Robbie Maddison is one of the craziest freestyle motocross riders on the planet, and in the wee morning hours in London he touched down safely after jumping the raised Tower Bridge's gap over the Thames River in London.

The Australian became the first in history to accomplish the feat, but what does that say? It's not as though people are waking up figuring how to jump the 100-foot gap of an iconic bridge.

Then again, maybe they do. After all, Maddison had already negotiated the world's longest motorcycle jump (350 feet), and the highest vertical "step-up" at the Las Vegas replica of Arc de Triomphe, which was followed by a drop of more than 85 feet to a landing ramp below.

"People say I'm crazy, but I just want to push the boundaries of my sport and my body to the limit and I love taking on these huge challenges," said Maddison, who is sponsored by Red Bull. "It was an incredible feeling to fly between the two towers and over the Thames."

Maddison will return to London on Aug. 22 to participate in the final stop of the Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour 2009 at Battersea Power Station. He won the Calgary stop of the series in May. The 2009 Red Bull X-Fighters Texas event will air Sunday (July 19) at 10::30 a.m. on ABC.

Hope you enjoy the video.

-- Pete Thomas

Video courtesy of Red Bull USA

Outposts, which is always on the lookout for hunting and fishing news beyond the Golden State, has discovered that such hunts will be offered later this summer in parts of Arkansas, where whitetail deer are so plentiful they're posing severe traffic hazards and creating a general nuisance.

"The main thing is we've been getting in a lot of car accidents with them. I've hit three over the last few years," Horseshoe Bend Mayor Bob Barnes told the Arkansas Democrat Gazette. "This was a very touchy subject. We put it to ballot, and having urban hunts passed with about 67% for it."

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission took reports on 1,215 people crashing into deer in 2007, and similar numbers during previous years. The number is likely far greater because people striking deer don't always report the accidents. A State Farm Insurance report listed 18,498 deer-automobile collisions from 2007 through 2008.

Hunts are scheduled for September and January in Horseshoe Bend, Cherokee Village, Bull Shoals and Hot Springs Village. Hunters will need to apply and must donate his or her first kill to a group called Arkansas Hunters Feeding the Hungry.

Applicants must have completed a bow-hunter education program and pass a shooting proficiency test to be included in the hunts. Regardless, this seems like a dangerous proposition, and citizens in these areas would be wise to dress in bright clothing during the hunts to avoid becoming an accidental target.

-- Pete Thomas

Photo: whitetail deer. Credit: John Stehn / USFWS

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Catches included albacore, bluefin, yellowfin, dorado, yellowtail and a few strikingly large wahoo, topped by an 88.8-pounder corralled by Ryan Clifton of Truckee aboard Red Rooster III.

“He made a long, long run, and then he came in so fast I didn’t think he was still there," said Ryan, who was trolling an orange-and-black Marauder. "When he got close, he was so big and striped I thought he was a marlin. He came up on the port corner of the stern.”

Forest Bernard of San Clemente caught a 73.4-pound wahoo on the same vessel.

Passengers aboard the Royal Polaris caught 85 bluefin in one stop while fishing offshore.

Interestingly, the water temperature at The Rocks jumped overnight from 69 to 71 degrees, and that brought more fish to the area. Aboard the Royal Star, Liz Franzino of Hemet enjoyed big-fish honors with a 78-pound yellowfin that "took me most of the way around the boat."

Those were eight-day trips. Anglers aboard the Polaris Supreme, on a three-day trip, encountered mostly large albacore. Said Captain Tommy Rothery: "I think I saw the longest spread of albacore I’ve seen in five years. We had some kids who fished for tuna with iron from the bow, the Ironmen. They did great."

Hubert Bell of Bonita claimed the jackpot with a 47-pound albacore.

--Pete Thomas

Photo: Ryan Clifton poses next to an 88.8-pound wahoo caught aboard the Red Rooster III. Credit: Bill Roecker / Fishingvideos.com

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I'm getting off to an inauspicious start. I've been training at the wrong heart rate all week. You might ask how that could happen, because I own three heart-rate monitors. Well, it breaks down like this. My Timex needs a battery. And because I'm lazy, I haven't gotten around to fixing that situation for, oh, over a year now. But that still leaves two more heart-rate monitors, right? I lent my husband my Polar heart-rate monitor -- he's decided he wants to follow Dr. Phil Maffetone's plan along with me, and has dibs on reading Dr. Phil's new book, "In Fitness and In Health," as soon as I am done with it. So that still leaves my Garmin Forerunner. Which I have been wearing at the gym this week. And which has consistently showed by heart rate at 112-113 all week. I know that's lower than the 130 limit, but I was coming off a cold, I'm stressed because I'm in the middle of a home construction project and my parents are coming into town this week for a two-week stay, so I thought I would take Dr. Phil's advice about reducing stress, and give myself a break with an easier week. 

