The Wedge @ 1500+ FT

I traveled down to Southern California on business this week. I flew in and out of John Wayne Airport - always a fun ride. They gun the engines to steeply climb to 1000 feet very quickly and then they cut the engines to adhere to FAA rules to lessen noise over the OC.

The flight path brought us right over the Wedge. I quickly grabbed my phone turned it on and snapped this quick pic. Did not look like much was breaking at the time but you can see from the pic that the Jetty is set up to welcome what ever south pulse comes through with open arms. Cool vantage point.

The Wedge doing it's thang!!!

And the people who love to watch it!!!

A beast of a wave when it is on.

South VS North

So I cheated. Sorta. Well not really.

On Saturday last weekend I chose to travel NORTH to check a surf spot I had not surfed before, all under my new Summer 2010 rule of traveling NORTH for SOUTH swells in hopes of finding some fun not too crowded waves NORTH of San Francisco. A nice alternative to traveling SOUTH toward Santa Cruz, where the surf tends to be significantly more crowded than up NORTH.

Well I actually ended up traveling SOUTH too but on Sunday. My family and I drove to a spot on the San Mateo Coast that I/we have learned to appreciate quite a bit over the past few years. We decided to go for a "hike" and I did not bring my surf stuff. I knew there was a good chance this stretch of coast would be holding up well and breaking. Why not at least be there to watch it? I did bring my camera to document.

Sure enough...OUCH... SOUTH of San Francisco... there she was sucking in the SOUTH swell perfectly... beautiful A-frame wedges... rolling in... with only... (3) people out...

Definitely took one for the Team, but technically held to my promise of only traveling NORTH this Summer to chase SOUTHS for surf.

Things are shaping up...

... although I know never to get my hopes up too high. Good solid SOUTH headed our way. Already put the call into my buddy to get ready and get early morning clearance for Sunday. I might even see if I can sneak out early on Saturday locally to a spot that likes this type of swell. The anticipation builds. Click on image to enlarge.

Graph/table courtesy of STORMSURF.

Going North this Summer

Last Summer I posted a write-up of my unfruitful pursuit of a south swell that washed ashore along the entire CA coast and beyond. My search took me south of San Francisco to an area dense with surf breaks. At the end of the post I suggested that I may decide to focus on the coastline North of San Francisco and have told many friends the same.

Well here we are, Summer 2010 and my commitment to travel North for surf has begun. A good size south is currently running so I decided to wake up early (4:30am) to get a jump start.

In general my efforts paid off even though I did not suit up or even get wet. I headed to a spot that I have been curious about for several years now. I have stopped by at least 2-3 times with never any results. This time was different.

What was valuable this time was that I actually got to see the surf break work... kinda. Turns out all the other times I had checked this spot, I now realize I had been checking the wrong point - WTF!!!? Yes I was looking in the wrong place literally around the corner from the actual spot. But this time I did a little more prowling around and actually found it and watched someone try and surf it. I use the word try because it turned out to be a minus tide and a good majority of the reef was exposed except for one section. In total I saw (3) surfers and (1) bodyboarder - a good sign.

So all in all a good bit of recon on my part I just need to get back up there with another south swell running and a higher tide. The surf forecast is hinting of another next weekend, we'll see how things shape up. At least I know where I'll be going next time.

On my drive back home I traveled through Jenner and I came across the memorial service for Noel Robinson who was a Bodega Bay local surfer who died while surfing some heavy waves down at Puerto Escondido, Mexico. Pretty poignant scene as I viewed from the bluff above. Easily 100 surfers all collected in the Russian River estuary surrounding what must have been some of his surf belongings/ashes (?). All there to celebrate his life and love of the ocean.

The GREEN RUSH - Part Deux

Fairly early on in my blogging career (last year) I wrote about the continued focus on the push to legalize marijuana in the State of CA. Since my first post I have read countless local articles that have covered this currently hot and seemingly divisive topic. It is now starting to get some serious national coverage as well, as evidenced by this front page article from CNN.

CALIFORNIA MARIJUANA TOURISM

(Damn! Nice looking buds.)

