Summer is Over When *I* Say It's Over, Dang It

Plus, Labor Day gear deals, closed state park campgrounds, a La Niña preview, new trails, new wildlife crossings, and some Very Good Dogs.

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When I lived in L.A., the seasons were a little confusing. When the pumpkin spiced everythings returned in late August (this year it was last week!), it was hard to reconcile the sweaters-and-turning-leaves imagery with the knowledge that we still had another three to five months of sunny, 90-degree days in our future.

Now I’m in Portland, with more traditional seasons and clearly visible markers of time change in the natural world. Gardens are changing, leaves on trees are just starting to turn, and—like in Los Angeles—if you know the native plants you can see the seasonal shifts quite easily (I do miss having brittlebush and rusty California buckwheat blooms and falling sycamore leaves as my fall vibes!).

California’s buckwheat species all tend to turn rusty toward the end of the summer and early fall // Public Domain

Like you, I have been bombarded with messages about the END OF SUMMER. It’s the FINAL WEEKS OF FREEDOM before back to school, or LAST DAYS OF SUN, or something along those lines. A friend of mine posted something on his Instagram recently that said, “soaking up the last few days of summer” and I was so #triggered I had to well actually comment about the first day of fall being September 22.

Why? Well, in the Pacific Northwest, summer

is pretty amazing. It’s full of long days, mostly clear skies, great weather for hiking, the chance to jump off a dock into a river right in the middle of your city, and even a summer-long biking festival. Winter is gray, and dark, and drizzly, and I am not ready to even start thinking about it coming back just yet, thank you very much.

still need to write this hike up, but SUMMER! Even if the water was only a half-degree above freezing!

Which is all to say I felt very seen by the Saturday New York Times Morning newsletter writer Melissa Kirsch, who waxed philosophical about her own dread facing the so-called end of warmth and sun … and tried to coin the term equinoctials for those of us who want to adhere to the people who want to shift seasons when the seasons officially shift. I don’t know if that term is especially sticky, but I do encourage you to keep summer going as long as you want to. As for me, I’ve got a few more dates swimming in the Willamette before I get my long sleeves out of the basement.

not saying goodbye to this just yet, thank you

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Modern Hiking

Good stuff from the Modern Hiker site

what more do you want out of a hike? // Melissa Ozbek

Apologies for the lack of delays on the main site—one of my WordPress plugins decided to be a major pill the past few weeks, keeping me and the site’s writers locked out and unable to edit things.

It looks like we have it fixed now, so I’ve got a few updates from the backlog … including a fun and tough little crawl in the San Gabriel Foothills that’s great for marine layer days (otherwise, get going early) and a shaded, cool loop in a dense redwood forest that also has an honest-to-goodness swimming pool as a quick side-trip option. How’s that for summer hiking?

SAVE THE DATE!

Are you in Los Angeles? Mark your calendars for Sunday, October 6th because I will be at the Autry Museum’s annual Block Party!

I’m still waiting on some details, but I will be selling and signing my books and hanging out with lots of other great vendors and organizations.

Plus, since I’m coming back down to L.A. for this (and, OK, to get some more plant tattoos), maybe I’ll do a morning hike in Griffith Park to kick off the block party?

Would y’all be down for that?

Me in January 2020, previewing the Autry’s Griffith Park exhibit and prepping for a book-launch for Discovering Griffith Park (those plans got a little delayed…). If we hike, I’ll wear something more trail-appropriate

Your Parks

Your Places

Speaking of Winter

I’m told it’s coming

It looks like we’re gearing up for a La Niña year for the Pacific Ocean, but it also looks like it’s going to be on the weak side. There is still a lot that’s up in the air (sorry) but the fine folks at OpenSnow break down some of the numbers and what they may mean for those of us who enjoy a bit of snow-sporting in the winter months.

Although La Niñas are generally associated with colder, wetter winters, a weak La Niña looks like it actually trends toward drier conditions in the Pacific Northwest. However, lower precipitation overall does not necessarily mean less snow, as the colder temperatures mean the snow levels are lower and the snow will hang out for longer.

In California, this year looks like a big ol’ tossup, with just about a 50% chance of an above-average precipitation winter.

The Rockies—especially the northern Rockies to the Canadian border—look like they’re getting the best snow forecast for the winter, with Utah also likely to get a little more snow than usual.

If you have a flexible work schedule and lots of disposable income, the OpenSnow team recommends booking a trip 7-10 days in an area that generally looks stormy to increase your odds of a good powder day.

RELATED:

The Sierra Nevada in California just got a rare August snowstorm!

mammothmountain

A post shared by @mammothmountain

Oregon State Park Closures

Silver Falls State Park is one of the affected park units

If you’re planning on camping in Oregon State Parks next month, you’ll want to triple check those camping availabilities. Some of the most popular parks will have partial or total campground closures throughout the month, as crews hop in for some much-needed maintenance and reconstruction made possible by a bond measure passed in 2021. The repairs are mostly limited to the overnight facilities but may occasionally affect day-use areas and hiking trails. The full list of parks can be found here, and individual park pages on the Oregon State Parks website tend to have very good updated information, too.

