You will not die, It's not poison

To Blog or not to Blog?

2011-11-16T14:40:00.000-08:00

I am so surprised to see that I still have a blog even though I haven't blogged for years! I don't really have anything to say today. But I thought I would post anyway, just in case the Blogmonster is contemplating eating my old blog thereby removing all traces of the old me.

Hopefully I will have time to resurrect this blog someday.

A New Project

2009-02-11T13:29:00.000-08:00

I know I haven't even gotten around to finishing my Nepal trip posts! But I figure since I have some good pictures of the trouble I have gotten myself into, I should put them up here for comedy, if nothing else. Recently I decided I should plunge back into remodeling my house (condo) again. The last time I did this in 2007 I ended up with a project which nearly cost me my sanity (See The Eighth Wonder of the World). So this time I am taking it easy. Just like running a marathon taking 'baby steps' is the easiest way to the finish.

For the last couple of weekends I spent my time on hands and knees putting in a new tile floor in my bathroom. Here are the before, during and after shots.

You can see I put a layer of Redguard on top of the gypcrete flooring in order to mitigate the risk of future cracking. I actually started to like the red look. Kinda reminds me of the stay off the lava game we used to play when we were kids.

The In Between

2008-11-19T14:00:00.000-08:00

The next segment of my trek around Annapurna dropped down into the Kali Gandaki river canyon which is reportedly the deepest canyon in the world. This is due to the fact that Annapurna lies on one side of the canyon and Dhaulagiri on the other; both are 8,000 meter peaks. I had heard or read about the awesome depth of this canyon prior to doing the hike so I hiked down into the canyon expecting some sort of record-breaking grandiosity. Instead I found something in between the cool stuff I saw both before and after; an airport, a road, and a vacation from trekkers.

Now when looking back I realize that this segment of the trek from Muktinath to Tatopani has changed from what it once was and probably could never have lived up to my expectations. Now it is somewhere between a trek and a jeep excursion. The wealth is somewhere between third world and developing. And the mountains on the sides of the canyon are just a bit too far apart for me to feel like it truly is the deepest canyon in the world.

The canyon was still spectacular notably for the width of it's free-flowing river and floodplain, the shear size of it's landslides, and it's history. I don't believe I have ever seen such a large un-dammed river. The floodplain for the river was at least 1/2 mile wide and it was easy to see since no one in Nepal is dumb enough to build in the gravelly floodplain. At home of course, people always seem to build in floodplains, but the land has been so modified that identifying the floodplain can be difficult.

One related side-effect of such a free-flowing river is landslides. I saw several very large landslides as I walked down the canyon, some which may have been initiated by river channeling and some which appeared to be primarily a function of the relative youth of the Himalaya. It is these very landslides which seem to be the only thing which is holding up the advance of roads. From Muktinath to Tatopani there was a two-wheel jeep track / road but it was far from being a thru-road since I saw a few impassable sections where huge landslides had taken out the road.

Even though the road does not go thru I was surprised at how many tourist/trekkers I saw who took up positions inside the ubiquitous Land Rovers. Below Jomsom, where there is a small airport, I saw almost no hiking trekkers. It seems many of my previous trail compatriots from before the Thorung La either escaped the wilderness via the airport or gave up on hoofing it down canyon.

Although the jeep road/trail left a very noticeable scar along the side of the canyon it was still easy to see how cool the Kali Gandaki canyon was before the road. People have been travelling through this canyon for centuries. I understand that for many centuries this canyon was the locus of the salt trade between Tibet and Nepal. Food, including grains grown in the lower portions of the Kali Gandaki, were traded with the Tibetans who harvested salt on the high plains.

The Thakalis who live in this area have built up some good, clean and well-run guesthouses. I was particularly impressed by The High Plains Inn in Tukche. Another treat was the always available apple pastries. There is a significant apple industry near the town of Chame and every eating establishment seems to offer great apple pie or apple crisp.

I ended this segment of the trip staying overnight in Tatopani, ate a great Mexican meal, and took a dip in the famous Tatopani hot springs. Then I started hiking back uphill . . .

Honk, Everything Will Be Ok!

2008-11-04T15:37:00.000-08:00

If the title makes no sense, then I guess you haven't experienced the Nepali karmic solution to dangerous driving conditions.

I just returned from my vacation to Nepal, Korea and Thailand last week and this is just one of the life lessons I learned while traveling in Nepal. I am still not sure if I have really figured out Nepal yet, but I had an absolutely amazing once-in-lifetime (but hopefully to be repeated) experience trekking near Annapurna. For this post I will just tell you a little bit about Nepal, since I could probably write a book each about the time I spent in Thailand and Korea. I am not even going to try a full travelogue since the three weeks spent in Nepal truly felt more like a 6-month odyssey. At least to me!

First of all, let me explain the title. On several occasions I had the pleasure of traveling on the narrow potholed and winding mountain roads which are the main vehicle highways in Nepal. One thing is certain, these road-trips were the most dangerous aspect of my entire solo hiking trip! Standard procedure whether in a 80's era taxi sedan, vintage Indian bus, or lumbering Tata freight truck, is to honk your horn repeatedly when passing another vehicle on the wrong side of the road (in the opposing traffic lane). Honking is of course used for all sorts of other reasons, but it is done with such singular and life-affirming purpose when passing a lumbering vehicle on an absolutely blind mountain corner that I became convinced that the horn is the #1 traffic safety device in Nepal. It appears, that whether or not the horn can be heard by the oncoming traffic makes no difference. Honking the horn relieves the driver of his responsibility to make sure that no one is coming. And since it seems there is rarely a pocket of road where safe passage around a slow vehicle can be visually verified the logic is to honk the horn and have trust in your karmic fate.

My taxi driver who drove me 5 hours to the beginning of the trek was kind enough to point out three blind-corner fatal car wrecks within the first 30 kms or so of our drive. He assured me that he felt getting to the destination alive was more important than speed, but I wonder a bit about how truthful he was being. He laughed when he showed me how his horn was only working intermittently!

Since I arrived in Kathmandu just before the beginning of Dashain (a big holiday) I had the choice of waiting several days to start my trek or hiring a taxi on the last day before travel was restricted. I hired a taxi to drive me to my starting point on the Annapurna trek. And then since half the Indian Ocean was dumping on the Himalayas when I arrived I jumped into a jeep to get to the end of "road". I began hiking from Bhule Bhule at about 5PM on October 6. I made it Ngadi and fell for the hard sell at the first guesthouse. Now I am starting to wish I kept a diary since there is no chance I can remember the guesthouse name. It seems most of the guesthouses have extremely predictable and completely un-original names like Ngadi Guesthouse or Ngadi Riverview Inn. On a sidenote a couple of easily remembered places and favorite stays were at the High Plains Inn in Tukche and Bob Marley Guesthouse in Muktinath.

Anyway, I really began to experience the trek when I started hiking on Oct. 7. I knew that the hike was supposed to take me from very modest elevations up to high elevations but I didn't realize until that day that I would actually be hiking through such lush relatively low elevation areas. I was just blown away by the beauty of walking through terraced farming areas. It seemed like I was passing through a small village every 20 or 30 minutes and marveling that these were no tourist villages. Most of the people in many of the small villages appeared to be living there much like their great-great grandparents probably did, living off the land.

The power lines arced overhead along many parts of the trail, but thanks to the lack of a road, the villages were quiet and relatively peaceful places. I was a bit dismayed to see how much garbage, plastic bottles and bags etc., littered the sides of the trail but it was easy to see that the further I got from the roads the less of the garbage I saw. Most of the time there were far more livestock droppings on the trail then garbage (rubbish).

The trail slowly wound up the ever-deepening canyons changing from lush tropical vegetation to more temperate pine forests. It was here in the pine forests between Tal and Chame where I started to feel at home. These forests were similar to many others which I have hiked. They were places were I could imagine deer and bears similar to those at home. The buildings also started to change to being sturdy wooden structures. In the lowlands the buildings seemed to just be mish-mash of whatever building materials were available, including plastic sheeting for walls and corrugated metal roofs. In Chame I stayed in a nice new wood lodge. It may not be nearly so enjoyable in a year or two, but at the time of my stay the all-wood floor, walls and ceiling was so fresh you could still smell the scent of the fresh-cut wood.

Although the forests were a lot like home in this particular area (Chame) the canyons were much deeper and slopes much steeper. Since the monsoon clouds were still stalking me I still could not see the tops of the hillsides, but it was obvious I was still at the bottom of huge mountains. The river at the base of the canyon was just a huge rushing torrent of whitewater. I crossed the river on countless swaying suspension bridges and wondered what life was like before the suspension bridges. Many of the villages would have been entirely cutoff from even the closest village, let alone the outside world, without a bridge. There was no other way to cross these rivers. In many places they are unfordable.

I think on day 4 the clouds cleared and the canyons started to open up into the large Manang valley. I took my friends' (Ana and Keith) advice and walked to Upper Pisang in order to stay in a guesthouse with good views. The accommodations here were a bit more rustic than in Lower Pisang (satellite dishes!) but the view of Annapurna III was incredible. Since I got here early I also took a stroll up the trail toward Pisang Peak base camp in order to acclimatize. The view from my high point was unbelievable! I sat and stared at the Annapurna massif from below flapping prayer flags until my fingers were numb. I also saw some sort of high alpine deer and a whole bunch of yaks grazing on the open slopes below Pisang. The soaring Lammergeiers seemed to be always floating overhead in these high beautiful places. The Lammergeier vultures appear to live such a charmed life, almost never flapping a wing, floating in some of the most beautiful places in the world. I aspire to be reincarnated as a Lammergeier.

After Upper Pisang I followed the upper trail out of Upper Pisang and was treated to fabulous view after fabulous view. This is one area where I regret not taking extra days. Here Tibetan influenced buddhist villages seem to sit on every prominent viewpoint. The buildings at these places are constructed almost entirely of stone. At the time I passed through many of the people were out harvesting grain. I watched them cutting the grain with the ever ubiquitous scythes, laying it out to dry and then tossing it to separate the chaff. If ever there was a shangri-la for me the area around Upper Pisang might just be it.

I stayed at Manang which is basically the last major settlement which is not solely devoted to tourists, prior to the Thorung La, highest pass of the trip. Although Manang is an ancient town and non-tourist oriented life abounds around it, most of the business in town is absolutely geared for the tourists. In fact they were showing movies the predictable movies Vertical Limit and Into Thin Air at a couple of places. There are several large lodges, some good bakeries and a fairly reliable power supply. If I remember correctly, Manang was at about 11,000 feet so many trekkers stay here for a couple of days to acclimatize. I tried to check out a monastery near Manang but it was closed when I visited. So I enjoyed a quiet sit with a couple of yaks on the monastery doorstep.

Personally I got tired of Manang quickly, probably due to the annoying presence of so many tourists. So after one night here I took off with the intention to get as far up toward the Thorung La as reasonable and to snag a good room at one of the few lodges before the pass. It wasn't my intention, but I ended up at the penultimate lodging before the pass at Thorung Phedi (4600m). There is only one higher place called High Camp. Fortunately, I got there just in time to snag one of the last spots in the dormitory.

Thorung Phedi is not a particularly enjoyable place and because I came down with traveller's diarrhea, for me it quickly become a somewhat dreadful place. I survived a terrible night of sickness with little sign of altitude problems, and so the next day I set off to cross the Thorung La, the highest point on the trek (5400m).

My trek to the pass was a bit of an anticlimactic struggle. I was so prepared to be utterly beaten, broken, sick and tired that I was not particularly impressed when I finally made it to the high point 2.5 hours after starting! By no means was it easy. I was sufficiently amazed at how difficult it is to breathe at nearly 18,000 feet, but the actual place didn't excite nearly as much as I had hoped. The place is primarily an iconic photo point for the thousands of trekkers who have paid and grunted their way to this high point. Most of the views of rock, ice and snow are little different than those I have seen elsewhere. There was ice/snow and a small teahouse at the top, but I did little more than take a photo before dropping off the other side of the pass. I was in a bit of a hurry to get away from the growing crowd and to get to warmer and more hospitable terrain.

That is enough for now! Tune in again for more unbelievable adventures from Adam's memory.

Ultra Liv'n

2008-08-27T10:19:00.000-07:00

It has been a looong time since I ran a long race or even attended an ultra event. So this last weekend I became a little overwhelmed and re-energized hanging out with the great people at the Cascade Crest 100. In fact, I have once again caught the ultra-bug and am already starting to pine for an injury free and race filled next summer!

The plan was to do some hiking on Saturday near the CC100 course and then join Alison, James and Laura to man the No Name Ridge Aid Station during the middle of the night Sat-Sun. Amazingly the whole adventure went really smoothly, except for the fact that I technically still have two nagging injuries and am not in shape to be hiking/running 37 miles!

On Saturday morning I set off on a truly spectacular loop hike near the CC100 course. I hiked from the Cooper Lake trailhead up past the popular Pete Lake to the PCT. Then I hiked southbound on the PCT with a 2 hour stop at Spectacle lake to do some fishing. BTW, caught a beautiful fish which I think may have been a dolly varden (bull trout)??. The only thing I know is it didn't look like a cut and it didn't look like a rainbow so I am just guessing that it was a bull trout. After going over a pass I took a left on the Mineral Creek trail and followed this trail to the trailhead (Mineral Creek Aid Station). From this trailhead I ran and hiked the gravel roads back to the Cooper Lake trailhead. Some quick thoughts on a long hike:

-why spend half of your weekend vacation packing and re-packing a 1/2 ton beast of burden just so that you can spend some time at a horsefly ridden, horse trampled, and horse-shit strewn campsite? I just don't understand. And I am not sure if I ever will. To me at least, riding horses into the backcountry is so totally anachronistic.

-why does the military think it is ok to buzz people with supersonic aircraft and eliminate the peace and quiet of the last great quiet place: wilderness? At several times during my trip supersonic aircraft buzzed by overhead, completely covering over and drowning out the sound and the quiet of wilderness. And at one point I swear, a jet fighter, flew directly over me, about 500 to 1000 feet off the ground!

-How many hours does it take for a Cascade trail to become completely overgrown and to disappear? In many places the brush on the upper Mineral Creek trail towered over my head and complete blocked the trail. In fact, many times I could only tell there was a trail due to the broken brush from the previous hiker. Obviously, this is a fine trail to use to get away from the hordes, because you would have to be crazy to hike it just to see the nearly impenetrable wall of slide alder!

After leaving the Mineral Creek trail (thank god), I had to run most of the gravel roads back to my car so that I could make it to Village Pizza before it closed. I am absolutely convinced there may be nothing better than good pizza and beer immediately following a hike!

Finally around 10:30 PM I drove up to the No Name Ridge aid station where I met up with James. Unfortunately, James was injured in a race earlier in the day so I was saddled with the task of marking the race course for the 4.5 miles between No Name and Thorp Mountain. I was not thrilled to be doing an extra 9 miles of hiking from 11:30 PM to 3:00 AM. But by the time I was on my return to the station I was truly happy I had hiked this section of course. It was absolutely beautiful hiking along some of the open ridge areas under a clear, star-studded, and moonlit night sky. Night hiking can be a very rewarding experience.

The remainder of the night was spent at the Aid station providing relatively poor service to the runners. I was able to help out somewhat, but I think I could have done a much better job if I hadn't been quite so worn out!

It was truly amazing and inspiring to watch the runners running into the aid station and then soldiering on into the darkness on the other side. I can't wait until I get the chance to run CC100 next year!

Foolish Hiking Plans

2008-08-12T11:24:00.000-07:00

The best laid plans can bring happiness, peace and maybe even enlightenment. The worst laid plans can bring at the very least an uncomfortable, adventurous, and epic experience.

I usually put quite a bit of time into planning my weekend adventures. Especially around this time of year, when the mountains are nearly snow-free and the weather can be awesome. Usually a bit of careful planning pays off with beautiful views or solitude on the trails. But, unfortunately last weekend's plans were hastily made and poorly thought out. On saturday morning I woke up planning to do a difficult backpacking loop on the PCT (55 miles - 2 days) and immediately re-considered my plans due to poor weather conditions. Overnight a cloud had descended and enveloped my house and most of Washington state in a state of perpetual mist. Typical November weather in August!