But when I was at the gym Sunday it suddenly dawned on me. The Garmin was still showing 113 when I slowed down. And when I sped up. And when I got off the treadmill and just stood there.

I walked over to the newest exercise equipment at my gym, an elliptical machine, and got on it and grabbed the handlebars, with heart-rate sensors. I was at 153, and that was after walking over from the treadmill. Yikes!

And that's how it came to be that I have three heart-rate monitors and yet still managed to be working out at the wrong heart rate. Needless to say, I am swiping my Polar back from my husband. I know that is spot-on accurate. And now I have a new incentive to get the Timex fixed so hubby can use that one. Not sure what to do about the Garmin. I know for a fact that its GPS function -- the reason I bought it -- is quite accurate, as I have tested it on a track and against running routes that I've clocked out with my car. Has anyone else had this problem? Any suggestions?

Mail-bag: Got a bunch of e-mails from folks, many of whom wanted more information about Dr. Phil, as well as some from fellow runners who shared their experiences with his training methods. Here's one from Andrea: 

Hey Rene - isn't it interesting to observe how the right tools, support and encouragement show up for you once you've committed to a goal?!!! Kudos to you for being open minded to these new distinctions in your training pursuit - you'll see - Dr Phil is a genius - you are in amazing hands like none other....having run 15 marathons from my 20s to my 50s I know that Dr Phil's program will singley make the biggest difference for you in achieving your goal!...and...Be mindful that your days off from running will be as important as your days on as you continue training! There you go - another fabulous bonus for the Lazy Marathoner!! 

Thanks Andrea!

--Rene Lynch

Photo credit: Spencer Platt / Getty Images
 

The following is a list of Southern California and Eastern Sierra waters, listed by county, that will be stocked throughout the week of July 13 with rainbow trout by the Department of Fish and Game:

LOS ANGELES: Bouquet Canyon Creek and Jackson Lake. 

RIVERSIDE: Fulmor Lake, Hemet Lake and Strawberry Creek.

SAN BERNARDINO: Big Bear Lake, Green Valley Lake, Gregory Lake, Jenks Lake, Santa Ana River and Santa Ana River South Fork. 

SAN DIEGO: Cuyamaca Lake and Doane Pond.

INYO: Baker Creek, Big Pine Creek, Bishop Creek Intake II, Bishop Creek Lower, Bishop Creek (Middle & South Forks), Cottonwood Creek, Georges Creek, Goodale Creek, Independence Creek, Lone Pine Creek, North Lake, Owens River (below Tinnemaha), Owens River (Section 2), Rock Creek Lake, Sabrina Lake, Shepherd Creek, South Lake, Taboose Creek, Tinnemaha Creek and Tuttle Creek.

MONO: Buckeye Creek, Convict Creek, Convict Lake, Deadman Creek, Ellery Lake, George Lake, Glass Creek, Grant Lake, Gull Lake, June Lake, Lee Vining Creek, Lee Vining Creek South Fork, Little Walker River, Mamie Lake, Mammoth Creek, Mary Lake, McGee Creek, Owens River (Section 3), Robinson Creek, Rock Creek (Sections I & II), Rush Creek, Saddlebag Creek, Saddlebag Lake, Sherwin Creek, Silver Lake, Tioga Lake, Trumble Lake, Twin Lakes Bridgeport (Lower & Upper), Twin Lakes Mammoth, Virginia Creek, Virginia Lake (Lower & Upper) and West Walker River (Sections 2 & 3).   

Photo: Trout jump out of the water after bits of feed in a holding pond at the Kern River Hatchery. Credit: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times

For those wondering whatever happened to Holly Beck, check out the video. The former pro surfer is living the simple life -- and it's a truly green existence -- in Nicaragua.

I'm not sure if she has relocated there permanently, but I have not had a Holly sighting in at least a year in our South Bay neighborhood.

