Daren Sefcik: August 2010

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Homemade Skateboard Halfpipe

Back on my old website I had years of content posted but I tore it all down and am now trying to slowly bring some of it back to the new site. One of those is the old skateboard halfpipe I built in my backyard. I built it out of (9) 4X8 sections and bolted them all together. You can see the full build process and picture gallery here. I spent more time researching the project than I did building it. It took about 3 full weekends to build it. We used it for about 3 years and then sold it when we decided to build a retaining wall and pour a cement patio.

The wood

Building the sections we would bolt together

Me trying out the vert'ness

My son trying out the bike

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Iron Mtn Via Ellie Lane

Trail Head sign at Ellie Lane

Iron Mtn is a popular trail for locals in San Diego. It is located just east of Poway off of highway 67. The more popular trail is 3 miles each way for a total of 6 miles round trip. There has been a recently built parking lot and bathrooms put in to accommodate the growing popularity of the trail.

That is all great for the weekender but for me and others who enjoy a little longer of a hike or trail run we go the Ellie Lane route. It is about 9 1/2 miles total and enjoys a bit more solitude with very few people on the trail.

Ellie Lane trail on Google Earth (click to enlarge)

The trail head has some preliminary warnings to get you started

When you get to the top of Iron Mtn you will enjoy 360 views of San Diego. Off to the east you can see Cuyamaca Peak & El Cajon Mt. To the south - south west you can see San Vicente reservoir and Cowles Mt. Plan about 4-5 hours for this hike and bring plenty of water, especially in the summer heat.