The Sage of Beers!

Brew Crew!

As a park ranger, avid cyclist, hiker and  all around outdoor enthusiast nothing I enjoy more after a long day on the trails is a nice, cold refreshing beer. I've been brewing my own for almost 20 years and have experimented with a lot of ingredients and one of my favorites has always been California Sage. It gives the beer a nice flavor but more importantly the smell puts you right back on the trail.

Fast forward to earlier this month. I had entertained the idea of brewing a beer to benefit the San Dieguito River Park for years but it was just not in the cards until recently. With the help from Jess Norton from the San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy we started to reach out to different breweries around the parks focused planning area. Jess was contacted  by head brewer Devon Randall of Pizza Port Solana Beach and a plan was put in motion. Devon had brewed a beer in the past that reflected the style we were looking for and most importantly she was open to the idea of using California Sage and joining forces with a local park in an effort to raise funds.

Myself and Jess were invited to take part in the brewing process and as a home brewer I was elated at the thought. Until then my biggest batch was 10 gallons usually done at home in my apartment. A 7 barrel system is huge. We arrived at 6 o'clock in the morning fired up and ready to brew. We immediately got to work on the mash tun and started adding the grains.

I heart grains!

The smell of the mash that early in the morning was inviting and invigorating, I could see myself fitting well into the role of brewer pretty easily. After the mashout and recirculation we sparged the grains in a process called lautering that separates the liquid from the grains which is then transferred into the wort boiler.

The hops were added after some boiling and at the end of the boil the star ingredient California Sage was added. Jess, Devon and myself gathered the sage the day before within the park corridor so that it was nice and fresh.

Devon and Jess picking sage.

The sage smell now permeated the brewery.

After the boil we got a good sense of how the beer was going to turn out. The smell of sage came through very nicely and and the color matched the rolling grasslands throughout the park. Into the fermentor it went, yeast was added and the magic began.

Coast to Crest Trail Ale w/ sage!

Overall it was a great experience for a great cause. I want to thank Devon and Pizza Port brewery for the opportunity to work with them on such a fun endeavor. I also want to thank the Jess and the San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy for bringing two of my passions (brewing and trails) together. I think this is the first time at least in San Diego that a partnership like this has happened and hopefully not the last. 

The first ever Coast to Crest Trail Ale brewed with California Sage will be ready for release this coming Monday, April 27th. Pizza Port will be having a "Hoppy Hour" from 5 to 8pm and there will be a special CTC ale t-shirt available. Hike, bike or get yourself there somehow and enjoy a unique beer created for a great cause.

Sharing Our Trails

Last year I attended the California Trails and Greenways conference and one of the main topics of discussion centered around how to deal and avoid user conflict on trails that are becoming more and more crowded. There were many theories as to why most if not all parks in California have started seeing a monumental rise in trail users over the past 5 years. Everything from social media to the rise in popularity of mountain biking and adventure running. Whatever the reason the fact remains that there are more people on the trails than ever and form time to time there's gonna be some issues that come up.

So how do we deal with these ever increasing pressures? We become proactive, we seek to educate and we take on some responsibility for our actions. While talking with some Santa Monica mountain bike trail volunteers and CORBA members at the conference I found out that one of the tools they were using was an informational brochure about the importance of "Sharing Our Trails" that outlined what each user (hiker, biker, equestrian) could expect to encounter while out on the trail and most importantly what role they could play in avoiding conflict.

We have put these brochures in all the kiosks around the San Dieguito River Park. Please stop by, grab one, take a look and pass it on. "Let's work together to keep our trails safe and enjoyable for all."

Online information about about this program can be found here.

A bike ride down the Coast to Crest Trail.

I've been a park ranger with the San Dieguito River Park for over 15 years now and I was an avid volunteer mountain bike patroller and trail worker with the park for 5 years before that. I've seen a lot of the changes within the park over those 20 years and I have seen a lot of the parks corridor that stretches over 55 miles from Volcan Mountain near Julian to the ocean in Del Mar but I had never been able to match all the puzzle pieces together until just recently. I had always wanted to feel the full experience of hiking or biking the San Dieguito River Park Coast-to-Crest Trail from the time I first learned of the parks vision of linking open space corridors from the north, south and east together.

