inglorious wanderer

John Muir, an American born in Scotland helped establish Yosemite National Park. I was not sure how to pronounce the Muir in John's name so I referred to the trail as that portion of Pacific Crest Trail at Yosemite.  John Muir was demure. He was said to to subsist on bread and water to survive. I wonder how Muir is pronounced in Scotland.  This PCT-crazy nomad will take every chance to get on a PCT. It took me a Metrolink, an Amtrak train and a bus, and hours of joy ride into the wilderness to get back to Yosemite National Park. There was no way I could get  into a meet-up group for the chance to hike at the Yosemite so I had to create the opportunity, a spur of the moment trip about a thousand miles away from home, myself! Rich Davidson pronounced Toulomne  as Twa-low me.  "Be not afraid, I go before you always, come Toulomne!" That was supposed to be Jesus assuring me not to be afraid: "Come, follow me!" I came to Toulomne to Djump with Djeline! Come Toulomne ...

It feels like I am in a foreign country: LA Union station! I am in the waiting lounge overhearing a Filipino woman's conversation calling her honey that she missed her train. Speaking loudly in the common urban Filipino language: Tagalog! Didn't I just say that it feels like I'm in foreign country. At first I thought of London but this Filipino woman who doesn't mind being referred to as "filipina" and giving every alibi to her honey for missing her train is loud.  Typical? It's the freedom of spit,  stupid!  We who never learn. We would always be  the fucking nomads!

The Border Field State Park sits at the southwest most corner of US  across international border fence in  the northwest most tip of Mexico. The  park is part of the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve (TRNERR). The trailhead is at 1500 Monument Road at Imperial Beach, CA. On the fence hangs a baby doll as if symbolizing every Mexican's struggle to cross the border. Whoever put the baby doll on that inner fence past the real border wall made  a big statement. Yes, it's probably more than the issues of immigration and anchor babies. From the trailhead, our group of  almost a dozen walked southward and took an eastward trail to the top of the hill. The hill overlooking Pacific Ocean is called Bunker Hill. Three bunkers that were used to scan the horizon for invading Japanese forces during the Second World War  sit atop the hill. Our meet-up organizer must have secured permission to explore one of the bunkers. We could see a  ...

Idyllwild!