Come this November all of us Californians will vote on whether or not "da weed" (some ah dem call it) should be legalized for medical and recreational purposes. They say that polls are showing that 56% of us Californians would favor legalization. I can tell you right now that if there ever was a time to pitch not only the medicinal benefits of "ganja", but the financial too, now is the time. A state wracked in debt, local governments taxed starved, recession, unemployment at 12%, teacher lay-offs, critical curricula cut and schools facing the ugly possibility of 4 day school weeks... time for the ole "cacker" to save the day. Two words:

REGULATE & TAX

Who knows what CA has to win with this arrangement but the estimations on tax income are showing favorable signs. The losers in this whole deal... unfortunately the small towns in Northern CA that have subsisted for years and years on the cultivation of marijuana. A non-existent lumber industry and failing or shrinking fishing industry, marijauna has been the last stand for many behind the "Redwood Curtain". As the CNN article states perhaps SONOMA, MENDOCINO, HUMBOLDT and DEL NORTE counties will become the Napa Valley of the "kush". Once legalized, a flood in the market (that already exists) will drive down the price of marijuana considerably. Already a pound of "boo" has dropped to roughly $2500, down from a high of $5000 years ago.

An interesting photo slideshow HARVEST TIME ACTIVITIES courtesy of GOOD.

Coyote Breaks Blogger's Block

I can't put my finger on it... I guess that I ran into my first severe case of blogger's block! But in defense of myself I have dealt with the following since 03/15/10 (my last post): My daughter's 2nd birthday; a serious case of the flu (from said daughter), a (5) day backpacking trip and a busy work schedule. Enough excuses, now on with some semi-decent content.

My first local Coyote! For the last year or so I have been active with my Bay Nature Flickr Group where all I see are these beautiful pictures of local Coyotes, Bobcats and the rare Mountain Lion shot. I began to get jealous. After all, I spend enough time hiking the surrounding coastal and East Bay Hills, I deserved a "run-in"!

Well it finally happened and I must say that beyond the initial awe of seeing this cool canine it was rather uneventful. He/she just sauntered out carefully from the nearby coastal bush cover walked across a field, sniffed around the grass in various places and waltzed right along the edge of a semi packed parking lot. He/she definitely caught everyone's attention and stopped traffic too - our own Yellowstone traffic jam. Beautiful animal.

It all took place in the Marin Headlands at the dirt parking lot near the Miwok and Bobcat trailheads. I was just out for a nice evening hike with my wife and daughter. We were located not too far from where I have also witnessed my first bobcat while mountain biking years ago.

Thank god for Coyotes, if I had not come across him/her I may have given up on my career as a professional blogger!!!

A interesting video clip on local Coyotes, courtesy of Bay Nature Magazine.

Bay Nature Magazine / Flickr Group

I have become a big fan of the magazine Bay Nature and have mentioned it before on this BLOG. A fantastic magazine focused on the natural world in and around the the San Francisco Bay Area region of California. I also received a subscription over the Holidays.

Their website is also a great resource and full of very interesting content. One of the cool features is how they highlight their FLICKR Group - a community of photographers focused on shooting nature around the Bay Area. Many of the folks who have joined have actually had their photography highlighted within the magazine. The magazine will actually reach out to this community via the FLICKR Group with specific requests for images they need for future articles (my first submittal). Once I stumbled upon, I eagerly joined and have subsequently learned a lot - a very active photo community!

That in and of itself is pretty cool. But what I think is even cooler is how they randomly select recently posted images and rotate them on their homepage (scroll down a bit when you hit the homepage). So once you upload images to the FLICKR Group you can then go to their site - usually within an hour or so and sometimes see your image on their homepage.

Nothing earth shatteringly technological. Nothing that is necessarily seen by the masses. Just a cool way to share what is going on in their FLICKR community. Below are some screen shots that I have captured just to prove I'm not BS'in you!

^ Frog infested cattle trough in East Bay Hills

^ A shot from my Urban Redtails collection

^ Juvenile Night Heron, Mission Creek, San Francisco

^ Flotsum from Ocean Beach, Winter 2010

^ Mother Nature reclaiming Sloat Street, San Francisco

The Great Highway / Dispatch II from the shrinking Front Line

Took a drive down to Sloat Parking lot at the end of the Great Highway right where they detour traffic to avoid the eroding roadway. I wanted to get a first hand update on what is taking place. A good couple weeks ago I saw large earth moving machinery in the area and they were starting to dump rocks over the side to try and slow Mother Nature. After parking I walked down to where most of the work was being done.