My journey on the Coast-to-Crest was not new one, former SDRP director Dick Bobertz, Poway City Council Member Jim Cunningham and Bill Simmons all took on the lengthy task of hiking the trail in a series of 6 days spanning from 2013 to 2014. The San Dieguito watershed that covers 346 square miles also has also been featured in the book Coast to Crest Trail and Beyond- Across San Diego County by car along the San Dieguito River. The last hike down the corridor was done by a group of High-Tech High North County 11^th grade students over a 7 day period in the Spring of 2014, that story is featured in the book We Chose Our Own Adventures by Alex Snyder. While I would not be the first one to take on such an adventure I would be the first to link the Coast to Crest Trail by mountain bike.

Monday, February 2^nd “Groundhog Day” seemed like a fitting day to make my run at the Coast-to-Crest trail. I started from the Volcan Mountain trail head off of Farmers Rd around 0800 and headed towards the Santa Ysabel Preserve- East trails and jumped on the Kanaka Loop trail that would take me to Hwy79. From these trails you get a good sense of just how big the SDRP corridor is. The views are incredible as you pass through oak woodlands areas and large expanses of grass lands.

                          

Smelling the pines and getting ready to head out.

     

After existing from the SYP-East trail I had to get on Hwy79 for a few miles and then turn onto Mesa Grande road heading towards Black Canyon Rd. The alignment for the trail through the Santa Ysabel Preserve- West area is still in the planning stage. Whatever it is it will be a great trail. I’ve been able to hike a lot of that area and the canyons in there are great. After a brief diversion around I was back on track and riding on the Upper Santa Ysabel Truck Trail. You know you’re in the canyon lands now. The road and hill sides begin to steepen and the terrain starts getting a lot rockier. From here you can see straight down the corridor to the Hwy78 as it comes up from San Pasqual Valley. Fortunately the rains this year made for some more stunning views. From here you descend into Pamo Valley where I picked up the main road leading to the Lower Santa Ysabel Truck Trail and eventually out onto Hwy78 and into San Pasqual Valley. The big picture was finally starting to take shape.

                                                                           

Looking down into Pamo Valley from Upper Santa Ysabel truck trail.

Even though I had been pretty much in the park the whole way I felt a little more at home once I got onto the San Pasqual Valley trail. The bulk of the parks operations are focused within this area so it is very familiar and as soon as I entered the orange groove and smelled the blossoms at the beginning of the valley I was at ease and enjoyed a nice ride through the grasslands area and up over Raptor Ridge again giving me another great view down the park corridor towards the ocean. I was getting closer but still had miles left. The ride down Raptor is twice as nice as going up. I was then out across the flood plain and into the Lake Hodges area. There’s been a lot of work around the lake shores lately with the removal of many invasive eucalyptus trees and it is already starting to make a difference. The native plants are gaining a better foothold and thriving. Oh yeah the rain helped as well. I continued down onto the Del Dios Gorge trail after the Lake Hodges Dam paralleling Del Dios Highway and then onto the Santa Fe Valley trail.

                

Raptor Ridge and Lake Hodges Dam.

Heading into Del Dios Gorge and Santa Fe Valley trails.

After crossing into the Lusardi Open Space Preserve you can pick up a connector to San Dieguito road. From this point I followed the San Dieguito road down towards El Camino Real. Again the connector for this area is still in the works but could follow much of the same route. I followed El Camino briefly until I regained the Coast-to-Crest trail again at the Del Mar Horse Park.

The trails in the Coastal area of the SDRP are the youngest we have. Most of what is down there was built within the last 4 to 5 years and it’s coming along very nicely. This is the point where the San Dieguito River joins with the ocean and the lagoons. All the lagoons you see were created as part of a large wetlands restoration project headed up in great part by Southern California Edison. Continuing on I could smell the ocean breezes and I knew I was within miles of the beach. Now following the river to the ocean I crossed the Lagoon Boardwalk (currently in danger of being removed) and passed by the Del Mar Fairgrounds and eventually on to the river’s mouth “Dog Beach” and the end of my journey. All told it took me about 6hrs to complete the 72mi route down the San Dieguito River Park Watershed.

Birdwing Open-Air Classroom

            

Lagoon Boardwalk

Looking back east.

This trip through the park was an absolute eye-opener for me. It was not until my journey was complete that I really understood what it meant to have a plan like this in place. The benefits of having a dedicated wildlife corridor not only helps now but ensures that it stays that way for generations to come. The obstacles ahead of the San Dieguito River Park are still numerous and great and in most situations it’s going to take some real cooperation and sacrifice on behalf of all the entities that make up the park. After 20 years of working for and with the park I am proud of what we have accomplished so far. It is my sincere hope that I get to one day see this project to fruition. 

Reaching the beach!