It's understandable given the quality of waves and roundness of barrels in her new Central American neighborhood. If you're a surfer, watching the video will make you green with envy, if not totally jealous.

-- Pete Thomas

The Hurley U.S. Open of Surfing, which will run July 18-26 at the Huntington Beach Pier, will pay the winner of the men's competition $100,000.

That's a record payoff for any ASP contest and the $80,000 boost, courtesy of Hurley, is sure to fuel the competitive fire among an elite field that's expected to include nine-time world champion Kelly Slater and three-time world champion Andy Irons.

Also expected to compete in the six-star World Qualifying Series contest are three-time U.S. Open champion Rob Machado and World Tour veterans C.J. and Damien Hobgood, Chris Ward, Taylor Knox, Fred Pattachia, Adriano de Souza and Mick Fanning. The contest also will provide San Clemente's Tanner and Pat Gudauskas, and Huntington Beach's Brett Simpson, a chance to boost their WQS points on home turf.

All three are in the top 10 of the WQS standings and trying to qualify for the 2010 World Tour.

Machado, on a contest that has become an enormous spectacle, said: "The event has more humans on the beach than any event in the world."

Machado, a Hurley-sponsored athlete, dreamed up the idea of boosting the men's prize purse. Too bad the women don't have anyone so persuasive. First prize in the women's division: $4,500.

-- Pete Thomas

Photo: Rob Machado in action during the 2006 U.S. Open, which he won. Credit U.S. Open of Surfing

A quota of 75 wolves has been set in Montana, with hunting season scheduled for September. Idaho's quota, as yet undetermined, will be larger.

The hunts will face legal challenges by environmental groups but wildlife managers in both states have argued that hunts are a critical means to prevent the predators from becoming too numerous and posing a larger threat to cattle and sheep.

In a story in the Idaho Statesman, Montana wolf biologist Carolyn Sime said, "You either eliminate all the wolves or you eliminate all the livestock."

There are an estimated 1,350 wolves in Montana and Idaho. Lawsuits by environmental groups regarding the predators' removal from the endangered list are pending.

Doug Honnold, an attorney for Earthjustice, told the Statesman: "We don't think hunts should be allowed until there's a legitimate recovery." That group awaits the Idaho quota announcement before determining its next course of action.

Gray wolves once thrived across the lower 48 but were decimated by hunting, trapping and poisoning in the early 1900s.

-- Pete Thomas

Gray wolf photo by Associated Press

Zac Sunderland's homecoming at Fisherman's Village in Marina del Rey has been rescheduled for July 16 at 10 a.m.

He had earlier planned on completing his solo-sailing odyssey around the world on July 14 but he has been making slow progress off Baja California.

The family will announce the news soon on Zac's blog. His entry from Thursday afternoon reads: "Some time tomorrow I will be making a tack towards California which will bring me back to the USA. It has been relatively calm out here with light winds and calm seas. I am making decent progress -- beats bashing any day."

Zac, 17, who had grown accustomed to tropical warmth and wearing shorts and T-shirts, is now traveling in foul-weather gear, trying to stay warm.

--Pete Thomas

Photo: Zac Sunderland during a warmer moment in Puerto Vallarta. Credit: Pete Thomas / Los Angeles Times

While Zac Sunderland plods slowly north off Baja California, less than 300 miles from home after a 13-month around-the-world odyssey, Mike Perham, his British counterpart, has entered the Panama Canal.

Tale of the tape: Both sailors are 17. Zac is a few months older, though, so not long after he becomes the youngest person to sail alone around the world, Mike is expected to complete his journey and claim that distinction.

Zac's trip is not well-funded. He's on a smaller (36-foot), older, much slower boat. Mike's journey is fully sponsored. He's aboard a 50-foot racing yacht whose sails might be worth as much as Zac's entire vessel. Mike left England months after Zac left Marina del Rey and were it not for a series of boat issues he'd have easily beaten his Yankee rival to the record. Mike is due home in early August.

Fighting words: Zac and Mike are not friends and Mike recently issued a statement on his blog that could be perceived as being directed at Zac:

"Usually cruising boats making this trip up from New Zealand or Australia would use their engine during these light conditions to make good progress -- but due to the nature of my trip, which is to sail around the world, I haven't and I won't use the engine to push me even one nautical mile around the planet.... Using my engine wouldn't be right or fair!"