Tech Talk

Gadgets, Technology, and Hype

Labor Day Sale Gear Picks

Look there’s a lot of dogs in this newsletter, so why not here, too? // Photo by Sandi Mager on Unsplash

Surely, you’ll run into a slew of sales over Labor Day weekend for gear. First, you should ask yourself whether you actually need something or if it just looks more attractive now that it’s 20 bucks off the sticker price. But if you’re in the market for something, the New York Times Wirecutter team picked out some of the best bangs-for-your-buck from the REI Labor Day Sale. It’s got everything from kids’ sleeping bags to bike racks, so give a little love to your gear closet if you’ve got some extra dinero to spare.

Wildlife Crossing

Wildlife and the Outdoors

California’s Next Wildlife Crossing?

I’ve written a lot about the Liberty Canyon Overpass in the Santa Monica Mountains (because it’s a great project and the people involved are wonderful and, you know, world’s largest etc.) … but it’s not the only improvement for wildlife in the Golden State. A series of wildlife underpasses are being installed along the highway in the next few weeks north of Bridgeport (which includes a very large detour). And recently, some of the dream team behind the Liberty Canyon Overpass were out near Mammoth Lakes scouting out some potential sites for new wildlife overpasses, too (they do need to invest in a windsock, but the enthusiasm is still apparent even if some of the words aren’t audible!).

This is all part of a pilot program California’s Department of Transportation launched earlier this year to both improve habitat connectivity throughout the state and reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions.

Dog Abandoned on Mount Hollywood

I am not a spiritual or religious person, but I do believe there is a special place in hell for people who are unkind to animals, and I hope whoever abandoned a German Shepherd with a water dish atop Mount Hollywood in Griffith Park ends up there. However, if a good place exists, surely the people in the “5AM Crew” hiking group will get to visit, as they gained the dog’s trust and carried him down to the trailhead after failing to find anyone who wanted to take responsibility for the pup.

The crew took the dog to a vet and found no chip or identification, and one of the crew’s members has decided to adopt the dog, which they have named Hiker. Hiker returned to Mount Hollywood a few days later with the hiking group and seemed to have a great time with his new people.

@the.5amcrewThis morning we had 40 hikers ready to conquer the trail, including six newcomers. Among them were the leaders of ABworlds, Abraham and Martha, who joined us and brought some fantastic energy. Michelle and Freddy led from the front, Abraham took charge in the middle, and I brought up the rear, making sure everyone was safe and supported. The energy was perfect today, with high-fives and encouragement all around, especially at the checkpoints. At the midpoint, we captured a beautiful shot with the supermoon and Griffith Park Observatory in the background. A few hikers turned back at this point, but the rest of us pushed on to the top. The highlight of the day, though, was finding Hiker, the German Shepherd, sitting alone at the summit with no collar or leash. He looked scared but calm, and while he wouldn’t eat or let us pet him, he was okay with being picked up. Our team, led by Daniel, worked together to carry him down the mountain on a tarp. It was a true team effort that brought us even closer as a group. I’m excited to share that Hiker has been checked out, but unfortunately, he wasn’t chipped. So, our incredible teammate Daniel has decided to take him in indefinitely. It looks like our crew just got a new mascot! Unless someone reaches out and claims him. We’ve already received dozens of messages from those who watched the live video of us bringing Hiker down the mountain, and I couldn’t be prouder of the love and support within this group. If anyone would like to donate to help Daniel with vet visits or supplies for Hiker, I’ll include his Venmo on the last picture. Thank you to everyone who made today’s hike so special. Welcome to The 5 AM Crew, Hiker! We’re back at it on Thursday, and I can’t wait to see what’s next. Follow us to the top!

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Leafing Out

Plants!

Very Good Gardening Dogs

Bertie models the seed-spreading backpack, and is probably going to need a bath soon // Dylan Walker

At the Lewes Nature Reserve in Lewes, England, decades of overuse and off-trail trampling had left its grasslands and meadows barren or covered in invasive grasses. So last year, the park hatched an unusual plan—let a few lucky dogs run off-leash wherever they wanted to in the park.

There was a catch, though—the dogs had to wear specially designed backpacks filled with native seeds. As the dogs ran around and played, holes in the bags would disperse the seeds. Five months later, people are starting to see results, with meadow grasses and plants taking root and sprouting.

Organizers at the park were inspired by a similar wildfire recovery effort in Chile and are looking forward to a much healthier meadow soon, although I’m sure the dogs who were chosen to run around will be a little frustrated once they have to go back on-leash.

One More Thing

Oh yeah, before I go …

Look, I’m not on TikTok. I will never be on TikTok. I once wrote a show for TikTok and you still couldn’t catch me watching TikTok. If you do, that’s fine! I need people like you to filter good stuff to me and the other Elder Millennials who still miss Google Reader, but I did enjoy this New York Times feature from a few weeks back about the rise of “Underconsumption Core,” which may otherwise be known as “not buying new stuff all the time.”

Much of social media has basically become nonstop advertising these days, so I’m all on board with this trend … and I promise that if I do end up buying new skis this season, it’s only because the second-hand pair I bought five years ago have really put in more than their fair share of time on the slopes.

Until then,

Happy Trails.