Dezert Daze: My first bikepacking trip

I have been a biker and backpacker for quite some time now and a couple months ago I had the chance to finally combine the two. I had wanted to go bikepacking for awhile but just never had the chance to until Brendan Collier from The Hub Cyclery organized a trip from Idyllwild to Borrego Springs. I was in like Flynn!

Always being a fan of "stuff" I quickly picked Brendan's brain to see what I needed as far as essential bikepacking gear goes. As the author of the Stagecoach 400 race and avid bikepacker I knew his expertise on the subject would be all I needed to get started down the roads of bikepacking. I was set up with the Relavate Designs "SweetRoll" bar bag and "Versace" seat bag and to my surprise combined they were more than enough to fit the contents of my backpacking gear.

I had set up my SS Siren ready to run fully loaded with bikepacking gear and had actually done a couple of test rides to get a feel for it. But as they date approached I was very easily talked into trying out a "fat bike" for the trip into the desert. Although my expertise on "fat bikes" was very limited (I had put about 15mi on a Beargrease demo earlier that year) I decided why not, the benefits of having a 5 inch tire in deep desert sand fully loaded kinda even sounded appealing to me.

The Silver Fox

I drove up to Idyllwild that morning excited about the adventure ahead. As soon as I pulled into the Hub parking lot I saw a lot of familiar faces including the "Desert Fox" himself. This was gonna be fun. There was a lot of commotion in the hours leading up to the departure. Bikes were being outfitted with various bikepacking accouterments. A burrito order was placed and a couple of beers consumed, the rest were packed for the trip. After a brief announcement from Brendan we were on our way out of Idyllwild.

Heading out the initial feel of a loaded down "fat bike" was, well cumbersome at best. But after about a half an hour it wasn't so bad, fortunately there was enough dirt road type of riding to get used to the weight before we rocketed down the Keen Summit singletrack. We continued to make our way through Garner Valley and up over into Anza Valley. It was a pretty cold day and for the most part the pace was steady. I really didn't notice how chilly it was until we hit Anza for a refuel stop. I also began to notice how late it was getting and that there was no way in hell we were getting to the camp site by nightfall. All apart of the bikepacking experience I guess. Fortunately I had packed a light away but I was in the minority. Things would get interesting soon.

As the light of the day waned we made our way into the desert. I was glad to be out of the cold wind and starting the decent down into Coyote Canyon. I was enjoying the fading light and the cool colors it was putting out across the desert when Dave came flying past me on the decent exclaiming to me that my "fat bike" handling skills may be in question. It was more like "get that big gal under control." I thought to myself "have fun once you hit the sand with no lights".

No sooner had the thought been thunk when I came around the final corner that dropped into the sand wash to find Dave down in said sand with the front wheel looking like a taco. After a brief moment of silence Dave motioned for us to keep moving, he had been down this road before and like any truly self sufficient man he had it under control, that and Brendan wizard of wheels was only a little bit behind us. I took a rider (Angel) and proceeded to Bailey's cabin our destination for the evening. Now it was dark as I led Angel down the sandy road, every now and then I would here a noise only to look back and find Angel lying on the ground. No matter what kind of bike your riding in the sand if you don't have a light it's gonna be difficult.

Spam Sushi "Yum!"

We made it to the camp and immediately went about starting a fire. Within the next half hour or so everybody eventually made it in. We all set up our digs for the evening and got some food started. Some prepped food, some ate burritos from earlier, some even went so far as to make brownies in a portable dutch oven. All in all there was plenty to go around. The evening culminated in drinking the all left over beer and much of the whiskey supply and then attempting to not fall into the fire pit whilst spinning yarns. There was brief talk of an alcohol fueled game of foot-down in the corral but no takers. I fell asleep happy, under the stars with the wind snapping at my bivy.

The next day we all awoke to a nice sunrise and no wind. Had breakfast and cinnamon rolls thanks again to Brendan's dutch oven, Dave's wheel was tuned up and we were back on the trail before we knew it.

Morning has broken.

Willows!

Now we were in the desert proper. Deep sand, baby head rocks and the willows lay ahead. I had a little foreshadowing of what the Willows had in store for us from a trail trimming excursion with Brendan the week before. I headed up the charge threw the willows and successfully navigated it till it's end. There was a lot of blind leading the blind for awhile but eventually it let out into a nice wash and then back onto the sandy trail. Ohh and that "fat bike" I was riding loved every minute, it was finally at home in the desert terrain. We made a quick stop at Indian Canyon to check things out. Fun little hike but we never found that Indian sweat house, in hindsight it was probably because we were in the wrong canyon. Lesson learned.