Zac has used his motor, sparingly, he says. He used it while trying to escape the path of a presumed pirate vessel bearing down on him in the Indian Ocean. He used it while backtracking to a Mexican port to beat the predicted arrival of an advancing hurricane. In a March 8 blog post, he wrote about motoring during a long windless period, which clearly was picked up by Mike's camp.

When Zac entered port recently in Puerto Vallarta, his motor had 400 hours of use, which seems insignificant considering the duration and length of his excursion. Said harbormaster Dick Markie, whose port is used to prep sailors for circumnavigations: "You get into positions where you have no choice; that's the reason there's a motor on the boat."

Charlie Nobles, executive director of the American Sailing Assn., added: "At the end of the day, the challenges are not whether you sit for an extra day or two [in no wind] and don't use your motor, it's all the other stuff you've been through, so I don't think you can really say that diminishes it."

Zac assured in an interview that Mike has used his motor too, "while sailing through storms and stuff." Beyond that, though, Zac refused to comment critically.

-- Pete Thomas

Top photo of Mike Perham courtesy of Totallymoney.com.

Video by Al Seib/Los Angeles Times

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Rosarito Beach, which has had little to cheer about for the last year, will host the $10,000 Rosarito Beach Pro-Am surfing contest Aug. 7-9. It will feature some of North America’s best shortboarders, plus up-and-coming amateurs from the United States and Mexico.

“Finally a surf event is back in Northern Baja. It’s awesome that the city of Rosarito is stepping in to provide both local and international surfers an opportunity to showcase their talent and win some coin," Zach Plopper, a pro surfer, said in a news release.

Organizers had originally scheduled an Assn. of Surfing Professionals qualifying circuit contest. But the ASP pulled out months ago because of Mexico's increasingly violent drug war.

But with that story less in the news these days, Rosarito Beach is experiencing signs of a comeback. Hotel occupancy during the Fourth of July weekend was 70% overall and some hotels were at or near capacity.

Those are the best tourism figures of 2009 and Mayor Hugo Torres said in a different news release: "This is encouraging to us and indicates some comeback, although we remain well below years past and need more gains."

The surfing contest will be held next to the fishing pier. For information, e-mail info@fdtmarketing.com or  call (858) 200-7619.

-- Pete Thomas

Photo: A longboarder rides a wave next to Rosarito Beach pier, site of a shortboard contest next month. Credit: Rosarito Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau.

In support of the California Department of Fish and Game and its efforts to keep hunters and anglers informed, Outposts, on Thursday afternoon or Friday, posts marine biologist Carrie Wilson's weekly Q&A column:

Question: I was wondering about the laws on mailing fish. A friend of mine took me to Eagle Lake a few years ago, and to return the favor I always bring him some fish on the way home. He is going to be moving to Kansas and I want to send him some of the prized fish. Is it legal to ship them through the mail? I know I can get live lobsters from Maine, but they are a commercial product. My friend also wants to try to send me some venison but we're not sure of the laws there either. Thank you for your help. (Steve)

Answer: Unfortunately, it is not legal to ship trout outside of California (FGC Section 2356.) You also cannot personally transport them to another state, unless you have a nonresident angling license or are on active military duty (in which case you may personally transport no more than one limit of trout across state lines).

As far as venison mailed across state lines, as long as the animal was taken legally in the state of origin, it can be shipped to a recipient in California for their personal use, provided the shipper complies with the following procedures:

According to Captain (ret.) Phil Nelms, both California (FGC Section 2348) and United States (Lacey Act) laws require that packages containing wildlife and being shipped by common carrier "... shall bear the name and address of the shipper and of the consignee and an accurate description of the numbers and kinds of birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, or amphibians contained therein clearly and conspicuously marked on the outside thereof." In addition, a declaration form must be filed when importing fish, game, etc. (FGC 2353.) This form is available online at www.dfg.ca.gov/enforcement/docs/declaration_form.pdf.

Though it's not a requirement, it would be a good idea for your friend to include with his venison shipment a copy of his valid hunting license and tags for the deer, along with all information regarding where and when the animal was taken.

Question: I am going to be hunting 300 acres of private land for wild hogs in a few weeks with only my archery tackle gear. Can I carry a side arm in case of a charge by a large hog? I will be hunting with someone else but we will be in different areas and would like some protection. Is this legal? (Albert Q.)