I recall thinking, why not just head for the closest rain-shadow area and hope for clearing weather! So I read a few trail descriptions, pulled out my road atlas and found several trails which I thought I could combine to make one grand loop. I love to hike loops because you always get to see something new! Unfortunately, loops are not easy to plan, especially when you are in the mood to hike around 15-20 miles a day! Since I didn't have any decent trail maps for where I was going I checked out my road atlas. The road atlas is great because it shows a lot of trails and old gravel roads and it helps me visualize where I will be in relation to all the different access points. What I didn't realize is that many of the trails shown on the map may be old, abandoned or no longer exist! It also would have helped to really study the map scale so that I knew how far I had to hike.

My plan was fairly simple. Drive to the Lake Ingalls trailhead. Hike over Ingalls Pass to Lake Ingalls and then over Stuart Pass into the Jack Creek drainage. Hike down Jack Creek to the Meadow Creek trail. Take Meadow Creek trail until the junction with Snowall Creek / Cradle Lake trail. Follow this trail to Cradle Lake and camp at Cradle Lake. Sunday follow another trail west of Cradle lake which I thought was Snowall / Cradle back to Meadow Creek. Soon after going west on Meadow Creek I should have found a trail, possibly signed Solomon Creek which would take me to the Van Ness Pass area. From there I could get onto the Lake Ann / Esmeralda Basin trail which would take me back to the trailhead.

I left the always busy Lake Ingalls trailhead by 10 AM under a partially cloudy sky. Before long I was hiking past a mountain goat and climbing around the shoreline of Lake Ingalls, looking forward to the solitude I was certain to find on the other side of Stuart Pass. When I got to Stuart Pass I was surprised to see a forest fire on the eastern side of the Jack Creek valley. The fire didn't look too big from where I was and the wind appeared to be pushing it up the eastern side of the valley. I studied my map and figured out that the Jack Creek trail was on the opposite side of the river from the fire. Since the fire appeared to be moving away from my intended location and since I would be down in the wetter valley bottom by the time I was close to the fire I thought I could skirt past the fire. I have to admit I have also always wanted to see a forest fire from a relatively close, but safe position.

So I took off down the Jack Creek valley and in less than 1/2 an hour was hiking down valley under the constant thump thump thump of firefighting helicopters. As far as I could tell the helicopters were just observing and evaluating the fire. After reading a WTA report I later realized that they were probably setting up for a parachute hot-shot team. Fortunately, when I got closer to the fire it was obvious I would have no trouble skirting the fire since I couldn't even smell smoke. The wind was so powerful it was pushing all the smoke up the other side of the valley even though I came within an estimated 1/8 mile of the fire. It was cool watching several trees torching but I didn't stick around long since I had a sneaking suspicion that the flying cavalry wouldn't look to kindly on hikers in their war zone.

After another 1/2 hour or so of hiking through an eerily quiet forest I found the junction with the Meadow Creek trail and soon thereafter I forded Jack Creek. It was here that I used up the last of my water purification. I guess that with all the hiking I have been doing I forgot to check my supplies. Oh, well! I hoped the rest of the hike would be around relatively clean water sources.

Ever since Stuart Pass the trail had been becoming brushier and less well-maintained. When I soon turned onto the steep Snowall / Cradle trail I realized this trail had received very little use, let alone maintenance. At 6:30 PM I finally topped out at the Cradle Lake basin just as the clouds rolled in and it started to rain. I was happy to have the lake all to myself but was not really thrilled with the cold rain and wind which stuck around for most of the night. Suffice to say I didn't get to stare at the moon and contemplate life at the edge of an alpine lake. But at least my tarptent didn't blow over and I didn't get drenched in the rain!

The weather was still cold overcast and windy on Sunday morning but I figured I might as well see if anyone was hiding in the lake. So I setup my clunky beat-up fly rod and made a few poor casts. I think I got one strike before packing up to leave, but that could have just been a wind-driven whitecap sinking my fly! A quick climb to a small pass allowed my fingers to thaw-out.

From here I left the main Snowall / Cradle trail and followed an obvious path with lots of elk footprints to another ridgeline overlooking the Meadow Creek valley, just as my map indicated I should. And then the trail completely disappeared! I searched high and low and could not find a trail. So I started out going cross-country down the 2,000 foot high hillside. About halfway down I found the other hikers on the hillside: two elk and two deer grazing side by side. Scrambling down wet heather and through chest high slide alder reminded me why trailwork is so important.

Finally at the bottom of the valley I found the Meadow Creek trail again, except at this point in the valley the trail was little more than a game trail through swampy head-height slide alder. There were no blazes and in some areas the only sign of the trail was a single set of footprints with a corresponding flattening of the bushes. At this point I knew that I had virtually no chance of finding the Solomon Creek trail but I pressed on, committed to doing a loop, rather than returning via Saturday's route.

Eventually I dropped down into the French Creek valley and came to a junction with the French Creek trail. The remains of a collapsed wood cabin/shelter were located at the junction. I immediately took a left and headed up the hillside toward Sprite Lake and Paddy-Go-Easy Pass. After a bit of steep hiking I found myself above Sprite Lake at a pass where an old mine was located. Once again I could not find a trail going down the other side. I went down a bit and found large rock fields and potential steep cross-country travel. Due to my experiences that morning I decided to choose the trail more heavily traveled. I backtracked and went north along the ridge until I found Paddy-Go-Easy Pass and then immediately dropped down into the Cle Elum River drainage (toward Tucquala Lake). Because of my reluctance to travel cross-country I would need to descend 3 miles, then hike the Forest Service road about a mile to the Scatter Creek trailhead, and then hike something like 3 to 4 miles up Scatter Creek to attain another pass. Since it was already 2:30 PM I nearly started running!

By 4:15 PM I was briskly hiking up the south Scatter Creek trail hoping that I could find the trail at the pass or figure out a route to get to Lake Ann. I was familiar with the trail from Lake Ann to the trailhead so I was certain that once there I could put my legs on autopilot. As soon as I started to enter the alpine meadows the trail began to disappear below heavy vegetation and windfall. By paying careful attention to rare blazes, cairns and trampled vegetation I was able to work my way through the meadows and even across a huge avalanche debris field. Finally I scrambled up to a pass at 6:30 PM and looked down the other side into the Meadow Creek and Jack Creek valleys. Again, there was no obvious trail. Somehow I still needed to get around a couple of large mountains, one of which was Ingalls Peak.

In retrospect, this is the exact point where clear critical thinking is most important in an adventure of this sort. My body was tired, my mind a bit frazzled and my map was not detailed enough to lead me confidently in the correct direction. So I guessed which direction to go around a peak and hoped that I would be able to find climbable ground. My guess worked out but it turned out I misjudged my location by at least a couple of miles which further added to my confusion later that evening. Around 7:30 PM I found myself on top of another pass between two rocky peaks looking down into an unknown valley with no apparent trails. At least I could see a dirt road in the bottom of the valley, several miles from where I stood, but as the wind whipped over the ridge and the sun fell behind the western peaks I knew that I had a long night ahead.

I dropped into a beautiful little cirque and started heading in the direction which I guessed might put me near the Lake Ann trail. I was tempted to settle down for the night in the trees below the cirque, but I knew that I didn't have a lot of food, my tent and part of my sleeping bag were already soaked and if I didn't return soon I might be reported missing. Eventually I found a thin trail with blazes. I later discovered I had found the County Line trail, an old and very long trail which crosses many passes in the area. At 9PM just as it was getting dark, I finally found Van Epps Pass and was able to delineate exactly where I was on the map. From here I had a relatively uneventful 7 mile hike back to the trailhead in the dark. I got home at 3 AM and made my best and last plan for the weekend: to call in late for work on Monday morning.

Trail Conditions:
Ingalls Lake - clear, good condition
Jack Creek - some minor windfall, lost trail in swampy meadows
Snowall/Cradle - brushy areas
Meadow Creek - extremely brushy in spots, some windfall, lost trail in swamp meadows
French Creek - windfall, relatively good tread
Paddy-Go-Easy Pass - clear, relatively good condition
South Scatter Creek - extremely brushy in meadows, no tread in many areas, significant avalanche and windfall debris
County Line - very thin trail with no tread in meadows, windfall, disapears in alpine areas
Lake Ann / Esmeralda Basin - clear, good condition, water on some portions of trail

Sun, Saltwater and Semi-Solitude

2008-07-14T20:58:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I was lucky enough to do a bit of bluewater cruising. That description might be a bit of a stretch if you are familiar with the colloquial description of "bluewater cruising." But I was on some pretty blue saltwater cruising to an island destination. I just happened to do it without the 42 foot long two-masted schooner and I certainly wasn't gunkholing through Baja. But kayaking across Bellingham Bay to a sweet campsite on Lummi Island came close enough this time!

On Saturday I set out to make the longest open-water crossing which I have ever tried. At first I wasn't even sure how far it was since both my map and my guidebook don't show the route I intended on taking. But once I got out the GPS and entered some coordinates for my destination I figured out the crossing from Marine Park to Lummi was at least 5.6 miles. I have to admit this made me very nervous. The longest crossing I had ever done before was probably 3 miles or so. I know that I can just as easily flip over my kayaking and succumb to hypothermia 100 yards from shore as 3 miles. But the farther out I go, the more I feel exposed. Oh, and of course the more likely it is that there will be huge wind-driven waves!

The trip out to the island was relatively uneventful if not extraordinarily beautiful. There was just enough breeze to cool me. Not enough to build any big waves. The absolutely blue sky melted into the slightly darker blue bay-waters. Fish were jumping and I was smiling:-)

When I got to Lummi Island I found the old DNR campsite deserted. I had the pick of all the camps!! So of course I found my favorite spot with arguably the best view and made myself at home. Although later on some power boaters took up a spot at another campsite, I felt like I had the place to myself. I never even saw the power-boaters.

I satisfied my inner geek by breaking out the GPS and kayaking to a geocache location on a nearby beach. I was actually surprised when I immediately found the geocache. I think I may have been the first to find it in nearly a year!

I spent the evening watching the water turn different shades of blue.

On Sunday morning I was woken up by the tent trying to catch flight. A stiff wind built-up all night long until most of the bay was covered with breaking seas. The wind and sea conditions close to shore appeared to be doable based upon my previous experience, but I was pretty worried about how bad the conditions were over a mile from shore. So I decided to be cautious and abandoned returning the way I came. Instead I kayaking north along the shoreline, crossed the relatively narrow Hale Passage and landed at Gooseberry Point. Fortunately, my dad was able to drive over pick-up me and my kayak and give me a ride back to my car. I think this probably worked out better than testing out how long I can tread water and fight off hypothermia in the middle of Bellingham Bay!

Summer Has Finally Arrived!!

2008-06-30T14:12:00.000-07:00

This last weekend I went on my first backpacking trip of the summer season and boy was it a scorcher! Summer has finally arrived with a vengeance with 80's in the mountains and 90's in the lowlands.

It was time again for my annual perambulation through the Enchantment Lakes area near Leavenworth,WA. This year I got to share this place, one of my favorites, with three Enchantments rookies, Jim, Jessica and Alison. I know I had a great time on the hike and I think it was primarily due to the company. All three of these hikers had a pretty great attitude and seemed to really enjoy the Enchantments.

We started out on Friday at the Stuart Lake trailhead and headed straight up through a cloud of mosquitos to Colchuck Lake. Unfortunately, Jessica was not feeling well and became quite dehydrated during the day so we made a group decision to postpone the hike over Asgard pass until Saturday. We stopped at emerald Colchuck Lake hoping that Jessica would feel better on Saturday and that we would be able to escape from the mosquitos in the colder Enchantments. While everyone else settled into a camp in the boulders below Colchuck Peak I decided to burn some more energy and try for the summit of Colchuck Peak.

I remembered the last time I had climbed Colchuck I had been a relative neophyte to steep snow/ice walking and had been very grateful to have the comfort of crampons for the climb up the glacier. So this time I was a bit skeptical about how easy and safe it would be to hike it without crampons. After starting out at 4:45 PM I was surprised to find myself on the very top at 6:15 PM. The snowfield/glacier had been a relatively easy walk due to the fact that the top 3 or 4 inches was a bit slushy and some previous groups had left nice steps. The view from the top was spectacular especially since I could see all the WA state volcanoes except for Mt. St. Helens! The summit smelled a bit like a barnyard but I guess that is the price you pay for having the ubiquitous mountain goats in the mountains, where they belong.

On Friday evening Jim, Alison and I got to spend some quality hiker bonding time sipping a hiker margarita, staring at the brilliant stars and bs-ing about politics, theology and science, among other things. BTW, before this hike I did not know any of my hiking partners, although I had met Jim briefly on a Mountaineers hike a few weeks before. As far as I can tell Jim is a very entertaining professional conversationalist who should probably be on Jeopardy, Alison is a relatively hip young scientist who just happens to be a bit gullible and Jessica is someone who is committed to challenging herself.

On Saturday we struggled up the mighty Asgard Pass and entered the heavenly Enchantment Lakes Basin. Thankfully Alison and Jim were able to help out with carrying gear and hiking with Jessica so that we could all make it to the high point of the hike. Then we moseyed through the upper Enchantments before Jim, Alison and I dropped packs and headed for the summit of Little Annapurna. On top we were treated to the a spectacular view of a large portion of the Washington Cascades and the vertigo which comes from looking over the steep side of the peak. On the way up the mountain Alison got a quick lesson in ice axe self arrest and by the time we came down, I think she had nearly mastered the most important part of any climbing technique: confidence. We had no significant falls and I have a feeling that this was due more to the soft and quickly melting snow then our climbing technique. After the climbing we scrambled down to my favorite camp spot at Lake Viviane to settle in for another perfectly clear night of backcountry stargazing and sleeping.

After sleeping in on Sunday morning, we took our time wandering down the Snow Creek valley to the Snow Creek trailhead. Fortunately, we all survived without suffering from heat stroke.

During the weekend I did a few minutes of fishing at Snow Lakes and very little at Lake Viviane and Colchuck. I ended up getting skunked, partially due to the fact that there was still snow on Lake Viviane! But mostly due to my impatience, broken gear and poor fishing skills. Nonetheless, I enjoyed my time fishing on these beautiful crystal clear lakes.

I can't wait to go back!!

Free Thoughts (no pennies required)

2008-06-03T21:30:00.000-07:00

Today was Damon's birthday. I find it particularly weird that I often have trouble remembering some of my brother's and sister's birthdays, but June 3rd, my dead brother's birthday is easily remembered. Maybe it has to do with that one June 3rd when we were kids and my brother Micah was in the hospital with pneumonia. I remember how I didn't really know what to feel on that day since I was worried about my sick brother. But at the same time I was wondering, how does Damon, my other brother, feel? His birthday is today and everyone is too busy and too worried to really celebrate his birthday. I think we actually did do the whole presents and cake thing but I don't remember much about that. What stands out is that just as Micah was starting to recover and our Dad had just returned to his job which was over 150 miles away, my dad's dad died.

I could be mis-remembering the exact timeline or minor details. But I definitely remember the strange sense of dread I felt at that time. When the whole world seems to start falling apart it can be extremely unnerving, especially for a kid. Prior to this time I believed my parents and other grown-ups could make everything ok. Doctors could always solve a problem. My dad could fix the problem like he fixed the car. God wouldn't allow terrible things to happen to you if you were good. The very idea that we are all mortal, that we live in a wild and crazy world where everything is not always fair, that good guys don't always win and that a birthday present may not make you feel better, was, and sometimes still is, shocking.

Of course I am old enough to know better. I have hit the potholes in life and been totally washed clean of my childhood naivete. It really is not so much that bad things can happen, but that they sometimes happen to good people doing all the right things at all the right times. The idea that at the core of all things chance might be the determining factor is overwhelmingly depressing. It is much easier to live day to day if you allow for the delusion or illusion that someone somewhere is in charge and they are looking out for you and your world. Whether it be karma, fate, God, or a bit of optimistic thinking, sometimes you've just gotta believe it will all work out. Today, I believe.

