Trees near the summit of Mt. Islip

View of the high desert from the P.C.T. below Little Jimmy Trail Camp

Mt. Islip (North Approach)

• Location:  Angeles National Forest.  From I-210 in La Canada, take the Angeles Crest Highway (Highway 2) northeast for 41 miles.  Just past marker 65.5, park at a dirt turnout on the side of the road (about a mile and a half past Islip Saddle).  From Highway 138, take Highway 2 west for 23.2 miles and the parking area will be on the left side of the road, shortly before Islip Saddle.  A United States Forest Service Adventure Pass ($5 per day or $30 for the year) is required for parking here. Click here to purchase.
• Agency: Angeles National Forest
• Distance:  6 miles
• Elevation gain: 1,250 feet
• Suggested time: 3 hours
• Difficulty rating: PG-13 (Altitude,  elevation gain)
• Best season: May – November
• USGS topo map: Crystal Lake
• Recommended guidebook: Afoot & Afield Los Angeles County
• More information: Trip reports here and here; Everytrail report here
• Rating: 8

You already know how to get to Mt. Islip from Crystal Lake, so in this post we’ll look at the northern route. The approach from Highway 2 is shorter and easier than from the south, but it is still a challenging workout; hikers sensitive to altitude will want to keep in mind that the trail head is at about 7,000 feet.  While the views aren’t quite as dramatic, there is still some nice scenery that makes it well worth the trip.

0:00 – Trail head on Angeles Crest Highway (click thumbnails to see the full sized version)

From the highway, look for a dirt road heading uphill. Pass the yellow gate and begin walking up the fire road, making a steady ascent through the pines to reach a junction with the Pacific Crest Trail (0.6 miles.)

0:15 – Junction with the Pacific Crest Trail (times are approximate)

Turn left on the P.C.T. (the right fork heads back down to Islip Saddle, an alternative starting point for the hike.) You head through a pleasant forest of sugar pines with a few glimpses of the road below and the high desert to the north. At 1.7 miles, you reach the Little Jimmy Trail Camp.

0:42 – Following the trail through Little Jimmy Camp

After the first group of picnic tables, look for a path heading sharply to the right; the P.C.T. continues south toward Windy Gap. Head through the campsite, past the outhouses, and look for the signed trail heading uphill. Follow it past some more picnic tables, reaching a Y-junction (2 miles.)

0:45 – Following the trail out of Little Jimmy Trail Camp

Here, bear right and continue uphill. At this point, you are sharing the route with the southern approach, and as you climb, you get great views of Hawkins Ridge to the east and Crystal Lake to the south. As you follow the ridge, you’ll see the cone of Islip’s summit.

1:00 – Bear right at the junction

Finally you reach the spur leading to the peak. Bear right and make the last few switchbacks to the summit, where you will pass an abandoned stone cabin before reaching the very top. On Islip’s summit, enjoy a 360-degree view of the San Gabriels, the L.A. basin and the high desert.

1:18 – Spur to the summit

Text and photography copyright 2013 by David W. Lockeretz, all rights reserved. Information and opinions provided are kept current to the best of the author’s ability. All readers hike at their own risk, and should be aware of the possible dangers of hiking, walking and other outdoor activities.  By reading this, you agree not to hold the author or publisher of the content on this web site responsible for any injuries or inconveniences that may result from hiking on this trail.  Check the informational links provided for up to date trail condition information.

1:25 – Looking southwest from Mt. Islip

My hair flows to my waist and I love it – most of the time.  It can be goregous and is great for up-dos, long curls, big waves, staying warm in the winter, and looks great when I belly dance.  However, it spends A LOT of time in a ponytail – at work.  Not the most professional look for a nearly 40 year old woman.  I wash and style my hair once a week, usually over the weekend – so it looks great for my outings!  By the time Tuesday and Wednesday roll around, my hair is pretty shabby-no-chic, and getting progressively greasier.  Hence the ponytail: easy, breezy, not-beautiful.  At work, where I’m kept behind a closely guarded and locked door with 10 other women and rare public contact – who cares!  Well, I do. 