Answer: Yes, you may carry a side arm when archery hunting for wild pigs. According to game warden Todd Tognazzini, you may carry any legal method of take and combine the methods when you are hunting pigs. It is illegal, on the other hand, to carry a firearm while hunting other big game species under the authority of an archery-only tag or during an archery-only season. And if you will be hunting in the condor range, your handgun must be loaded with non-lead ammo.

Question: I'd like to try some rabbit hunting but hear they may carry some kind of disease. Is this true? If so, is this anything to be concerned about and what precautions should I take? (Jeff J., Stockton)

Answer: You may be referring to "tularemia," a bacterial disease that wild rabbits occasionally carry. To be safe, hunters should take precautions by wearing latex gloves when field dressing their rabbits to minimize exposure to the disease. Be sure to properly cool the animal after field dressing it and to always cook it thoroughly. Tularemia is named after the place where it was discovered -- Tulare.

Question: If I'm out spearfishing with scuba gear, can I leave the scuba gear in the boat to also free dive for abalone?

Answer: No. Sport divers are prohibited from using scuba or other surface-supplied air equipment to take abalone, and they cannot possess abalone on board any boat, vessel or floating device in the water containing scuba or surface-supplied air. There is no problem transporting abalone and scuba gear together while on land. Divers working from boats, kayaks, float tubes or other floating devices who wish to use scuba equipment to spear fish or harvest sea urchins, rock scallops or crabs of the genus Cancer, will need to make a separate trip for abalone.

Photo: Garrett Arman, 8, took top kid honors at Gull Lake by catching a 5.4-pound rainbow on opening day of the Eastern Sierra trout season. Credit: Pete Thomas / Los Angeles Times

Competition in the Billabong Pro at Jeffreys Bay in South Africa remained on hold because of a lack of surf and noticeable improvement is not expected for a couple of days. But the ASP has posted a video teaser highlighting action at the fabled point break (see above).

When competition does resume in the fifth of 10 ASP World Tour contests, here are the first-round heats:

--Jordy Smith (ZAF), Tim Boal (FRA), Michael Picon (FRA)
--Tom Whitaker (AUS), Jay Thompson (AUS), Nathaniel Curran (USA)
--Bobby Martinez (USA), Josh Kerr (AUS), Nic Muscroft (AUS)
--Mick Fanning (AUS), Kai Otton (AUS), Phillip MacDonald (AUS)
--Bede Durbidge (AUS), Dean Morrison (AUS), Marlon Lipke (DEU)
--C.J. Hobgood (USA), Chris Ward (USA), TBA
--Adriano de Souza (BRA), Dustin Barca (HAW), TBA
--Joel Parkinson (AUS), Kekoa Bacalso (HAW), TBA
--Taj Burrow (AUS), Tim Reyes (USA), TBA
--Kelly Slater (USA), Dayyan Neve (AUS), TBA
--Damien Hobgood (USA), Heitor Alves (BRA), Greg Emslie (ZAF)
--Fredrick Patacchia (HAW), Chris Davidson (AUS), David Weare (ZAF)
--Jeremy Flores (FRA), Aritz Aranburu (EUK), Michel Bourez (PYF)
--Taylor Knox (USA), Jihad Khodr (BRA), Roy Powers (HAW)
--Mick Campbell (AUS), Tiago Pires (PRT), Ben Dunn (AUS)
--Kieren Perrow (AUS), Dane Reynolds (USA), Drew Courtney (AUS)

Parkinson is currently atop the ASP World Tour rankings, followed by de Souza, C.J. Hobgood, Burrow and Fanning.

---Pete Thomas

Video courtesy of ASP

**Updated with TV info.

Vert skating finally has an exciting new look, thanks to the progressive mind of Bob Burnquist, who won the X Games' big-air competition the last two years on the towering mega-ramp.

Burnquist, with input from Pierre-Luc Gagnon and Jake Brown, designed a miniature version of the mega-ramp, which was unveiled at a recent competition in Santa Rosa. It features a 35-foot roll-in ramp and a rainbow rail spanning a 25-foot gap, leading to an 18-foot quarterpipe wall.

For this weekend's Maloof Money Cup, which begins with practice and prelims on Friday, California Ramp Works has constructed a tweaked version of the mini-mega-ramp, which will connect to a tricked-out vert ramp. Athletes will compete in a multistage format that promises to be more entertaining than the back-and-forth acrobatics currently on display during traditional vert contests.