Hope is more than a four letter word

2008-04-09T12:56:00.000-07:00

The other day, while biking to work during a cold and miserable rainstorm, I was jolted out of my funk by a simple but inspiring bumper sticker. It read "Got Hope?" Of course I know that the purpose of this message has to do with a certain political campaign, but to me, at least on that day, 'got hope' resonated as much more than a slick marketing campaign. I realized just how important hope is to my overall outlook on life, and it has little if anything to do with the current presidential campaign.

If you can't hope for a better, happier, more fulfilling future life, than your present life can sometimes seem boring, dull and pointless. That doesn't mean your, or in this case, my present life is all bad. Sometimes it just seems a bit uninspiring.

In the past, a lot of my hopes and dreams hinged on running goals and far-out ultra-running dreams. Since my right knee seems to be on the quick path to retirement I have had a hard time hoping for better running days. So I am trying to concentrate on other hopes and goals.

I am starting to plan a vacation to Nepal so that I can hike around Annapurna in October. In addition, I am starting to wonder if my knee will let me take a few long epic hikes this summer.

Hope can do amazing things to your outlook. Here's to hoping that you've got Hope! It is far better than milk and less likely to give you gas.

2nd Time is the Charm

2008-02-26T10:57:00.000-08:00

Last year I became a real blog post slacker. This year I am trying to do better but actually doing even worse! I always want to post about the fun stuff I do right after it happens, but then I get caught up in everything else and forget about it until I sit down at the computer with some free time. By then I usually have a hard time remembering what I wanted to post about. Guess I need to start posting from a fancy mobile device with speech recognition. Then I could do the post while driving home from a weekend adventure!

Anyway . . . The subject of this post is my second trip to Cal's cabin this winter. I am truly blessed to have been able to visit the cabin twice this winter. And both times I had a blast! The first time the snow was fresh and gnarly. The second time the weather was awesome and the food was exceptional. Of course the company on both trips was superb.

On the weekend of Feb. 16-17 I visited the cabin for part of the holiday weekend and hung out with Calvin, Kristen, Belinda, Bruce and Kat. They all were smart enough to plan for a three day trip. Whereas I had to be back to work on monday, so missed a 3rd glorious day:( Belinda, Bruce and Kat were friends of Cal and Kristen's from Mt. Vernon.

I skied in by myself on Saturday, got the cabin setup, and skied up the hill north/east of Little Boulder Creek. Although the snow had a pretty nasty wind/freeze crust the sky was virtually cloud free and the daytime temperature must have been near 50 degrees. I had a great time skinning up the hill, following animal tracks, and checking out the views of the valley. At the top I had a great view toward the Mt. Cashmere and Mt. Stuart area but couldn't pick out any known peaks in that direction. Guess I wasn't high enough! I could see Mt. Daniel further up the valley and another peak, Granite or Trico (?), with sled high-marks on a damn near 40 degree slope. I find it slightly comforting to know that natural selection is still at work in the human population! I skied back down to the cabin, trying to stay off of the most wind-laden avalanche prone slopes.

Everyone else finally made it to the cabin, just in time for a great dinner prepared by Calvin and Kristen. Afterwards the wine and conversation flowed freely. Unfortunately for me I had brought enough alcohol for two nights instead of one. So I ended up drinking too much and belligerently arguing social science, conservation and land use with Kat, Belinda and Kristen (three conservation professionals). At least Kristen and Calvin are used to my penchant to play devils advocate. But I am certain I put on a sorry and somewhat scary show for poor Kat, Belinda, and Bruce. I hope they had as much fun as I did!

Sunday dawned just as clear and glorious as Saturday. But my hangover tempered my enjoyment of the beautiful morning. Thank goodness everyone else seemed to be in no hurry to hit the slopes. We spent the entire morning and part of the afternoon just eating, napping, talking, reading and playing card games. Around 2 pm when we were getting ready to do some xc shred'n the cabin just started shaking violently for about 5-10 seconds. I had just enough time to wonder: is this an earthquake and what should I do, before the shaking ceased. We looked outside to find that the entire roof snow load had split and slid off the roof leaving huge snow slabs on two sides of the cabin. This was a new one for me, and I think everyone else involved. It am sure glad I wasn't standing outside below the roof overhang, taking a leak when the roof decided to let loose!

All of us except for Kristen went on a little ski trip down in the valley. We toured around the Cle Elum River, checked out some frozen ice by the river, followed a bearprint trail, met some people at a cool yurt and enjoyed the sunshine. By the time we returned it was time for me to leave. So I packed up and had a relatively uneventful but very serene nighttime ski out to the car.

Thanks to my friends Cal and Kristen for organizing such a fun weekend. I had a fabulous time meeting Belinda, Bruce and Kat and enjoying the cabin, once again.

Keep on Digging

2008-02-06T13:41:00.000-08:00

According to some people, too much snow can be a bad thing, and it nearly was for our planned trip into the mountains last weekend. Fortunately, the highways opened just in time and the people who went on the trip were a hardy group, willing to literally crawl on hands and knees to get to my friend Calvin's cabin. This year the group consisted of Lena, Aaron, Chris, Cindy and I; a big improvement over last year's group: me, myself and I. Personally I had a blast going to the cabin and getting to hang out with some great people. The icing on the cake was taking a few downhill runs through near bottomless powder on the slopes near the cabin!

This year's trip definitely required some work though, especially for those on skinny skis. Both Lena and Chris were reduced to postholeing and crawling through waist high powder for the 1/4 mile between the cabin and the snowmobile track. Lena made it to the cabin but only after an hour of crawling up the hill. Fortunately ultra-man Chris was too tough to give up and hand over his pack to me or Cindy (it looked like he brought the kitchen sink!). Cindy didn't exactly have it easy on her skinny skis either. Once we were at the cabin, Aaron and I had to do quite a bit of digging in order to get to the well and the outhouse. At one point I was virtually swimming mid-chest high through powder trying to get to the cabin front door. I have never seen so much snow at the cabin!

The trip almost became a bust even before it started, since Snoqualmie pass had been closed for several days due to high avalanche danger. On the morning of our trip, only a couple of hours before we were to drive over the pass, WSDOT opened the pass to vehicular traffic. Chris and Cindy actually ended up getting detoured around the pass when returning home on Sunday, still due to avalanche danger. I wonder when WSDOT is going to learn how to keep highways open during the winter. Maybe they should get some lessons in mountain highway design and avalanche control from Colorado or Utah?

Thanks to everyone's back-breaking labor getting to the cabin, we had enough food for several days, even though we were only there for two. So a good portion of the trip was spent eating up all the food and hanging out in the warm cabin; just what the cabin was meant for. On Saturday afternoon and Sunday mid-day Aaron and I made a few trips up the hill behind the cabin and skied down through knee high powder.

Like usual, the trip was far too short and we all skied out on Super Bowl sunday, in order to get back to civ before monday. An added bonus was that very few sledders were on the trails for the whole weekend. I'm guessing the pass closure and Super Bowl kept most of the sledders away. So the ski back was relatively quiet. Just the way it should be in a snowy winter wonderland.

I Smell Gooood!

2008-01-12T15:20:00.000-08:00

Thank goodness! I finally finished replacing my bathtub and tiling my shower. Glad that headache is done and now I can get back to smelling civilized! I definitely noticed a lowering of hygiene standards since I started the project in late October. No wonder most people feel the need to have more than one bathroom!

A final picture of my handiwork is shown above. Fortunately, you can't see the mistakes. Unfortunately I will forever be able to see the mistakes. I guess this is one reason why many people choose to have someone else do their tiling!

It is 3:30 right now and I am thinking about those crazy ultrarunners who have just begun the Bridle Trails 50K. Good luck to all my run'n friends.

Looks like it may be a fast race since it is not raining and nowhere close to as cold as it was two years ago. Wish I was running:( Maybe I will stop by for the final laps in the dark, if just to feel some of the excitement. It is no picnic watching an ultra, or a marathon for that matter, and it usually isn't too exciting either. But sometimes it can be downright inspiring to watch others commit to such a serious challenge. Live it or lose it.

The Eighth Wonder of the World

2007-12-13T13:04:00.000-08:00

It is weird how when I start on a project it always becomes a massive undertaking. Oftentimes it overwhelms all other aspects of my life. In the case of my most recent project, the bathtub replacement, this is more true than ever! Recently I have started to wonder if I am building the 8th Wonder of the World.

All I did was set out to replace my bathtub and re-tile the shower, at the beginning of November, and now I am wondering if I should take time off work (my real job) in order to finish my project. For certain the project is taking longer than it probably should. But for the most part this is just due to the fact that I don't know what the $&@! I am doing most of the time! It may also be due to the fact that I decided I had to tile the ceiling and the skylight above the tub. Why you might ask? . . .
Probably just plain stupidity! At the time I reasoned that water vapor will damage the drywall in the skylight (like it did previously). Now I think, who cares??

Anyway, due to my poor judgment I got to macgyver a couple of platforms to work above the tub and plan out a series of steps to complete the project. Here is the 2nd and more difficult platform below. I will have to remove the platform and tile at the platform connection point after the rest of the project is complete.

Fortunately, I think I am nearing the halfway done stage (2 walls have been tiled). I just hope that I don't make a mistake and have to re-do something. Things I have learned so far:

1. Don't try tiling on a totally crooked, out of plumb, wall.
2. Keep it simple. Don't tile ceilings, outside corners or the neighbor's dog.
3. Pay a buck more for Hardiboard instead of Wonderboard. The Wonderboard makes you wonder how much extra work you will need to do to fill and sand all the screw holes and damaged spots.
4. Don't worry so much about the small defects. They might just add character!

Here is the old tub:

Someday I will get to run again!!

2007-11-10T12:53:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I had quite an adventure on my road (or trail) to recovery. I went in for arthroscopic surgery on my right knee! Technically a part of the surgery might also have been considered a chondroplasty since some loose and folded cartilage was removed.

Now that it is done I think that I am glad that I did it. I was worried at first that the doctor wouldn't really find anything to repair and that I'd be stuck with a big bill and nothing to show for it. But now I am a little more confident that I will someday get to run over hills and dales enjoying some of my favorite long trail runs. I can't wait to get out and try my new bionic leg (not really bionic, but hopefully improved). Life without running is tough.

Since this was my first surgery and my most major medical procedure it was quite an experience. I highly recommend it, NOT! Well I have to admit it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been, you know if I had been one of those rare 'died of surgical complications' cases. But it had its exciting moments like when I experienced what the nurse referred to as the Vasovagal response (Syncope). After checking wiki I see that I was just close to fainting but it was sure a strange sensation. I understand that it was just an automatic response which my body created to the panic of having the IV hooked up and knowing that I was going in for surgery. It may also have to do with what is commonly referred to as a flight or fight response. Of course I couldn't really flee the room so I ended up nearly fainting instead. This was a new one for me as it began as soon as she inserted the needle and told me that I would feel a sense of cold from the antibiotic. Instead I started feeling lightheaded, dizzy and I started sweating profusely. She attached the heart rate monitor and found that I had a HR of 30 bpm which even for me is really low! I am making a much bigger deal out of this than I should since it was just a near fainting episode, but it sure was a trip being that it was the first time.

I missed the other excitement of the day since I was anesthetized for the procedure but from what the nurse said afterwards, I can only imagine that there was a little excitement in the operating room. She said that I was a little rambunctious in my sleep and tried fighting my way off the operating table. That is just plain weird! I remember having some strange dream but I don't remember anything about it. I guess I am subconsciously not so fond of surgery! She also told me that under anesthesia I developed a irregular and/or slow heart rhythm and had to be given atropine (like adrenaline) in order to stabilize my heart. On a side note I just learned about the 'death rattle' on wikipedia. I'd never heard of this but it is very interesting! Anyway, at least according to the doctor the surgery went well and my knee injury may have been repaired. Now I just can't wait to take it for a test ride (run)!

I usually wouldn't open up like this on the internet (literally), but since I have got the pictures why not show them! Attached are some of the photos from inside my knee!! Personally I think it is a pretty good looking knee joint if I do say so myself. What did one knee joint say to the other knee joint? I don't really know but there has gotta be a funny answer to that one.

Super-thanks also have to go out to my friends Ana, Keith and Eli who were nice enough to care for me after the surgery. Just wish I could have had a celebratory beer!

>218 Miles of Pure Beauty

2007-09-18T17:28:00.000-07:00

So I am back from the JMT and I'm not quite sure where to begin. The trip was incredibly fun and challenging and the places I went were very very special. I don't really think I can convey how insanely beautiful and wild the JMT was and I definitely can't explain how that place changed me so I will just mention a few things here and post some of my favorite photos.

I hiked the entire trail North to South including a side trip to Half-Dome and the hike down from Mt. Whitney in less than 10 days. I planned for 12 days so I actually skipped my last re-supply because I really didn't want to hike out to pick it up. A hike out would have interrupted my hiking rhythm which was extremely satisfying. Everyday I woke up at the true crack of dawn or just before, ate a little bit of food and started walking. Nearly the entire day was spent walking. Just walking, thinking and checking out every single view from the trail. The trail rises from something like 4000 foot elevation in Yosemite to 14,496 foot Mt. Whitney and between the two ends it crosses 10 passes. So everyday I would get to see a good amount of the flora and fauna from the lower elevations, the valleys, to the upper and most austere elevations, the passes. There was extreme beauty and pristine wildness in both places and everywhere in between. The valleys seemed to be overflowing with life; huge meadows with absolutely clear streams divided by seemingly endless forests which showed no signs of man-made management. In most places the forests consisted of several different tree species with a wide variety of undergrowth. Although I never saw a bear I did see many deer, including some very large racks and one trickster (coyote). The forests would thin and become more gnarled as I climbed throughout the day, until I entered what was often a moonscape like area full of high alpine lakes surrounded by miles of granitic peaks.

Except for two afternoons when thunderstorms shook the nearby peaks I had absolutely beautiful clear blue skies throughout my trip. I am guessing the temperature ranged from the 30's at night to the high 80's in the hot and dry sections of the trail with a couple of nights on the high passes where the temps fell below freezing.

Caught this trickster checking out a camping area near Red Cone (click for large view).
I think one of my favorite places during the entire trip was crossing Muir Pass on day 6. The climb to the pass was not steep but it just seemed to flow on for miles, starting in the absolutely stunning McClure Meadows, winding around several sapphire lakes and a moonscape of boulders to end at the Muir Pass shelter, located directly on top of the pass. The Muir shelter, which is a circular stone building with a weather-beaten but sturdy wood door seemed to fit so seamlessly and perfectly into it's place, I almost wished that I could have been stranded there in a storm. It's purpose is to provide emergency shelter to high-country hikers and to commemorate Mr. Muir, but that place seemed more like a temple than any other place I have ever been. Many people had written small notes and left them inside the shelter, in front of the lone window. I tried to read one of them but was overcome with sadness and couldn't continue. I quickly realized that a lot of pain was left with those notes. So I didn't even try to read the rest. What better place to leave your pain then at a temple. I think I left some of mine, because that night I slept better than ever. But I didn't write anything down.

I didn't set out to hike the trail faster than planned it just happened due to circumstances. On day 3 I realized that I only had two more dinners so I needed to get from mile 58 to 108 in two days in order to pick-up another re-supply. Then near the end of the trip I realized that I had some extra food and if I just found a bit more I could stay on the trail without having to go into town for food. So I asked for and found some food at a ranger station and received some more from an overloaded hiker.

I was extremely surprised at how lonesome the trail was in September. Except for at the two ends of the hike as well as near Muir Pass and in the Rae Lakes Basin, I rarely saw anyone and that was nice. The solitude I found in Tully's Hole and on top of Mather Pass really made the trip seem like an adventure.

I met and hiked with a guy named Forest near the end of the trip. Forest had hiked all the way from Donner Pass, over 400 miles, and ended on the same day I did at Mt. Whitney. He also happens to be from Leavenworth, WA and is a pretty quick lightweight hiker! Hopefully we will meet up again sometime for a hike in the Cascades.

The trip home from the trail was relatively uneventful except for the fact that I received a great hitch from a guy named Ed from Santa Barbara. The trip to get to the trail was awesome since I got to visit my friend Lora in Lafayette. Thanks for all your help Lora. Without it I may never have made it to Yosemite!

I learned quite a few things on the trail, a couple of them being:

I have learned to be realistic when thinking about hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. This means that I am not so convinced that the PCT is for me. It would be really HARD!

