DAY 93: BROKEN CAMERA TRAIL

DAY 93: BROKEN CAMERA TRAIL

Date: Tuesday February 15, 2011

Miles: 1.25

Elevation Gain: 75 Feet

Time: 45 Minutes

Difficulty: Which way do I go?!

Reward: Dropping my camera in the water :( 

Description: Connecting to the Dead End Trail; wasn't a good idea!

Where: Newbury Park, CA

Directions:From the 101 Freeway in Thousand Oaks, exit on Lynn and drive north.  After you pass Hillcrest, the very next street that you can turn down to the left is Calle Laredo.  Turn left and drive to the end of Laredo.  Turn right and after you pass Pecos on the right, look to your left for the hidden trail:

 The Trailhead

Today's mission was simple; connect the dots from DAY 89: INTRO TO THE ARROYO to my failed DAY 87: DEAD END TRAIL.  By filling this gap, you could then continue DAY 86: ARROYO CONEJO TRAIL which is the known trail that leads you into La Barranca, aka the Arroyo Conejo.  Eventually, this water system becomes Paradise Falls in Wildwood Park.

Walking wounded with bruised legs from a severe allergic reaction to poison oak, I trotted down the familiar path.  When I hit the main horse trail, I turned right and crossed the two creeks.  I saw the fork in the road that I didn't take from Day 89 and followed the right fork closest to the creek:

It's a foam party!?  Needless to say, this water is not meant for drinking, but the bubbles did look cool.  I rounded the turn and soon realized that the fork in the road was just a small loop, but the trail continued forward.  It narrowed quickly to overgrown weeds with poison in between.  A moment later I looked across the creek and realized that this is where I stopped from the other day on my Dead End Voyage.  The creek was knee deep, but it appeared that one spot would have allowed for a passable route without barely dipping my boots in the water.  If I would have crossed here, I would have been able to access the decent portion of the Dead End Trail and complete the course to the Arroyo.  However, the trail seemed to continue on my side, the left side, and since I knew I would eventually need to cross again, why not attempt to eliminate the crossings altogether!

 The Rock

 The Trail; Hanging on to the rock

The Dead End Trail just beyond the rock...

I could have made it but my legs are swollen and not working right.  I've been rubbing cortizone creme on my legs and I don't even recognize myself.  My thigh, knee and calf are the same size!  I feel like I have cankles from my thighs to my ankles!  Anyhow, I turned around and carefully made it... oops!  My water bottle fell out of my pocket and into the water.  Ok, leave it.  It's out of reach...  Keep going, hold the camera.  Almost there.  Hmm, this spot seems like a great place to take a pic of the entire wall.  Unzip my camera.  Hmm, if I take one step closer to the water, I will have the perfect angle ,oh oh, no!  <~Fling... ... <~Splash.... MY CAMERA!!!!  Jessi's going to be so mad!  Quickly, the camera is still in the bag.  Hurry, the bag is emerged in the water.  I grab the bag, the camera falls to the bottom.  I reach down and grab the camera.  With one foot in the water, I begin drying off the camera... and like a fool, I try to turn it on.  The lens begins to open and then :::/// nothing!

Well, this sucks.  It's two hours later and I have the fan blowing on it, but still no power.  At least the memory card works, but now what!  I love my wife and she allows me to hike every day.  I would expect her reaction regarding the camera to be, "Too Bad!".  First of all, I bought that camera for her a year ago and now I am monopolizing it.  I messed up and it would appear that I am going to have to go pic less in my blog for awhile.

I hike everyday because it keeps me motivated to hike at all.  I take pictures so I can tell a story on this blog as I am doing right now.  Without the camera, there is no picture story.  I'd lose my passion.  This can't be happening right now, I'm nearly to 100 Days, 10% of my mission.  My biggest mistake is going off the main trails in search for new places.  Oy~~  Well, let's do this.  I see that 3500 visits have been made to this blog since its inception.  Will somebody donate a camera??  I know, I need a sponsor but I don't know where to begin.  If anyone is out there, HELP :)  lol...   Seriously though, I'm going to set up an online store right now thru Amazon.com.  I will list the things that I need, including the camera.  You are more than welcome to shop there for yourself.  My understanding is that I will be paid a 4% commission on all sales.  Whether that's try or not; I haven't a clue.  However, the sales are secure through Amazon so here is the link: CAMPING STORE by AMAZON.COM