"This is where it's at," says Burnquist, who has a full-size mega-ramp in the backyard of his Vista, Calif., home. "This is the reality. This is not killing vert. This is vert."

Burnquist was referring to last year's situation at the X Games, when the vert competition was canceled -- briefly -- in favor of a superpark competition on a course many vert skaters did not like. Some even pulled out of that event.

Says Burnquist of the mini-mega-ramp: "Dude, this is  superpark. This is progression; what they were trying to do. It's happening and materializing. We still have to deliver, but I have a strong feeling about this."

Sunday's final, then, is about more than simply who wins. It might provide a glimpse into the sport's future.

Note: Fuel TV will provide a live HD webcast during the Maloof Money Cup on Saturday from 6:30-9:30 p.m., and Sunday from 1-7:15 p.m.

-- Pete Thomas

Graphic showing mini-mega-ramp courtesy of Maloof Money Cup

The Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay could commence as early as Thursday, and one of the top storylines is whether Australia's Joel Parkinson, who is atop the ASP World Tour rankings list, can solidify his position as he guns for his first world title.

But the top storyline is whether Kelly Slater, who opened the season with three consecutive 17th-place finishes but won last week in Brazil, can climb back into the title race.

“Last week’s win just highlighted the importance of making more of a plan when I hit the water instead of leaving it to chance,” Slater said. “I had a plan in Brazil for the first time this year, and it worked. A lot of people put in a lot of effort to help me get my stuff together, and it's about time I had a plan in heats so I don't take any of that for granted.

"Sometimes things don't go your way. I probably wouldn't be very interested if I had started out super strong anyhow, and now it's just a more difficult challenge to get things going. It kind of wakes you up.”

An awakened Slater, who is the reigning and nine-time world champion, is cause for concern among the rest of the tour field.

Moreover, Slater has won at J-Bay four times, more than any other surfer, and he won there last year.  “Jeffreys just has this great curve and speed to it that seems to fit how I like to ride a wave, but I'm sure everyone feels that there,” Slater said. “I have a good sense of the lineup, I think, and can picture what most waves are going to do down the line. I've just always had a good vibe there.”

Slater feeling the vibe might spell double trouble for Parko & Co. Slater is ranked No. 9 and, depending on how the top surfers fare, he could be right in the mix when this contest, which marks the season's halfway point, draws to a close.

--Pete Thomas

Photo: Kelly Slater goes airborne during the Hang Loose Catarina Pro last week in Brazil. Credit: Kelly Cestari/ASP/CI via Getty Images

Albacore and bluefin tuna are biting for the first time this season within day range of San Diego, and the news is sure to inspire hundreds of saltwater anglers to break out their gear and book a trip.

By 9 a.m. Wednesday, anglers aboard the Pacific Queen out of Fisherman's Landing had boated 35 albacore and 20 bluefin tuna only 60 miles southwest of Point Loma. 

Anglers aboard the Voyager out of Seaforth Sportfishing bagged their five-fish limits by about 7 a.m. in the same general area, according to a report on 976-TUNA, which is trying to fill spots for a two-day trip on the Holiday departing tonight at 9 p.m. The Holiday runs from Point Loma Sportfishing. The trip costs $350 per angler but if three pay a fourth angler gets on board for free.

Several other vessels were getting in on the tuna bite.

Farther down the Baja California peninsula, bluefin are breezing in large schools. Anglers aboard the Shogun, who fished Cedros Island for yellowtail and the outer banks for tuna, returned to Fisherman's Landing on Wednesday morning with more than 40 yellowtail and nearly 90 bluefin to about 40 pounds.

Among the top anglers were Carson Katz, 8, and Tyler Ko, 5, pictured above with their catch.

Philip Friedman, founder of 976-TUNA, said landing operators are breathing "a huge sigh of relief" because this bite is beginning a few weeks later than in previous years.

-- Pete Thomas

Photo: Carson Katz, 8, and Tyler Ko, 5, pose with bluefin tuna caught aboard the Shogun. Credit: Bill Roecker / Fishingvideos.com

When we snagged a reservation in January to car-camp at Shaver Lake in the western Sierra the weekend of the longest day of the year, we were enticed by the Camp Edison lakefront campsites mentioned every year in Sunset Magazine’s 50 best campgrounds list (No. 6 this year). We figured we'd be able to slip our new kayak onto the tranquil blue water, glide peacefully along the shore, maybe stop for an impromptu picnic at a lakeside beach. Little did we realize that the longest day of the year would seem more like the longest day of our lives.

