Canyoneering with Stephen

Mt. Wilson - Eastern Trails

Specialized hooked us up with some free demo bikes, in turn we hooked THEM up with 40 eager MTBOutdoors.com and SCOAOutdoors.com adventurers!

What an amazing day of adventure with the SCOA Gang sea kayaking. We spent 4 hours paddling around. We saw harbor seals, Egrets, Heron and an assortment of other birds.
While it was a long day - it was worth it.

You are standing on the edge of a bridge with steep canyon walls rising above you. Your sweaty palms grip the rail, your throat is dry, and your heart beats so hard you feel it through your chest. You feel a rush as adrenaline surges through your body. Looking down at the raging water ten stories below, you hear the encouragement of your friends standing next to you as the countdown begins.
3….
2….
1….
JUMP!

Pics from the event

Here are some of the things you will see while riding the Mt. Wilson Toll Road. . .

A select group of SCOA's membership got to go Canyoneering in Zion National Park. If you weren't there here is what you missed!

MT Lowe , El Prieto, Ken Burton, Sunset, San Merrill’s , Red Box, Arroyo, Millard, Inspiration Point, and Mt. Wilson have been hit by the fires and now it’s moving towards Chilao and Newcomb Ranch!

A good friend (Peter Porras) of mine just sent me some amazing photos from the Station Fire. The focus in taking/organizing them was to share what our mountain biking and hiking places look like now. It is tragic. El Prieto, Brown Mountain and the Ken Burtan trails, from what I can tell have been completely defoliated.

Based in what NPR was saying this morning Chilao, Newcomb's Ranch and Mt. Wilson are next.

Many of you know that at the beginning of 2009 the Forestry Service closed access to Chainey Trail from Markham Saddle due to a landslide. Like the Mt. Wilson Toll Road, it will take a few years to sort who will clear the slide then another few years to actually do it. Because it is closed the firefighters cannot access it to fight the fire. . .

Anyway, based on what I am hearing from the group, no one has been hurt from SCOA and no one has lost their house! Thank goodness! Of course our hearts go out to those that have. Continued courage to the professionals out there who are risking their lives for our safety!

SCOA Citizens - lets have a Gatorade and Arrowhead Bottled Water drive!

That's right, bring your unopened, Gatorade or Arrowhead bottled water - any size to:
a) 2928 4th Street Studio #9, Santa Monica Chris Ashford 310.230.5520
b) 45 South Parkwood Avenue, Pasadena (Use the north driveway and go all the way to the back. You will see a SCOA sign. Don't worry the neighbors know you are commin'.).
c) Good to Go Fitness - 19235 Ventura Boulevard, Tarzana, John Bocobo - 818/745/6019
d) Precision Rehabilitation - 3294 E. Spring St., Long Beach, Office (562) 988-3570 We will collect the donations and drop them off at the command post Saturday AM late morning. We are working on additional drop off locations: Pasadena, Long Beach and Covina.

If you have cycles and can help me with delivery - drop me a line: punkfish@opticaledge.com With over 1600 people in our group, potentially our donation could be pretty large.

We need to have all the donations by 8AM Saturday.

Remember: we need to be sure that all bottles are in sealed cases or they might reject them as tampered. While there are many other brands of water, we'd prefer you purchase Arrowhead simply because they get their water from the San Gabriels, the very mountains the fire fighters are working hard to save!

Spread the word - we can help!

In case you missed it, we had a fantastic time at Mt. Pinos last weekend. First the weather was perfect. It wasn't too cool but it wasn't hot either. Second, it wasn't crowded at all. Not only are people not wearing white after Labor Day, apparently they aren't coming out to play either. Finally, the people that came out were awesome. Marcela came down from Santa Barbara and Scott 'n' Sara drove up from San Diego. Of course the 3F Crew was in effect!

If you have never been to Mt. Pinos - you are missing out. There is something for everyone, really. Mt. Pinos doubles as a X-Country skiing place so there are miles and miles of hiking trails - separate from the mountain biking trails.

The mountain biking course is 7 miles long with about 2500 feet of elevation change. The McGill trail is unique that no matter what level of rider you are - you'll get something unique out of it. Those that can flow down the hill without touching their brakes, the rocks, logs, berms and tree branches provide the perfect playground for some sick Free - Riding and Downhill. For the rest of us, there is just enough for a challenge but not too much to overwhelm. Essentially, the faster you go the more challenging it gets. Are you super slow? It is possible to pick your way through a beginner's paradise!

Marcela, Paul, Dominik and Chris G caught the first load up and got 6 rides in for the day. 7 miles times 6 rides - 42 miles of amazing single-track bliss. While not everyone had the energy for 6 runs everyone got their fill.

Camping at Chula Vista was a little like a box of chocolates - you never know what you are going to get. In the future, if the Mt. Pinos or McGill campgrounds are open that is where we will stay.

Sunday was more of the same MTBing heaven. We had some added spice - guests. Scott and Sara drove up from San Diego to taste the good at Mt Pinos. While the morning was full of people by 10:30 AM the riff raff were at home with a cold one watching the game. Perfect - it gave me time to put on the helmet, cleat in and barrel down the hill. I cannot wait to go back. . .

We explored the island by sea kayak! What an amazing experience. The islands have so much to offer and they are an hour boat ride away! Check out the 13lb. Sheephead I found at 35'. . . The adventure was a combination sea kayak and chartered boat. This is an adventure I look forward to telling my grnadchildren

Here are some photos from Saturday. The shots are random but representative of the day. Thanks to Stephen for putting the weekend together!

SCOA gettin' out!

Proposed activities

SCOA's Chris Aragon, Chris Saldivar and JC went to Fontana to race in the downhill portion of the mountain biking event. Congratulations to them all for steppin' up and swining big

Chris G said it best "as always a great time on this trail. makes it even better when you ride with a great group like we had today. ”

Oh and happy birthday to Christian!

Venice Canals Boat Parade & DeepavaliChristmasChanukahKwanzaaEidalAdha Party - was the bomb. All in all about 25 of your showed up! The weather was perfect and the crowds were down. Gat's place was the epicenter of a fantastic day!

These were taken just before the jumping session with Chris Aragon

Today was an amazing road adventure along the Captain Cook Highway along the East Coast of Australia. We stopped in Mossman to check out the animal refuge. This was an amazing place. Check for yourself.

We see a lot of photos come through our firewalls at SCOA. Here are a handful of favorites.

Today was awesome! I couldn't have asked for a better group of people to hang out and fly with today! So here are the photos You can download the short video I shot too. A lot of you asked for the flying lessons - I hope to see you out next time