Dad,s Day 2012
I spent the day with family at lake Lopez located east of Arroyo Grande Ca. My son Luis was the ship,s captain and ferried us to the camp site where his wife Beverly was resting in a hammock . tough Life ! Ha Ha . Well we ate , drank and then Serra and I hiked up to the ridge , a moderate hike of about 600 ft elevation gain in a short distance , and then a mile or so along the ridge . I was a beautiful hike and well worth further exploration . I am sure you will want to visit this location after enjoying the photos. My only regret is that I did not camp out the night before . The reason I did not was because I thought the weather would be hot as it was in Atascadero , but I learned that this area has a cooler climate than my home town .

June 1st , Wayne , myself , and sierra ( my puppy ) hiked up to Estrella camp via the Salmon Creek trail
located in Monterey County on hwy 1 just north of the San Luis Obispo County line in California , along the  Pacific coast . The weather was cool and foggy at sea level and hot at higher elevation . Water was plentiful as the trail followed Salmon creek all the way with many large pools along the way . The camp ground at Estrella was especially nice with great shade and camp stove .The night time temperature low was 59 degrees and day time high was 85 degrees as the elevation was
1800 ft. , after resting on day one we hiked a short distance up towards Lions den which is located up at the rim another 1600 feet of vertical elevation gain , we only hiked 300 feet up this trail and I can say it is a very strenuous hike . On day two we returned down trail and at the fork of Spruce camp we climbed up to Dutra Flat . ( see the sun lit photo of dry fields ) which is approximately 1000 ft. climb with a 1400 ft elevation gain  .
All in all the hike was very adventurous  and I definitely recommend this for the strong hiker .
Also note the temperatures at higher elevation can get very hot ! The heat was a little too much for my puppy as she is only 6 months old and she is a daily hiker and very strong !
The first photo is at the Salmon Creek Trail head with the mountain behind myself , Carin and Hank . These folks were returning from a race up north . They both ran well !

Cerro Alto , located on Hwy 41 between Morro Bay and Atascadero Ca.

Since I have been hiking with my new puppy Sierra  ( see her new photo ) I have been seeing more wild life as she alerts me of things that I would normally not be aware of as they are often hidden in the brush . Today I saw a Peacock . It was a good distance away and very quiet . A couple of days ago I saw two coyotes but was not able to photographs same . enjoy !

Cerro Alto hike and training Sierra to respect snakes . this is the 4th snake encounter this month and Sierra did well as she stopped immediately and waited for me to remove the snake from the trail . This was a harmless gopher snake but the other 3 encounters were rattlers . We treated this snake as though it were dangerous . Good Girl Sierra !!

Cerro Alto on hwy 41 between Morro Bay and Atascadero Ca.

On Cerro Alto I often enjoy this bench for a short rest , this week I have been training with a heavy pack for an up and comming backpacking trip .--- Note the pack under my head and on my new puppy Sierra 5 months old .Next is a studio shot .

Spring On Cerro Alto

Cerro Alto , a National Forest Peak with a 1600 elevation gain of moderate hiking , located on hwy 41 between Atascadero and Morro Bay Calif . This is a very short slide show of about 30 images .
Enjoy !

Sierra in training

Sierra now 15 weeks old poses for a photo after climbing to summit a 1800 ft elevation gain .

puppy in training on Cerro Alto

Up date on my new puppy Sierra she is now 15 weeks old and has completed her first summit of Cerro alto an 1800 ft elevation gain hike and a round trip of 5 1/2 mile hike . She loves the mountain . She has hiked her first rain storm also and loves the rain ! I am sure that she will be ready for her first multi day backpacking trip this fall . The photo where I am wearing a blue shirt is when she made a 1000 ft gain and then photo with me in a yellow jacket is at the top of Cerro Alto a 1800 ft gain . The entire training period was one month starting with one mile hike and a 100 ft gain , I had to carry her for a half a mile . With a gentle training program of 4 days a week , allowing her time to recover and gradually increasing her work out routine , she has made great progress !

Cerro Alto is a 2600 ft mountain located between Atascadero and Morro bay calif.

Trail Dog

2/14/12

A Valentine Day gift from my family I hope will soon become a trail dog . Her name is Sierra , I love the name . Sierra is a 11 week old German Shepard /Lab mix . She started off a little shy but I think she has promise .

Special Thanks To My Loving and Thoujghtful Family !

I will start her off on a very easy trail --- Jim Green Trail 1.5 mile loop in beautiful Atascadero Ca. located in San Luis Obispo County Ca. , in the heart of wine country . She will graduate when she is capable of hiking Cerro Alto a 1800 ft elevation gain , my daily hike . This training should take about 6 weeks . ?????-- I hope ! She then will move on to bigger advantures .

Cerro Alto Interesting People

Cerro alto ( a 2,650 ft mountain ) located between Atascadero and Morro Bay Ca has become a 1800 ft elevation gain challenge for young climbers lately and I love it ! The youngest to be added to a list of successful adventure seekers is Scarlett age 6 years . Her and her father John ( both pictured here ) has my admiration ! Keep up the good work !

Cerro Alto

Feb . 4 th . , Saturday , I hiked Cerrro Alto ( Between Morro Bay and Atascadero Ca. ) with my grand daughter Natalie and friend Robert . the weather was great , very clear as you can see in the photos of us withe Morro Rock in the back ground .We had a super time . In addition to seeing many people we saw some wile life on e of which was a dead owl -- sad --sad .

We also could see very clearly Mount Whitney with binoculars. The camera I had today could not record the photo .

This hike is always fun , but I must say today was special !