Here are some fun facts for you. If you want to go to any of these places again, you can always check back on the blog.
Monday
Stelzer County Park, Lakeside
Hike to cave: 1.5 miles; return 1.5 miles
Mission Trails Regional Park
Grasslands crossing to waterfalls to dam: 1.7 miles; return 1.7 miles
Tuesday
Garnet Peak, Sunrise Highway (mile post 27.4): 1.5 miles up; 1.5 miles return
Water of the Woods (accessed from Sunset Trail, Laguna Recreation Area): 1.5 miles; 1.5 miles back
Wednesday
Horsethief Canyon (8 to Japatul Rd, left at Lions Valley Rd. marker 16.4): 1.5 miles out, 1.5 back
Thursday
Noble Canyon Trail. Penny Pines trailhead Laguna Recreation Area -- Pine Creek Rd. bottom trailhead. 10.6 miles through hike.
Rise above Cedar Glen camp: 1 mile up, 1 down.
Friday
Oakzanita Peak trail, Cuyamaca Rancho State Park: 3 miles up, 3 miles down
total mileage for week: 34 walking miles (over half on Thurday/Friday). Not counting additional miles you scrambled on your own.
I had a great time hiking with you guys and I know Mr. Aiston did too. I'm going to put up some pictures from Thursday and Friday. Maybe Mr. Aiston will put up a baby picture later.
I will definitely remember this week for a long time. As a group we bonded and had a lot of great times. I think the biggest thing I took away from this week is that you can make your life better by simplifying it for a while. Our lives are so complex that just simplifying it if even for only a little bit can make it better. I got so much out of this class that I think it would be terrible if this interim was taken away. Other people should be able to experience nature this way because experiences like this can truly be life changing.
ReplyDeleteAs we got knocked on our asses by the wind during our final hike, I could not help but think what a rare occurrence it is to be happy to fight such powerful wind. This week helped me advance myself as a outdoorsman dramatically. I had always wanted to be the hiking type, but time and effort kept me from venturing past the occasional Cowles Mountain jaunt. Now, 34 miles later, I've not only learned how to trek through snow, slush, and desert, I've overcome to my mild acrophobia thanks to a certain 2,000 ft drop-off at Garnet Peak. This week taught me how to be alone and think, walk, and observe with purpose. I would recommend this interim to everyone I know man or lady, but then again, it wouldn't be the same if it wasn't Solidude.
ReplyDeleteThe idea the stood out to me over the past week was development versus conservation, as it applies to nature and ourselves. While humans are making the earth a more productive place for industry, with the construction of dams and harvesting of nature, we are corrupting and destroying its habitats. Similarly, as I attend a college preparatory school to make myself a more productive individual, I am reducing my opportunities to live simply and enjoy nature. How do the earth and I balance the benefits and drawbacks of development? The creation of national parks and nature reserves has been somewhat effective in the United States, but what about place like Chile where the governments are too young and obsessed with growth to curtail their impact on the natural world? Will a moment like that happen in my life? Will there be a point in my life when I am so consumed by obtaining higher wages that I forget the joy of nature and solitude? I have come to the conclusion that, like nature, I must conserve myself. I want to devote to finding solitude in nature and reaping the benefits of undisturbed reflection. There is no therapy like putting one foot in front of the other and getting farther and farther from society. What will we have if we let ourselves completely develop the earth or ourselves? Just a barren expanse stripped of its love and beauty. There is more to life than production. Everything can’t be conserved. These two conflicting forces must balance.
ReplyDeleteSitting in the middle of Manhattan, it feels weird reflecting on our time in the middle of nowhere, but I have to say it was definitely a week to remember. I never realized how much there is just an hour east of San Diego . On Thursday it was crazy beginning our hike in the snow and ending it in a desert. It was great to spend the week outside discovering places that make home so awesome. I think this interim course was incredibly rewarding since it showed us how great a place Southern California is while at the same time it showed that simplicity is sometimes what someone needs in the middle of an extremely busy time like senior year. There was nothing more enjoyable this week than sitting completely alone in the middle of the woods just enjoying the sounds and the view. It made everything else I normally worry about seem trivial. This was a fantastic experience and I'm sad that the weekend came so quickly, which is something I never thought I would say.
ReplyDeleteSorry for the late reflection. I wasn't near a computer all week. But, better late than never right.
ReplyDeleteLooking back at our last two days of interim, I find it hard to forget the memories that were made. Whether it be the dark cave that seemed to extend on forever into the black abyss or the exceedingly embarrassing moment of me reading the receipt backwards, which I will never live down, I cant help but close me eyes and reminisce.
I want to start the week over, turn back the clocks and relive every moment again. This week was the highlight of my year. It gave me a chance to reflect on the relationship of mankind and nature and our niche in the world. Although humans have dominated Earth and its resources and still do, it is not the way, in my mind, that things were supposed to be. Thus, I tried to picture how humans should interact with nature and how our interactions today will play out in the future.
Right now I am working on making the videos out of the GoPro footage from each day. So far it is going well.