My last post I mentioned that this would be a very interesting situation to watch as all the "players/stakeholders" have their own agendas and perspectives on how this roadway should be fixed - or not fixed for that matter.

Let me introduce the "players/stakeholders":

CITY OF SAN FRANCISCO

Obviously the City does not want to loose any major infrastructure and I'm not talking about the Great Highway! Just across the street, literally 100ft, lies one of the City's largest waste treatment facilities that was built back in the 90's. They cannot afford to shut down this plant. When it was built, evidently a lot of people questioned the desired location due to the cose proximity to the ocean. Oooppps.

SURFRIDER FOUNDATION / ENVIRONMENTALISTS

Have a close watch on this project and obviously oppose anything that would be done to the coastline that would hinder access or destroy what many consider one of the best waves at the beach. They'd prefer less rock dumping and try more sand treatments - actually dumping major amounts of sand off shore to quell the erosion. The City wanted 950ft length of rip-rap dumped and evidently agreed (through pressure of the Surfrider Foundation) to only dump 400-500ft.

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

The area in question is within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Interesting perspective from what I hear... they basically are somewhat indifferent to the loss of the parking area and or roadway. If there are manmade elements that are being reclaimed by Mother Nature (especially parking lots) they might favor letting her take it.

RESIDENTS OF THE SUNSET DISTRICT

Hard to say where people stand on this, I have not talked with enough people around the hood. I for one find that it cuts down the crowds at this end of the beach which one could look at in a favorable manner. I can also see that it is making traffic through the area pretty darn difficult so it may be making some residents commute difficult. I will say that I do like my toilet flushing and that when flushed it does not go right out into the water I swim in.

May still be too early to call what is the best solution and it may be too late as they are starting to drop rocks over the side. Somewhat of a "perfect storm" situation - literally!

San Francisco Art Benefit for Haiti, March 12, 2010

A friend of mine, local photographer Paul Ferraris, has put together a benefit silent art auction, "San Francisco Community Art Show for Haiti". Paul asked if I'd like to donate artwork for the benefit coming up on March 12, 2010. My response was quick, "Absolutely!". All the proceeds from the show will go to Architecture for Humanity and their work in Haiti. Paul helped me select the photo above as the one to donate for the benefit.

This will be a great show and Paul has put together a seriously talented group of folks; Adam Warmington, Aleks Petrovich, Alexander Schaffer Czech, Barry McGee, Chris Burkard, Elizabeth Pepin, Peter McBride, Rob Brodman and that is only a few of the artists donating their work.

Come on down to the show, bid on some great artwork and do your part to support the rebuilding effort in Haiti. You can view and pre-bid on some of the work HERE.

WARNING: I'VE INCLUDED SOME IMAGES FROM HAITI THAT ILLUSTRATE THE DEVASTATION AND LOSS OF LIFE. LOOKING AT THESE I'M HAUNTED BY THE FACT THAT WE TOO LIVE IN A SEISMICALLY ACTIVE AREA.

(I apologize ahead of time for not crediting the photographers)

Epicuro, Salice Salentino - A Wine Review

First things first...

...THIS IS NOT A PAID REVIEW (although I'll try hard to get the wine makers attention with this review in hopes to get a free bottle or two, I'm not too proud).

If you are the type of wine enthusiast that enjoys reading phrases such as, "slightly oaky undertones", "fruit forward splendor", "visions of mustard fields in Autumn", or "hints of this or that..." you may not want to proceed onward - you'll read none of that here.

You will however read words like "tasty", "smooth", "damn good", and (I can already hear the wine snob cringes from Napa Valley) I might even throw out a "yummy!". This wine is that damn good! And Napa Valley snobs fear not because this wine hails from Italy!

I must also come clean and state that I am not a true wine aficionado, I'm more of a beer guy (more gasps and screams from Napa Valley). But as I see it, better to have someone like myself be inspired by this tasty appellation and not get caught up in the mumbo-jumbo lifestyle-speak. Purely writing from the heart here because I truly believe this is a good wine and one people should know about. I wish I could take credit for its discovery but I owe that to my wife, she picked it up at Trader Joe's - the only place to buy wine and feel like you are not wasting your money.

It is a 2005 reserve, blend of 80% Negro Amaro and 20% Malvasia Nera grapes. It pours beautifully. A rich dark red color and a wonderful fruit smell that I find hard to resist. I want to smell it as much as I want to drink it - a good sign. The flavor is strong in fruit with a smooth finish. Nothing bitter or strong about it. Swirl it around the mouth a bit and continue to enjoy the flavor. In my opinion a perfectly approachable wine for any occasion.

