Crazy Animal Antics at Breakwater Cove

For the first time in over a long, trying year, I finally had the energy to put on a drysuit and do some cold water diving. Mark and I got together with our friend Valerie, and we decided to dive into an oldie, but goodie: the Breakwater. We had a great time, and saw some Discovery Channel-worthy animal antics.

Enjoying the 30'+ viz and the sun illuminating the kelp forest

Showing off an Abalone shell

Here is some video we shot of a juvenile Mola Mola on the Wall. This was my first time seeing this bizarre fish. It was probably good that we scared it away. The sea lions that frequent this area would have probably torn off its fins, play with it like a Frisbee, and then leave it to die.

We saw this octopus near the end of our dive at the Metridium Fields. First, I noticed the gross white appendage, which I later learned to my disgust was a Fat Innkeeper Worm. Then I saw that the end of it was attached to an octopus. If you play the video, you will first notice the octopus trying to blend in with a patch of algae, then it squirts some ink in our faces, then it tries to camouflage itself against the sand.

Before we could observe the octopus further, and the Fat Innkeeper worm it was ensconcing with, we saw a bizarre creature swimming towards us. It was a Rainbow Nudibranch, which is usually found crawling around on the sand. It only swims when evading predators. It was a bizarre sight to see.

Metridium

Octopus grabbing weird, white appendage

We got all up in this Cabezon's face. We even put a decorator crab on his head, and he didn't budge.

Shrimp feeding on a dead Mola Mola at Metridium Fields.

We saw two dead or dying Mola Mola at Metridium Fields. They had had their fins torn off by sea lions. Mark felt sorry for one and tried to right it and send it on its way. However, without fins, it could not get very far and ended up flat on the sand once again. However sad this scene was, I'm glad I have such an empathetic, compassionate husband!

Metridium Fields

I've never managed to swim to the Metridium Fields from shore before. Valerie showed us how:

1. Line up with the pump house at Breakwater cove.
2. Swim out perpendicular to shore past the kelp beds.
3. Descend and head towards the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
4. You should encounter a pipe about 2 feet in diameter. Follow it to its end.
5. Once the pipe ends, head due north for the Metridium Fields.

For more pics, go here:

Dive Details:
Dive #207: The Wall, Breakwater Cove, Monterey, CA (Dive Buddies: Mark, Valerie)
Depth/Time: 45'/0:48 minutes
Visibility: 30'
Temperature: 54 deg F
Weight, Undergarment, Tanks:

Mina: Weight-15 lbs (10 lbs on weight belt, 1 lb on ankles, 4 lbs in BCD), Undergarment-BARE undergarment without fleece top, Tank-PST HP-80.

Mark: Weight-26 lbs (10 in BCD, 14 on weight belt, 2 lbs on ankles), Undergarment-BARE undergarment with fleece top and bottom, Tank: PST HP-80.

Dive #208: Metridium Fields, Breakwater Cove, Monterey, CA (Dive Buddies: Mark, Valerie)
Depth/Time: 47'/0:50 minutes
Visibility: 7'
Temperature: 52 deg F
Weight, Undergarment, Tanks: 
Mina: Weight-13 lbs (10 lbs on weight belt, 1 lb on ankles, 2 lbs in BCD), Undergarment-BARE undergarment without fleece top, Tank-PST HP-80.
Mark: Weight-26 lbs (10 in BCD, 14 on weight belt, 2 lbs on ankles), Undergarment-BARE undergarment with fleece top and bottom, Tank: PST HP-80.

Backpacking at Yosemite

Backpacking for 3 Days at high altitude in Yosemite National Park is no walk in the park. First, you have to carry more than 30 lbs. Second, hiking at high altitude is hard, even without the extra weight. Finally, with the leave-no-trace policy at Yosemite, simple things like going to the bathroom becomes very inconvenient. Leave-no-trace means packing out everything that you take in. This includes, unfortunately, used toilet tissue, among other items.

Not knowing the extent of the challenges, I decided to take a guided backpacking trip through Yosemite National Park. Many years ago, I had visited the Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite and fell in love. Walking along the little traveled Lyell Canyon near Tuolumne meadows made me feel the presence of God. I vowed that I would come back, except this time I wanted to escape into the backcountry.

Lyell Canyon

I took a nap here. Lyell Canyon

A few years later, I went on my first "backpacking" trip through the Zion Narrows. To say that this trip was an adventure would be an understatement: The normally ankle deep water at the Zion narrows one walks through was easily over our heads in sections. We were forced to use our backpacks as flotation devices. Also, having lugged the wrong type of stove fuel, we were forced to eat our packaged ramen raw. By the end of the trip, my partner and I were so banged up that we both received black toenails. Given my unconventional backpacking experience at Zion, I decided I needed to go back to square one to learn the basics of backpacking.

So, I decided to book a trip through REI Adventures. As a long-time REI member, I knew that REI was one of the most conventional organizations around. So I was surprised when I found out that our REI backpacking trip, which was guided by Karen from Sierra Spirit, was a bit of a spiritual retreat. I slowly began to realize this as we all sat down for our first dinner at the Tuolumne Meadows campground. Our guide, Karen asked us to go around the circle to introduce ourselves and to describe the extent of our backpacking experience. But just when I thought we were done, the questioning continued. Karen, our lead guide, asked us: Why did we decide to join the high-country Yosemite backpacking trip? What did we seek to gain from our experience? What is our biggest fear about the trip? This was when I realized that this wasn't going to be a normal backpacking trip.

I did enjoy the responses from my group mates, however. Several of my fellow hikers expressed their desire to seek a spiritual connection with nature. Some people said they wanted to strike a project off their bucket list. Many people stated their greatest fear was encountering bears. More than one person along with myself expressed their concern over the lack of toilets.

We spent the night in our tents for the first time looking forward to the next day's full day of backpacking.

Driving around the Yosemite Valley Floor

My backpack contents

To be continued...