El Capitan, Jalama & The Bill Wallace Trail

Here’s what I wish I had photos of:

-Surfing / Bodysurfing Jalama Beach & El Capitan

-El Capitan Park and Campground

-The starry night sky

-Sunset drive from Santa Barbara to Orange County

Alas, I can’t snap as many photos as I want. I’m generally busy preparing for the next activity or enjoying the moment.

That said, the main point of this entry is to expose everyone to a great spot to hike in Santa Barbara: The Bill Wallace Trail.





Journal

I leave work at 8p after an action packed day at work. In the midst of it all, I forget some food in my fridge and an SD card for my camera. Without my SD card, I only have 12 photos to snap and store on the camera itself. No way. I take an extendo lunch and hit my house and gym to snag the food and SD card. Plans go as, uh, planned and I leave Newport Beach at 8p.

Bob Dylan’s, Desire is the main soundtrack. I listen to Desire all week in my room where I spend a little bit of time, over 3 nights, packing. I have a lot to pack due to the activities planned: surfing, bodysurfing, hiking, camping. Gear, food, clothes yadda yadda. I’m well prepared but being well prepared took years to accomplish. I wonder what it would be like if I bought all my gear at once. It probably sucks if you consider that you learn how to use shit as time goes on. There is some gear I will never use until the time comes but I own, like bug spray. Some gear is stored, like my wetsuits, and some is new. There’s a learning curve to some gear. Other stuff you pick up and it works right away. Most gear is unworthy of buying, honestly, but it makes life way easier. A headlamp is a good example. I bought it as a luxury to aid pre-dawn and night-hikes but now it’s very essential. Sure, I can lug my Maglite around camp and thwart any attacker with my Maglite self-defense skills, but overall it’s a pain in the ass. Headlamps are cheap and worth the money.

My recommendation: Black Diamond





The car is full of wood, water, gear and food. I make it to El Capitan Campground in 2.5 hours because I’m badass and like to drive 90 when it’s late at night.

I park, unnoticed by my tent-camping friends. I set my alarm for 4:55am, crawl in the back of the Subaru where my mat and bag are then fall asleep.



Wake up - 5:25. I look at my phone, still on the “set alarm” screen. I crawl out of my car and Joe apologizes. “Sorry to wake you,” he says as he preps his gear for the morning drive to Jalama Beach to surf. “No problem, I forgot to set my alarm.” We load Shane’s truck. Shane, Joe, Sara and I drive to Jalama.

There’s a strong off-shore wind and some tasty 3-4 foot waves. It’s cold but no problem. It’s the beginning of the day and we’re alive. It’s beautiful out.

Sunrise, Jalama State Beach, California





Jalama facing South





Jalama facing South toward Tarantulas







Post bodysurfing with the new WHR hand plane from Sea Craft Supply Co.





Jalama Beach, Facing North





Joe and Shane surf for a few hours. I take a nap then hit the water around 930a. I walk north toward our car and jump in the water again. The shorebreak is perfect for the new hand plane I purchased. You can stay high on a wave, “in the curl,” as they say or drop down below. It provides a lot of control. It’s a great little toy and can serve as a little flotation device for resting between sets. If you love body surfing, I highly recommend purchasing one. Oh, you can also mount a GoPro or leash to it, easily. Barrels for days!!

We leave Jalama very satisfied. At camp, we grub and set up camp for the evening. There are chocolate wrappers around our picnic table. I learn that, in the middle of the night, some raccoons show up around 330a. Joe thinks it’s me and whispers, “Greg, do you need help?” Only, I’m asleep in my car. The raccoons break into a cooler, snag some chocolate and eat it all. I imagine raccoons chillin’ somewhere later drunk off Hershey’s.

The normal camp shenanigans: Slack line, beer, naps then dinner and a fire.

But first, sunset…

Joe, Georgie, Sara and Shane gaze toward the Channel Islands





Joe contemplates life, itself





“I’m a nuclear bomb”





George purchased my bootleg copy of “The History of the Santa Ana River, First Edition” for $1





George doesn’t stay for the night. He leaves for work in Santa Cruz. The trip wouldn’t be the same without him. He’s a wildcat.

Brownie shows up. I stargaze from the back of his truck, slip in and out of consciousness, then join the gang back at the fire where we kill beers and play tunes on the guitars.

I hit the hay pretty early and wake up at 630. I clean and prep for our hike. 12 miles on the Bill Wallace Trail.

We’re at the age where clothes, hiking in particular, don’t fucking matter





The ultimate dad without children: Drives a Prius and wears Adidas socks





The Bill Wallace Trail is a 12 mile loop inside El Capitan State Park. The trail head is north of the El Cap entrance but I recommend hiking “backwards” and starting fromt the south. The trail winds toward the back hills of the park and down El Capitan Canyon.

The map provided by rangers at the El Cap entrance





Really, the south end of the hike is more strenuous so do it first. It took about 2 hours to reach the apex of the trail where you find picnic tables. It’s very steep if you do the loop the normal way but easy breezy if you do it backwards. The end of the backwards-route is a brisk downhill to a private campground and paved road that you can cut through and save 1-2 miles of hiking.

Brownie screams after a long uphill. I rush toward the top to meet him and see what the fuss is about…

Shane, the ultimate hiker: burly, shaded and tatted





Picnic table at the apex, 6 miles from the trailhead





The trail head for some, the end for us





After hiking, we throw on our wetsuits and see if we can score some waves down on El Capitan beach. Score: glassy 1-3 foot barrels and a low tide. I’m out in the water when Andy joins me. He says right as the others guys stepped foot on the beach to check the conditions, some kid took off on a wave and was barreled so they ran back for their wetsuits and boards. We have a great session. More tasty barrels thanks to the WHR hand plane. I run up to camp, change and split for Socal where I meet my family at Hooters. It’s a family restaurant, you know? We watch Holly Holm KO Ronda Rousey. I hit my roommates restaurant for a cocktail then home where I unloaded gear. The garage wide open, Desire blasting and another starry sky above me. Great trip.