Ladies and gentlemen, the true joy of this wine - $5.99 a bottle! A true steal as far as I'm concerned. I've even bought several bottles for friends just to turn them onto it. This is only the second time in my life I have felt compelled to buy a case of wine and keep it on hand, this again coming from a beer guy. And definitely the first time I have felt compelled to evangelize over a wine.

So there you have it. Pick some up for yourself and give it a try. I do not think you'll be let down. And if you do try it out, drop me a line - I'd love to hear what you think.

Napa Valley wine snobs can rest, I spared you from drop'in the "yummy!".

For more info on the Importer, D'Aquino Italian Importing Co., click here.

Of Waves & Abalone

There are some waves I've heard about just north of San Francisco. These are not exactly the kind of waves you can just drive up to, hop out of the car, suit up and be in the water within a minute or two. You have to do some hiking and bush whacking to get to them. A lot of time invested in the "getting there" without any guarantee of success. It is called paying dues.

I've been adventure deprived for the past couple of weeks. So when I got the opportunity for an all day hike today I decided to call up a friend and go "pay some dues".

Beautiful hike in and out of the fog and sun. Good to explore an area I had not been into before. Got down to the beach and reminded me a lot of the North Coast - all cobblestones and flotsum.

We found some interesting things on the beach. I started off finding a very cool hat. My buddy said, "you may want to keep that, those are expensive". That was enough to make me lash it to my backpack. My buddy also collected (3) wiffle balls - WTF? He says they are great to play with in the house with his son.

Probably the most interesting items we found were all the abalone shells strewn about the length of the beach. Quite a few of them and enough to make us take a mental note and possibly come back on some favorable tides.

Speaking of tides, we walked along the beach as far as we could before we got cut off by the cliffs. Rather than walk back the way we came we actually climbed up the bluff. One of those things you do in life and realize when you make it to the top how stupid it was that you did it.

And for those of you who have not stepped outside of late, Spring is beginning to make an appearance. The wild Iris were out in force - spectacular!

The Great Highway / Dispatch from the shrinking Front Line

It is BIG news around these parts. A portion of The Great Highway has been shut down. Not just a lane - all Southbound lanes have been blocked off to vehicular traffic (northbound lanes are open) due to storm and erosion damage. For those that are unfamiliar, The Great Highway runs the length of and parallels Ocean Beach, which is located on the far western edge of the San Francisco Peninsula. So with all the hub-bub going on I decided to take a walk down and take a gander for myself. What not a better mission to bring my trustful companion and fellow adventurer - my daughter. And as it turned out, we were blessed with a beautiful day!

As we made our way down (we walked and took the stroller) an immediate observation was the extraordinary amount of flotsum along the length of the beach. Logs, branches, trash, telephone pole parts, foam, sections of docks, old x-mas trees and lots of exposed random rocks. Not too much of a surprise since we have recently gone through some good stormy wet weather cycles. But still more than I have seen in a long time.

A second observation was the amount of sand eroded off the beach. Many of the dunes that have been built up over the years are taking a real hammering. Yesterday I ran into Carol Schultz, "Queen of the Beach" in Golden Gate Park. One of her comments to me was, "Jeez DAK, I have never seen so much sand missing off the beach". I concur.

Sure enough, there is some serious havoc that Mother Nature is unleashing at the southern end of The Great Highway. The Sloat Parking Lot's (1st Parking Lot) egress point is completely been compromised due to high surf. And the the 2nd Parking Lot is also in bad shape due to some serious hydrodynamic activity.

While I'd love the opportunity to delve into the very interesting battle that will soon unfold regarding how to resolve this problem and the various stakeholders involved, I need to cut this short and catch some shut-eye.

So tomorrow, THE WHAT, THE WHO, THE WHERE, and THE WHY of this battle between Mother Nature, a City, a National Park System, Environmentalists and the residents of the Outer Sunset.

I almost forgot my 3rd observation. No Sloat Parking Lot means less crowded surf. My daughter and I watched some seriously good surf come through with only a handful of guys on it. Typically there would be twice the amount of people out in the water.

Have you been down there yet? Tell us your observations and your ideas of how to handle The Great Highway erosion issue of 2010!