Anywho, in a quest to appear more profession at work (notice appear verses “be”) I decided to enlist the help of some new hair tools that Conair has developed.  If I can easily and quickly get my hair into a non-ponytail hair style, why not?  This past Wednesday, I was excited to try my newly purchased Magic-Bun!  It’s a coarse mesh-y scrunchy-like apparatus that you put over the base of your ponytail.  You then wrap your hair around it and tuck in the ends.  The coarse texture allows your hair to stick to it, without becoming entangled.  A beautiful and perfect bun in less than a minute.  It’s magic, as the name suggest!

The first day: By the end of the day, some of the ends had become un-tucked and I decided to remove the bun and put the Magic-Bun apparatus in my purse.  Despite some of the ends coming out at the end of the day, I love the Magic-Bun, it was sturdy and last all day! 

The morning after: The next morning, I’m getting ready for work I notice a little poky type pain in the palm of my hand.  An examination reveals I have small blond splinter.  But how, how did I get a splinter?  I retrace my steps and the only conclusion is, it must be the Magic-Bun, that course material – cheap, deplorable thing!  It’s been in my purse for like 10 hours, littering it with splinters.  What’s this?  Another splinter in my finger? Oh no, where else do I have splinters?  Surely I’ve touched my hair and eyes!  Three splinters total, carefully removed with tweezers.  And the Magic-Bun ejected from my purse for later, closer inspection – I need to get my $4.99 back from Rite Aid!

Another quick unrelated newbie I tried: I tried a cactus pear for the first time!  It was surprisingly red on the inside and chock-full of hard un-chewable seeds.  I bought three, so I thought I better google how I’m supposed to eat the other two and are the seeds edible.  Upon looking them up on the internet I quickly discovered that you shouldn’t handle them with your bare hands because of little blond splinters.

Gabriel’s Justice via Facebook Signs of abuse to Gabriel Fernandez, 8, were missed by California authorities.

SOURCE

Shocking just-released official documents show that the day California boy Gabriel Fernandez died — at age 8 — he had a fractured skull, three broken ribs, BB pellets embedded in his chest and groin, cigarette burns on his skin and teeth knocked out of his mouth.

The newly revealed Department of Children and Family Services documents show a broad pattern of horrifying child abuse missed by the system until the Palmdale boy was finally killed last month.

KNBC Los Angeles County DCFS director Philip Browning admitted the system had failed Gabriel Fernandez.

“The red flags were all over the place,” county Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky told the Los Angeles Times of the case that has appalled the Southern California community — and the nation. “They were ignored. It is just inexplicable to me.”

KNBC The Department of Child and Family Services documents reveal a pattern of abuse that was missed.

Now his mother, Pearl Fernandez, and her boyfriend, Isauro Aguirre, who allegedly beat the woman’s son over several years, have been charged with torture and murder and are each held on no bail.

Aguirre, the 32-year-old boyfriend, told police he hit Gabriel at least 10 times the day of his death for lying and “being dirty,” the L.A. Times reported.

Gina Ferazzi/AP Grandparents Sandra and Robert Fernandez attend the memorial service for their grandson Gabriel Fernandez, 8, at Church of the Foothills on June 12, 2013, in Sylmar, Calif.

Most frustrating to friends and family of the boy is that he had to die to get noticed. The DCFS documents show Pearl Fernandez, 29, had a long list of violations over the past decade that should have led years ago to her losing custody of her three young children.

KNBC The Department of Child and Family Services documents. “The red flags were all over the place,” county Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky says. “They were ignored. It is just inexplicable to me.”

In addition to the physical and emotional abuse, Gabriel reportedly was sexually abused as well.

But the eight “referrals” — despite obvious physical injuries and statements from Gabriel and his siblings alleging the abuse — were deemed unfounded.

KNBC The Department of Child and Family Services documents show that the boy’s beating death could have been avoided.

Los Angeles County DCFS director Philip Browning admitted the system had failed the boy and that more “critical thinking and common sense” is needed to prevent another such case.

KNBC Gabriel Fernandez, 8, was fatally abused by his mother Pearl Hernandez and her boyfriend Isauro Aguirre (pictured).

