February 15: For me, today was Valentine’s Day

February 15, 2022February 16, 2022 Paul CervantesBiographical, Endings, Hiking, My Valentine, Novel, Plot ideas, WritingLeave a comment

I had a wonderful Valentine’s Day (yes, I know it was actually yesterday) for a very simple reason. I was lucky enough to spend some of it with my valentine, at least a few hours of it. She took the whole day off, so from 10 until 3:30 we hiked and talked and enjoyed a gorgeous day. We don’t get many chances to share even part of a weekday so it was an especially rare treat.

The only problem was that our time together was all too short, as it always is.

Our time on the trail gave me a chance to think about the book idea I that occurred to me yesterday. I can see the span of time. I can see some of the interesting events but I can’t really see the story, let alone the all-important ending. My concern is that there might not be a complete story to see. The last thing I want to do is jump into a story without even knowing the ending.

No good can come from that.

So, I’m going to do a little brainstorming about how my new story might end. Since there are biographical elements it’s all too easy to imagine that the story just goes on but that won’t work with a book. If I come up with some ideas between now and tomorrow I am thinking about writing the beginning of the story as tomorrow’s post. If I don’t, I’m not going to start writing. It’s not important for my idea about the ending to be the one I end up using. It’s only important for me to have an idea, even if I eventually change the ending, before I get started.

Ideas come along when they want so this may take a while.

Thanks for reading.

February 12: Tower 45

February 12, 2022February 13, 2022 Paul CervantesCowboy Junkies, Fire Road, Google Maps, Hiking, LP, REGA P3, REGA Planar 3, Sumiko Blue Point Special EVO III, Tower 45, Trinity Session, WestlakeLeave a comment

The valley to valley idea is predicated on being able find a way to hike from one valley to the other. One emphasis is on the word hike but the second is find. I knew that fire roads are everywhere in the foothills of Los Angeles County. I’m glad they’re there but hiking on them is more like walking than it is like hiking. And, since they all go somewhere there’s very little duty for navigation. The only question is how far do you want to do in any one direction?

If the challenge is only the hike it loses some appeal. It’s not that far and it’s not that hard. Surely others have done what I propose but I don’t really want to know how they did it since I assume there are a number of different routes, starting points and ending points. But worse, it would shatter the possibility of discovery…maybe the discovery of an error and maybe the discovery of something that works better than what others have done. In this case, crowd sourcing is the last thing I want to benefit from.

So, I am trying to minimize the use and influence of the experiences of others and of maps. A too map and a fire road map would tell the whole story. But as is so often the case it’s not the story that matters it’s the way that it’s told or in the case of the valley to valley hike how it a route is found and how it’s hiked.

The last time I was hiking west from the Victory Trailhead I saw a single tower in the distance. When I got home, I succumbed to temptation and found it on Google Maps. It’s called Tower 45 and it’s said to be a 3.5 hour hike from Woodland Hills and a 3.5 hour hike from the Conejo Valley. That’s useful, but it’s also more than I wanted to know. What I didn’t have to read was the obvious conclusion that Tower 45 was connected on both east and west by a big, wide fire road.

So, I took a little trip today to an area that I suspected was not far west of the tower, east of Westlake Blvd. I took a trail through a local park and caught up with an eastbound fire road. After about a mile and a half it looked like this:

By my reckoning I should have been close enough to see Tower 45, but it was nowhere in sight. The trail toward the right center rose steeply and on another day I might continue on this trail to see if Tower 45 lays beyond. The foothills were plenty tall enough to obscure a tower, even a tall one so I shouldn’t have been surprised.

Surprise. That’s part of what I’m trying to preserve. I am hoping to be surprised by. something in the planning of the hike but it’s beginning to seem more and more like all trails will lead to the common. The game’s not done yet. There’s more to discover and more to my study but I can sense surprise slipping away bit by bit.

Tonight’s writing soundtrack is Cowboy Junkies’ The Trinity Session from way back in 1988. And, since I’m listening to this superb record on vinyl it merits a snap of the LP rather than another cover photo.

Thanks, as always, for reading.

February 5: Hill climb & pano

February 5, 2022February 7, 2022 Paul CervantesCalifornia, Conejo Valley, Craft Beer, Creative Writing, Hiking, IPA, Landscape Photography, Optimism, San Fernando Valley, WritingLeave a comment

The winds have been blowing off & mostly on for more than a week. When we had measurable rain a while back I allowed myself a bit too much optimism, at least as regards the drought.

Now that optimism is being blown away and that’s a lousy feeling. The only benefit of Santa Anas this time of year are cloudless, scrubbed-blue skies and fantastic visibility. Even though the winds were less intense today, the skies were still quite clear.

My valley to valley hike is front of mind. I’ve been looking for a map that shows all of the fire roads in Los Angeles and Ventura counties but I haven’t found one so far. I made a trip to REI today since they have a good selection of maps and guides on hand but they didn’t have what I needed. There was an interesting trail map of Conejo to the ocean that should have easily covered the entire relevant area except that the folks at NatGeo decided to plop the map’s legend right over the west end of the valley, where it meets up with Palo Comado. Oh well. What do those folks know?

This is iPhone pano looking northish (those are homes in Bell Canyon on the left).

This is a nastyish hil climb I use to inaugurate my legs and lungs every time I use the Victory Trailhead. From the middle to the top you actually ascend on toes. It’s possible to descend it but if it happens to rain again this hill will be impassable both up and down. The photo doesn’t do it justice; it’s damn steep.

No hike is complete without a refreshment and today I promised myself a blood orange IPA from the pizza and beer tavern at the intersection of Victory & Valley Circle. Somehow I’ve managed to miss the name of the brewery both times I’ve enjoyed it there. That fact gives me a good excuse to drop in for another pint someday soon.

