Epic 09 - Leavis Flat, California Hot Springs and San Elijo

Day 6 took us to Leavis Flat campground at the base of Sequioa again. This beautiful spot had only 9 campsites. It was right on a stream with pools big enough for wading. We spent a wonderful evening here playing in the water.

The next morning, we went to the California Hot Springs. Basically it was a swimming pool fed from a natural spring. They cool the water, so it was just like any other swimming pool. It was definitely not epic, scoring a low 3 on the Epic Meter. Day 7 took us back to Southern California and our favorite campground at San Elijo State Beach. We had an awesome dinner starting with some chips and home-made garden salsa (with peppers, onions and tomotoes picked from the Cooney garden), followed by fire-grilled pork chops and a wonderful salad courtesy of the Stinson's, who joined us from San Clemente for dinner. Our last day was spent in the 70-degree warm waters of northern San Diego surfing and body boarding. The waves were tiny (1-2 feet) but we still had fun. Devin's friend Zach Hoffman joined us for the tail end of our adventure, and acted as videographer of our ocean activities.

Epic 09 - Natural Bridge Cave

Before we pulled out of the 49er RV Park, we noticed an old photo in the office of a guy standing in a water-filled cave. The lady said it was at the end of a mile long hike, and gave us directions. She said that there used to be a sign there, but it has been gone for a few years. It was called Natural Bridge, and it turned out to the Most Epic spot on the trip. We found the trail-head after passing the unmarked turnoff twice. The hike was moderate and downhill. After a few wrong turns, we found it. The river has worn through a huge cave. There was a very deep pool in the middle. You could not see the other side, but could see a faint glimmer of light shining through. Devin and I went first.

The water was C-O-L-D but we made it to the other side, where there was a pool of sunlit warmed water to recover in. We swam back and then I made another trip with Delaney and Brendon. Meanwhile, Snickers was catching and eating fish and chasing crawfish.

Epic 09 - Moaning Cave

The afternoon of Day 5 took us to the Moaning Caves for rappelling, ziplines and rock-climbing. Moaning cave is the largest single cave on the west coast. The main cavern is big enough to hold the Statue of Liberty! Sharon, Devin and Brendon rappelled down into the main chamber. Delaney was not allowed because she did not weigh enough and the rappelling gear would not have allowed her to descend. So Bob and Delaney hiked down the stairs and took some video.

The rappel was 165 feet down into the cavern. It took them about 10 minutes to get all the way down. They had to navigate through some rather narrow passageways on the way down.

After the rappelling adventure, which measured a 10 on the Epic Meter, we moved onto the zip line. I will say I was a little nervous (as you can tell from the video) but it ended up being fun.

Last up at Moaning Cave was some rock climbing. Turns out Brendon was a pro, which he proved recently at the XGames (at the Taco Bell Climbing Wall). He raced up the hardest course here in cowboy boots no less. Devin went up almost as fast on all but the hardest path, and Delaney conquered her fear of heights (and conned Dad out of 5 bucks) by making it to the top of the 32 foot wall on her final try.

Epic 09 - Columbia Historic Town

Day 4 held an uplanned Epic Moment. We were driving up Hwy 99 near Merced, CA when the black water holding tank fell off the bottom of the RV. We stopped on the side of the road until help arrived. The big tank full of poo was hauled away and we decided to move on rather than waste a full day having it repaired. We've certainly roughed it worse than a camper without a toilet before. That night we stayed at the least epic spot ever, the 49er RV Park. While it looked great on the website, it was pretty lame. However, we did find the MOST EPIC spot ever by staying there. More on that on a later post. To start off day 5, we took a quick side trip to Columbia Historic Town, a national historic site run by the NPS. It is a living town in the middle of gold country. Founded in the mid-1800's it showed what life was like in the mining craze. We sipped Sarsaparillas in the saloon, panned for gold and made candles. It was a cool change of pace from the adrenaline that was to come.

Epic 09 - Hendrick's Ponds

Our horse guide, Tim, recommended this cool little campground to us. So we changed plans and saved about 2 hours or driving back to Wishon. Our campsite had its own Sequioa tree and was about 50 feet from the fishing pond. Devin caught a nice rainbow trout on his first cast, and wound up with 4 while Delaney caught 2. Brendon showed off his balance by walking across a log to a giant Sequioa stump in the middle of the pond that about a dozen others wanted to cross but were too afraid of falling.

Epic 09 Horseback Trip

We spent the first night in Big Bear at the Serrano campground on the north shore. It was a nice site and we were able to walk to the shore for some unsuccessful fishing. Day two was a driving day, taking us up to the bottom of Sequioa National Forest. We camped at Camp Wishon about 30 miles above Springville, CA. Then on Day 3 we drove up into Mountain Home State Forest to the Balch Park Pack Station. There we met with Tim who took us for a 5 hour trail ride across some amazing scenery. We saw a mule dear but not much else in the way of wildlife. Lots of Sequioa and Redwoods, and some awesome flower fields. You can't tell from the video, but some of the terrain was pretty gnarly, steep climbs and descents over gravel and loose rocks. The horses earned their hay this day (especially mine!).

Epic 09 Begins

Epic 09 is our second annual adventure roadtrip. This year we are renting an RV from El Monte RV, which I fear has an epic meter reduction factor associated with it. Anyway, first stop, Perris CA for some Skydiving. The Perris Skyventure was the first built after Bill Kitchen (the inventor or the Skycoaster - that thing where you drop from a huge arch on a cable that you see at amusement parks) invented it in Orlando. It is a giant vertical wind tunnel, and uses variable speeds and a novel "pull" suction to generate wind speeds of up to 140 MPH, simulating an actual free-fall.

They suit you up in a flight suit, helment and goggles.

We flew for 3 sessions: first were a minute each, which is the equivalent of a 13,000 foot skydive. The last session was 2 minutes. An instructor is in with you the whole time coaching you.

Here is a video of the last flight (30MB - approx 8 min.) Notice in the 5th and 6 minutes the instructer had Delaney flying upside down and seated. These are advanced manuevers. Also, in the 3rd and 4th minutes Brendon has already perfected controlled spins.