The DCFS and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department were both aware of the abuse allegations — but failed to intervene.

Four DCFS social workers are on desk duty as an investigation is underway.

KNBC The Department of Child and Family Services released documents that reveal how the boy’s beating death could have been avoided.

“I feel like they all should be fired,” Elizabeth Carranza, Gabriel’s aunt, told the Times. “They didn’t listen to my nephew. They were completely deaf and blind.”

Teachers, too, saw signs of abuse and reported it. Gabriel had in the past written about contemplating suicide, and teachers saw bruises on his face from being shot by a BB gun.

Gabriel reported being forced to perform oral sex on a relative as well.

“It’s not like ‘oh, he had a bruise here.’ No every day, every week,” a classmate’s mother told KNBC-TV.

The last allegation of abuse was filed April 17.

“No safety threats were identified at this time,” the DCFS safety assessment filed that day reads. “Based on currently available information, there are no children likely to be in immediate danger of serious harm.”

Little more than a month later, Gabriel was dead.

I say Bravo Granny.

It would have been nice if this punks criminal career would

have ended that day.

Will the idiots in Kalifornia try to charge her with discharging

a firearm in the city? .

 (AP Photo/The Orange County Register, Paul Bersebach)

A Southern California grandmother took a shot at a home intruder with her .357-magnum Smith & Wesson, saving her 85-year-old, wheelchair-bound, World War II veteran husband.

Jan Cooper, 72, heard someone trying to open the door of her Anaheim home early Sunday morning and dialed 911, The Associated Press reported. She can be heard on the emergency call begging the dispatcher to hurry, send deputies, and warning that she has a gun.

SPECIAL COVERAGE: Second Amendment and Gun Control

Ms. Cooper then says to the dispatcher that the intruder is trying to enter through a glass door — and that she can see the outline of his body through the glass, AP said.

She then tells the dispatcher: “I’m firing,” and then a loud bang sounds, AP reported.

Ms. Cooper then curses at the intruder and orders him to “back up,” AP said. To the dispatcher, she said, “You’d better get the police here. I don’t know whether I hit him or not. I’m not sure. He’s standing at my door, my back door. He’s in my yard.”

The suspected intruder was 31-year-old Brandon Alexander Perez. Police arrested him a short time later — he was not injured — and discovered he had a past criminal record for burglary and narcotics charges. He’s pleaded not guilty to burglary and faces a court hearing in the coming days, AP reported.

Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jun/12/gun-toting-grandma-72-shoots-intruder-saves-wheelc/#.Ubh0j2T3-Po.twitter#ixzz2W6hmw4Nm
Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter

Karena kemaren kita udah banyak ngebahas kampus – kampus di sekitaran Australia, yuk kita beralih ke kampus yang ada di seberang benua sono, yakni di Amrik. Nah, buat yang lagi kepikiran buat ngambil program studi Teknik Arsitektur, pastinya pilihan kalian nggak salah. FYI, dunia arsitektur emang nggak ada matinya, makanya kebutuhan akan arsitek – arsitek handal bakalan selalu ada. Yang pasti, kalo kalian udah mantep sama jurusan Teknik Arsitektur, jangan sampe salah pilih kampus ya.. Kampus pilihan kalian tuh wajib concern sama dunia arsitektur biar mendukung pebelajaran kalian mengenai arsitektur nantinya, kaya di Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) ini nih. Dari nama kampusnya aja, udah jelas kalo kampus ini fokus di bidang arsitektur ini. So, mahasiswaya bisa belajar ilmu arsitektur lebih spesifik deh.

SCI-Arc ini lokasinya tergolong stategis dan gampang dijangkau. Bayangin aja, SCI-Arc ini terletak di distrik dimana banyak banget seniman negeri Paman Sam itu tinggal, yakni di Los Angeles. Disini, banyak banget inspirasi yang bisa digali yang nantinya bakaln memudahkan mahasiswa dalam membuat karya – karya desain arsitektur. Di tambah lagi, pembelajarannya tuh ntar bakalan lebih banyak di studio desain, dengan lingkungan yang suportif. Pastinya, dengan belajar di sini, sedikit banyak kalian diperkenalkan sama dunia arsitektur profesional plus cara – cara mengekplorasi material yang baik untuk bangunan. Wuihh, bikin ngiler nggak sih..