The rest of the trip was pretty mellow, a lot of sandy roads and great scenery leading out of Coyote Canyon and eventually some paved road and a quick stop at the desert sculptures then into Borrego Springs. We had a great lunch and were shuttled back up to Idyllwild.

Would I do it again, yep in a heartbeat. If you are looking for adventure like this then just you wait, I'm sure that Brendan is currently rubbing his hands together at the thought of another fun trip to the dez. If your new at the game of bikepacking have no fear for Brendan is well qualified and a veritable font of adventure riding/racing knowledge.

So how do you not taco your wheel- don't make fun of someone minutes before, instant karma sux! As for debauchery, you'll have to actually go out there to experience that!

Feast or Famine an end of the year report.

It's been one crazy year around the park. After navigating through the barrage of flak sent up by the City of SD this year in regards to SDRP funding and the longevity of the park in general it seems (fingers crossed) that we may actually be coming to some sort of an agreement. This is important because of it keeps the dream of someday having a continuous trail from Volcan Mountain in Julian all the way to Dog Beach in Del Mar alive. This also preserves one of the last major wildlife corridors left in the entire county.

Up until this month it has been pretty much "Famine" as far as the trails are concerned. The trails and the environment have really been struggling to compete with the constant usage. The park has been doing it's part to try and manage this appropriately. With that has come some new closures of certain trails within the Bernardo Bay area (South side of Lake Hodges) of the park. The trails add up to about 1/4mi worth of "fall line" trail as well as an illegally built trail that was causing a hazard for users on the designated trail. Some will and have argued in favor of keeping the trail but at this time it will not become a designated trail. We have also posted signs that read "No nighttime use" this too has garnered some criticism from users. Simple story is that there never was nighttime use to begin with it was just never posted. There are NO open space preserves within San Diego county that are open for nighttime use.

On to the "Feast", it is currently and has been raining pretty good on and off since the beginning of this month. That means that we have been working non stop on trail maintenance issues, like drainage and ruts and we have put a couple thousand plants in the ground to beef up a lot of our existing habitat management projects. The ground as we speak is currently very saturated and any rain we receive in the near future will either just pool up or immediately sheet off the trails into the low spots. While we try to get to these ares quickly we can't get to all of them. Be aware when out on the trails that these conditions exist and ride appropriately. Ruts caused by bikes will last and be seen for months and in some cases cause additional erosion. Best case scenario after an substantial rain is to give the area at least 24hrs to dry out and if on horseback you should wait at least 48hrs. While the park does not officially close it's trails down, I would still ask you to be a responsible user.

The SDRP mountain bike patrol is currently at 27 volunteers that patrol the park on a regular basis providing help and assistance to anyone who needs it. This year they have averaged about 50hrs per month and on track for another banner year. The patrols presence has gone along way in bridging the gap between users and land managers but there is a lot left to be done. For me personally they have been invaluable, I have been able to stay on top of issues better than ever before. Thanks to all volunteers, supporters and sponsors for keeping it going.

I am optimistic for next year at this time. I am hoping that after the park hammers out this agreement with the city that we will be set to start some new trail work. The Pauma Valley connector of the Coast to Crest trail is being planned and is currently under review. Hopefully before to long I will get to start building some new trail in a great location.

If you found all of this dry and boring I apologize. My next blog will be all about desert lunatics, debauchery and how not to taco your wheel when in the middle of the desert.

Hero Kit- Save the Day!

I was recently asked by the International Police Mountain Bike Association to do a review of the "Hero Kit" to put in their upcoming newsletter. The SDRP Mountain Bike Patrol have been using the kit for the last year with good results so it was an easy write up. This is by far one of the simplest fix-it kits you carry with you. Check it out.


I first saw an ad for the Hero Kit in the back of the September 2013 edition of Mountain Bike Action last year. Since I run a mountain bike patrol for the park that I work at I am always looking for ways to condense the tools we use on the trails to a more manageable package. There's nothing worse than hitting the trails and experiencing a mechanical only to find you don't have the right tools or know how to fix it. That's where the Hero Kit really shines, not only does it give you tools to fix the most common problems on the trail but it also gives you a 24 page field- repair instruction manual to explain how to use all those tools properly.


