We Gotta Know

Apologies for not posting anything here in almost a month. I've been busy with band/work/life stuff. I'll bring you up to speed:

Last Sunday my band Wolves and Thieves opened for the Cro-Mags at Thee Parkside in SF, sans our lead guitarist Ryan who's recovering from knee surgery as we speak. Our friend Tyler from Early Graves filled in for the night and did a killer job of it. Getting to watch the Cro-Mags was amazing. The crowd went nuts for every song, even the questionable rendition of "Baba O'Reilly". Still, it was a blast, and there's more awesome shows/band news to come, so I'll keep you posted. I mean it this time.

In life news, I went camping with some friends for a couple days in Los Padres National Forest. The short, short version: Eating, daily chores, eating, guns, eating, hiking, consuming a lot of food. Didn't bring a camera, but the other guys did. Pics when I can get them.

Full version: My friend Matt asked me and three of his friends to come to Los Padres with him before he leaves for Germany to live with his soon-to-be-wife. After some initial sketchy feelings about the trip, I realized all the guys were really chill and helpful with any questions I had about anything. One of whom, Brennan, is actually a first assistant at the San Jose Big 5. All of them had been to this spot at least three times before, so they were able to show me what was where and how to make the most out of the area without damaging or polluting it. The campsite we used was a really nice setup: Next to a clean river to get water, plenty of dead trees for firewood, almost no ticks anywhere near the actual camp, and the weather was great the whole time. Not a soul in sight, so shooting was worry-free and completely safe.

Getting there was the only bitch of it. It's about 45 minutes past Salinas, then east through the mountains, making it about 3 1/2 hours of driving. Once we got to park at the official entrance to the forest, we noticed there wasn't a single person in sight except the park ranger, who really could have been just some wino in a ranger jacket for all we knew. After loading up the gear and guns, we hiked through the backcountry for a good few miles with some gnarly inclines and crushed rock in parts of the trail from whenever the last rockslide happened. Passing through a stream sizeable enough to make you wish there'd been a bridge there, it was about 15 minutes till we reached this secluded area with everything we needed, and set up camp there.

Like I said, roughing it. No cabin, no bathroom, nothing approaching modern amenities of any kind, including cell service. Everyone did bring really good food, though. Plenty of bacon, eggs, cheese, chili, potatoes, polenta, sausage, trail mix, etc. A lot of stuff. We even cooked and ate a small bluebelly lizard that Brennan somehow killed throwing a rock at it as it ran across a big boulder next to the river. Total one-in-a-million shot he didn't expect to happen. Figured we'd eat it and not just leave it there. Not kidding, tasted like seasoned chicken. Over the next couple days, I could relax, read and take in the surroundings, but there were also certain tasks to be done repeatedly. Set up the tents(well, that was once), collect firewood, build a fire, cook, wash dishes in the river, grab the purifiers and fill up our water bottles. Repeat. Everyone shared chores, and after learning how to do all this different stuff if I didn't already know something, I dove into the daily work cycle. Also, guns. Hella guns.

Three rifles and a .45 sidearm, and I learned to handle and shoot them all. My favorite was the bolt-action 8mm Mauser, a German WWII rifle. It's a real Nazi gun, so it's a bit beat up, but it still works perfectly. There was also a lever-action rifle that was super fun to shoot. A lot lighter than the Mauser, but still some kickback to it. Lever-action is the kind you'd see in some old western, with the hand grip underneath you'd move forward to release the shell and back to load another round. Total Wyatt Earp rifle. The .45 pistol I actually had the most trouble with. That thing comes back way harder than you'd think for its size. I took a few shots with it and called it a day. By that time, we were just about packed up and ready to leave anyway. Now that I'm back, I'm really proud of myself for going through with it and learning how to live like that for a little while.

We now return you to our regularly scheduled programming...