Nah ini guys gambaran lingkungan kampusnya (click gambar dibawah ini):

Requirement

Yang pengen terjun di dunia arsitektur dan pengen belajar di SCI-Arc ini, siapkan diri kalian mulai dari sekarang. Dan jangan lupa, lihat persyaratannya bener – bener supaya memudahkan kalian buat apply di kampus ini. Syarat – syaratnya antara lain:

-              lulus dari SMA yang dibuktikan dengan ijasah, atau

-              lulus dari sekolah tinggi or college, minimal setelah dua sampai 4 tahun berkuliah di sana (IPK min. 3.0)

-              portofolio desain arsitek yang pernah kalian bikin

-              esai yang meyakinkan tentang diri kalian dan kenapa milih jurusan Teknik Arsitektur di SCI-Arc

-              surat rekomendasi dari kepala sekolah

-              pernyataan kesedian mengikuti perkuliahan

Buat mahasiswa Internasional kaya kita gini, ada syarat tambahan loh, yaitu menyangkut kemampaun bahasa Inggris. So, buat kamu yang mau lolos tes SCI-Arc, kalian kudu lulus salah satu tes di bawah ini:

-              Minimal skor 90 di internet-based TOEFL,atau

-              Minimal skor 583 di the paper-based TOEFL, atau

-              Minimal skor a 6.5 band score IELTS

Kalo ketiga English requirement di atas masih nggak lolos juga, hemm, sabar. SCI-Arc masih berbaik hati kok dengan tetap mempertimbangkan skillmu di dunia Teknik Arsitektur. Tapi sebagai gantinya, kamu mesti ikut SCI-Arc’s four week ESL workshop, yah semacam pelatihan bahasa Inggris buat mahasiswa baru yang nggak lolos requirement di atas.

Eitss, inget, semua dokumen di atas harus di bikin in English ya sob. Dan dari semua poin – poin di atas, mungkin poin portofolio itu yang paling tinggi skornya sob. Makanya, make sure kalo kalian kirim karya desain arsitektur terbaik kalian ya.

Besaran Biaya Kuliah dan Biaya Hidup di SCI-Arc per Semester

Biar nggak kaget dan mengira – ngira berapa budget yang mesti kalian siapin buat kuliah di SCI-Arc, ini nih kita kasih tahu rincian biayanya.

Biaya segitu itu masih belum deal ya sob, soalnya masih ada beberapa biaya – biaya lain, kaya biaya buku dan pelatihan – pelatihan, sebesar $7,060, biaya sewa apartemen $175, iuran – iuran lain $712, transportasi $1,268, dan terakhir biaya khusus buat mahasiswa International kaya kita, yakni $500. Tenang aja, kalo yang terakhir ini, kita bayarnya sekali doang kok. Yang pasti, biaya segitu udah tergolong wajar kok, secara kita kan tinggal di US yang semuanya serba mahal. So, silahkan compare deh sama kampus – kampus laen yang concern di bidang Arsitektur, so pasti SCI-Arc ini tetep pemenangnya!

Akomodasi Mahasiswa SCI-Arc

Karena SCI-Arc ini berlokasi di area seni pusat kota Los Angeles, masalah akomodasi or tempat tinggal bukan lagi halangan. Mahasiswa yang kuliah di sana kebanyakan memilih tinggal di apartemen atau kos-kosan yang ada di sekitar the Arts District, Little Tokyo, Echo Park, Chinatown, Silverlake, dan Koreatown. yang pasti, masing – amsing area punya ciri khas unik yang bakaln memberi kalian banyak inspirasi dalam mendesain.

Sayangnya, kampus ini tuh nggak nyediain asrama mahasiswa khusus. Tapi, kampus ini bikin kerjasama sama beberapa penyewaan apartemen, rumah, atau homestay yang bisa kalian jadiin pilihan. Kalo mau tau infonya lebih lanjut, buka aja di portal mahasiswa MySCI-Arc. Yaudah deh, semangat ya buat kamu yang mau berjuang menggapai mimpi jadi the next professional architect in Indonesia.

