Days 2 & 3 through Coronado Island

After I was unexpectedly stopped by an entry into an estuary the day before, I started day 2 of my hike by driving back to my last end point, and began walking from the north end of the estuary mouth. The weather was beautiful, and it made for an easy 5 mile hike through Imperial Beach. 

I had been concerned about crossing the beach adjacent to the Imperial Beach Outlying Landing Field. I wasn't sure if the beach was accessible or not; fortunately, it wasn't. I stopped at the south end of the Silver Strand park, where I was able to take a break and enjoy the scenery for awhile before jumping on the 901 bus back to my truck in I.B.The bus stop is located right at the entrance of the Silver Strand  Park.

No entry onto Naval Amphibious Base, Coronado

Today, I drove back to the Silver Strand Park, and began a 7 mile hike up the remainder of the Coronado coast. Since the Park is right next to Naval Amphib Base, Coronado, I had to detour to the other side of the highway through a pedestrian tunnel, since the beach adjacent to the base is closed to the public.

Ferry Landing

There's a bike trail on the East side of the Silver Strand highway. I followed the trail up into Coronado, finding the time to take a break for an excellent cheeseburger at Danny's Palm Bar & Grill. It's a little dive bar in the heart of Coronado, but it's clean enough to enjoy a good burger and a cold one. The walls are covered with memorial pictures of Navy SEALs that have been KIA. With Danny's being so close to the base, I'm sure many of those guys passed through Danny's during their time in Coronado.

After my lunch, I finished up my hike through Coronado by taking the Coronado Ferry at the end of Orange and First Street. For $4.25, the ferry took me across to downtown San Diego. I ended my day's hike by taking the 901 bus back to the Silver Strand Park to pickup my truck.

USS Benfold, DDG 65

I'll start my next hike from downtown San Diego as soon as I get some more free time.

Finally starting

Well, I'm still dealing with this family situation that requires me to hang out in San Diego for awhile. I have anywhere between 7-10 days of downtime before I have to attend to  business again (I'm intentionally being vague about what's going on), so I figured that I could get in several day hikes in between business days. I imagine that I'll be able to cover the San Diego county coastline with day hikes until I can hit the trail full time.

I started out by driving down to Border State Park and hiking about a mile down to the border fence. Of course I had to touch the fence, under the watchful eye of the Border Patrol parked 50 yards away.

I hiked along the beach for a couple of miles, until I came up to a inlet was too wide and deep for me to cross without going for a waist-high swim. So, there were a few lessons learned on this short trip:

- I will get wet. Whether from rain or having to cross a water way, I have to think about getting drenched. Salt water and electronics don't mix well, so I'll need to look into purchasing dry sacks for my phone, GPS, and solar charger. I've already got waterproof compression bags for my clothes, but anything else that is in my backpack that will have to be kept dry is going to have to go into some kind of waterproof bag.

- Walking on sand, even hard packed sand, is like walking on a Stairmaster set on level 4. I didn't use my trekking poles since it was going to be a short hike. After 10 minutes, my thighs were pumped up. I was only carrying about 15 lbs in my pack, and that will eventually increase to 30 lbs. The trekking poles will come with me next time.

- I need to preview each day's hike more closely. I didn't expect an obstacle today that would require a swim.

I'm heading back out tomorrow, and I'll start on the north end of the water inlet that kept me from crossing today. I'll have to figure out if I can hike the beach property adjacent to the Navy airfield in Imperial Beach, as well as the beach property adjacent to Coronado Amphib base. Even with my military ID, I'm sure the SEAL instructors won't appreciate me hiking through their workout space on the beach.

Delayed...

Well, I've hit a big delay. I came down with the flu during the third week of January, putting me in bed for almost 5 days. Of course I was supposed to be moving out of my apartment during that time, but I figured that I had one more week to move after I recovered enough to be up and about. But nothing ever goes the way that it's planned.

The last week of January, some family issues came up that forced me to travel to Northern California twice within three days. This situation will require my full attention over the next couple of months, so I'm currently couch surfing between my parent's place in Murrieta and my daughter's place in San Diego. I had to get a five day extension on my apartment to get the place cleaned out, and was able to finally move out yesterday with the help of my daughter and her friend. Everything is in storage, I finished up the last of the phone calls to the utility companies, and finally submitted my change of address cards.

I'm hoping to do some one- or two-day hikes starting from Imperial Beach, and then return when I need to take care of this business. This will set my completion date back several months, but then again, I'm in no hurry.

Preparations

I started collecting gear when I went an Outward Bound expedition in October. They provided a list of recommended gear, based on the location and the time of year.

I went through Sierra Trading Post and Moosejaw for clothes and gear, and Zappos for boots.

Recommendation on buying boots from Zappos: buy several pair a half size larger than your size. Wear medium weight hiking socks when trying on your boots. Try them all on, and then return the ones that don't fit well. Zappos has a great return policy, so don't be concerned about placing a large order on your credit card. The cost savings will be worth the temporary large balance on your card.

