Cruising at Huntington Beach

The boardwalk turns out to be a great spectator sight, hence the rise in popularity of "cruiser" bikes -- bikes with thick tires made for leisurely rolling along the beachfront. The stability of these bikes allows the rider to gawk at the outlandish sights along famed beaches such as Venice Beach and, this past weekend, Huntington Beach, without falling off in amazement. Whether watching street performers juggling, or stopping to contemplate a tattoo, beach cruising has become the latest activity of choice. This past weekend, Mr. Caldwell took seven students to enter the fray.

Ali, Daniel, Brandon, Terence, Tina, Sidney, and Vinson before their trip

Whether along the sand...

...or by the road...

...these beach bums had a great trip, and of course stopped for the requisite dip in the ocean to wrap it all up.

Rock Climbing at Hangar 18

One of the warm-up events for Men in the Arena involved climbing and a high ropes course at Hangar 18, the local indoor gym. A group of 20 boys traveled with Mr. Harris, Mr. Lawrence, and me to the gym early Monday morning in an attempt to climb slightly out of our comfort zones. Thanks to Mr. Nichols for these pictures.

Nick tests himself on a yellow pinch route, while Adam scrambles up in the background.

Cole ('14) on the high ropes course.

Cole ('13) on the bouldering wall.

Cameron repels on Mr. Lawrence's expert belay.

Urban Field Trips - Stewardship on Mt. Baldy

Tuesday, March 1 was field trip day at Webb. Though our original plan was to hike to the peak of Mt. Baldy, heavy snow convinced us that doing some trail stewardship at lower elevations was more prudent. Even at around 5,000 feet, though, the trail was covered, making maintenance difficult. Slipping and sliding our way up the Bear Flat trail, just outside of Baldy village, we located several blowdowns, and commenced work on clearing the trail of a couple egregious offenders. Since we didn't know what to expect, we brought all kinds of tools, but unfortunately only one saw. So we took turns cutting off branches, always heeding the advice of Freddie Duncan, our National Forest Service escort. He's an expert on clearing trees, and knows exactly how and where to cut to minimize risk. Such tangible work, especially on a day when the trail was hidden, is always rewarding.

Josh begins working on the smaller branches, to give us access to the larger ones.

Mr. Purvis crawls through a gap in the tree that we were about to clear.

Jordan commences work...

...under the expert guidance of Freddie Duncan of the National Forest Service. Freddie will return later with a chainsaw to clear the heavier, more entrenched pieces.

John works on another section...

...while Adrian scours the area for invasive limbs.

Alex takes his turn at the saw.

Davis puts the finishing touches on this branch.

Here, we're standing on the section of trail we had just cleared. The tree behind us had previously blocked the way.

On the way down, Puji got the most out of his traction-less shoes.

With Smokey. Not surprisingly, today's fire danger was "low."

Urban Field Trips - Snorkeling

"Urban" Field Trips take on another meaning when the urbanity you live in is right on the Pacific Ocean. Mr. Lawrence took advantage of our proximity to great snorkeling to lead a group of boys to the underwater city of the ocean...

...where Cameron quickly got hold of a lobster.

These pelicans enjoy the March warmth of Laguna Beach.

If Webb had its way, overpopulation would quickly become an issue in this urban environment.