Nah udah tau kan gimana serunya kuliah arsitektur di kampus ini? Yuk tonton video selanjutnya:

Informasi lebih lanjut bisa kalian dapat di:

Anzac Education counsellors
Anzac Education counselors
Berdiri sejak 1979
Pusat Niaga Roxy Mas Blok D1/27
K.H Hasyim Ashari Jakarta pusat 10150
Telp: 021-63858508
Fax : 021-63858509
Email : info@konsultanpendidikan.com
YM: anzaceducation
FB : Anzac Education Conselor
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BB pin : 218CB797
LineChat : AnzacEducation
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WhatsApp : +6281295111829

The land in and around St. George is naturally a vivid red. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I often drive between Saint George, Utah, and Southern California. On the return drive, the temperature in summer often starts in the 60s in Southern California and mounts to 105 to 110 degrees F. in Saint George.  I like to see how closely I can match my speed to the temperature on the drive. I call the game “driving the temperature,” and I usually must stop around 85 miles per hour which happens in the morning not far from Barstow. Today I went grocery shopping with the temperature at 98 degrees F. I spent $94.00 and now I have a new game I call “shopping the temperature.”

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Curby Creative 11 x 14 ($50) at Shryne Design in Hermosa Beach

Randi Curby from Curby Creative makes linen textured prints that say things like, Redondo Beach or California, in big bold letters over beach photographs. The typography and fun beachy style makes them perfect for a home in the South Bay. My favorite says,

CALI

FOR

NI

A

The white lettering goes over a great shot of palm trees and an airplane and the muted blue and greens lend a great California feel to the 11 x 14 print.

The owner and designer, Randi, is a Southern California photographer and has been taking photos since she could hold a camera. She isn’t just talented with designing great wall art- she’s also a fabulous photographer and shoots all over the area.

I love the way she captures the feeling of the South Bay with her muted colors and perfect California moments. Plus, turns out she shot photos of my cousin-in-law’s cute newborn baby Lucy!

Related articles

• Pillow talk (strandstyle.wordpress.com)

Enjoy the vid!

A few notable attendees: Myck Kabongo, Nate Wolters, and Pierre Jackson

Stack’s Bowers Galleries of Irvine says the certificate is one of only two of its kind still in existence. The other is on display at the Smithsonian Institution.

Silver certificates were government-issued documents that could be exchanged for silver dollar coins. They were circulated from 1878 until 1923.

Wednesday’s transaction came during a closed sale of 85 pieces of paper currency from a private collection. Stack’s Bowers says the sale is a record for a paper currency transaction.

The buyer wishes to remain anonymous.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

“Hey, just about to take the dogs out for a walk,” explained Rob Sacre over the phone from Southern California, where he is coming off his rookie season with the L.A. Lakers. “We even added a third to our family.”

Try and imagine Sacre, the well-illustrated, 7-foot centre, walking not only his two faithful pit-bulls Louis and Jackson, but also the third member and newest member of the canine clan, a chihuahua named Prince.

“Hey, Prince is the man,” intones Sacre, a member of The Province’s 2007 Head of the Class, explaining that the little one takes no guff from the big ones. “Everything right now is great. It’s awesome. I can’t complain.”

Focused on remaining a Laker next season, and busy working on his game through the off-season, there is a level of exuberance in the 24-year-old’s voice which more than suggests his first go-round in the NBA, on a roster drenched with veterans and soon-to-be Hall of Famers, was as meaningful an introduction to the league as he could have possibly hoped.

Steve Nash. Kobe Bryant. Pau Gasol. Dwight Howard. Antawn Jamison.

“I got to see inside the game,” begins Sacre, the former Gonzaga star who was selected by the Lakers with the final pick of the 2012 draft and wound seeing action in 32 games, averaging just over six minutes per contest.

“And I got to learn how I can get better from so many great players. At first, it was kind of surreal to see all those guys together on one team and realize that they are my teammates. But at the end of the day, we had to come together for one goal, and that is a championship.”

