Yessi near summit of Glacier Peak with her TuTwo company flag.

Big Sur-hiking, mapping, wondering what happened to the trails!

A summary of our trip to Big Sur, hiking in the Ventana Wilderness and the need for more funds in the Los Padres National Forest.

Yessi Ye planning our hiking for Green Trails Maps

Yessi and I recently returned from northern California where we spent 3 weeks hiking 200 plus miles of trails in the Big Sur/Ventana wilderness, part of the Los Padres national forest.  These were some of the toughest trails I've hiked.

Yessi Ye climbing a steep trail

After hiking 5000 miles last year on 3 continents, through bush, over mountains, past volcanoes, down roads, through snow, dessert, forest and jungle, at elevations up to 18000 ft, I feel I know what makes a trail hard, and the Big Sur trails were very difficult.

Yessi Ye taking an ice cold shower at Limekiln falls, CA.

Yessi is here from China visiting for a couple months as we hike trails and map them with a GPS for Green Trails.  Though we met in NZ near my completion of the Te Araroa trail, she had never hiked before we did the Annapurna Circuit almost a year later.

Yessi Ye is tiny and these TuTwo trees are huge!

Turned on to hiking by the beauty, the adventure, the self reliance, sense of accomplishment and my company (what can I say, she likes me!) she came to hike with me this summer with the promise of fun, beautiful backpacking and hiking.

Headed to the hot springs in Big Sur, Pine Ridge

What we got at Big Sur was occasionally fun, once in a while beautiful, but mostly overgrown, unmarked and rapidly becoming lost trails.  None more appropriately named than 'Lost Valley' which we never did find.

dbBrad and Yessi next to a lovely Cairn at the hot springs

In 2008 there was a big fire which killed most of the deciduous trees and scarred black almost all of the redwoods.  While the redwoods suffered damage, many sprouting like mad at their bases as the tops  struggle to push new growth from burnt branches, the oaks, manzanitas, madronas and other hardwoods didn't make it.  Instead they have mostly fallen over, providing a wealth of sunlight to those smaller plants like thistles, pokiething bushes, scratchy berries, barbed roses, spear like yucca, and of coarse, poison oak.

Yessi enjoys a hot drink on a chilly morning along the coast of California

The falling trees have also made the un-maintained trails (most of them) almost impossible to navigate as the fallen trees and undergrowth are almost impossible to get through.

dbBrad and Yessi at Limekiln park, CA.

The only way I could convince Yessi to keep hiking with me was by relating our time at Big Sur to the concept of Boot Camp in the military.  A couple weeks of training to be more prepared and in better shape for our other hiking in the Cascades and the Olympics.  'If you can do this, you can hike anything' I kept saying.  And in her determined way, she kept hiking.

dbBrad, Yessi, Oxalis and Redwoods in Big Sur

As we hiked, we noticed one thing.  We were pretty much the only people out there.

Yessi at 5000ft approaching Cone peak with the Pacific Ocean (and China, though not quite visible!) in the background.

I attribute this to two things.  One, that the demographic of people driving convertible hot rods in fancy clothes and silly shoes along Hwy 1 isn't much of a match for hikers.

dbBrad and Yessi with backpacks on bike in Hunter Ligett, east side of Ventana wilderness, CA.

And two, if your going to drive an hour or two to go hiking in northern California, why would you go to Big Sur when you could go to Yosemite.

A ribbon means this is the trail, but doesn't mean that there is a trail!

Big Sur /Ventana definately has some beautiful hikes, most along the ocean.  However we also found some great hiking on the East side at Memorial Park, though without the spectacular ocean views.

One of hundreds of trees we had to climb over hiking Big Sur.

What Big Sur has is remoteness and wildness and solidarity.  If you are brave enough to venture more than a couple of miles from the trails heads, assuming you can find them, you will find amazing streams and rivers, spectacular falls and rocks, towering redwood forests lush and green, and occasional views of the ocean which take your breath away.

Yessi Ye sets up the tent up on Coast View Road, Big Sur Ventana

But the rest of the time you'll be wishing you had better maps, a protective suit made of leather, a full face shield, gloves and a chain saw.

Yessi, though new to hiking, steps across rocks like a pro now.

One the issue of maps, there are currently two sets of maps for sale.  USGS maps are no longer available, leaving you with National Geographics map, and one printed by Wilderness Press.  If you have a GPS then you have old USGS maps used by Garmin.

Yessi and dbBrad in northern California along one of the many rivers.

The Wilderness Press maps are so far out of date it's silly.  Not only are the trails and roads often misrepresented, but most of info regarding camping and parking and trail heads is down right erroneous.  This is much more true for Garmins maps which should be taken off the market they're so bad.

Yessi Ye models the TuTwo flag!

The National Geographic map was the best, thanks to Ventana Wilderness Association who recently revised the maps, editing trails, parking, road closures and access points.  It's the best map available right now, but still full of errors and un verified trails.

dbBrad and Yessi, Big Sur.

