Caramba Fun

[Wild]

Went out to Caramba about 2 weekends ago with my buddy Andrew (m3talibkweli). The weather was very nice but it did get a little warm in the early afternoon. Spent Friday and Sat nights on the hill (with only weekends off, gotta try to spend as much time as possible out there!) and really just hung out and relaxed at Caramba. Did some exploring around as well as found some cool stuff.




Sunday morning we took off from Caramba and made it back to the car at Humber Park in 1:50 mins. Not too shabby for us!

Rest of the pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/1086639589 ... mFinkPeak#

[Hikin_Jim]

1:50 with full packs all the way from Humber? Why weren't you in London on the American team??

Pretty cool pics. Like this one:


And this one!!


Super nice pano:


Good stuff!

HJ

[Wild]

Man that bird was AWESOME! I'm not sure what it was...some kind of bird of prey though. All day long, it would randomly pop out from behind a tree or big rock, and smoothly glide down the drainage. It would fly in between tree branches and barely adjust his angle to make sure his wings wouldn't hit the trees...but he did it so smoothly and perfectly. Cool little dude!

Yeah with full packs...but there was well under 10 lbs. left in there by Sunday!

Thanks for the info on Caramba last week Jim. I recognized the rock you have to walk around from your previous picture. How's your little hiker in training doing?

[Hikin_Jim]

Thanks for the info on Caramba last week Jim. I recognized the rock you have to walk around from your previous picture.

Cool. Glad it was helpful.

How's your little hiker in training doing?

She's doing well. Had her out on the PCT this past weekend.


We went up to Mt. Hawkins (8850').


Which was a little bit tiring.


But we got our energy back with tasty noodles.


And some really nice cold water.


Thanks for asking.

HJ

[Wild]

Holy crap! Those clouds are GORGEOUS!

Looks like she wanted to head over to Vincent Gap...is that where you all ended up?

Those pictures are priceless Jim.. she is the cutest little thing!

[Hikin_Jim]

Holy crap! Those clouds are GORGEOUS!

Yeah, aren't those nice? We got a lot of beautiful clouds last Saturday.

Looks like she wanted to head over to Vincent Gap...is that where you all ended up?

Ha, ha. Sure. Actually, daddy's legs are only good for about half a dozen miles when carrying Joycie.

Those pictures are priceless Jim.. she is the cutest little thing!

Oh, thanks. And if you want to know where the water is...


HJ

[arocknoid]

Thanks for posting the TR and photos.

Caramba is one of the most relaxing and fun areas in San Jac; the water features make it especially appealing with our current heat wave.

Nice swallowtail photo, too. They often seem to have a shutter detector flight alarm, especially when you try to re-position for a better angle. Shy..

Re: the bird of prey, likely a sharp-shinned hawk. (could also be a Cooper's hawk.) Hard to tell for sure from the angle of the photo and the hidden tail; eye-pattern more c/w sharpie. Your description of the flight pattern and glide is typical for these accipiters, and also that you said "...little dude," as both types are small. Cooper's larger than sharp-shinned, but variable, and hard to assess size without some frame of reference for you. Very agile fliers among the trees; primary prey are birds; small mammals too, of course.

Over the years I have taken many backyard pics here of sharpies, Cooper's, kestrels etc. Fun to watch, though not as fun to observe them nailing other birds. When *they* crash into the windows pursuing fleeing doves, they rattle the timbers, big time.

kind regards,
arocknoid

[Wild]

Jim, hahaha! Now I know!

hey arocknoid, thanks a lot for the info! That was also very helpful. You know, after looking it up, I'm thinking that it may have been a sharp-shinned hawk. Either way, those are remarkable birds and I hope to see them again sometime! I'd love to see one snatch another bird actually.. I feel that in nature, even the most cruel and deadly events are filled with a mysterious beauty.

Climb on!

[Lcpl Hughes]

Nice pics Dannyman

I still have not been to Carumba..one of these days

[arocknoid]

Hey there Danny,

Yes, you said it very well:

I feel that in nature, even the most cruel and deadly events are filled with a mysterious beauty.

---although it can get a bit grim.... but as Josey Wales said, "....buzzards gotta eat, same as worms."

Happened to find some old backyard pics I referenced still up on me old pic host; here's a couple:

Through a kitchen window, winter's rain:



Juvenile Offspring of the above bird, early summer:



Fleeing dove sign:


I don't consider myself an expert birder like some of the folks I know, but my enjoyment and enthusiasm are endless.

enjoy those hikes and beautiment, Danny,
kind regards,
arocknoid