That of course did not materialize for a Lakers team which finished with a 45-37 record and was swept in the opening round of the playoffs by San Antonio, and it is unclear how the roster will shake out next season for the league’s highest-salaried team. Sacre can be brought back by the Lakers for just under $1 million US next season.

How did his rookie season pan out?

Some highs, some lows, but like so many second-round draft picks over the years, a lot of time to watch, learn and ask questions.

Sacre did all of that, but he also did such a good of supporting his teammates that his sideline cheering became the stuff of highlight reels.

In a respectful yet tongue-in-cheek manner, the L.A. Times named Sacre the NBA’s Thirteenth Man of the Year, calling him the player “who leaps off the bench and wildly flails his arms whenever his teammates make a highlight-calibre play.”

They went on to add “The backup centre is decent on the court, too, making him surprisingly relevant for someone who was the final pick of the 2012 draft.”

Sacre says he is just trying to be the best teammate he can, and doing what comes naturally.

“All I could do was whatever my team asked me to do, and that was to always be ready, always be enthusiastic,” Sacre says. “That is just me, and that just makes me focus within the game.”

On a pair of occasions, Sacre was sent to get extra playing time with the Lakers’ developmental league affiliate, the Los Angeles D-Fenders. But after Howard was lost to injury in early January, Sacre finally got his big chance.

After playing a game with the D-Fenders on Jan. 6, he flew down to Houston that evening to join the Lakers and wound up starting all three games of the team’s road swing, including a 10 point-four block performance in his debut start against the Rockets on Jan. 7.

“I didn’t take it as a demotion,” he says of being sent to the D-League. “I looked at it as I wasn’t getting any playing time in the NBA, so I might as well get playing time somewhere else. I am glad I did the D-League because it got me ready (to start for the Lakers).”

Immediate plans? Staying fit, working on his game and preparing to play in an NBA summer league are top priorities right now. And that means no immediate trips to Vancouver are on the docket.

“Right now I am just focused on being ready to be a Laker, just getting ready to play,” says Sacre. “It’s all I am focused on.”

Besides, he’s already paid permanent tribute to his home with one of the latest tattoos.

“I’ve got the Vancouver skyline on my stomach,” he says. “So I got the water, all the important buildings and the mountains in there.”

Nune Gevorkyan was sentenced to six months in prison, while her husband, Oganes Koshkaryan, was sentenced to four years and nine months, according to federal prosecutor Martin Estrada. The pair each pleaded guilty earlier this year to conspiracy and Koshkaryan was convicted on other charges, including health care fraud and identity theft.

They each will also serve three years of federal probation, Estrada said.

Gevorkyan worked as a clerk for two years where criminal documents are filed and looked at sealed indictments before raids on Armenian Power associates across Southern California in February 2011 that led to the arrests of more than 70 people. In one instance, Koshkaryan warned one of his relatives, a member of Armenian Power, about the upcoming arrests, prosecutors said.

Most of the charges filed in those cases dealt with white-collar crimes.

Authorities said Koshkaryan acted as an intermediary who promised he could get confidential information from the court system in exchange for cash.

A records search revealed Gevorkyan had accessed sealed court documents in at least two ongoing investigations.

A defendant in the Armenian Power case told FBI about the couple while seeking a reduced sentence.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

reasons I love San Diego:

1. BEACH

2. Coronado Island

3. In n Out Burger! (California in general)

4. Sunshine!

5. Lots of parks-SeaWorld, Legoland, Zoo, Wild Animal Park, etc.

6. The weather

7. There are songs written about California that mention San Diego

8. People are jealous when I say I’m from San Diego

9. The “Star of India” (the world’s oldest, still working ship) is ported in the San Diego Bay

10. Diverse foods

11. San Diego County Fair in the summer!

12. Surf towns along the 101 (Highway 101)-Encinitas, Cardiff…

13. The Cardiff Kook

more reasons to come probably…

I have had many request from all of my of my friends that I get off my lazy ass and do a bit more writing.  Some wanted horrific tales from the vault of the Lisanti Past, others were looking for recipes, and then some just wanted some new adventure tales.  I hope over the coming weeks to make everyone happy and a bit disturbed by the content as usual.  I thought I would start with the tale of a recent Lisanti adventure, a common California adventure at that; Chasing a solid south swell.