The problems started when we pulled up to our “lake view” site, directly across the road from the coveted “lake front” sites. Little more than a highway pullout, the campsite was flush against an adjacent site with zero privacy, and the “lake view” was marred by several neighboring RBs (recreational behemoths) and too many SUVs to count. One lakefront site had no fewer than six tents (right).

I think there was even an M-6 tank in there but I couldn’t distinguish it from the pickup trucks, SUVs and RBs. This is the site where a floodlight was kept on every night, blinding us each time we returned from the restroom. I don’t think this is what Thomas Edison had in mind.

At 5,500 feet elevation, Shaver Lake is part of a hydroelectric project owned by Southern California Edison. I couldn't find anywhere on the Camp Edison website how many homes are powered by the lake but I'm thinking as soon as the air conditioning really gets cranking in the Central Valley, the lake level — which was at a normal, fairly high early-summer level — will drop by at least a few feet.

OK, so the “Bring your laptop” label in Sunset’s Camp Edison blurb should’ve been a hint. Each of the 252 sites has an electric hookup and half have wireless capability. As avid tent-only campers, we've since been asking ourselves, “What were we thinking?” We were thinking that $39 a night would get us some space, privacy and a view (lakefront sites run $60 each). Instead we felt like we were bunking in a refugee camp adjacent to a Wal-Mart parking lot. The hookups at each site were a blessing in disguise though, sparing us the drone of trailer generators. Although an odd sound did occasionally emanate from the trailer next to us, reminding me of the scene in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," in which Francois Truffaut attempts to duplicate the mysterious UFO tones. We never did see a single person in or around that trailer. Hmmm.

And the beaches. May I be so bold as to suggest, SoCal Edison, that you forbid the commandeering of beaches with private canopies? This time of year, when the water is still high, Shaver’s beaches are scarce enough as it is. Innumerable times when we tried to find a spot to launch our kayak or paddle up to a beach we’d come across a phalanx of beach toys, jet skis, boogie boards, etc. under a canopy with not a person in sight and no sand to spare.

There were brief pleasant moments on this most unrelaxing weekend, however. We drove the kayak to a spot on the north side of the lake and spent a pleasant afternoon paddling, fishing and hanging out with our dogs. We even discovered our elderly rescue Lab Sammy knows how to swim. I caught a bluegill for the first time since I was 10. The next day we rented a pontoon (“when in Rome,” etc.) and hauled kayak, dogs and fly rods around the lake ($125 for a full day plus $25 for gas from Shaver Lake Marina). We motored past Dorabelle Cove, where we'd camped at a forest service campground (a slightly more reasonable $20 a night) several years ago. We launched the kayak in lovely Stevensen Cove and lunched at a picnic area in Doris Cove.

Another plus: Camp Edison has showers, though our $5 shower card bleeped out after about 16 minutes worth of showers (as opposed to the 45 minutes promised). Camp Edison is, it goes without saying, a family campground. There were what seemed like hundreds of thousands of extended families, along with their families and friends. Like one enormous group campsite. And us. A few bright spots though: the delightful 9-year-old twin sisters from Moorpark who loved our dogs, helped us build a campfire one night and regaled us with a tail, er tale, of how their elderly Morky (Maltese/Yorkshire terrier) or other type of small dog, I forget, was snatched by an owl back home. The evening they arrived, we watched them pull up in the biggest Recreational Behemoth we’d ever seen; it seemed about 150 feet long but was in fact, said the twins, 39 feet. Then there was the nice couple from Fresno in the minuscule lakefront site across from us, and their handsome 110-pound yellow Lab, Sam. Once they checked out, we poached their picnic table one night to enjoy our dinner of Shaver Lake Pizza.

All in all, the weekend wasn't that bad but I think we'll stick to the Eastern Sierra next time. It’s not that we hate car-camping. We prefer the discomfort of backpacking, but there are aspects of auto-supported camping that we enjoy (the Coleman zillion-man tent we got at Costco ROCKS). If we do come back here, we'll probably stick to points beyond Kaiser Pass Road (you gotta love those twisty, frighteningly steep roads too treacherous for vee-hickles over 25 feet). And we'll leave the laptop at home.