The Hero Kit comes in a resealable water proof bag that perfectly slips into the back of your jersey pocket or bike pack. The full model comes with a 12-Function Multi-Tool, chain tool, tire levers, master link, cleat & frame bolts, zipties, duct tape, gear cable, water purification tablet, patch kit, toilet paper and easy to follow instruction all for $40. You can also get the same kit minus the multi-tool and tire levers for $20. This is a nice option for some of us that already have some tools and tire levers. They also sell a convenient refill kit for $15 once items get used and they will.

In the year since I have had this kit I have gone through most of the items in the kit. The zipties where used to reattach a light back onto a bike after a crash on a night ride. The cleat bolt was used to replace one that was lost on the trail during a race. All the tire patches were used in one sitting too repair a rear tire that had multiple punctures. The handy toilet wipes were used to clean up a friend's leg after an accident and the master link repaired a chain. All of these situations would have resulted in someone (typically me) being stranded or forced to walk back to the nearest trail head. This kit has given me more confidence when riding, period.

The kit has been a great help to myself and my volunteer patrollers and one that I would highly recommend to others. I have a greater sense of security while on the trails and I know that if any of my patrollers come across any users having difficulties that they too will have the right tools and guidance at their fingertips. This is a must for every rider from expert to novice. Like they say "Be the Hero on your ride!" For more information or to order visit their website at herokit.com.

Thank you for your support!

Ok so now it looks like this blog has gone from once a month to quarterly, it happens, enough said. I want to start of by saying Thank You to every one that supports the San Dieguito River Park and the job that we do out here. Without the support of volunteers, trail users and all who come out to the park in one way or another we couldn't do half of what we do.  Thank You! 

Last time I talked about some of the realities of working with different city entities and the importance of trying to stay with in that structure when it comes to building trails and the consequences of illegal trail building. Unfortunately not to long after I got a quick reminder of what it was like to work with the City of San Diego in particular. As most of you know the City of San Diego, Mayor Kevin Falconer, and council people Sherri Lightner and Mark Kersey decided they were going to hold the River Park funding hostage while they conducted a cost analysis study, (presumably at tax payers expense) of the River Park operations. While I never saw the study itself I did see the key bullet points that the City of San Diego wanted the River Park and the JPA board to comply with. Complying with those points bought us another year and kept the dream of the Coast to Crest trail alive. Again thanks for your support! What will next year bring, I honestly haven't the faintest idea. While I still think it is important to play by the rules it sure does suck when someone feels the need to consistently change those rules.

Alas we push on and continue to do what we do in order to bring you quality trails and events and we have had some good ones so far. The Quick n Dirty mountain bike race series continues to be a great success. We averaged over 160 participants over a four race series and continued to further grass roots racing in San Diego. The QnD crew lead by Victor "Slasher" Sheldon have always acted in a professional manner and were always willing to comply with my outrageous demands at a minutes notice. The Belgium Waffle Ride hosted by Spy has also been a big hit, bringing of all rider groups "roadies" onto the dirt trails of the park. The SDMBA Archipelago ride also continues to be a main stay, joining multiple park systems together like no other event. Thank you!

The SDRP mountain bike patrol continues to impress me as well as others within the bike community. At the Trails ans Greenways conference this year we were awarded the Merit Award for the patrols outstanding performance and benefit to the community.

We are currently up to 26 patrollers as of now and more are on the way. We have also been able to partner with a lot of great companies again this year that fully support the mission of the parks mountain bike patrol. Your probably getting the gist of this blog post right now buttttt. Thank you North of the Border bike shop, Quick n Dirty Mtb race series, Sock Guy, Hero Kits, WD-40 Bike, San Diego Mountain Bike Association, Spy Optics and the Ranchos Cycling club for your continued support. Without it we could not provide the service to trail users in the professional manner in which we currently do.

Onto some trail stuff. If you hadn't noticed we are currently in one of the worst droughts San Diego has seen in along time and the effects are apparent when out on the trails. A lot of the natural buffer(native grasses and such) between the trails and habitat are completely dried up or non existent. This gives the illusion that the trail is wider than it seems and people tend to deviate from the beaten path into those buffer areas. Short term effect is that it widens the trail in areas it shouldn't and looks like crap. Long term effect is that it compacts those areas to a point were nothing will grow in the future thereby permanently widening the trail.

Another area of concern is people cutting trail, at this point once the damage is done it's done. It's very hard for us to rehab those type of ares during drought conditions. If you see someone engaging in this type of behavior please ask them to stop. With any luck and the prediction of a coming El Nino the habitat and trails will return to normal. Until then please stay on the trail and please keep the single track single and of course those of you who do.Thank you!