Kamilche Ridge

Calendars are on sale for just $12.24 now, the price will not go lower than this before they are removed all together.  Thanks to everyone who bought a calendar.


With there being so much snow this winter and me not having a high clearance vehicle and me liking to stay in cell phone range so  I can rack up miles in Pokémon go, I have been staying closer to home.  I’m always looking for new places to hike, I do get bored with the same old trails and the National Forest and Park are so dark and cold this time of year.

Planned route is in green, actual route is in red

I plotted out a course to hopefully take me up Kamilche Ridge  I saw a possible logging road hike going in from Taylor Town, but it looked long and did not appeal.  Then I saw another potential route starting near Lake Isabella. 

I set out not knowing where the road was that would taking me up, but figuring I could find a way.  I did not even know where the first gate would be, so I did not know where I would be parking.  I plotted out what I thought was a 4 mile round trip route on my GPS(r) .

The weather did not look great, but I need to go out and hike if I want to shed some weight,  so I went in spite of the weather.  I hit my first gate at the Lake Isabella boat launch just a little ways past Lake Isabella state park.  Parking was tight, there was no room to park in front of a gate and I don’t have a Discovery  pass, so I could not park at the boat launch.  I found a tiny spot partly into the black berries on the road near the driveway to the boat launch.

The first gate I went through said “private road” and “no trespassing”  But the gate also had a Greed Diamond sign saying it was open for hiking.  I knew the other signs were wrong.  This road is a Greed Diamond road that some homeowners are allowed to use to access their properties.  About half a mile down the road I came to a second Greed Diamond gate and sign.  This was the start of Greed Diamond’s property and it was open to hiking.

My route up was nothing like I had planned, the roads were not where I thought they would be and one road dead ended.  It seems that all the local Greed Diamond roads have trails that start right where they dead end, so  dead end in the road is not the end of the road for me.  I found the trail and since I had cell coverage I loaded up Google earth satellite view and could see exactly where I was and how far I had to go to get to the next road.   That was fun.

I made it to the top after a few wrong turns at about noon.  I found a nice view to sit and have lunch.  While I was finishing up my lunch a PUD crew arrived to work on the tower.  As I was packing up to leave snow and wind and hail started coming down.  I was a bit worried about Sage with no rain coat on.  The snow and hail did not last for long though and the trip down was fast.   I found a slightly shorter route down.   I intend to come back and try a different road and route next time.  I’m excited to find a whole new area close to home that I can explore without having to buy a pass. 

I’m not ready to pay Greed Diamond $150 just to hike on their tax shifted wastelands.  I have to save my money to pay all the property taxes that get shifted to me and everyone else who lives in the state.

9 miles with about 1,000 feet elevation gain.

| What is a property tax shift?

“A property tax shift is a change in taxation that either eliminates or reduces taxes for some properties and establishes or increases taxes for other properties while the overall revenue to be collected stays the same.  In other words, the amount of taxes amassed by a government unit is basically the same in the current and prior payable years, but the share of taxes paid has changed for certain classes of property because the composition of the tax base has changed.  Properties typically having higher taxable market values or make up a greater part of the tax base this year in comparison to last year simply pay more of the property taxes.”

http://www.co.stearns.mn.us/PropertyRoads/PropertyAssessments/TheAssessorsCorner/PropertyTaxShifting

Twin Harbors to Westport and Back

We had a nice walk or hike on the ocean beach yesterday.  We parked at Twin Harbors State Park and walk to Westport.  We had lunch in Westport before we walked back to Twin Harbors.  Sage came along and she did quite well.


Every dog I have owned just loved the ocean beach.  Dogs love the wide open space, water to splash in and birds to chase.

The tide was high and the sand was soft at the start of our hike, so we were kind of happy to get off the beach. The surf was quit big too, I expected to see more surfers.

We used the paved walkway once we reached the lighthouse park in Westport.  I enjoy playing Pokemon there with all the gyms and pokemon.  Most people don't get cell phone service in that area, so the gyms can be held for longer.

As we started to leave Westport rain and wind came in and it looked like the hike back was going to be cold and wet.  The rain soon stopped though and the hike back was pleasant.  My daughter drove, I'm more than happy to chip in $20 to get her to drive and she likes getting the gas money.  Her father spoils her a bit, so her car is actually quite a bit nicer than mine.


10 miles round trip with about 50 feet elevation gain.  4 miles of beach walking.

Westport and McCleary

Made two geocaching trips to McCleary and will make one more.  I think I uploaded a video of one of them.  I like this geocaching area, it's on Greed Diamond land, but it is still pretty and quiet.  A permit is required to hike on more and more Greed Diamond land every year, I won't pay it and I think they should lose their special tax status when they charge for recreational permits.


Here is my video, warning, I seem to be going through the change and it's making me very moody.



I picked a beautiful day at Westport, did 6 miles round trip on the public paved path at the state park.  Did some walking on the Beach too.  I like to catch Pokemon in Westport as they have a lot of ground, electric and fire type pokemon there.  Here at home we mostly have grass types.

I've been hiking in places with cell reception so I can get walking credit in Pokemon go, but also becasue the snow level is low this year and I don't have a Jeep anymore.