Hiked May 12, 2025. Two goals for the day (well, sort of three goals); did not accomplish them all. Goal one was to do another short test run with the roof rack; goal two was to get a short hike in, with boots I bought in the winter, to get them more broken in and my feet properly calloused. Unfortunately, I forgot to toss my boots into the car before I drove off, so I got some walkinig in, but not the boot break-in I wanted.
I've had a Yakima Rocketbox since the early 1990s. It's a modular system, so you have the actual box, which attaches to crossbars, which attach to towers, which attach to clips. The clips latch on to the inside of the car door frame, and the towers sit atop the roof. Generally, the clips should be the only part that needs to be replaced to fit a different car. However, because they keep changing their standard tower, you often wind up needing to but both new towers and new clips to fit your new car.
I've owned three additional cars since I first bought my Yakima system, and, on two of those occasions, I had to buy new towers and new clips to make the system fit. First were "SST" towers, then "Q" towers, and now, "Baseline" towers. So that's a pretty significant additional cost, but still less than starting with scratch, just because the crossbars and Rocketbox, alone, are so expensive. Well, the fairing (the plastic "Yakima" wind deflector) is also original, so there's that.
I bought the new towers and clips within a month or two of buying the new car, but only got about halfway through the setup before getting distracted. Finally decided a few weeks ago to finish the damn thing.
Once set up, I drove to work and back, maybe 12 miles of freeway speeds. At the end of the day, one of the towers was lifted about 1/8th of an inch off the roof. That didn't seem right, even though the clips still seemed to have a secure hold on the door frame, so it didn't seem likely the thing would fly off. Nonetheless, I removed the clips and towers from my car, adjusted the towers inward on the crossbars (further from the doorframe), and tried again. Drove with just the towers and crossbars (no Rocketbox). After a day of driving, one foot still didn't seem flush on the roof, so I adjusted the separation again, then I fiddled with the rotation of the towers a bit, to make sure they were aligned with each other. This time, after maybe 16 miles of freeway driving, it seemed to hold pretty flush to the roof. So, tentatively, I'm calling this a success.
I had fitted the Yakima on my Prius (immediate previous car), but ended up never using it on an actual trip, because the liftback design of the car gave me plenty of hauling capacity inside the car. But now that I'm driving a sedan (Camry), I feel like if I took a longer trip with my wife and my telescope stuff, there might not be enough hauling capacity while still having an empty passenger seat (for her), without the external storage.
As for the actual hike: Shortly before arriving at Schabarum Park, I cursed at myself for forgetting the boots. But I was wearing athletic shoes, which I knew would be fine for just hiking. The trails out of Schabarum aren't steep or rocky, so the boots, as I said, were to be broken in, and not actually necessary for the hike.
It's been a few years since I last came to Schabarum Park. There's an entry fee on weekends, and on County holidays. But this past Monday was neither, so it was free, and relatively empty. Wasn't exactly sure where I would park, but eventually reached the area near the equestrian stables, where I knew various trails were reachable.
I wandered somewhat aimlessly from my car until I found the trailhead, south of the parking area. The trail headed mostly southward, before splitting into either the main Schabarum (Skyline) trail to the right, or the Schabarum Extension trail, to the left. I took the Extension trail, which trended eastward.
In these lower areas, there were a LOT of squirrels. A mix of small oak trees provided some shade. But, soon, the trail began climbing through numerous thick stands of wild mustard. Some wild raddish, mixed in. A few sacred datura/Jimson weed. A few pearly everlasting. Oh, yes, and one checkerbloom.
The mustard stands buzzed with busy bees, which is always a little unnerving, but they did not seem to mind my walking amongst them on the trail.
The mustard and raddish were why I picked this trail. Even though I figured it was a little late in the season, it's also been pretty cool, except for a few day last week. So I figured the raddish and mustard would be in good shape, and they were. Lots of color, even if composed of non-native plants.
Did not see any raptors; just a few raven, I think. Lots of lizards. One very small rattlesnake, the smallest one I ever saw.
He's in the second to last photo. Maybe a foot long, less than an inch across. But his jaw was distinctly wider than his body, and he had a stub of a rattle forming at his tail. So, yes, rattlesnake.
He was stretched across the trail, just laying there. I took several pictures, then hopped over him. I mean, he was small enough that I wasn't sure if he could even reach my ankles if he tried, but I didn't want to test that theory. On the other side, I turned around. The snake just sort of raised his head and tasted the air with his tongue, but didn't really move. So I shot a few more shots, then continued on my way. Hopefully, he eventually moved off the path.
When my Alltrails recording showed two miles of distance covered, and the trail appeared to be on a downward trend, I decided it was time to turn around. Because I did so much wandering before getting on the actual trail at the start of the hike, my final distance when I returned to my car was only 3.75 miles. Still, enough, even if I didn't get to break in those boots.
Once back at the car, I took a few roof rack shots, for Facebook. I had posted my previous test mounting, but that photo was taken inside my garage, which is a cluttered mess. My wife did not approve.
All in all, a decent walk, and a fair test for the Yakima rack. I'll take it again on my next weekend trip to Joshua Tree, mainly just to see if the mounting remains stable in use. Assuming no surprises, after that, I'll feel comfortable using it on a longer trip, if necessary. I may have mentioned we're hoping to hit Chaco Canyon this summer. Not sure if I'll bring a telescope, though. Even with a smaller telescope setup, I think we can fit a tent, other accessories, and four or five days of clothes just within the car, but it would be cozy. If things start feeling a little too cozy, well, the roofrack then comes into play.
No comments:
Post a Comment