for a hot drink. Glad to see the road works on Manchester seem to be drawing to something of a close and look forward to an unimpeded sidewalk next time.
Ended up at Cassel and Sons at the Tannery a few times. The bartender remembered me immediately even after two weeks and my euro scientist friend enjoyed it too. Nice. Iâd go back.
There were so many people and places along the way itâs hard to count or remember them all. On the whole, there were far more people who made it great than not. Well, that one guy on the 4th floor...
Christchurch Skeptics in the Pub.
Christchurch Python Users Group and Catalyst IT.
âShaggieâ from ADVRider, who helped me plan out my last few days on the road.
Motorent. Iâll have more to say in a separate writeup.
The many people who told me to skip Queenstown and head straight to Wanaka.
Sandfly Cafe in Te Anau.
The amazing people at the Mt. John Observatory.
My various roommates, travel companions and just people I met along the way. I hope to cross paths with some of you again.
Weâre getting awfully close to Christmas, but by American standards you hardly feel it. At the same time, what you do feel seems far more authentic and less commercially-inspired.Â
I guess itâs hard to be ultra-Christmassy when itâs summer, itâs light out 15 hours a day and thereâs great beach weather on some days. But L.A. often gets the beach weather too and feels very different
The first time I really felt the holiday coming was last week when I went to see Rogue One at a Westfield mall. I canât honestly say Iâve been paying much attention, but the fact that I wasnât forced to notice is notable in and of itself. The decorations got stepped up after the 15th or so, a month after the US went into overdrive and still seem muted.
Itâs not that people arenât celebrating. Itâs that the months-long retail and media hysteria that occupy us in the US just isnât here. My lack of interest in holiday plans (I suspect Iâll be recovering from travel) hasnât caused anybody to label me as part of a "War on Christmasâ or call me a âbad Jewâ for not caring much about Hanukkah either. It seems like people are just preparing for an approaching holiday as it gets closer, in whatever way suits them, without our hysterics. I find it much more pleasant and welcoming.
Next year, maybe Iâll come for the Star Wars Part VIII opening night (because, I can beat the USA by 18 hours again!) and stay through the New Year. I could like this season here.
A long day in mostly challenging weather with a glorious end
Monday, December 19
No pictures today, for reasons that will be obvious.
It would have been nice to have another great day like Saturday, and thatâs generally what the forecast called for, but it was not to be.
Earthquake-related road and rail closures are forcing all southbound traffic from the Picton ferry terminal to detour through the mountains. Some container traffic has been rerouted by sea, but thereâs more traffic on this road than normal. I wanted to ride the Lewis Pass, but really wasnât looking forward to doing it with a lot of trucks. The trucks should have been the least of my worries.
The road west was straight and flat by New Zealand standards. However, the winds that met my arrival in the Wairau Valley yesterday did not subside overnight and really picked up in the morning. I rode in gusty headwinds that seemed to body-slam me regularly from both directions. There was no choice but to slow down and take it easy.
I ran into occasional rain as I approached the Lewis Pass gas station, which is still 15km from the top of the pass. The only good thing I can say about the rain is that the wind died off in the rainy sections. I added my rain layer at the gas station, making me feel like an overstuffed teddy bear.
The Lewis pass is much less spectacular than Arthurâs Pass. Itâs below tree line in thick forest, so thereâs never a spot that offers much of a view. Itâs a nice, mostly sedate road that would have been beautiful in weather that was just a little better.
Things improved on the east side, though I never really lost the wind. Just before joining highway 1 (the coast route) it cleared up completely and I stopped to remove all the extra layers. The final hour of the ride to Christchurch was in glorious sunshine and lighter winds.
Iâm now ensconced in my âSwiss army knifeâ hotel room at Breakfree. (Because itâs compact, well designed, and has pretty much everything I need all in one package.) Opted again for the inside windowless room because it serves my purpose well and I found that Iâd rather spend time talking with people in the lobby than being in the room anyway. Iâll get a good nightâs sleep and see about tomorrow. I told Motorent that Iâd return the bike on Wednesday, so I have options. If the weatherâs good I might ride out to Akaroa, in the crater of an ancient volcano thatâs now an inlet on the coast.
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