I want to do some more long hikes in extremely wild and rad places. I'm just not sure where yet!

I think that if every high schooler in the nation did a hike like the JMT, in 10 years we would have a country full of conservationists and true patriots. If you don't know anything about the land in which you live and the true freedom you may enjoy (if you so choose) your not likely to defend it or conserve it.

I am glad to be back and hoping that I will be able to start running again soon!?!

I did small videos for each day of the trip. I can't put all of them up here. So here is the final one, done on top of Mt. Whitney:

Emptying My Mind

2007-08-29T10:53:00.000-07:00

Almost everything has been packed, shipped, photocopied, and readied for my trip to hike the John Muir Trail, which begins on Saturday. And just now I am starting to wonder if I have mentally prepared myself adequately. I know it is just a hike. I am not going to the moon, hiking the length or breadth of a country, or exploring unknown or completely unpopulated country. But I have a feeling that my mind and my conceptions are likely going to be changed drastically by this experience. It will be a physical, mental and possibly spiritual challenge. Just as I was pondering this in the last week I came upon my horoscope which seemed extremely prescient:

While I was out in the California wilderness doing a vision quest, I came upon a painting in a cave that I immediately sensed was an oracle for the current state of your life. In the painting, there was a hunter who had dropped his bow and arrow on the ground. He appeared to be dancing inside a circle of eagles. The birds were also at ground level and had their wings spread, as if dancing with the hunter. I encourage you to come up with your own interpretations of this oracle, but here's how I see it: You need to commune with wilderness in a way you never before imagined. The best way to proceed is to empty your mind of all the thoughts about what you can get out of the experience, and instead cultivate the free-wheeling, no-expectations attitude that comes when you're dancing uninhibitedly.

Now I am not a big believer in astrology or vision quests and I only read the horoscope on the rare occasion that I browse through The Stranger and come to the last page with the horoscopes. That being said I've gotta wonder if this 'advisor' might just be on to something. Either way, the advice seems sound. So I have begun trying to empty my mind of expectations and prepare myself to live in the moment.

This non-planning might actually be the hardest part of the journey. I have spent countless hours already planning out every detail of this trip, including dehydrating foods, mixing and making freezer-bag meals, creating miniature maps, emailing trail forums, buying gear, getting permits, sending food packages and on and on. Can I do an 11-12 day 220 mile hike in the California wilderness without constantly rationing my energy, strength, time and food. Can I free my mind from constant worrying about whether or not me knee will hold-up, obsessing about getting from point A to point B, cooking dinner #1 or #2, hiking for 3 or 4 hours between breaks, etc. When I step onto the trail, will I be able to free myself from the future and enjoy my present. I sincerely hope so because in fact, this is a major reason why I will set out on this journey. One word seems to encompass my primary goal: Freedom.

So I will try. I will empty my mind, put my feet on the trail, and start walking. Life doesn't get much better than that.

By the way; That free-thinker at the top of the page, is John Muir.

Props to CC100 Runners

2007-08-27T11:31:00.000-07:00

On saturday afternoon I finished up all my errands and chores early and was a little bored so I decided to try and watch a bit of the Cascade Crest 100 mile race. I was hoping that if I timed it right I might be able to see some of my friends in the race. The trouble was that I wasn't totally sure of the course directions and I also wasn't sure how fast most people would be running. So I made an educated guess and decided to hike the Twin Lakes trail to the PCT then continue south to see who I would run into. The other smaller problem was that it was raining off and on and daylight was fading fast.

I hiked up a truly steep and overgrown trail a couple or three miles to get to the PCT just aways south of Olallie Meadows. Then I hiked to Yakima Pass/Twilight Lake before stopping to eat dinner and wait for the runners. About 20 minutes later the first place runner came running by and sarcastically commented on the stellar conditions (wet , dark and slightly windy). Twenty cold minutes later the 2nd place runner ran by and appeared somewhat surprised to see a fan so far out on the course! I stuck around for awhile longer watching the first 8 to 10 runners pass, including the first place woman, but it was getting dark and nasty so I started back. I ended up seeing a couple more runners before leaving the PCT but didn't get a chance to see most of the pack. The only person I saw who I knew by name was Ralph Pooler, who recognized me and said hi. There is Ralph (below) with his head down.

I hiked out in a truly miserable cold rain just as it became pitch black under the forest canopy. It was obvious to me that with approximately 60 miles of cold and wet running to go, all the runners were going to have a rough night. Based upon the results some people appear to have had amazing races, despite the rainy weather. Congrats to Arthur, Alison, Shawn, Van, Wendy, Eric, Glenn and everyone else!

On Sunday I went kayaking and saw this sunken upside-boat. I wish I knew more about the boat and why it sunk. But I don't. Someone probably just neglected to take care of the boat and left it tied to the mooring buoy when it should have been repaired. Just thought it was cool to see the bottom of a boat sticking up out of the water!

Bluegrass + Friends = Friendgrass

2007-08-20T09:09:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been a little bit obsessed with my planning for my upcoming vacation and worrying about my knee injury. Unfortunately this has even carried over to my blog, where my posts have been truly self-obsessed. I was recently reminded of this by a couple of friends, Cindy and Chris (C & C), who felt left out of my post on the 2nd White River training run. Ok, so here is my addendum to that post: I ran into a couple of friends pushing their bikes up the road to Suntop during the run, Chris and Cindy. They appeared to be tiring of the hill already and were wondering how much farther it was to the top. I told them it was probably two to three miles (and then comes all the downhill) and that they had a lot of riding ahead of them (or bike pushing!), being that it was already around 2 pm. They asked how far I had run and I guessed that it was somewhere over 20 miles and that I was looking forward to a soak in the river, at the bottom of the hill. I left wondering, how can they be so relaxed about their recreation? Starting out after noon?? Slackers!

Last week I got to hang with some friends and see some great music. Here is a synopsis:

Wednesday: Went to an Old Crow Medicine Show concert at the Woodland Park Zoo with Ana, Chris and Cindy. I had a great time although I am regretting the fact that I didn't dance nearly as much as I should have! Thanks to Ana and Cindy we ate a delicious picnic dinner on the grass right before the show began. Ana thought Ketch Secor was making up his accent. I wondered why peaches have fuzz. We had tons of fun!

Friday: Went to Ana and Keith's for dinner with Chris, Cindy, Brielle and Beezer. The two young'ns are Eli (Ana/Keith) and Mabel (B&B). This was the first time I had met Mabel. She sure seemed feisty for a 5 week old. The burgers were great and the company was fantastic. It is too bad I don't own a teleporter so that I can visit B,B and Mabel in W2 every weekend.

I have a new camera so I am going to test putting a video of the OCMS show here (if I can ever get it to work):

Gear Test

2007-08-08T13:21:00.000-07:00

In anticipation of my upcoming John Muir Trail hike I took off last weekend (8/4 & 8/5) and tested out the ol'body and gear for the trip. I left early Saturday morning thinking I would hike deep into the Cascades on a trail originating near Leavenworth; a trail I had never been to before and one which was likely overgrown. But when I got to Leavenworth I stopped by the ranger station and found that they were just about to start the Enchantment lakes lottery drawing. So of course I couldn't resist entering. Lo and behold I was the first one drawn and was awarded a coveted permit to camp in the Enchantments. So I changed plans.

I took the Colchuk Lake / Aasgard Pass route and was strolling into the upper Enchantment Lakes basin just before noon! I can't believe how much easier this route is than hiking all the way up the Snow creek valley, like I usually do. Before I had walked even a 1/4 mile down into the basin I spotted 10 mountain goats, several of them kids. They were not all together but came in groups of 1 or 2. I've seen many goats in the Enchantments before. But there were so many at one time that I was starting to wonder if they were looping around behind me and walking by again! It was a blue sky near perfect day to wander through that wonderland of granite, sapphire lakes and twisted gnarly Larch trees. I was in heaven!

I stopped at the first lake with fish, about halfway down the basin, and started waving the ol' wand. I caught two fish on my own hand-tied Elk Hair Caddis fly within 5 minutes. Even though I broke the tip off of my fly rod on the hike in, I was still in heaven! The fish were small like usual but they fought like true cutts and were exciting to see thriving in the cold clear lakes.

I wandered over to one of my favorite lakes, Crystal Lake, hoping that I could do some fishing here and camp at one of my favorite spots. Unfortunately a large group was already there so I decided to head for the hills and a bit of seclusion. I hiked up over Prusik pass and wandered down to secluded Shield Lake.

I have explored this area before and have been wanting to camp here for a long time. Fortunately, most of the Enchantment hikers are too lazy to climb over Prusik Pass so Shield lake and the lakes below it almost never get visitors. For me, walking down into this basin is like walking into a forgotten land, a near-perfect wilderness, the garden of Eden. The trail becomes ever more overgrown, to the point where in the meadows, the trail is barely recognizable. The entire valley seems to be alive with the songs of birds, the constant thrum of bugs and the pitter-patter of fish riseing on the lake. During my stay at Shield lake I was startled on more than one occasion by a large splash on the lake. I would quickly look out over the lake to see an Osprey rising from the lake with a fish.

I wandered down to the lake and took up my spot on a point of land near the outlet stream. The outlet stream is more like a canal since it soon enters another lake further down valley. Because of the large amount of water which comes directly off the melting snows of the surrounding ridges, the valley was extremely lush this year. After catching a fish or two I camped at Shield Lake and had the entire valley and lake to myself. I was in heaven!

The stars were out that night but I setup my Tarptent since I needed to test it out and I need the practice setting it up. This time I was able to set it up well and actually got the feeling that it will work for my upcoming trip. Until I woke in the morning and noticed that the bottom part of my sleeping bag had been soaked by condensation on the inside of the low end of the tent. Because the tent is so low at the foot end of the tent my bag rubs on the ceiling thereby picking up condensation. I am not sure how I will deal with this on my trip, but I am not too worried.

On Sunday I did a bit of fishing in the morning then ambled back up out of the valley just in time to see a couple of rangers dropping into the valley. When they checked my permit I am certain that they were surprised to find that I was legal. I have to admit that I have considered visiting Shield Lake to stealth camp on many occasions. They said they usually don't patrol this valley but that they would head down valley and work cross-country to the Snow Creek drainage. They indicated that they had never tried it before. I told them how I had tried the same thing before and never found the correct route.

After leaving the rangers I stopped by Inspiration Lake and did some fishing before heading toward the car. On the way out of the Enchantments I ran (not literally) up Little Annapurna and caught some awe-inspiring views. Little Annapurna mountain really isn't nearly as grand as it's name sounds (named after the Himalayan peak) but it does have a cool summit. On it's summit a few large heavily weathered rocks project out over a couple thousand foot chasm on the south side. I like to go out and sit on the rocks where I can get the feeling that I am suspended in the air; my own little magic carpet ride. Usually after a few minutes I start to get characteristically paranoid that there will be an earthquake! If there was any sort of earthquake I am certain that I would be taking a fast trip to the bottom of the valley. The rocks on top look like they are ready to topple over at any time!

My knee injury was ever present on the hike out but it didn't slow me down and it seems to be slightly less painful/sore. All in all it was an awesome trip and it made me even more excited to take a long walk on the John Muir Trail next month!

A Return to Sanity

2007-07-26T13:04:00.000-07:00

With far more fretting, whining and worrying than I thought I was capable of, I have finally made a decision to NOT run the White River 50 mile this year.

For me at least, when I plan on doing something it starts to take on a life of its own and sometimes it is hard to put on the brakes. Momentum, energy and spirit build-up and seem to propel me along on a course I am nearly helpless to change. I find it interesting that Newton's first law seems to apply:

"An object at rest will remain at rest unless acted upon by an external and unbalanced force. An object in motion will remain in motion unless acted upon by an external and unbalanced force."

See I am a nerd. Or at least a geek! Today's physics tangent is thanks to my often-forgotten and relatively under utilized degree in physics.

Although I won't be at the race to watch or volunteer, because it will suck to watch a race I should be running, I am hoping that all my ultra-friends will have fun and do well. Good luck TC, Alison, Bruce, Shawn, Brian, Arthur, Mike, Van, Nick, Michael, Glenn and many more!!

Crazy Person Talking

2007-07-20T12:47:00.000-07:00

Before you read this just remember to say "That is a crazy person talking." In fact the only reason I am posting this is because I am amazed, in a sort of detached way, at my own irrationality. The crazy thing is that as of today, 7/20,I am still planning on running the White River 50 mile next weekend, even though my knee swelled up to the size of a small grapefruit last weekend!

Prior to last weekend's White River training runs I had been struggling with some pain/soreness in my right knee. I figure it might be tendinitis or something similar as a result of that twisting injury I had in February (I won't bore you with details). Of course the injury has likely changed from one bad thing to another and my professional diagnosis changes everyday! Anyway, I ran 18 miles on the road last Saturday and then the 23 mile trail run on Sunday. Even before the trail run my knee was swollen and there was a bit of soreness for the first several miles of the trail run. But I was able to complete the run and take a dip in the icy White River. I was hopeing that the river would miraculously heal the problem. No luck there. On Monday my knee was sore and swollen. Gradually the swelling has gone down thanks to my friends Mr. Nsaid and Mr. Ice but it is still a little sore 4.5 days later even though I haven't run at all! I may not even run a step up until the race since running isn't going to help for this injury (Craziness!!) Everything about this injury is screaming at me don't run.

That said, I am unwilling to cancel my plans to run the White River race. To be perfectly honest, I just don't want to miss out (there it is FOMO, again) on an awesome race, like I did for all my races last summer. I am starting to think that in order to run ultras I may just need to run with some injuries and hope for the best, because I am just to damn stubborn to quit. I figure I'll quit when the winter rains come and it is light outside for only 6 hours a day. So that is it! Enough of the bellyaching . . .or kneeaching!

It is gonna be awesome to see my running friends again and the views at Corral Pass and Suntop. There will be beer at the finish to dull the pain and swell the ego. It is going to be Legendary!

P.S.: I am not really sure why I was scowling in that photo? I can only guess it was because I was nearing the top of Suntop and tired of the uphill grind! (Thanks to Glen for the photo)

Idealists Unite

2007-07-06T08:27:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I had the opportunity to meet and hike with Andrew Skurka who is currently attempting to complete the first ever "Great Western Loop". The loop is one of his own creation and it basically encircles the entire western portion of the contiguous U.S. He started at Grandview Point at the Grand Canyon, headed west to the Sierras, and headed north on the PCT until getting here to Washington. Soon he will head east on the Pacific Northwest Trail until meeting the Continental Divide Trail. He will go south on the CDT until reaching the Arizona Grand Enchantment trail and complete the loop at the Grand Canyon. You can check it out here: Andrew Skurka: Enlightened Outdoor Adventurer

Meeting Andy was no easy feat since he hikes 35 to 40 miles a day and can only occasionally make a phone call from one of his mail pick-ups. About 4 days before we met he called me from Cascade Locks. He had just arrived at the border between Oregon and Washington at the Columbia river and was set to leave on the following day. I believe the next section of the PCT from Cascade Locks to White Pass is approximately 140 miles. So I understood that he would be at White Pass on Saturday evening which would give him 4.5 days of hiking. We talked about meeting possibly the following week on the 4th of July, further north around Snoqualmie or Stevens Passes. But then I got thinking about my schedule and decided I should just try and catch him at White Pass. So I took off early on Saturday morning (June 30) thinking that I could hike south from White Pass, meet him and then hike back, north, to White Pass with him. When I arrived at White Pass at 8 AM I was pleasantly surprised to see a lone individual sorting food in an asphalt parking lot in front of a lonely service station. Andy had arrived that morning and already was preparing to hike another 35 miles north that day!

So we took off hiking and talking. I hiked for 5.5 hours with Andy and I don't think there was more than a minute or two without one of us talking. Usually I don't like to talk nearly so much when hiking but I figured that Andy was probably in dire need of some stimulating conversation. We talked thru-hiking logistics, multiple use and wise use of public lands, nutrition, forest and park fees, ultrarunning, general politics, global warming and Andy's lightweight lifestyle. I have to say I was impressed with Andy's idealism especially with regard to global warming and his idea to live on his own terms.