Summertime in coastal California is not quite what all the songs, pictures, media, movies and television would have you believe. Most of the time the weather is foggy, damp and cold. The ocean cold and windy.   The surf, unless you live in San Diego or Orange county is less then amiable.  Up here in Santa Barbara unless you have a boat, access to the ranch or a plane ticket to Indo you might as well put your surf board away and take up lawn bowling.  Unfortunately for me I have none of the above and left my bocce set at home when I moved from NJ.

If one of you readers wants to send me a bocce kit I promise to drink one for you at the Wild Cat!

What do I do?  I fucking get in my car and I drive at least 45 miles a day to surf sub par surf in a frustrating crowd.  Wait, isn’t that what the California dream is?   Shit folks the California dream ceased to be a dream 60 years ago if it ever really existed.  Its more like the California nightmare now.  We all know I love to suffer.  Actually this season has not been as bad as usual.  We had a month of NW wind swell that gave consistent surf and even a few epic days with some south swell thrown in for good measure. Check out the May edition of the Surflog for more on that.  In my book there are few things sweeter then a late season NW.

When the Queen looks like this you would have to be crazy to go anyplace else…or would you?

This story begins on May 28th 2013 down near Antarctica.  Antarctica?!? WTF! Truth be told that is where most south swells that grace California with their loveliness begin.  Of course on the 28th a south swell was the last thing on my mind.   I was too busy capitalizing on local wind swell to even notice any action in the south pacific.  Then a few days later Surfline.com had a feature on this crazy swell that rocked Tahiti.  At that point my attention was grabbed and I knew it was only a matter of time before it would show here.  From Tahiti the swell traveled to Hawaii giving the boys on the South Shore some fun ones.  Once in Hawaii it was only a couple of days.

By June 6th front runners began to show up.  The morning was still a bit down thus I decided to sleep in hoping for some action in the afternoon.  Solimar Beach was the spot for me after a great deal of deliberation.  This time of year surf is hard to come by and the wrong decision is a fate worse then death.  Every wave squandered is a flat day you will be kicking yourself in the near future.  I really wanted to utilize this swell to its fullest extent.  The reef had some solid rights to be had with a very light crowd.  I always seem to surf Solimar on the beginning of  large south swell.  It is a cool wave that bends around a horse shoe cobble stone reef usually covered by sand.  From the beach it always looks pretty mushy which keeps the crowd down. Actually its a pretty fast bowly wave when your on it.  It sort of reminds me of Noosa a little bit.

I got a solid session in and felt although deeming it “the best of the worst” a rather fun session.  The next morning things really began to get big.  Unfortunately for me too big for my usual south swell jaunts in the area.  When I went to bed I was dreaming of all time Santa Clara.  Instead I was faced with walled close outs and strange wind.  I wanted to go to Malibu and most likely should have.  I let the fact that it was a Friday and the immense crowds that goes with it keep me at home.  Later I would find out that even though the crowd sucked there were still plenty of waves.  Once again after lots and lots of checking  I found myself settling for the “best of the worst” at Pitas Point.  Through my binoculars down the beach it looked like it was firing.  After paddling my boy Ryan and I would soon find things to be a bit more sectiony then we would have liked, not to mention very inconsistent.

This the sort of Santa Clara I was dreaming of…

I had always heard these rumors up here that El Capitan, one my favorite right hand point breaks actually will see surf on a large south swell.  Apparently it sneaks through the gap between the Santa Cruz and San Miguel Islands.   I needed to see if the rumors were true and this swell seemed perfect for that.  I got up there a little later then I should have thanks to some chores that needed doing.  Afraid I had missed my window I was walking  to check it when a stoked older dude parked in front of me yelled “get your board and go dude, its on”.  Like that I found myself trotting down the trail.  When I emerged from the woods sure enough there were waves!  An older guy from Santa Barbara told me once while hanging out in the car park at Manu Bay in Raglan, New Zealand that one can tell a good point from a great point by how it holds its shape no matter what the swell angle.