When I was looking through the selection of boots, I narrowed it down to a Gore-Tex constructed boot, then decided on ones that both weighed as little as possible and felt comfortable. I eventually went with a pair of Asolo FSN95. They broke in easily, and felt great. I spent a week in the Linville Gorge, and had no problem with blisters or hot spots, even when hiking up to the top of Chimney Rock.

I bought a pair of Columbia cargo pants and cargo shorts for the week in Linville Gorge too. Lightweight and comfortable, they dried quickly. They washed out easily too, after spilling coffee and food on them.

I've been using several layers to keep warm on some of my hikes, and have narrowed my clothing down to:
- A polypropylene top and bottom as a baselayer
- Three synthetic short sleeve tee shirts
- Three synthetic briefs
- Three pair of wool socks (I found the best prices on these at Moosejaw.com)
- One fleece vest
- A fleece jacket from Marmot
- A light rain jacket that I've also used as a windbreaker.
- A Columbia Heatshield beanie.
- Waterproof fleece gloves.

I researched a lot of backpacks, and found that other hikers recommended the Gregory Baltoro 65. Roomy, lots of pockets, and relatively lightweight. I haven't had a chance to take it out on an extended hike yet, but I figure it's going to be a lot lighter than the 85 liter pack that Outward Bound had outfitted us with. That pack had to weigh at least 60 lbs; my legs were extremely sore the entire week that we hiked. I've weighed my Baltoro 65 with my full load, and it weighs in around 35 lbs.

I'm still looking for a GPS device that will keep me on track to make my waypoints on time, not necessarily for navigation (I guessing it'll be hard to get lost if I just follow the beach). My co-workers and my brother each got me an REI gift card for Christmas, so I'll head over there and see what they've got. 

UPDATE- I purchased a Garmin eTrex 30 GPS device. It took some getting used to, since the Quickstart guide wasn't that user friendly. After using it around town, I really like it. I've been using EasyGPS software to format my waypoints and construct my route, then send it via USB cable to my eTrex 30.

I bought a Jetboil for my camp stove, and I love it! I've tested it out at home, and have cooked rice, pasta, oatmeal, and soups in it - pretty much the same stuff I'll be eating on the hike.

I purchased a down sleeping bag after looking at the arguments between down and synthetic. I figured that the down would keep me warm while keeping the weight down. It compresses down to the size of a bowling ball and weighs just under 2 lbs. I also bought an inflatable sleeping pad that weighs in at 17oz.

I'll have to post an update later on how the gear works out during the hike, as I may make some modifications to what I need to carry.

Packing out

I'm down to my last week in my apartment. I loved the location - a five minute walk to Old Town Temecula. I'll miss the nights of wandering over to Viva Vino for salsa dancing, or going over to the Crush and Brew to sample the excellent local Temecula wines or the beer from local SoCal microbreweries.

I got rid of a lot of stuff after I moved out of my house a couple of years ago, so I don't have a lot to put into storage. I tried to have some kind of organization to storing my belongings, so I bought some plastic storage containers and a vacuum-storage bag set for my clothes from Costco. The vacuum bags work great - I placed 6 sportscoats/jackets into the Large sized bag, and it compressed to a 3-inch thick package. I figure this will also protect my clothing from water/dirt damage while it's in the storage facility.

I have a two-bedroom apartment, and have managed to fit everything into a 10x13 storage unit. One of my daughters will be taking some of my belongings off my hands, so it just means less to pack away for me. I'll eventually settle down again somewhere and will need everything back, but for right now it seems as though that day is far away. After my hike, I intend to keep traveling.

I had to plan a lot of details before I leave. Setting up autopay for life/auto/health insurance, safe deposit box for valuables (free with Chase if you're a vet), mail forwarding to an address where I can pickup periodically, updating all of my accounts/subscriptions with the new address, autopay for my storage place... I'm probably missing a couple of things too, that I won't discover until it's on me.

First post

I've recently announced my retirement at work - Dec 28, 2012 was my last day. Retirement at 51. I'm ready to move to a different career; I loved working as the IT coordinator for a small school district, but felt that it was time for something different.

I've had a love of travel since I was a military brat. I had the privilege of living in Japan and Hawaii while Dad served in the U.S. Navy, and those experiences made me curious about seeing and traveling the world. My own 21-year career in the U.S. Navy gave me many more opportunities to travel, but having limited opportunities to sightsee while in a foreign port just whetted my appetite for travel.

So, now I've got plenty of time to travel and enough resources to keep me from starving. I'm currently living in Southern California, with one month left on my apartment lease. Right now, my plan is to start hiking the California Coastal Trail beginning on February 1, 2013. I figure that it'll take me about 4-5 months to complete, depending on how many breaks I take to come back and visit with my folks and my adult kids.

I prepared for this hike by taking an Outward Bound expedition in North Carolina a couple of months ago, spending a week in the Linville Gorge. The week in the forest helped me learn basic camping and hiking skills, and gave me a small taste of what to expect. But, I expect hiking along the coast will keep me within phone reception and give me access to either a campground, hostel, or motel every night.

I'll take some time later this week to provide a list of equipment that I'll take along with me.