California

I visited the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit and tried to take pictures.

Many didn't turn out well due to using a cell phone in bad lighting, and also because it was packed. I spent probably a few hours total in various lines, and there was only one item in Koine (Biblical Greek, something I can kinda somewhat sorta read). I know a few words in Hebrew but I can't read it; I should at least try to learn the script if I go there again. I was told the exhibit will change to some different documents around late June, so I might go back.

Electing and hiring people based on identity rather than job qualifications turns out to have been a bad decision.

DEI is nothing more than the new name for affirmative action, something California voters have rejected via Proposition 209 (from 1996) and Proposition 16 (from the year 2000).

No peak, however small, is spared my peakbagging efforts.

So, when I was driving by the Whittier area, I decided to hike to its eponymous hill. It's just 1,260' and it's capped with a water tower. And, it's not only decorated with antennae but every inch is covered with graffiti. Nonetheless, it was a nice hike in an interesting area and I'll probably be back. While I followed a different, longer trail, the specific route I took is here.

"I wouldn't say I'm specifically a hero for what I did. The real heroes do what I did and drive a Prius."

In March I drove out to Joshua Tree to do a DPS peak, Eagle Mountain. I turned around shy of the summit due to timing.

So, I decided to try it again and this time I got an earlier start. Things were going well until they took quite a turn for the worse.

Most of the "peaks" are just bumps on a large ridge, but there were a dozen of them so...

Due to one reason or the other, my last real peakbag was Mt Bliss. I'd wanted to do a DPS peak on the Mecca Hills trip, but that didn't work out. Then I had the failures and the weekend after that my car was in the shop.

It doesn't go to a peak, but this is one of the top hikes in Glacier National Park.

The Grinnell Glacier trail leaves from the Many Glacier resort and is flat for a couple miles before finally gaining some elevation. While the initial part goes around a lake and is attractive, you can also cut off some distance if you have a boat reservation.

I was hiking up Mt. Baldy when a wildfire started.

This was the Vista Fire of July 2024. I was on the Ski Hut trail and as you can see from the first photo there was the possibility that the fire would come over the ridge. So, rather than risk getting caught in its path, I continued to the summit.

Once I was on the summit I could see that they were working on the fire and trying to keep it on the other side of the ridge. Also, the wind was blowing towards the fire, not me.

No, not that Grand Canyon. The one around here.

What few know is there's a Grand Canyon in the mountains north of Pasadena, California. That's because there's no trail there and you need to occasionally slide on your rear due to steep dirt slopes. I also made it extra interesting by, despite pangs of thalassophobia, going through a bit of a pool.

One of the top questions I get is, "Are there really bison in Santa Clarita, California?" And, the answer is yes, there are.

They're at the William S. Hart Park. It's part of the L.A. County system and it was donated by the silent-era western film star. It has various attractions including a petting zoo and a nature trail that circumnavigates the 265-acre property.

I failed to bike Mount McKinley, failed a hike to the Pinnacle, but I did see the Aqueduct Cascades.

So, the plan for this day was three events: I'd bike Mount McKinley via Gold Creek (link), then I'd go see bison in Santa Clarita, then I'd cap it off by seeing the Los Angeles Aqueduct. Obviously, it didn't work out that way.