I hope I am not putting words in his mouth, but Andy seemed to be somewhat pissed off about how many people seem to be just waiting for life to begin. He told me that people are always coming up to him and telling him how much they would love to do what he is doing. And he just has to wonder 'So why aren't you doing it?' I have to agree that in this day and age many people are just taking up time and space, without ever resolving to do what they most want to do. But, I am not nearly as idealistic as Andy. I tried to explain that although it doesn't always seem like it, we all have basic needs like food, water and shelter. At a minimum these needs will control whether or not we take a 9 to 5 job just to pay the bills or set off to conquer a long trail, invent a new product, cure aids or help the homeless. The way I see it too many people get their needs and their wants mixed up. If you only have to satisfy your own basic needs then it can be very possible to chuck the 9 to 5 grind. Andy has already risked a lot by going out on the trail right after college, but it is starting to pay off, in the sense that he may be the only person who will be hiking for the next several months and getting paid for it. He works for and is sponsored by Golite. Idealism can be easy (or easier) when you have a steady income.

I know that personally for me, there are many goals that I have which have nothing at all to do with making a living or having a career. But that doesn't mean that I am going to leave a 9 to 5 job and devote 100% of my time to that one goal. I am trying to find ways to mix both work drudgery with my real passions. For instance, I will be hiking the John Muir Trail (220 miles) this September, but I won't be giving up my job to do it. I guess my young idealistic self has given way to an older and more realistic person.

It was a breath of fresh air to hear the views of an idealist, such as Andy. And I am glad I got to take a hike with someone who will likely change the world for the better. I am certain it takes some serious idealism to hike over 6,800 miles! Andy - Good luck and happy trails!

The Dreaded Track

2007-06-29T09:33:00.000-07:00

I am not sure why I do it, but I have forced myself, on occassion, to run to the track and do a little bit of so-called interval training. Yesterday happened to be one of those days. I usually plan these workouts early in the week so that I will have at least partly fresh legs. So this week I decided I would try the intervals again on Thursday after work. So the funny thing is all day yesterday I dreaded going to the track. I don't think it is just the pain of running hard that scares the wits out of me. It is that damn watch. Somewhere in the back of my mind I know that as I age I am losing speed and the track is where it will become glaringly obvious. An additional second on each lap portends the inevitable decline. Sometimes I think, I'd rather not know that I am becoming slower. It is not that I was fast in the first place, but at least for me, losing something I once had is so terribly bittersweet.

Anyway, I couldn't quite come up with a good enough excuse to miss the workout yesterday. So I jogged over to the track and decided to stick to the planned minimum workout 3 x 1600 meters with 3 minutes rest in between. I know this workout is not really the correct one for my training goals, but it has become the standby, at least until I feel like I am in shape.

The first 1600 was terrible. With each lap I was slowing down and by the end I came in at 6:04, feeling like I was totally spent. I know that just a couple weeks ago I did the same workout and was able to do all my intervals under 6:01 with the first one being at 6:01. Why is it that the first one is always the hardest and the slowest? I reminded myself that usually this is the case, the second is usually a little smoother and easier. So the second went by at 5:58 and that was with the headphones on. Then I did the third in 5:56 knowing full well that I would not do a fourth. On occassion I have done 4 and am certain that I need to be doing 5, but the mind was not ready to push that hard.

I ran home feeling like I had accomplished something but a little worried that two weeks ago I finished with a 5:51. There go those seconds. Oh well, I am betting a few seconds aren't going to make much difference in my next 50 mile race!

"No Respect. I don't get no respect!"

2007-06-15T09:07:00.000-07:00

Usually I don't like to speak using double negatives. Note that the title, taken from Rodney Dangerfield, does not make any sense unless he is trying to say he actually gets respect! But in this case it is truly appropriate for my story.

So yesterday I was biking home from work like usual, riding the same route I ride on average 3 or 4 times a week, when a car pulls up in the right turn lane on my right side, at a stoplight. After a few seconds I realize that the older woman in the car is trying to get my attention. She rolled down her window, then gave a thumbs up and stated matter-of-factly 'I really admire what you do.' I was blown away and a little confused at first, I guess because I didn't realize what she meant by what I do (I do alot of things). I have to assume that she meant she admired my bike commuting. I gave a thumbs up back and took off as the light turned green. As I rode away my irrepressible ego started inflating to ginormous dimensions which definately helped me get up the next 1/2 mile long hill! Then nearing the top of the long steady grind, I was just biking along in my little bike lane when I noticed a piece of garbage wing by right in front of me. It was no coincidence that I was riding by three teenagers with asses hanging out of their pants and hair covering their ears when the flying projectile just missed me and my bike. In this case I instinctively knew that one of those little $*!ts had purposefully tried to hit me with a plastic piece of garbage. In fact, as I passed them at about 15 mph I recognized a little smirk starting to grow on one of their faces. Without even a second thought or a look back I dropped my right arm and gave them an upside down one-fingered salute. By now my ego had deflated but I rode home confident that I had had the last word, so to speak, and happy that I hadn't been hit by the missile.

I find the most interesting aspect of this story to be the fact that I was absolutely confused and didn't know what to say when I got some respect. But when I was disrespected I didn't even have to think in order to respond, in kind. Maybe I have been riding on the roads too much, or living in the city for too long!!

Turn Me Over - I'm Overdone

2007-06-11T09:57:00.000-07:00

Today I woke up feeling every single day of my 34 years and then some. It is unusual for me to still feel tired when I wake up, even if I get up really early. So I'm starting to think I may have done a little too much running last weekend! But it was well worth it because I had fun!!

I started out by running about 16 or 17 miles on the roads, circling Mercer Island on Saturday morning. Then I quickly downed some food and went on a short 5 mile hike with a Mountaineers group. On Sunday I met some Seattle Running Club folks at Tiger Mtn and ran one Fat Ass loop. When we were done with that I re-loaded my water bottle and went out for some more by myself. I think I ended up with somewhere over 29 trail miles on Sunday.

I admit, I was not so sure that heading back up into the hills after the first loop was such a great idea. But then I saw a bear as I ran up the gravel road. This was the first bear I have ever seen on Tiger Mtn. and it made my day. I kinda felt sorry for the bear though because he/she was just trying to cross the gravel access road. The problem was that the regular weekend hordes of Tiger Mtn. hikers (and me, of course) were tramping up the road due to the current parking lot construction. The bear saw me and the large groups right behind me and headed back into the bushes, never making it across the road. Now Yogi was stuck between the busy I-90 freeway and the busy hiking road. I wonder how he/she came from the direction of the freeway in the first place. Maybe there is a wildlife underpass?

I'm sure the bear found a way to get where he/she wanted to go eventually, but it got me wondering . . . why do so many people go to the High Point exit for Tiger Mtn. every weekend? And why do they all just tramp up and down the most uninspiring and boring trail on the entire mountain (the trail to W. Tiger 3) when there is so much more beauty and nature in this 13,000 acre park? I know that part of the answer is that the High Point exit is the most convenient and easy access to the mountain and that W. Tiger 3 promises a peak experience and decent uphill training. It just seems so unfortunate that virtually all park visitors are so concentrated due in large part to the configuration of the trails and trailheads. What would happen if there were trailhead access points (with parking) in other places like downtown Issaquah, Issaquah-Hobart Rd, and further east on I-90? I know that there already are a couple of other access points but the parking sucks at these places and there are no facilities.

I don't have any real answers to the crowded conditions . . . but it might help if the following occurred:

1. People started hiking/running further into the park and gave up on going straight up W. Tiger 3. Go for an adventure! It looks like they are currently re-grading W. Tiger 3 into a highway. Sounds like it will soon be even less appealing than it is now!

2. People drove a little further to USFS trailheads. It wouldn't hurt if the USFS gave up on the mismanaged and unconstitional fee program so people can afford to take a walk in THEIR national forests.

One Corner of Fun - Part V

2007-05-24T08:18:00.001-07:00

Ok, I am finally going to try and finish my travelogue for the 2007 spring trip.

On April 26 I started down the Kane Gulch trail with a plan to thru-hike Kane Gulch and Grand Gulch from the Kane Gulch Ranger Station to Bullett Canyon then hike up and out Bullett Canyon. I figured I could probably hitch a ride back to the Kane Gulch Ranger station and if not I could run the road! Since I only had two days to do the trip I hiked quickly but took time to explore as many ruins as I could. And boy did I see alot of ruins! In fact, there were so many ruins in the first 15 or 16 mile day of hiking that I'm sure I missed a few of them.

The first ruin I saw and one of the most prominent was Junction Ruin which was where Kane Gulch met Grand Gulch. The Junction Ruin is a true cliff dwelling which means you better be spiderman if you want to take a close look. I wasn't about to risk life and limb to climb up to this ruin, but I had a great time imagining what life might have been like for those who perched high on the canyon wall. It was probably a good idea to have a full cup of coffee before taking a stroll to the canyon floor every morning!

Further down canyon many of the ruins were much more accessible. At the prominent ruins the BLM had left information about each of the ruins in ammo boxes. Signs of ancient life were everywhere, from scattered potsherds to pictographs and smoke stained rocks.

It was easy to see why so many people have lived in Grand Gulch for so long. The bottom of the canyon was full of life. In some places the trail was in danger of being overtaken by waist high grass. And in several sections of canyon a constant caterpillar rain pelted the trail hiker. Unfortunately for the shimmering cottonwoods, the caterpillars had invaded and were just crawling out of their nests when I walked through. The caterpillars were a nuisance and made it a little difficult to find non-creepy crawling campsites but at the same time it was amazing to see such an awakening. The plentiful caterpillars had drawn the attention of birds and bats of all sizes and shapes. When I wasn't scraping caterpillars off my head and pack I was enjoying listening to all sorts of bird songs.

When I arrived at the junction of Bullett Canyon I found where all the people were hiding. It seems that this area is a popular camping area, especially for obnoxious boy scout troups and travelling college classrooms. Even without all the people, the best campsites where limited, unless one was fond of sleeping with caterpillars. So I quickly beat it down Grand Gulch and found some camping seclusion, both from the people and the multi-legged crawlers.

My final night sleeping out in the canyons had to be one of the best of my life as the sky was completely clear, stars spinning above, bats swooping low and toads were making love. I had a little piece of red rock on which to view it all. I slept like a baby.

On Friday the 27th I wandered up Bullett Canyon stopping to visit the ruins and soaking in the best weather of the entire trip. I spent alot of time at Perfect Kiva ruin. As its name suggests this ruin was in very good shape and had an intact kiva which you could descend into on a ladder, installed by the BLM (see top photo). It was a little spooky inside of the kiva but it was easy to see how the ancient indians may have enjoyed relaxing in this cool area during the midday heat, kind of like an air-conditioned dive bar. Maybe they drank a few cervezas and played some cards!?! The interior walls were covered with a glassy substance which the ruin's literature explained was petrified rat urine! Even more appropriate for a dive bar!

I finally left the ruins and canyons behind and took to hiking the road back to the trailhead. After about a 1/2 hour of hiking the road and only seeing 2 cars, I was finally picked up by some tin-can tourists on a road tour. Two of them looked like they may have been around when the ruins were occupied and their driver explained that they did not speak English. Speaking in broken English their driver explained that he was driving the old folks around, seeing the sights from behind the glass of their air-conditioned SUV. The driver explained it is the only way that they can see this country since they are so old and frail. I felt sorry for them, but thankfully accepted their hospitality and got a ride back to my starting point. Here is my revised Bob Dylan lyrics: 'Let me die in my footsteps, before being carted around in a cool leather-lined box on wheels'.

The final part of my trip was basically just alot of work driving back to WA state. I understand that scenic driving is the number one outdoor pastime for Americans and many people could write an entire travelogue about my 1400 mile drive home, But in my opinion it truly pales in comparison to taking off on your own two feet. So I won't even attempt to write about the drive, except to say that I stopped in to seem B & B in Walla Walla and had a great time playing horseshoes!

One Corner of Fun - Part IV

2007-05-18T10:31:00.001-07:00

The wet weather took off as soon as John left but I guess his sickness stayed around. I drove down to the Grand Gulch area in preparation for starting my next backpacking trip and became dreadfully sick just as I found a place to camp. That night was a real challenge, especially considering that the temperature dropped below freezing and I was sleeping out under the stars.

In the morning I struggled to choke down a little bit of food and then decided I would try a short dayhike instead of starting a backpacking trip. So I drove to the trailhead for Fish and Owl Canyons and slowly ambled down into Owl Canyon. Throughout the day my body and mostly my spirit were buoyed up by the incredible beauty I saw down in the canyon. Immediately after starting the hike I came to the first of several ancient ruins, in an alcove below the overhanging walls. Small shards of pottery and dried maize cobs were littered all about the ruin. Although I am certain that I was a few miles from the closest person, I certainly did not feel alone in this canyon. Others had been here for a very long time and fortunately for me they seemed to welcome me to continue on down canyon.

The deeper I went into the canyon the more life seemed to spring from every little crevice and sometimes the singing of the songbirds was a little overwhelming (see hummingbird & Lizard photos). I attribute much of the life, and death in the case of this dead mouse, to the presence of water in the canyon. There was a small stream in places and several nice pools which were surrounded by hanging gardens.

I ended up wandering much further than I had anticipated, and I almost convinced myself to do the loop down Owl and up Fish Canyons. But a little reason prevailed and I chose to return the way I came, saving my energy so that I could start a backpacking trip the following day.

That night I camped at the Fish & Owl trailhead where I awoke fully recovered from my sickness. Just before settling in for the night I was pleasantly surprised to see a couple drive in with a full load of gear in their Subaru and a soaped in "Just Married" on the back window! A trip to the canyons, now that is my idea of a honeymoon!

The next morning I rushed back to the Kane Gulch ranger station gotta permit and took off down Kane Gulch - Grand Gulch for a two day backpack trip. To be continued . . .

One Corner of Fun - Part III

2007-05-11T15:12:00.000-07:00

I arrived in Moab around 8 pm and spent about 2.5 hours looking for a campsite. Note to self: Don't visit Moab anywhere near a weekend! It seems like all the visitors to SE Utah concentrate at Moab on the weekend. You'd think they would hang out elsewhere since there really isn't a plethora of great non-motorized recreation around Moab. I guess that is the rub. Many people seem to be looking for the motorized type of recreation, either 4-wheeling or scenic driving through Arches. In fact, in the two days I spent near Moab it became increasingly evident that Moab is little more than a rest-stop for petroleum based tourism!!

Enough ranting. I ended up camping way out in Potash on the Colorado River and was abruptly woken early in the morning by a group of obnoxious adolescent rafters. On the plus side I finally got to sleep outside due to clear warm skies.

Since I still had a full day before my friend John would arrive for a backpacking trip, I drove into town and rented a mountain bike for a day. I took the souped up Ellsworth Moment out to the Poison Springs and Portal trail which starts near the Dinosaur tracks on Potash Rd. I was pleasantly surprised at how much fun I had trying to wear myself out and get my money's worth biking all over the slickrock. Although I had never ridden a full-suspension bike and had never ridden sand/slickrock after about a 1/2 hour I got the hang of it and I was soon passing ATV'ers on the uphills. Bombing down slickrock and catching little jumps was awesome and reminded me alot of skiing. In fact I liked it so much I did a few laps of the same runs!

After a full day of biking I got cleaned up, bought some supplies and went to the Moab Brewery to slurp brews and wait for John to arrive. I was really excited to get to hang with John since he lives in Denver and we only get to meet up about once every year or two. Even though he has alot of responsibilities with his family, job and school he took some time off and even rented a car in order to drive out to Utah for our trip. Thanks alot John! You are a totally rad friend!

So on April 21 we drove down to the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park and were lucky enough to pickup a day-of backcountry permit for a 4 day backpacking trip. Getting started wasn't too easy since I was only prepared to carry a lightweight pack and yet we knew that we were due for some stormy weather. It took awhile but we finally got on the trail with John carrying the heaviest load (he needed the exercise anyway). Fortunately for us middle-aged casual hikers the trails in the Needles are relatively short and have very few climbs and descents. So for most of the trip we were able to take our time and enjoy the scenery while hiking from camp to camp. Although the distances between camps were short and the canyons were relatively small and homey I was extremely impressed with how undisturbed and wild the canyons seemed. After the first day we rarely saw anyone but saw a plethora of wildlife and really felt like we had the place to ourselves.

