On to California

This begins what I expect to become a series of blogs from a new adventure. I am spending the next 8 months on a SCA Desert Restoration Crew out of Ridgecrest California. As one person said, Ridgecrest is a great place from which to go places.

Downtown Ridgecrest

Most of my first week here has been full of getting things ready for the year. Lots of sorting through gear, repackaging our bulk food order, and going through the obligatory trainings such as defensive driving, policies, and risk management. While the work itself hasn't been terribly thrilling, it gave us a chance to meet our crew members. So far, so good--though admittedly I probably wouldn't post it here.

A rock in the Rands

The highlight of the week came yesterday, on one of our day's off, when a bunch of us went for a hike up nearby Owens Peak (8400 ft). It is in the southern Sierras and just outside of town, though getting to the trail head took about an hour and a half on winding mountain roads. The vegetation changed quickly as we headed into the mountains; Joshua trees started appearing, became plentiful and then disappeared during the drive. By the time we started hiking there was a bunch of scrub oak and pitch pine. The views from the top were awesome. On one said we could see down into a dry, dusty valley and Ridgecrest, and on the other we looked into the Sierras.

Something smells like burning

Next it is off to training with all of the other crews for the next two weeks.