— Julie Sheer

Photos courtesy of Julie Sheer

Global sailor Zac Sunderland, whose 13-month odyssey was profiled in Monday's Los Angeles Times, will return to Marina del Rey next Tuesday, barring unforeseen trouble.

His arrival time is pegged for 10 a.m. at Fisherman's Village and those wishing to greet him should get there early as parking might become problematic because of crowding.

Zac, who is trudging up the Baja California coast, on Monday reported on his blog: "I cannot believe how hard it has been to get up this coast. I cannot believe how cold I have been all the time. It has been cold and gray and so incredibly frustrating!

"I know that I am getting closer but it seems an eternity away at times. Though the Baja coast is barren the seas are full of life with dolphins and sea birds around me a lot of the day. They somehow help me not to go crazy with frustration."

A few weeks ago, while mired in the sweltering doldrums off mainland Mexico, Zac was less enthusiastic about an abundance of sea turtles, which he called "these stupid hard creatures" in what resembled "a pumpkin patch because they were everywhere."

The sailor said during an interview in Puerto Vallarta: "I'd be sleeping and there'd be this massive bang on the hull. It doesn't hurt them and it doesn't hurt the boat. It just wakes me up."

Sleep is a valuable commodity, and Zac, who has endured long stretches of sleep deprivation, has taken to sleeping in brief periods, half during the day and half at night. Sleeping only at night in a soft bed and quiet house will be one of many adjustments he'll have to make when he comes home.

-- Pete Thomas

Photo: Zac Sunderland inspects his rigging through long strands of hair. Credit: Pete Thomas/Los Angeles Times

(Note: You can now follow Outposts and Pete Thomas on Twitter @latimesoutposts)

Costa Rica is for many outdoors enthusiasts the most magnificent place on earth. The Central American nation is blessed with good surf. It teems with more than 800 bird species. Its fishing fleets ply waters that abound with sailfish and tarpon. Its eco-lodges are watched over by tall green trees and monkeys.

Its volcanoes are sights to behold and with this in mind we share an image captured recently by Zach Smith of Arenal.net, a website promoting tourism to and around Costa Rica's spectacular Arenal Volcano.

Now Costa holds another distinction: happiest and greenest place on earth.

A survey by the New Economics Foundation, a British think tank, made the determination after looking at 143 countries that are home to 99% of the world's population and using an equation weighing life expectancy and happiness against environmental impact.

Costa Rica, whose rich biodiversity is breathtaking, emerged just ahead of the Dominican Republic and well above the United States with its 114th ranking. Australia was third.

The survey found that Costa Ricans, with their pura vida or "pure life" outlook, have a life expectancy of 78.5 years, and 85% of those interviewed said they were happy. That combined with the nation's tiny ecological footprint helped place it atop the Happy Planet Index.

The happy part is somewhat surprising as I've been there many times and witnessed poverty and know that lots of women and even girls there are drawn to prostitution, which sadly is also a primary tourist attraction for some. 

As sociologist Andrea Fonseca said in an Agence France-Presse story about the survey, Costa Rica's rise to the top of the happy list "has a lot to do with social imagination." Not that there's anything wrong with that.

-- Pete Thomas

Photo: Arenal Volcano in Costa Rica. Credit: Zach Smith

Details are sketchy and Outposts will update this item as more becomes known. Bachar, who was born in 1957, was famous largely for his accomplishments on difficult routes within Yosemite National Park.

He is survived by a young son named Tyrus.

On John's website is this passage:

"A true rock star as a teenager, Bachar soloed 5.11 when 5.12 did not yet exist ... then he did the first 5.12 in Yosemite Valley, bouldered even harder, climbed stronger than anyone. He refused to compromise his strong traditional style 'ground-up' ethics along the way."

Also posted are these respectful accolades:

--John Long: "There has never been anyone like John Bachar, and there never will be again."

--Peter Croft: "Yosemite was THE place, Bachar was THE guy, that makes him more than just a climber."

--Rob Robinson: "John Bachar was unquestionably the greatest climber of our generation."

Below is a vintage video clip of John at work--very dangerous work.

--Pete Thomas

Photo: John Bachar climbs Yosemite's Midnight Lightning in a photo that appeared in Climbing magazine. Credit: Phil Bard