El Capitan did just that.  It was only around chest to head high with a light crowd of local vets and very inconsistent, but my friends it was perfect.  I only caught 9 waves that session.  6 out of the 9 were wonderful keepers.  I can surf El Cap so well, I guess anyone can cause it is so perfect.  It is just one of those waves that makes anyone feel like Kelly Slater on it.  That is until you see Kelly Slater surf it…  Anyhow it was just one of those magical sessions that make you remember why it was you started surfing in the first place.  Later I would hear that the session of the day went down at C street that evening.  Fuck it, I hate that wave anyway.

God damn, why do all these swells have to fall on the weekend and a weekend where I had at least two party obligations to fill. A boys night on Friday with Bizarro and my boy Daniel’s going away party, which I was throwing for him at the Wild Cat.  As a result morning sessions were completely out of the question.  I know some surfers are reading this right now thinking “I can’t believe Lisanti is blowing it like that”, while I see it as a balance between the two worlds I exist in.  Balance my friends is everything in life.  It only took me 32 years to realize that.  Man cannot live by surfing alone.

Saturday I found myself a bit more hung over then I would have liked (still have not figured out that balance thing when it comes to alcohol consumption) causing a very late start.  I was still a bit sick to my stomach as I climbed the dunes at New Jetty where I heard the morning was near to all time.  There were long lines coming through, but overall things looked a bit soft and still very inconsistent.  My boy Pat hit me up that he was in Malibu all morning and was about to go back to surf Leo Carrillo.

I don’t go to Malibu on the weekend, ever!  He claimed the crowd was not bad and given I didn’t really have a better option I jumped in the car with him.  You know what it was a great call.  I got to surf the best Leo I have ever surfed.  By Leo standards and a weekend the crowd was not bad at all.  It was tough to get a set wave off the old guys and long boarders.  That was fine cause I enjoy the inside double ups better anyway, plus the sets were too big and most closing out.  I managed to put on a very strong backside performance holding it down for the goofy foot contingent.  Fuck, give me a wally lined up right any day.  That shit is my bread and butter.  Later Pat and I had a look at Hueneme Pier and he was frothing.  It looked decent enough.  I had to get back to the Barb for Daniel’s party.  It went down without a hitch.

By this point I was dead set on a Lower Trestles mission.  I had not been there since ’11 and I was thinking Monday would be the day.  I texted Trevor and planted the seed in his head.  My tires are bald on my car at the moment so the only way I was going to be able to partake in such an ordeal was if I had a driver.  Sunday I was in bad shape.   I cut down on the party and my body has totally lost its tolerance to take a beating and keep on.  I heard New Jetty was on again that morning.  I headed there for low tide.  Although very inconsistent there were a handful of decent lefts coming in.  I paddled it.   There were a few fun ones to be had among the lulls.  Later that night I returned home to a text from Trevor that he was in for Lowers.

This is what a Lowers crowd looks like

Monday morning we made  the three hour drive south in high spirits.  We got there and it was way more crowded then I had hoped for.  As a matter of fact I can’t remember ever seeing that many cars parked on the San Clemente side.  It was decent Lowers in its own right.  The crowd was miserable and sets inconsistent.  That is a very bad combination.  My stoke was gone and part of me wanted to jump back in the car and just drive another 45 minutes south to Blacks Beach.  It was Trevor’s first time and who am I to rob him of a bad surf experience.  We paddled.  Despite a pack of annoying groms training for nationals next weekend we both found a few keepers.

Who can really hate on an entire day spend on the beach with your bud?  I fucking can.  I got sun burned.  My eyes hurt from all the sun and as of press time my back is sore from carrying all my shit down there, my neck stiff and my fucking knees hurt from too many really bad frontside air reverse attempts cause I suck at surfing.  In all seriousness it was a fun day and I am glad I went to remind me why I never go there.   At the moment it is flat with not much happening for at least a week.  Fiji just got some sick waves for the contest (congrats Kelly on another mind blowing victory) so its only a matter of days before we see the remnants of that swell. For more details on the surf sessions, party or swell visit the June Surflog.

Here’s to the next good South swell and Go Slater for number 12!

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