Guerrillas In The Mist

OK, maybe we're not that tough, but you have to admit we do look sufficiently ragged. Anyone wondering how long I can keep the title puns going? Matt was sans spouse this weekend and he talked me into being his better half... of his hiking duo! Wokka! Wokka! Wokka! OK maybe 3/8. Well, and Murphy came along too, so it wasn't even a duo. But I think you can see my point here. Me > Matt. For those of you keeping score at home, that's a burn.*

*Rather than ask my friends the next day if they read my blog post, I've decided to just make fun of them in the posts and judge their reading habits on when (if ever) they take exception with my tales. Really what is a blog for if not a one-sided slinging of insults and demeaning in general. Matt feel free to retaliate in the comments.

Seriously though, Matt, thanks for setting this up; I had a lot of fun.

Back to the story...

Matt and I headed up to Los Padres National Forest Saturday for a quick overnight of backpacking with Murphy in tow. (And by in tow I mean: on the armrest, on my arm, on my lap, on my pack in back, etc.) It was a short 2 1/2 mile hike up to our destination from the trailhead, but not nearly as leisurely as it sounded. The latter 2/3 of the hike was pretty steep, and we were bogged down with some heavy packs. (Not to mention out of shape and with various ailing body parts.)

As we headed up to camp, the fog began to roll in, and would stay with us more or less the entire time we were up there. It made for a moist setting, but it gave the place a delightfully eery vibe. It did end up raining most of the night which made it hard to get to sleep with drops pinging on the rainfly.

Clockwise from top left: Start of hike (still sunny); Murphy gets a water break;
Reaching Pine Camp; Well-deserved Yeungling

Clockwise from top left: Shady figures; Pack it in, pack it out;
Murphy spazzing out; Ojai Valley; Hike out Sunday (fog cleared out)

Now we come to the portion of the program that I like to call "What Did Justin and Peter Leave In My Tent After Joshua Tree?" If you guessed a bunch of gravel and a glow stick, congratulations. You're today's big winner. Make your claim in the comments and I will mail you some nice prizes as soon as I get some corporate sponsors for this blog.

Top: gravel; Bottom: glow stick

There wasn't too much opportunity for photography as most of my time was spent heaving and gasping under a 55-lb pack or sitting in a cloud of mist. But on the other hand, I did get to experience the genius of Fat Tire in cans, Matt created the recipe for boiled pepperoni Easy Mac, and Murphy got to be a spaz and run around our camp. And that's a good weekend any way you slice it. Not to mention I got to eat Ojai's best burger (Zagat rated!) and try The Baconator. Strangely enough, these were not separate events.

The height of (Ojai) dining!

Check out all my pics here.