Im proud to say I work for GreenTrails Maps.  I've been using Greentrails maps for 30 years and have always found them to be reliable and accurate.  And when the GreenTrails Big Sur, Ventana map comes out, it will be the best map by a long shot.

Yessi, Yuca and the Pacific Ocean at Big Sur.

Not only is GreenTrails verifying virtually every map, but they're getting the new trails, the state camp grounds, the services along the sometimes desolate portions of Hwy 1, the camp grounds, distinguishing between walks, trails and routes and most importantly, they're working with local authorities and groups to mark and verify public access points letting hikers know where they can access these trails.

Yessi and dbBrad at Memorial park on the East side of Ventana wilderness.

This I found to be a big problem.  Even with 2 different maps (above mentioned) and my Garmin GPS maps for California, I was unable to find some of the trail heads.  Private property along the fringes of our Public Lands threatens to choke off access, particularly since there is almost no signage.  This is especially true on trails off Hwy 1 which often start as dirt roads which are gated.

Yessi struggles across a difficult section of trail.

Knowing which roads are public and lead to trails and which roads are private is the best way to keep property owners happy and maintain our public access points.  And by being thorough and conscientious, Green Trails is not only helping to preserve our land, it's helping you have a funner safer hike.

The beautiful Pacific Ocean

Yessi 

dbBrad

Watching the sun set over the Pacific

Letter to Ibex, dbBrads favorite outdoor clothing company

Ibex was first introduced to me by Sara Diers at Wander on Whidbey, one of the best little gear shops I've ever shopped at.  When she first handed me Ibex I loved it, then I looked at the price tag.  But I didn't set it down, instead I tried the sexy practical hooded garment they call 'The Shak' on and I haven't taken it off since.  Though it cost more, it's far outlasted and outperformed any gear I've had previously in 30 years of mountaineering, kayaking, bicycling and traveling.  It's warm, looks great, tough, looks great, doesn't stink and it looks great, still.

dbBrad, his Ibex Shak, and Conan on Mount Talbot, above Homer Saddle overlooking Milford sound, on the South Island of New Zealand off the Te Araroa trail and on another Freestyle adventure.

I'm so enthralled with the company Ibex, who has stood behind their gear, replaced worn garments and even provided me with additional gear in exchange for photos of ibex all over the globe, that I'm writing to them to say, I love Ibex and want to wear it everyday.  And Yessi does TuTwo and so should you!!

TuTwo magazine

Yessi Ye (Ye Chan) works for an outdoor gear retailer chain in China called Tutwo.  When we finished our Annapurna circuit trip in Nepal, they ran an article with writings from both of us and a few pictures of our adventure.

Yessi Ye, TuTwo magazine cover we created.

Now they have requested Yessi do some more writing on her adventures here in America.  Besides her interest in outdoor gear design, Yessi is turning into quite an outdoors woman.   Beyond simple hiking and backpacking, we've started looking at climbing gear and Kayaking gear.  Though much of the gear is the same, each sport has it's special gear. This next week well be climbing Glacier Mountain and Kayaking in the San Juans.  Two of the best trips you can do in the Northwest and extra delight to be had after the grueling 210 miles of trails we hiked in Big Sur/Ventana over the last 3 weeks.

Pictures of dbBrad and Yessi, on the wall behind the TuTwo sales counters.

We both have a bit of a dream of working for TuTwo together, as a team, helping them to become the REI of China.  Improving product design, product testing, refining the selection of gear they offer, leading workshops and hiking adventures for employees and teaching them how to have fun outdoors and how to use the gear they sell, and of coarse having TuTwo promote and publish  our new book, Backpacking simplified.

dbBrad and Yessi hiking the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal in 12 days.

And if you're curious about the gear company Y-B blue products, this is Yessi and My gear company name.  It would feature the color blue and Y is for Yessi and B is for Brad.  And Y-B blue, when you can use our gear and head out into the wilderness!!

From our Book, Back Packing Simplified,  the introduction:

Yessi and I met in New Zealand.  At the time she had very little experience hiking and had never been backpacking.  I on the other hand have been hiking, kayaking, biking, country skiing and, mountain climbing for 35 years.  We met in a McDonalds the day before I was to finish a 5 month trek, The Te Araroa Trail, which is a trail crossing both North and South islands of NZ..

Yessi was the first time in my travels around the world that I’d met a Chinese woman going solo, working and hitching her way across New Zealand.  Very brave and very sexy!  We met again in Wanaka and hitched together to Christchurch where I departed for San Diego, CA.

The next 5 months was another hike for me.  This time I was hiking home to Seattle from Mexico on the Pacific Crest Trail, some 2650 miles (4000km).  Yessi followed along on my Blog.

Having finished my second major thru-hike this year, I decided I was in for one more adventure and Yessi wanted to come.   We went to Nepal each with a 10kg backpack and hiked a 300km loop called the Annapurna circuit.