The trails were so short we even had time for a day-hike on our first day. After arriving at our designated campsite we continued up Elephant Canyon and found Druid Arch bathed in sunlight while the canyon was in the shadows. This spectacular arch was a little hard to photograph because of the position of the sun so the photos are only the best of the bunch.

On the second day we decided we needed a little adventure so we day-hiked down to Spanish Bottom on the Colorado River (technically we were across the river from Spanish Bottom on the Lower Red Lake trail). Although this hike may have been on the order of 19 miles round trip and included a bit of steep hiking it was well worth the extra effort. It was cool to have the trail all to ourselves especially considering that we were visiting the mighty Colorado just before the entrance to Cataract Canyon, one of the most wild sections of the river! At Spanish Bottom we saw a large group of boaters no the opposite side of the river. After a short lunch we headed back up the trail. Before reaching camp our good luck ran out and John got sick which is how he would remain for the rest of the trip. In addition the weather took a turn for the worse with some wind and rain showers.

The next morning we awoke to heavy rain showers. Since neither of us had a functioning watch, who knows when we finally got up, but it definately wasn't until after the rain had stopped (briefly) and it was likely around 10 AM. John was even sicker than the day before, but like usual showed very little sign that he was virtually on his deathbed, and certainly did not complain! What a trooper!

Anyway I was fortunate enough to go outside the tent just in time to hear a somewhat disturbing sound of rushing water coming from up-canyon. I ran down to the bottom of the canyon just in time to see the leading edge of flowing water advancing down the dry wash. Although this "flash-flood" moved no faster than a walking person and was no deeper than knee deep, it was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. It was so cool I had to take a bunch of photos to show the water's progression down the dry streambed.

In the afternoon we ambled along under drizzling skies to our next and final camp in Lost Canyon. Here we spent a relatively uneventful night before heading back to civ on April 24. After getting back to Moab John jetted back to CO and I cleaned up, fueled up and headed back south toward Grand Gulch . . . To be continued.

One Corner of Fun - Part II

2007-05-03T16:08:00.001-07:00

This the second part of my 2007 vacation travelogue. On Wednesday April 18th I chose to relax a little bit, primarily because I was worn out from the long "pasture" track hike. So I slept in a little and then went exploring upriver from my car, on a little geocaching expedition. Prior to the trip I found a geocache item near North Bend, WA called "Big Cat & Little Cat say Hi". These two are just a couple of toy cats chained together with a couple other cacheing items. Since I new I was going to go on a trip to a faraway place and the two cats appeared to like to travel I thought I would take them along and see if I could find a cache to leave them at.

I have never actually geocached before and my GPS unit is about as simple as they come. Most of the time I only use the GPS to alleviate my worries when I go off trail for a long ways. I like to set waypoints as I go, leaving cookie crumbs, as some might say so that I may be able to find my way home if I forget landmarks. Or sometimes I use it just to see how far I have gone.

Anyway I decided to try and find my first geocache using the GPS. It ended up not being much of an adventure as the cache was probably only a mile upstream in the middle of a broad valley. I was a little surprised at what I found on top of the rock covering the geocache! Lets just say that some of these geocachers must not really need their GPS units, and surely don't need them to get home, because one was left right at the cache location! I am not totally sold on geocaching as a worthwhile or exciting activity, but I guess if it takes a little treasure hunt to get a few buts off the couch then maybe it is helpful for some people. Based upon my limited experience, however, it sure doesn't seem like the caches are all that remote. In fact, you could probably ride an ATV right to this particular cache and I am certain that quite a few people already have! Why not hide caches on vertical walls of sandstone, under the water or at the top of a tree. Now that would make the trip a little more exciting.

After finishing the cacheing I wandered over to a old mining/ranching cabin (shown above) and pondered why the previous inhabitants left. This looks like a great place for a cabin to me. I think I might fix the place up a little, but otherwise this looks like a stunning place to do a little living!

Speaking of caches. Since I cancelled my plans to do the Muddy loop I had to drive over to another area where I had cached some water a couple days before. By the time I picked up my water and extra food near Cistern Canyon there were some serious storm clouds on the horizon and the wind was already kicking up a small dust storm. Once again I felt forced by the weather to change my plans. So instead of staying in the southern part of the swell I hightailed it to the east. I quickly drove to the eastern part of the San Rafael Swell near Goblin Valley State Park, and finally found some people!

Unfortunately, most of the campers I found at Little Wildhorse Canyon appeared to be of the ATV ridin, RV sleeping variety. I am sure they were good people just a little to hopped up on noise and fumes for me! I took a quick hike in a dust storm down Little Wildhorse Canyon before calling it a day and escaping to camp at the head of Chute Canyon. Here I had the place and all the wind and dust to myself!

The morning of April 19 dawned clear, cold and thank-goodness not windy! So I took off down Chute Canyon with a plan to hike Chute, find my way over to Crack Canyon, and hike back up Crack to the eastern side of the swell where I could hike the road back to my car. I enjoyed wandering down Chute canyon in the shade of the canyon walls, even traversing through a couple of nice narrow places. But I guess somebody else wasn't so excited about my visit! While walking the canyon I heard a bit of noise somewhere above me but couldn't pinpoint where it came from. I walked another 20 feet stopped and turned just in time to see a rock land just where I had been standing. After about a minute of looking I finally made out 5 bighorn sheep scrambing on the rocks above me (shown above). If not for the rock missile I am sure I would never have noticed these majestic animals. Their coloring allowed them to blend in perfectly with the rocks and their generally nimble and quiet climbing made them hard to find even when listening for their footsteps. Now that is what I call shock and awe!

Before long I came to a side canyon where I thought I could traverse to Crack Canyon. So off I went exploring unknown territory. Surprisingly I ran into my first fellow hiker of the entire trip in this un-named canyon. Interestingly enough he was also the organizer of a volunteer effort to install signage in the canyons. It seems that alot of people seem to get lost making the traverse from Chute to Crack and vice-versa so he was planning on putting in some signs for the BLM. He explained where I need to go to make it to Crack and we parted going opposite directions. Suffice it to say that I was not prepared to do the route finding without a map. I never found the correct route to get to Crack so I climbed up high on top of the rocky plateau and enjoyed the view. I couldn't see back to the western side of the Swell but I could make out the Goblin Valley area and a lot of open land between me and the Maze in Canyonlands N.P. It was awesome.

I gave up on the planned loop and just found my way back up Chute Canyon to the car. A full days effort for a full days adventure. I decided I had seen enough of the San Rafael Swell and decided to drive to Moab that night. To be continued . . .

One Corner of Fun - Part 1

2007-05-01T16:10:00.001-07:00

I was tempted to title this travelogue Four Corners of Fun since it is all about my recent trip to the Four Corners region, however, then I realized I only saw the stuff near one corner! I guess that just means I need to go back at least 3 more times! For those who don't know the Four Corners term is commonly used to describe the area where the states of UT, CO, AZ, and NM meet.

For the last two weeks (and an extra weekend) I travelled all over the southeastern corner of the great colorful state of Utah trying to satisfy my need for sun, solitude and fun. I think I found a fair amount of the latter two, but I could have used a little more sun. Since this is going to be a long story I have decided I will break it up into parts. Here is part 1:

I started out by driving to the San Rafael Swell via a stopover in Walla Walla, WA. Both at the beginning and end of my trip I got to stop in and see a couple of my best friends Beezer and 'Brielle. They have just set down roots in WW and are in full nesting mode, preparing for their impending stork visit.
I really enjoyed relaxing with them and taking a break from the endless driving. I only half-heartedly wish that I could have relaxed in their laid back abode for the entire two weeks, but then again I would have eventually gotten bored of drinking beer and playing horseshoes! NOT

My plans for the first part of my vacation were to do a 4 to 5 day backpacking loop down Muddy Creek and through Mud, Cistern and Chimney Canyons. These canyons are located near the southern edge of the San Rafael Swell on BLM land. Based upon my guidebook the first day of the loop promised to be fairly exciting as Muddy Creek flows through a section called the Chute which is a length of 20 foot wide narrows where the walls soar 500 feet above and the creek oftentimes runs from wall to wall.

So on the morning of Monday April 16th I started down Muddy Creek from my car camp. Only a 1/2 mile from the car I encountered the first river crossing and soon realized that my feet were going to be really cold and wet for the entire day. The river was generally less than knee deep but the water was pretty dang cold. I am guessing some of the water may have even been snowmelt since I saw snow in the hills on the way to the creek the day before.

As the day warmed and I started enjoying the scenery of the deepening canyon I noticed that some very large and dark clouds were forming above the canyon rim. I really wanted to get to my first camp on the other side of the Chute but started to worry a little about the possibility of a flash flood. A flash flood while I was in the narrows could be a disaster. Especially considering the fact that the guidebook mentions a log-jam 25 feet above the canyon floor in the deepest section of the narrows and I don't swim!

So I picked up the pace and soon entered the narrows where I was wading in water more than walking on dry land. It was exhilarating moving quickly down canyon, rounding countless bends as the walls rose above, nearly blocking out the ever darkening sky. Although the creek was still relatively small it had an ominous roar due to the echoing walls. After awhile, I came to a place where the canyon temporarily opened allowing me breathe a little easier knowing that I could climb above a flood here. After taking a short break and wondering whether or not there was an escape route from this particular area I plunged forward as the canyon became ever more narrow. About a 1/2 hour past the opening I came to a place where the wading went above my waist and my pack starting getting wet. I searched in vain for a sandbar which would allow me to go forward without swimming. Because the possibility of a storm threatened, I did not have the time to waterproof my backpack for a swim, and I wasn't willing to try to swim the deep section by myself, I quickly decided to turn around. Maybe I could find another route or come up with a new plan back in the open section of canyon.

About 20 minutes later I was in the open section of canyon between the two narrows when the sky broke open and I was pelted with pea sized hail for about 30 minutes. Even more dramatic than the hail were the near constant thunder and frequent lightning flashes. I made a couple halfhearted attempts to setup my tarptent but soon realized I couldn't get the thing setup in the gusting wind and loose sand soils. After the hail stopped I clung to the hope that I could find a canyon escape route where I would be able to bypass the narrows. So I started climbing up one side of the canyon towards a high route which the guidebook refers to as the pasture track. A 1/2 hour of searching later I had only found insurmountable obstacles of vertical rock and soil so I backtracked to the bottom of the canyon where I was promptly greeted with constant rain. I found a small overhang of rotten rock where I was able to hide from the deluge and watch small lakes and streams form on every piece of dry ground outside my ad-hoc shelter. After about an hour and a half I realized should take advantage of my relatively sheltered position and brew up some dinner. So I quickly cooked a meal which helped warm me up.

Around 6:30 PM the rain finally stopped and I looked out to see that the river was not too much higher than before the rain. Since the sky was still gray and likely to rain all night I decided to use my food energy to get me back to the trailhead before I really got soaked. So hightailed it back to the car with my tail between my legs, arriving just before dark and another bit of rain.

Due to my weather misfortunes and bruised confidence I settled for a day hike on Tuesday. For this trip I was to follow an old mining track high above Muddy canyon, bypassing the narrows, and then dropping down into Chimney Canyon. For the first section of the hike I had to traverse back down Muddy canyon for awhile. Consequently, I nearly ran into a sleeping herd of wild horses! I had been wondering about the large piles of horse apples in the canyon and these 6 horses provided a great answer. These horses appeared to own this canyon and seemed to looked at me as an interloper. They watched me cautiously but with the confidence of wild animals in a pack. It was obvious who the alpha male was as he stood between me and the others, ready to teach me a lesson if needed. It was impressive to see such beautiful and wild large animals in such an amazing canyon.

The day's hike got even better when I climbed up onto the high "pasture" route and could see the vast canyons below. Because the route followed a high bench of the Muddy canyon drainage it's length must have been double that of travelling at the base of the canyon. Up here I had to skirt around every small side canyon which drained into the Muddy, making for a very long hike.

But it was absolutely awe inspiring looking out over the vast sculpted landscape below me with an unbroken blue bowl above. Later in the day, while walking along daydreaming I must have caught some movement out of the corner of my eye because somehow I picked out a couple of silhouetted heads and antlers/horns from all the scrubby vegetation. I set out to get a little closer and before long I was watching 6 pronghorn antelope or bighorn sheep who were watching me! I am still not certain if they were antelope or sheep without a full curl? You can see from my photo that they only let me get so close. They obviously weren't too interested in me because after a little while they hopped down some steep slopes to disappear in the canyons below.

I finally made it to Chimney Canyon and hurried down as far as I could afford to go before turning around for the day. Before long I came to a couple of waterfalls and pools which would have been a serious obstacle if I was coming from down canyon (my original plan). Climbing down one of these falls without a rope and belay was out of the question, at least for me, since It was a 20 foot class 4 to 5 climb. So I revelled in my solitude and took a quick skinny-dip in one of the cool pools. I'm no nudist but I enjoyed sitting naked in the sun while every bit of water slowly evaporated from my skin.
On the way back I had a blast doing a little running in order to cover the distance a little faster. It was truly exhilarating running all alone above the canyons, racing to get back before dark!

Why Doesn't Anyone Care?

2007-03-21T12:52:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday I rode my bike over to Seattle and went to the Iraq war protest. I am not a regular protestor or peace marcher, but I have on occassion gone to a march or two. I wanted to go to this protest primarily because I am so frustrated that nothing is changing. No one, not Congress and not the general population, and least of all the President is willing to get some balls, stand up and end a war which will never be won, or maybe it has already been won? (I won't even try to explain this statement since the explanation has to be made for each of the President's reasons for war. Ask the President!). I am not sure if it takes a strong, intelligent and thoughtful person to start a war, but I am becoming ever more certain that that kind of person is definately what it takes to end one.

So I made up a little cardboard sign, taped it to my bike, and rode into town. The bike ride was great as the clouds lifted and the sun started to dry out the city. But the protest left me unimpressed. It seemed like a significant portion of the crowd consisted of the city's destitute and homeless. While the remainder primarily appeared to consist of far-left leaning pascifists. Now I realize that judging by appearances is the worst kind of generalization and that I don't exactly fit the mold of normal american consumer. I am not trying to sound elitist (it just happens when you have a strong opinion!). But I just wish I would have seen more average looking Wall-Mart shopping, American Idol watching, non-political party card-carrying citizens, either protesting against or for the war. So much of the war debate is framed by the extremes and not by the undecided middle. It is extremely tragic that middle America, whether literal (ie Kansas), or economic seems to refuse to participate. So many don't even vote, it shouldn't exactly be surprising that the vast majority won't voice their opinion in public. I could of course be all wrong. Maybe they are all writing letters to their representatives and making sure that the will of the people is heard. I just don't believe that this is occurring. The only so-called voice of the middle is from the numerous polls which always seem to tilt toward one side or the other, dependent upon who is doing the polling.

Whether or not I am on the right or wrong side, fighing against or with the will of the people, it would be nice to know that the rest of America actually cares about what is happening in Iraq. Based upon the lack of participation it sure doesn't seem like anyone cares. So for me the bigger and more disturbing question is why doesn't anyone care?

p.s. You have to click on the photo to read the bike sign!

Silence

2007-03-16T13:34:00.000-07:00

Due to my recent running injury and resulting non-running routine I have alot more time on my hands than usual. So two weeks ago I decided I could finally try and ski in to Calvin's cabin this year. The decision was made semi-last-minute so I wasn't even going to try to find some partners. It still seemed like a decent plan for a weekend since I didn't have anything else to do and I was dreading sitting around waiting for my legs to heal. It is bad enough that I have a hard time sleeping when I am not running. Lately, I have been dwelling too much on my injury and spiraling into a mild funk when I think of how unprepared I am going to be for this summer's adventures! So a trip to the cabin seemed like a great idea for revitalizing my spirits and reminding myself of some of the things (other than running) which I like to do.

