Thursday @ the Hook

South swell didn't fill in as well as Ramin promised me it would, but I still caught some fun little log rides on Ruben's 8'0" at the Hook on Thursday night. Followed that up with burritos at Taqueria Vallarta with some friends, and then headed to Manresa SB for camping. Not a bad way to spend a Thursday night.
 
 
 

cheater 5!

 

new GoPro camera

cause 5 megapixels is better than 3. and it's not like I don't use it enough. I also splurged and bought a whole bunch of extra mounting devices so I can take the camera mountain biking or motorcycling with me. even got the board mount thingy, although I don't have the wide angle camera, so unless I mount it on a log it will probably result in a lot of pictures of my legs. there's also the dilemna of what board to mount it on. I don't want to put it on my quad because I sometimes like to run the nose, so having a baseplate wouldn't be cool, not to mention the board is only 5'9". maybe i'll put it on my 6'5" JC and take it barrel hunting this winter, I'd love a picture of my legs getting a sick barrel. I want to experiment with facing the camera forward too, since I'd rather have a picture of the wave when I pull into a closeout than a picture of myself getting closed out on.

anyway, this morning the waves were a little bigger than yesterday, but a little junkier too. a few fun little drainers, but mostly out there just enjoying the sun and the water. i'm hoping this south swell fills in so I score some waves this Thursday and Friday down in Santa Cruz.
 
 
 

gutless but glassy

 
 

low tide dawn patrol at the hook

fun. kelpy. easy floaters and hittable lips. waves for all, crowd not too bad. no time to blog, must work!

backpacking 4th of july

pics from Joanie's camera, i'll upload the rest from hers tomorrow, need to sleep!
 
 
 
 

Slideshow from Joan's camera:

4th of July backpacking

 
Had an amazing 4th of July weekend backpacking and surfing with Joanie and Gus. I'm sore and tired and still exhilirated from the trip. Such amazing sweeping vistas, empty waves, and wildlife. Sadly lots of starving seals, as well as dead octopi washing up into the rocks. No bear encounters, just racoons at night, and Gus did a good job scaring them off.

Waves weren't big or hollow really, but it was still a lot of fun, especially being the only one in the lineup for the most part. When we arrived the only other waveriders camped on it were a surfer and a bodyboarder who were only in the water when I first got there. The rest of the weekend I surfed alone, save for one guy who paddled out the last day. He was there on a bachelor party, he and his friends arrived on a boat that day with a ton of beer. I was envious of their beer situation, only having packed a Nalgene flask of vodka in Gus' backpack. Anyway, yeah the waves, I took a lot of pics in the water but it's tough to get a sense of scale with nobody out there. Joanie's pics do a better job of that, but still some pretty water shots.

We had an adventure on our last night, as we underestimated how high and fast the tide was rising, and ended up having to scramble to high ground in a little cove and wait for numerous hours until the tide dropped enough for us to pass the next section without getting smashed into the cliff by the roaring surf. We made the best of it though, Joanie is a real trooper and Gus was zonked out through most of the ordeal. After the tide dropped enough, we setup camp at the mouth of a really beautiful creek and got a few hours of sleep before making the trek back to the car in the morning.

This was our second trip up there, and despite the surf not pumping as good as last fall, it was an incredible adventure and one of my most memorable 4th of July's to date. Hope to make this at least an annual pilgrimage, I know Joanie does too. Gus might be having reservations, as he's still nursing his tender paws, but I think he'll be game for another trip next year.

North Coast Backpacking 2009 -water cam