There was a lot of coaching and shopping to get Yessi outfitted for this trip.  Thirty years of experience poured out of me over the following weeks as I told Yessi everything she needed for a successful trip, and why.  And we flew to Kathmandu and hiked high in the Himalaya Mountains in fresh snow and reached Throng La gap at 5413 Meters (17,800 feet). We did it safely, we stayed warm, we were light and fast and we had lots and lots of fun.  And here’s how we did it...

Sustainable tourism article by Sam of Fair Marquit, a dbBrad feature article.

All last year as I hiked my 5000 miles across 3 different countries on 3 different Continents, I thought about hiking as a means of travel and I thought about sustainability.  I observed the condition and the uses of land, the tourists I met, the poor locals juxtaposed against the traveling rich kids, hotels vs. backpackers, cars vs. bikes, conservation vs. our need for raw materials and I thought to myself 'This year of hiking, carrying my shelter, my kitchen and my wardrobe everywhere I go, eating simple foods and spending my time looking and learning rather than stressing and driving like most tourists, probably has to be the most sustainable trip ever.  All year I collected my garbage and generated less that 20lbs for the entire year (not including worn out gear), far under our American average of 4lbs per person, per day.

My little pile of gear starting out on a one year, 5000 mile backpacking trip.  Though gear was replaced as it wore out and discarded when carrying it's weight outweighed (no pun intended) its benefits of use, I essentially carried these items all year.  And for my favorite product used all year long, IBEX merino wool is it!

Interesting then that recently I received a request from another sustainably minded individual currently writing about tourism, it's impacts, and how changes are making it more sustainable.  Here is his web page which has some great information and here is his article on...

Photo from Fair Marquit web page.

Eco-Friendly Buildings

In the course of my time as a commercial and independent contractor, I have had many experiences in working with companies and businesses that are seeking to become certified in LEED. This includes purchasing and installing materials that are beneficial to the environment. As I work for certain individuals and businesses, I am interested in the implementation of eco-friendly initiatives. Although celebrating LEED certification is important, I believe there is a lot more that can be celebrated in terms of being eco-friendly.

In the continent of Asia, there has been a lot of focus and recognition of green initiatives. The Wild Asia Responsible Tourism awards, which is focuses on tourism in Asia has recognized a number businesses and individuals. Recognition is given to those who focus on keeping the community updated and involved. In addition to this, recognition is for those who have sought to protect the culture while guarding and maintaining portions of land and the animals, birds and insects that live in them. Furthermore, focus has been given to the proficiency of using available resources.

Being proficient at using available resources can include serving foods that are local to the area as well as installing showerheads and faucets that have valves that can shut off automatically. Las Vegas, which is a popular destination for many people around the nation and world, has sought to have many of their buildings and operations receive LEED certification. An interesting fact is that the Las Vegas Palazzo Resort recently has been named the “Most Eco-Friendly Hotel in America.” Some of the reasons for receiving the award are that the facility has self-governing systems as well as being able to recycle the waste that it produces. In addition to this, there are New York City hotels, similar to the ones in Las Vegas, which seek to be more sustainable. Some hotels have become intentional in reducing the carbon footprint that they make by recycling waste and to install self-governing systems. The Ink 48 Hotel, which is located in New York City, has created a group that focuses on how to benefit the earth in a good way. The program, Earthcare, provides a platform where members can come together and discuss different ways they can become more sustainable.

I must say that seeing people make buildings that are self-reliant is quite wonderful indeed. As an experienced contractor, it is amazing for me to have a part of this kind of special work.  It is important for workers in Las Vegas to know that the city receives 40,000,000 visitors each year, where they stay in 124,000 hotel rooms. Because of the amount of traffic Las Vegas receives, new green Las Vegas hotels are constantly going up. This is an extremely encouraging sign and must be duplicated in other parts of the world. If everyone does their part, the positive impact will be sign by future generations.

Muir Redwoods, a wonderful little forest just half an hour from San Francisco.

One of my favorite big tree experiences is the Muir Woods in Marin County.  Just a short drive from the never ending traffic of the Bay area, and you'll be on curvy little roads running through the foothills along the coast.  It feels like a mountain desert, hot and parched.

Yessi's view from backseat as we approach the Golden Gate Bridge headed south on 101.

The first time I went to Muir I was asking myself as I drove along the roads, 'where are these redwoods'?  A forest of trees, some reaching over 300' tall--wouldn't you tbink you could see them.

dbBrad in front of a big tree at Muir Wood Park in Marin Co.

The reality is you don't see them untill you drop off the hillsides into a little valley and park your car.  And then there they are, these huge trees in a forest that feels like it could go on forever.  And it just seems to pop out of no-where.

dbBrad and Yessi at Muir Woods

As one wanders the paths deeper into the forest, time begins to slow down.  Scale begins to change.  No longer is parking the car and whats locked in the trunk important, for the magnificent trees and boardwalk trails purge these thoughts, replacing them with wonder, splendor and appreciation for organisms that have been alive for over 1000 years.

Yessi Ye and a Green Giant at Muir Woods redwood

Indeed, this little patch of redwoods in the middle of no where, juxtaposed against the highly developed Bay Area less than 20 miles south, is a place not to me miss.