So I drove over to the Salmon La Sac snow-park and found one of the last parking spots in a huge lot full of snowmobile trailers. I knew going in that there were going to be alot of noisy stinky machines around but I was a little surprised about how full the lot was. The ski in was fairly uneventfull except for the 33 times a sledhead sped by me, revelling in unadulterated mechanical happiness. During these passings I cowered on the right side of the trail hopeing that the sledders hadn't yet drunk their fill and could still manage to avoid me, because there is no way in hell I could have avoided them! Later on the ski-out a few sledders slowed when passing and gave some waves. It was nice to know that they wanted to be courteous, but the funny thing is that I really didn't feel like there was much genuine courteousness! For one thing it is hard to detect courteousness from a shreiking mass hurtling by at 30 miles per hour. But more importantly, I am not really sure how a wave and a slight slowing is going to improve their reputation when seen from the eyes of a non-sledding trail user. I can't imagine any normal person (including sledders without sleds) actually being able to enjoy the company of sleds on a multiple use trail. At least to me it seems like multiple use trails for sleds and others are totally inappropriate. But we live in an imperfect world, so what are you gonna do?

Anyway I got to the cabin and truly enjoyed some solitude once the hornets(sledders) had left for the day. Sitting on the deck with nothing but snow, trees and mountains around did wonders for my attitude and my spirit! It was a little lonely being at the cabin by myself but it was extremely rejuvenating to build a fire, make some dinner on the camp stove and do some reading, surrounded by perfect silence.

On sunday I did a little bit of skiing on the mountain above the cabin and then quickly returned to civilization a little more relaxed and alot less frustrated. I am going to take my time and try to heal from my injuries. There is no point in doing some half-ass workouts and hopeing that my leg will heal. I will slowly build-up the miles and the fun. Probably before I know it I will again be trying to run back to back 20 mile trail runs!

I should have posted a long time ago!

2007-03-14T15:59:00.000-07:00

I have been meaning to post about my Orcas Island Fat Ass race and nephew/neice weekend for awhile now. I am primarily posting because I wanted to put up a couple of great pictures of my neice and nephew!

So way back in February I went up to Orcas Island and ran the Orcas Island FA 50K (really 33miles) with a big group of the regular crazies. Once again this was a really fun race, made even more exciting by the high winds and heavy snow at the top of Mt. Consititution. The conditions really weren't too bad as long as you kept moving. I had a great time and managed to take at least 45 minutes off my time from last year. Of course some of this is due to the fact that the course was shortened and last year I got lost near the finish! I finished in 7th place with a 5:35. I had a great time seeing and hanging out with a few runners who I hadn't seen for quite some time and meeting many others.

The bad part, the part which I could write an entire whinny post about, is my resulting injury (or injuries). It appears that my legs are taking an early retirement! I won't go into details in this post. But this has got to be the worst injury I have ever had considering that I haven't been able to run much more than a few miles (total) for the last 2.5 weeks!

After the Orcas race I took advantage of the fact that I was near Bellingham and drove up to see the family. I spent bit of time at my dad's and then spent an entire day with my brother's family, including my neice, Hazel, and nephew, Lucas. I had a great time getting to know them since it seems they change so much from one visit to the next. Hazel spent a great deal of time perfecting her screaming skills while I was surprised to see that Lucas has become quite the trickster. I think his parents may be in for some hard times since he was fully revelling in the attention he could get by doing exactly what I told him not to do! Of course it may just be that his parents would never stand for that and he knew he found a sucker when I came to visit! Anyway, I can't wait to return and see how these two will surprise me some more.

I Am Back!

2007-01-26T09:31:00.000-08:00

I know it has been a very long time since I have posted. I guess I just haven't felt like posting and I don't have any photos to share. Although the photo above looks alot like me at Whistler, it is a pilfered photo from their website. Pictures make the blog so much more exciting!

I have had two memorable and bloggable experiences since my last post:
1. Ran my first 50K since last May
2. Took a 3-day Ski vacation in a foreign country

Bridle Trails 50K Race

On January 13 I ran the Bridle Trails 50k race in Bellevue, WA. I wasn't really planning on "racing" so much as just trying to get out and have some fun. Oh and of course finish a race which as beaten me down more than any other. It is a little strange and sad that prior to two weeks ago I had dropped out of this race both times I had raced it! I think that I have only dropped from one other race in my running career! I should have never dropped from those previous two races, but in the past I was always able to justify the drop since it is a Fat Ass race and it is in the middle of winter. It means very little in terms of my fitness since I am usually just trying to build a good base during January. And alot of the time the weather is absolutely dreadful for this race. In fact, last year there was a downpour during the entire race and the temperature was around 35-37 degrees. It started snowing during that race and at one time I found a 100 yard stretch of trail covered by a shin deep pond!

This year the race and the weather were much more enoyable, although still challenging. It was about 25 degrees during the race and some packed snow and ice covered the majority of the trail. But at least it wasn't raining! One of the unique challenges of the Bridle trail race is that the race starts at 3 pm thereby requiring the runner to run at least 3, if not 4, 5 mile laps in the dark. When I think about it this really isn't that much of a challenge since most northwesterners have to deal with running in the dark on most weekdays during the winter!

I had a relatively fun time this year and finished with a somewhat slow time of 4:42 which I blame on a couple of bathroom stops, slippery ice and a slacker mentality! The true highlight of the race was getting to hang-out with a lot of runners who I hadn't seen in a few months. Some of the local runners are such amazing and truly genuine good people. It is refreshing and somewhat comforting to find others who revel in their sport and who value the way they live in much the same way as I do.

Whistler Ski Vacation

Last weekend (Jan 20-22) I drove up to Whistler with a group of guys for three days of skiing. I had a great time avoiding injury and shredding pow, but it was a little strange since I knew no one in the group which I went with. Most of the guys were Microsofties who somehow new each other through the digital world. I just got connected through the Mountaineers UTHRS group. The trip worked out great since there weren't too many responsibilities to hang with the group, but at the same time everyone was responsible enough to make sure that skiing was the top priority. We stayed at a ski in/ski out condo on the side of Blackcomb mountain with a defective hot-tub!

The only thing that perplexed me throughout my stay was the insistence of so many people to use the safety bar on the chairlifts. Although I have not skied at a ton of ski areas I am not used to using the safety bar. I have never really been too worried about falling off the chairlift, except for when getting on and off! When I have skied in Washington it seems like you can usually spot the safety bar users from a mile away. Generally they seem to be beginners, kids or nordic ski types. But at Whistler about 75% of the lift riders seemed to put down the bar, even quite a few rowdy teenagers! I discussed it with one of the guys in the group, Dima, who had lived in Canada for most of his life. He suggested that it is a cultural thing that many more people in Canada, and possibly elsewhere, were more accustomed to using the safety bar out of habit. This got me wondering if the use of safety devices whether lift safety bars, seat belts, bike helmets etc. was more prevalent in other countries and whether or not Americans (the U.S. kind) are less safety conscious. In this country are we all just a bunch of risk-takers or non-conformists and/or are does everyone else use safety devices because they truly believe in their safety or because they have been brainwashed into believing in their inherent safety? Personally, I am not so convinced that the safety bar is really very necessary. Maybe it is more likely that I will fall out of a chair than that the chair will fall off of the lift, but as long as I take care not to fall out of the chair then that shouldn't happen, right? Obviously there are too many issues here to resolve and they are primarily influenced by my opinion. I am guessing that my issue with the safety bar is really childish and probably has more to do with my resentment of nanny state control than anything else. Of course the safety bar is not a regulated device and no one is required to use it but it's heavy-use got me thinking about implied as well as regulated control. It appeared to me that alot of those people who used the bar may have used it due to it's feeling of safety rather than it's actual safety value. Lately I am realizing, more and more, that although I profess to being somewhat liberal in my outlook and politics I am really very libertarian. I definately value the responsibility of evaluating and choosing the way I want to live my life, or ride my chair lift! Now, due to karma, I will probably fall off my next chair lift!

Ski hard, no Hard Ski

2006-12-20T14:33:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday, Matt and I hit the backcountry near Crystal Mtn. and learned why ski areas are in such high demand. I wore myself out skinning up Bullion Basin to do my first backcountry turns on the new AT skis. It took us most of the day just to get to the top of the ridge and it took less than an hour to ski back down. If I was a little more cynical I would have to say I didn't get my money's worth on that downhill run! Then again, I didn't pay any money to get to the top and we nearly had the whole hillside to ourselves!!

Last weekend I learned:

1. The kick-turn in my AT gear is even harder than with my tele-gear
2. I have to lock into the bindings in order to step up steep hillsides
3. Skinny skins don't work so well on steep ice!!
4. No matter how hard it is to get to the top and no matter how crappy the conditions are for skiing down, I can still have a fun time!!!

It was awesome to get to the top of the hill and look out over the Cascades, thinking of all that country which is completely neglected in the winter time. How impossible would it be to do a little ski tour to some of my favorite summer destinations, like the Enchantments?? Just dreaming, I guess.

We got some great views of Mt. Rainier. Sure wish I could ski on Rainier this year. Because of the flood damage, I doubt anyone will be doing much skiing on the Mountain. The upper parts of the mountain are normally relatively people-free during the winter. But this winter may be extra special in that respect. I know the mountain doesn't really care, but I like to think about the vastness and coldness of that mountain, all alone. The mountain is a little too large and over-powering for me to take-it all in on a crowded summer day, let alone a frigid cold and completely lonely winter day. It just seems so extremely wild without the people. I want to visit! Sorry for the Rainier rambing, but I just finished reading The Measure of a Mountain: Beauty and Terror on Mount Rainier by Bruce Barcott. This was a very interesting book and I highly recommend it to non-fiction junkies (like myself).

The race has already begun and I've been left behind!

2006-12-07T09:57:00.000-08:00

Today I was just doing a little surfing when I stumbled onto the Chuckanut 50k website. I have to admit I haven't even thought about this race since last year when I ran it and dropped out due to an injury. So I was once again surprised to see that the race is already full and I have once again slept through a race start. I know it wasn't a literal race start, but with certain races it is quickly becoming obvious that the race begins long before the gun goes off, or in the case of Chuckanut, someone yells GO!

According to the website the Chuckanut race filled in only 2 weeks and this is for a race that is on the other side of winter, in March. A lot of NW runners I know are starting to enter the slow-down or downtime for the year otherwise known as the bad weather, dark day, holiday busy time of year, December. Not only have I been trying to take it easy so that I don't build up mileage too fast for next spring, I have been trying to soften my enthusiasm so that I don't enter races every weekend. But this approach has just backfired since I missed my chance to enter one of my favorite races. It is even more annoying when I remember that I tried to enter too late for the same race a year before last. At that time I was then offered a wait-listed spot after I had already written off the race and re-arranged my schedule.

Generally I like to think of myself as a fairly organized person who plans ahead. But these sorts of races and lottery type races like the Western States 100 mile are starting to chop my hide. Last spring I made a special effort to gain a highly coveted entry to the McKenzie River Trail Run. In order to gurantee entry I had to schedule my time just to download and entry form on the first day it was posted and mail it on the same day. In the end, my efforts to enter a great and fun race yielded nothing because I became injuried a couple months before the race and had to cancel.

Of course none of my problems have been a result of poor race management or bad race directing. In fact, these races only continue to run so smoothly because of great race directors (thanks RDs). Sometimes it is just so frustrating that I have to not only train for races, I have to put in so much time coming up with a race schedule.

I really should quit my whining. I already know that the answer is just to do what I can to have fun. That is after all, why I run races in the first place! So I will try to mellow out about which races I run and when I run them. In the end it doesn't matter if I get to run Western States in two years or twenty years. Someday I will run it and on that day, or the day after, when I finish, that race will mean no less to me at age 50 than at age 30.

Yep, I'm officially old!

2006-12-04T12:54:00.000-08:00

Being that the weather has finally improved, I decided to go ahead with the Birthday Challenge and test out the 34 year old body. Amazingly I finished my self-imposed challenge, but not without quite a bit of pain. Most of that pain was in my hands, feet and butt (of all places) due to the cold temperatures. Fortunately, I am suffering no long-term effects. Didn't loose any fingers or toes, but my but is still a little sore, two days afterward!

The temperature at the beginning of the day was somewhere south of 40 degrees and by the end of the challenge my car thermometer read a balmy 35 degrees. Other than that the weather was near perfect, with only a slight breeze on the lake and sunny skies after morning fog.

I started out by biking counter-clockwise around Lake Washington (maybe 50 miles?). Due to the cold conditions I wore just about all of my bike gear and even wore two pairs of socks. I was in full bike nerd regalia! The biking went well except for the bitingly cold wind on my face and the associated numb fingers and toes. Obviously, I need some more gear! A face mask, shoe covers and chemical hand warmers would have made the ride far more comfortable. Time: 3:18

Transition/Aid Time: 29 minutes

Next, I unloaded the kayak from the car, reloaded the bike and paddled off into Lake Washington. The plan was to paddle around Mercer Island, taking the shortest route possible. This is the stage which most worried me since I have never paddled around Mercer Island and have never paddled the assumed distance of 14-15 miles. Just as I launched, a small fleet of sailboats sailed by which further unnerved me. If sailboats are going sailing it usually means there is going to be some wind on the water! Amazingly, the paddle went smoothly until the last hour or so when my but went numb and I had to negotiate some choppy water with a slight headwind. The real kicker came when I landed and went to stand up. My butt muscles, gluteus maximus and/or minimus, were so tight that I could hardly stand straight and bending over was extremely difficult. I can only guess that the cold weather in conjunction with the tired butt muscles (from biking) and the long sit had contributed to a major case of BUTTFREEZE!! Due to the buttfreeze and due to the fact that I had a case of uncontrollable shivers, I took my time re-hydrating and re-fueling before the next stage. Time 3:26

Transition/Aid Time: 59 minutes

The final stage: the glorious run which never became glorious was to be a roughly 12 or 13 mile counter-clockwise circling of the perimeter of Mercer Island. Before the challenge I was excited to do the run as it was the only stage which I felt semi-prepared. I have run around the perimeter of Mercer Island on many occassions and felt prepared to weather whatever mental anguish I would have from the day's trials and tribulations. I was however, not at all prepared for the BUTTFREEZE. As I started out running in the cold and the dark (it was after 5:30 PM - that is the beginning of night, around these parts) I quickly realized I couldn't stride normally. My glutes were tight and wouldn't allow me to actually run. My stride was more like a shuffle, the shuffle of an old and worn-out man! Thank goodness, after about a half-hour of shuffling along my glutes warmed up and I was able to really start running. I started enjoying the run as I jogged relatively slowly, south along the western side of Mercer Island. Unfortunately, the run quickly degenerated into a fast walk on the eastern side of Mercer Island as I was afflicted with a serious case of runner's trots. Due to the lack of facilities available I ended up quickly, and sometimes painfully, walking the last 4 or 5 miles to the closest portable toilet.

Time: 2:37

Total Time: 10:52
Total Time Moving: 9:24

To most people this sort of pain and suffering may sound absolutely unnecessary and probably a bit ridiculous, but at least to me and at least on this day, I am glad I did the birthday challenge. Not just because I am the type of individual who gets off on setting goals and accomplishing them. But, rather because sometimes, at least for me, it takes a test of my own physical limits before I truly feel ALIVE. Maybe I am just a superfeeler? This is just a theory I have which originates from something I heard about supertasters. I will not go into it here and now. Maybe later.

Based upon the Birthday Challenge I have concluded the following:
1. I am definately getting older. To truly test this theory I will need to do the same challenge again, sometime in the future. This probably won't happen as I have too many other challenges I would like to do, instead!

2. I would much rather do my birthday challenge during the summer! I might have to do next year's challenge a month or two before my birthday!

Cancelled Birthday Challenge

2006-11-26T11:27:00.000-08:00

I cancelled my plans to do the b-day challenge today due to the cold and the rain! I am sure I will do it. Just not today! I feel terrible about cancelling, but . . . didn't want to do it so I didn't. I am going to go to my happy place now . . .

Birthday Challenge Update

2006-11-17T08:41:00.000-08:00

This information probably isn't necessary since I don't think anyone, except myself of course, is planning on coming to my Birthday Challenge. But just in case it matters to anyone, I think I will change the date of the challenge to Sunday Nov. 26. That way I can spend more time up in Bellingham for the holiday, my birthday, and for some possible skiing. I plan on trying to start the challenge at 8 AM on Sunday Nov. 26 at Enatai Beach park. I am guessing that the challenge segments will take the following time periods: bike 3 to 3.5 hours, kayak 3.5 to 4 hours, run 1.5 to 2 hours. I was going to try and create google maps of the segments, but this was not working out so well today. Maybe I will do this later. Happy Weekend!!

