Cerro Alto Christmas

Cerro Alto
Located between Morro Bay and Atascadero was bright and sunny this Christmas day . Many visirors enjoyed the views and the weather at the top . A great day for hiking !!

Christmas Week on Cerro alto

It's Christmas week on Cerro Alto and I am loving the Activity on the mountain , located between Morro Bay and Ayascadero Ca. ---- Yesterday I hiked with good friends and had a great time !

Hiking Christmas Artist

Thought I would try something new and post my yearly Christmas card . For those of you who don't know me , painting is a passion and each year I make my Christmas art and make my own cards . The original is a oil on canvas 16x20 ,

I think I will start posting some more art that reflects this hiker's mood in his travels .

Double click image to better enjoy same.

Cerro Alto family life

12-20-11 , on Cerro Alto mountain located on hwy 41 between Morro Bay and Atascadero Ca
on a steep climb , the bridge trail , I met this young family , mom dad and two children . It warms my heart to see young folks enjoying the wilderness and sharing with such small kids . This family hiked three
miles , gained 700 ft of elevation and the little girl hiked all the way !!
I later met them in the park lot and judging from their truck and equipment , i am sure this is a way of life for them .I hope to see them again on the trail !!

lost valley

1-4-11
Wayne and I met Bill(wearing green ) at the Indians area or Memorial Park located east of the Calif. coast approximately 200 miles south of San Francisco in the Ventana wilderness in the Los Padres national Forest . Our trek was to travel to the Lost Valley .
The first photo is at the base of the tallest peak in the Ventana wilderness , Junipero Sierra . The following photos start west on a fairly good trail . The trail deteriorates rapidly. often the trail is at best very thin . Often the trail is non existing or grown over with brush taller than a hikers head . Many times the trail goes over slides . The trek is slow and difficult as a it climbs approximately 1300 ft to a saddle , then descends to Fish Camp , then climbs another 400 ft and reaches a rim where a view of Lost Valley is breath taking ! The trek is a true adventure but I do not advise this hike for the beginning backpacker . Water is plentiful . At this time of the year the weather is cold . We experienced 29 degrees at night . We also found that the past forest fires influenced the landscape in some positive ways adding to it"s beauty ! Note the pine cones on the burned trees and the sculpture like burned tree , the new growth etc. I hope you enjoy !
If you have any questions ---e-mail me at joeramirez@charter.net

Pozo Area

Quail season is open in the Los Padres
forrest and National Geographis photographic photographers follow Fish and game officer into the Rinconada Trail head park lot and film him as he questions some people in the area about hearing gun shots.
This trail head is located east of Santa Margarita
Ca. near Pozo Calif.
This wilderness are offers fantastic hiking and hunting opportunities .See the many older posts on this blog .
Here we have a local TV station filming a story on Fish and Game .

Cerro Alto Challenge

Cerro Alto mountain located between
Atascadero and Morro Bay Cal in the Los padres National Forrest with a 1600 ft elevation gain is my daily hike . I never tire of the variety of visual pleasure I get from this wilderness .
At times it is the landscape or wildlife I love photographing .
And often it is the people on the mountain I love photographing .
Today I enjoyed photographing Sara Gorman , a young runner . I have hiked with her twice and
I admire her strength and her love for the wilderness. She loves running. And as you can see , she does it well . A few weeks ago I hiked 15 miles with her in the Pozo area and found her to be a to be an exceptionally strong young lady !

I hope that you enjoy this experience as much as I loved photographing it .

The bottom line is there is a beautiful experience for all on Cerro Alto

Keep on hiking !