ISKski, gettin it done :thumbup:
I picked up an Ohm 2.0 on saturday, so I hit the trail with GF at a nearby state park to test it out and stretch the legs. We did a loop in The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park, a little over 10mi and nearly 2.5k feet total climbed to check out the 40' Maple Falls they have there. It was a gorgeous day out in the Santa Cruz Mountains, and I'm in love with the Ohm 2.0, what an excellent pack.
The Forest of Nisene Marks was heavily logged from the early 1850s to support the Gold Rush and into the 1920s for later lumber needs. The area was logged so intensively that a standard-gauge rail line was built running 7 miles into the redwood filled Upper Aptos Canyon. In 1963, the Marks family from Salinas donated more than 9k acres to the state for use as a public park and natural preserve. I think the park is somewhere around 10k acres today through other donations. Basically, the park is a living and growing exhibition of the regeneration of a redwood forest. You can still see some remains of the old logging and milling operations, but in general, the forest is healing. It's actually quite a nice place; I came out quite impressed with the park.
Anyway, most of my pictures didn't turn out because we started in the afternoon and were under forest canopy much of the time, but I hope you folks enjoy a few I scavenged that weren't completely blurry from hand-shake at low ISO. Maple falls wasn't flowing as much as I would have liked, this time of year and with the little rain we've been having, but it was a fun little semi-scramble to the little waterfall along a rather pretty creek.
My phone died 2/3 into the trip, so the track was cut short. Oh well.
Gettin started.
Found a geocache completely by accident, while putzing around off-trail.
Sunlight creating a redwood torch.
I actually remembered to take a knife pic on this trip!
I don't know.
Heading into the little canyon to Maple Falls
Pretty area.
Trekkin along.
Here we are, Maple Falls. My camera isn't as capable as Owen's, sorry, I can't get the silky water flowing shots unless it's really dim
I wanted to have my GF get a shot of me sittin on the log near the falls, but the moss was pretty slippery, the log end abutting the falls didn't look very well-lodged, and I decided I'd rather not risk a fall since it wasn't a deep pool beneath. Oh well. This is about as far as I inched, haha.
[video=youtube;WJg9E5mm6zU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJg9E5mm6zU[/video]
A hui hou, Maple Falls.
This guy was getting ready for bed, as the sky deepened with the coming of dusk.
It looked cooler in person, I don't know.
A nifty little wood path constructed in a erosion-prone looking area. I don't know why I took a picture of it, other than I appreciated the work that had gone into it.
Forest twilight.
Hope to have some better pics for you guys on the next outing. Anyway, hope everyone had a great weekend.
Oh yeah, Ohm 2.0 pics!
I had a regular Zlite in there as a frame, in addition to day-hike gear/clothing and lunch for the GF and I. Awesome pack, more thoughts on it later as I get out to use it more often, but boy am I really happy with it. The hipbelt is the best I've ever experienced, no contest. I'm pretty sure it'll make an excellent day-hike --> 4-5 day pack. The only negative I can note at this point, which I knew about going in, is that the pack back isn't breathable mesh or contoured for ventilation. Didn't really bother me, but this wasn't a hot hike, and I prefer any weight sitting closer to my back anyway.