Tonight’s writing soundtrack is He’s Fine from The Secret Sisters 2017 record You Don’t Own Me Anymore. It’s far and away the best song on the record; clean, simple and bound to no genre or time. It’s fantastic.

Thanks for reading.

January 28: More informal research on the valley to valley hike

January 28, 2022 Paul CervantesBible rock, El Escorpion, Emily Barker, Hiking, Kanan Road, Letters, Oak Park, pCloud, The Red Clay Halo, The Toerag Sessions, Valley oakLeave a comment

I did a little more informal research on the valley to valley hike. It would appear there’s a cook point of sorts north of Kanan, in the area of Oak Park. I think it can be overcome but I’m not sure. I will have to take a couple short hikes in that area and consult Mr. Google and perhaps some actual paper maps. The park cane be worked around but only with a lengthy street hike that I don’t want to do. As I said, lots more questions need answers.

Today was windy, not quite enough wind to keep me off the trail but enough to make hiking into the breeze, especially up hill a real challenge. Here are a few photos from the day:

Looking north and east. That’s the El Escorpion trail at the end of Vanowen, center left.

Looking northeast…a fire-scarred but hopefully still living Valley Oak.

A less fortunate victim of the flames, its dead leaves still singing to the living.

By the way, pCloud is positively sprinting toward completion now. Only 3298 files remain, with an 18 hour estimate for those that remain. If the upload is done by the end of the weekend I’ll be surprised.

Call me pessimistic.

Tomorrow I will start the LP upload in earnest. I don’t intend to sync to pCloud until all of the digital stuff is on p’s cloud. And, once I do start to upload I intend to upload one LP and then sync to pCloud so the system is never choking on a whole bunch of huge files.

Seems like a prudent plan anyway.

Tonight’s writing soundtrack is Emily Barker’s Letters from her 2015 record The Toerag Sessions. This solo version differs significantly from the version where Barker is accompanied by The Red Clay Halo on their 2013 release. Not surprisingly, the solo version is a bit more raw and elemental while The Red Clay Halo brings a gentle opulence to the arrangement. Listen to both, buy both, is my motto!

Thanks for reading.

January 21: Hiking from valley to valley

January 21, 2022January 22, 2022 Paul CervantesConejo Valley, Hiking, Lord Willing, Pacific Crest Trail, PCT, Port of Morrow, San Fernando Valley, The ShinsLeave a comment

I’ve always fantasized about hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. I’ve only set foot on the PCT at a couple points, one near Idyllwild (in the mountains west of Palm Springs) and another time west of Rosamond in the Antelope Valley. The PCT goes all the way from Mexico to Canada. While some tough-footed folks have hiked the whole magilla, the vast majority are happy and sensible enough to traverse one section, usually one near a town and nearly always during a season without snow or triple digit temperatures.

Hiking the PCT is the King of the Maybes as far as I’m concerned. It’s not that it’s unappealing it’s just so damned unlikely. Even during a year like this when I theoretically have the time I also lack the will.

The last couple weeks have found me trying out as many local hiking trails, especially ones I’ve never hiked before. In the back of my mind is an idea. Would it be possible to hike from the West San Fernando Valley all the way into the adjoining Conejo Valley. Why? Well, let’s just paraphrase George Mallory and say because it might be fun. I’m guessing the trek would be around 15 miles one way. Once I got to my destination it would be fun to have dinner before checking into a good hotel for the night. A good night’s rest would follow and lead into the 15 miles back to the SFV the next day.

Yup, kinda silly but it could be amusing. The best time to do it would be sometime between now and April, before it gets too hot and the trails too brown.

Can I do it? No doubt. Will I do it? Maybe.

As my father would say, lord willing.

By the way, tonight’s writing soundtrack is Port of Morrow by The Shins. Thanks, as always, for reading.

Best writing advice ever!

June 10, 2019June 11, 2019 Paul CervantesCalifornia Typewriter, Cottonwood, Craft Beer, Creative Writing, Doug Nichols, Hiking, IPA, Robert Pirsig, Sam Shepard, Writer's block, Writing, Writing adviceLeave a comment

I’m in deep into the sequel to my first novel, John J. McDermott & the 1971 U.S. Open.

The working title (and my bet the final title) of the sequel is Cottonwood.

I am dedicated to moving the narrative along at a rapid clip. I hike fast. I play golf fast. I speak fast and I write fast, until I take a break, which I did too often with JJM.

That’s a mistake I will not make again. In fact, I’ve put a serious time limit on writing the narrative to the sequel. I want to finish the narrative by the end of 2019. It’ll take another three to five months to edit and format the dang thing, so it’s really not all that fast compared to other writers.

Anyway, I wanted to pass along the best writing advice I ever heard. The advice is in Doug Nichol’s 2016 film, California Typewriter and it came from the late Sam Shepard.

I’ll paraphrase the advice:

Never quit when you’re stuck. When you start up again you’ll still be stuck.

Now the funny thing is that I rarely consider myself to be struck. If I fail to work on my book it’s nearly always because I’ve been distracted by lesser things like work. But, there’s still a lot of wisdom and usefulness to what Shepard said. Since I heard his admonition I try to quit when I’m on a roll I know I can keep it going later. In fact, a lot of times the momentum of the roll is actually enhanced by the renewed energy that comes from taking a break to go on a hike or drink a fine IPA.

When I do nudge up against stuckness (to borrow a word made up by Robert Pirsig) I dedicate myself to the kind of written thrashing about that, if I’m lucky, gets a few more words and hopefully good ideas onto the page. The small success of getting those kinds of difficult words down blunts the sharpness of feeling a little stuck and replaces it with the confidence that a way forward can be found with a bit more effort.

Anyway, think about what Sam said the next time you find yourself stuck.