An Oppressively Dark Winter Beginning

2006-11-15T10:28:00.000-08:00

Last weekend Matt and I ventured out to the mountains for what will probably be the last mountain hike before the winter. We encountered quite a dark and somewhat ominous sight. A couple of feet of snow had recently fallen and massive dark clouds were preparing to dump more rain in the lowlands and snow on the peaks. We went on a short hike up near Mt. Washington, on the western side of the Cascades. It was fun to get to hang with Matt again, now that he is no longer tied up with his firefighting job applications and paramedic school. Congratulations again Matt! And thanks so much for letting me break trail through 2 feet of snow!!

I am starting to get a little tired of the darkness and rain already! It seems like it has been so wet and dark this November. In fact I am not sure I have really seen the sun since the beginning of the month. Just buckets of rain, buckets of rain, got all them buckets coming out of my ears!

Looking at the positive side, there is going to be a lot of snow soon and I just got a new ski setup. I can't wait to try out my new AT boots, bindings and used skis!!

Beware of the Mob

2006-11-10T11:43:00.000-08:00

Since the election is over now and there isn't quite as much punditry, I will vent some of my own political frustration. I am not a big fan of Federalism, big government, Oligarchy or non-progressive politics, but the explosion of initiative politics is starting to piss me off! I think initiatives have their place, but currently they are being used as a political tool by extreme right-wing nutjobs. Take for instance Initiative 933 which was put before voters in Washington State. Basically the proponents of this initiative feel that government regulation of their property is an unfair "taking" of property. Therefore, these so-called private property defenders put up this initiative which would require government to pay private property owners if regulations diminish the value of their property or the potential value of their property as a result of their development schemes.

Unfortunately, for these idiots, nowhere in the constitution does it state that an individual has an inalienable right to build a nuclear power plant on their property. Government, when overseen correctly by elected representatives, has the right and the obligation to regulate the use of private property and it's effect on the general public. Should your neighbor be allowed to build a coal-fired power plant next door without the government protecting you from the health effects of the development. To take the argument even further, shouldn't the larger community have the right to decide what sort of development they will tolerate. Right now we do this by electing representative government which, when working correctly, is supposed to reflect the majority views. Sometimes these views aren't even the most rational ones. Look at school board decisions to teach Intelligent Design as an example.

What is new is that the extreme right-wingers have taken the initiative approach since they are a minority and their views will not be reflected in the elected representation. The idea seems to be write up an initiative which makes the government out to be an over-bearing bad guy and maybe, just maybe, enough stupid or un-informed voters will knee-jerk vote in their favor. Fortunately, in the case of I-933, the Washington State voters were smart enough to smell the rats, and soundly defeated the measure.

I am afraid, however, that someday someone, or some minority interest, will hijack our state's policies through the initiative process. It only takes some careful marketing to create a powerful "mob" rule. We live in a democracy not an ochlocracy!

Ok, I will get off my soapbox now!

I Found My Chin!!

2006-11-07T11:34:00.000-08:00

It has been nearly a year since I let the goat loose.

I've finally cleaned up my image, as shown below:

Hopefully this will make me more aerodynamic! I must have got into the habit of straightening the goatee or stroking the goatee (for the wise man effect) since I have found myself reaching for it a couple times today!

Thousands of Miles to Go

2006-10-28T12:57:00.000-07:00

photo courtesy of Glenn Tachiyama

(Warning this is primarily a boring training entry - sometimes it helps for me to write down my goals. That way I will be stuck with them until they are completed!)

This last week I started on a training program. I started the 24-week, more than 70 miles a week, schedule by Pfitzinger et al. I have done this program once before when I was training hard for marathons. I am thinking maybe if I just put in the miles and I take my time with the build-up I can really get ready for next summer's ultra season. I can hope, right?

So today I did a medium-long 15 mile run and didn't feel too bad, considering that I also did two 10+ mile runs this last week. Boy, I have forgotten how tired the legs can feel when consecutive distance days start to add up. Maybe this is what my legs need in order to toughen up. You know the old saying, what doesn't kill ya makes ya stronger. Well, I've appropriated this saying when it suits me to serve my training purposes. If I gradually beat up my legs all winter then maybe they won't get injured quite so easily next spring!

My preliminary goals are:
1. Birthday Challenge on Nov. 25, 2006
2. Yakima Canyon Marathon on March 31, 2007
3. Bighorn 100 on June 15, 2007

If I don't get injured I will probably do quite a few other races along the way, but this year I want to start with some small goals. No more of this racing every weekend, unless I feel like Superman!

Legs don't fail me now! (feet too!)

Family, Friends & Fun

2006-10-23T12:38:00.000-07:00

Family, Friends & Fun. What more could you ask for in one weekend? Here is a short summary of my Oct. 21-22 weekend so that next time I am making excuses not to drive home I can remind myself how fun a trip home can be:

1. I got to celebrate Calvin's 33rd by tasting all sorts of Latin American fare and hang'n with old friends. I also got to see Sophia who is getting big in a hurry. She'll probably be taller than me by the time she enters third grade.
2. I spent a little time and got a free lunch with the Brown's during the middle of a bike ride around B'ham. Bryan had just finished a Mtn. bike ride when I stopped by their house unannounced.

3. I saw a large proportion of the family, including my niece and nephew, Hazel and Lucas. Hazel is a little monster, or at least she sure sounds like one! I also got to hang out with my brother while doing a little work on his new dock.

4. I went on a great kayak trip to Saddlebag Island on the way to Bellingham. Although, it was sunny and I was on the saltwater the sea breezes weren't exactly ideal. The wind and the cold of autumn chilled my bare hands and gave me some rosy cheeks. At one point, I startled a sea lion who was floating at the surface. I actually think he was sleeping as his eyes were closed and he was just kinda floating along with the current. I had the island to myself for most of the visit, except for the island deer who I startled. This island is a little small for deer so I wasn't surpised when I found an area on the island where everything sorta reeked of urine. Obviously, I found the deer latrine!

A Lonesome Tree

2006-10-20T13:01:00.000-07:00

Check out this one lonesome deciduous tree in a sea of evergreens. Sometimes I feel like that tree might feel: Different (that is if a tree could be self-obsessed and somewhat insecure).

Of course I don't think that it is necessarily bad to feel different. But sometimes it sure can make a person feel lonely. I thought about this alot when I went for my run yesterday.

Fortunately, I had a great run and my outlook took a drastic change for the better. The run started out sopping wet and ended at least 10 miles later under a noticeably brighter and clearer evening sky. I almost didn't go running when I saw how hard it was raining, but since I only ran 4 miles on Wed. I thought I've gotta go burn off some calories. So I took off on one of my old office loops. One which I haven't done in ages. Most of the loop is on roads but fortunately has relatively few stoplights so I could keep going with very few interuptions. Just about everything felt right, including my attitude! It is a little weird when a 10 mile run is more relaxing than vegging out in front of the black box. But I will take it when I can get it!

A Near Epic in the Enchantments

2006-10-20T11:17:00.000-07:00

Last weekend (Oct. 14-15) I raced the autumn/winter weather to see some more of my favorite country. I drove over to the Icicle Creek Road area on Saturday and took off running up Icicle and French Creek Canyons in order to visit Klonaqua Lakes. The goal was to get to these lakes, which are about 9.5 miles from the trailhead, toss a little fly line and admire the view of the surrounding mountains.

I found all the solitude and autumn color I was craving, as nearly every twig and tree in the creek valleys was some shade of red, orange, yellow or green and I only saw one couple and a dog. Most of the day saturday ominous clouds flew by overhead with brilliant flashes of ultra-blue sky in between. At the lakes the sun even beat down for about 1/2 an hour prompting a little sunbathing on the rocks near the water.

It seems that the fish have taken their vacation for the winter or have been taught enough lessons over the summer. I didn't see one fish, let alone catch one!
On Saturday I night I did a little car camping in the Icicle Creek Canyon. After a cold night with rain sprinkles I drove a few miles to meet a group of Seattle Running Club members at the Snow Creek trailhead. We then proceeded up to the Colchuk Lake trailhead where we started a one-way 18-mile run through the Enchantments.

Just before arriving at Colchuk Lake the rain began (about 3-4 miles) and then about 200 feet from the top of Asgard Pass the snow began! At the top of the pass five of us re-grouped, quickly ate, and donned every scrap of clothing we had while huddled behind a boulder. The snow was falling heavily with a significant portion of it blowing sideways! There was no discussion about waiting for the rest of the group. We had to keep going as some of us were in shorts!

Running on top of 4 to 5 inches of snow over rocks and boulders proved to be a little difficult but it ended up being a good traction test for our trail shoes, especially for Scott McCoubrey who was testing a beta pair of Filas. Fortunately, there were no catstrophic falls although I understand that Nick (Fila rep) ended up with a slight injury. Once I got warm, while running through the enchantments, the run became extraordinarily beautiful. The primary colors were white and gray due to the low clouds, rocks, and blowing snow. But every once and awhile the brilliant colors of the alpine larches would stand in stark contrast to the dull grey void. Not many people get to see the Enchantments under these conditions. I felt privileged.

Of course we all made it back to the cars at the Snow Creek trailhead, maybe a little tired, but no worse than usual for an 18-mile mountain run. Several of us made a stop in at Gustav's in Leavenworth for pints and food. Thanks to Nick for the grub and thanks to SRC for another great Enchantments run!

Having Fun With Speed

2006-10-19T14:47:00.000-07:00

On October 7th I had a blast running/hiking to the top of Mt. Daniel over near Salmon La Sac. I drove over in the morning and arrived to a very chilly morning at the end of the Tucquala Lake road. My car indicated that the outside temperature was 29 degrees! I was in for a glorious blue sky and autumn color day. All the heather, huckelberry and deciduous trees were showing their most vibrant reds, oranges and yellows.

Since I got kinda a late start, around 9 AM, I was a little worried that I wouldn't have enough time to get to the top of Daniel. So I did some relatively quick hiking and a little running. I was surprised to find that it only took me 3:53 from the car to the summit even though I got off-route for about 20 minutes trying to bypass a steep dirt slope! I was a little surprised to see a couple of climbing groups on the glacier when there is a much faster route without snow on the nearby ridge.

At the summit I enjoyed the view of the central cascades with one welcome friend, a large raven. Ravens are amazing animals notwithstanding their mythological signs and portents. He sat on top of the highest rock on the summit of Mt. Daniel surveying all the snow, bare rock and wilderness below like a king on high. For a moment I could only wish and wonder: what would it be like to soar like a raven above the mountains and claim your perch on the loftiest, most exposed and cold rock in the center of a massive wilderness. Unfortunately, this particular raven wasn't much for chit chat!

I headed down the mountain and out of the forest, taking my time to enjoy the exploding colors of fall. I tried to soak it all in as I figured this trip might be my last before the snows of winter cover the high country.

On the way back to the car I was a little startled when I came around a corner on the trail (the PCT section) and nearly ran into a little porcupine. I followed him down the trail and watched him for a little while when he climbed a tree. I felt sorry for the little guy as a group of teenagers came up behind me and another noisy group with dogs was on the way from the opposite direction. I wished him well and hoped that he wouldn't have a heart attack from all the attention, then took off. When I encountered the group with dogs I warned them to leash their pets, primarily for the sake of the porcupine! The best picture I could get of the little guy is shown below:

Birthday Challenge

2006-10-08T17:40:00.000-07:00

I am planning my Birthday Challenge for Saturday November 25. This will be for birthday number 34. This is not my exact birthdate, but Saturday will probably work better due to the holiday, etc. Anyone and everyone is invited to attend, but I will warn you it will not be exciting and it will probably be raining!

If you have never heard of a Birthday Challenge you should check out this site: http://www.birthdaychallenge.com/index2.html

My Birthday Challenge for this year (2006) is to bike around Lake Washington, Kayak around Mercer Island (in Lake Washington), and run around the perimeter of Mercer Island (on East and West Mercer Way and the I-90 trail). I am planning on having my starting point and exchange point be at Enatai Beach Park in Bellevue. As of today I have not decided on a start time but it will likely be early in the morning (probably before dawn) so that I can finish in the light at the end of the day.

I haven't figured out how far the ride, bike and run will be but I am guessing that the ride is roughly 45-50 miles, kayak 14-15 miles, run 12-13 miles. Right now the plan is to ride on the arterials closest to the Lake except for where I will be on the Burke-Gilman trail. I am also guessing that the challenge may take somewhere between 10 and 13 hours, but it could be much longer, especially if the weather sucks! Ah the pain and torture of getting a year older!

Please don't ask why I want to do this. If you don't understand why people run marathons or ultramarathons you definately won't understand the reason for the Birthday Challenge. I hope to see if the challenge lives up to my expectations!!

Visit to Mordor

2006-10-06T09:07:00.000-07:00

On September 28, 2006 Heather St. Antoine and I hiked to the summit of Mt. St. Helens and witnessed geology in action on a large scale. Prior to our trip I had been pinning for the chance to see what is going on at the infamous St. Helens.

The mountain had been closed to climbers for at least a year if not two due to the small-scale eruptions and dome building which was occurring inside the 1980 crater. Finally this last May or June the rangers started allowing climbing again.

The last time I had been to the mountain was before the dome building began so I was excited to see the changes which had taken place and boy was I impressed. The dome within the crater is relatively large and growing everyday. The majority of the dome appears to be just a pile of rocks, but a portion of it consists of some very large rock monoliths which are standing at a near vertical angle. When we were there steam and gasses were released from different areas of the dome and crater area every once and awhile (15 or 20 minutes) while rockfall at the dome and the crater walls occurs at least once every 5 or 10 minutes. I could even pick-out some yellow staining on some of the dome rocks which I am guessing is due to release of gasses (possibly sulfur dioxide?). The whole scene really does impart the feeling of movement. It was way cool actually being able to see signs of volcanically induced change first-hand and in real-time! In addition, I couldn't help but notice that the view from the crater and across the 1980 blast zone resembled a fictional fire and brimstone place: Mordor (The Lord of the Rings).

On a sidenote and for future planning, the hike to the top took somewhere between 3 and 3.5 hours with a couple of breaks. This was not a hard hike and definately does not require an alpine start when done this late in the year. If it is windy a dust mask or bandana might be helpful. I can't wait to go back next year or this winter to see how the mountain has changed!

'If it don't kill ya, lord it'll make you strong'

2006-10-04T09:54:00.000-07:00

Just heard this line while listening to Mofro. While this is not true in all situations it sure seems to be a useful mantra for someone like myself. When I start to feel tired in the later stages of a long run or when doing intervals I have often thought something similar: If it doesn't kill me (or cause serious injury) it should make me stronger. Sometimes it is so amazing how the human body can adapt to stress. If you train the body correctly it will no doubt be able to perform that specific task. The trickier task is to train the mind to continue on when the motivation is no longer there.

Although I am definately not in the best shape a bigger problem is that my training attitude has changed. Without some tangible racing goals I definately have a hard time putting in the hard miles: the long or fast road miles. So I guess this means I am going to have to start setting some running goals again. But this time I am going to be careful to allow for enough rest and downtime.

I found this old photo from last year's Seattle Marathon. I forgot that this guy raced me to the line over the last 100 yards. Boy was that a rush, pushing as fast as I could after 26.2! Almost makes me want to run the marathon this year. NOT!!

A Sickening Sort-of Enchantment

2006-09-20T14:45:00.000-07:00

I am finally getting around to posting about my vacation which happened a couple weeks ago. For part of my vacation I visited the Enchantment Lakes once again. I know I go every year but I just can't get enough of the peace I feel sitting by a crystalline lake under a clear blue sky; Or just catching cuts from those crystal clear waters!

So I went to the Enchantments between September 6th and 10th this year. After my trip to the North Cascades (see previous post) I decided to run back down to Leavenworth and see if I could get a permit. I was surprised that so many people showed up at the morning lottery since it was a Wednesday. Fortunately, I took the ranger's advice, felt lucky, and drew the first name. This time I was lucky enough to get a permit.

Because I had been on the road for several days already, It took most of the morning to sort gear, buy food, and pack up for the trip, but I finally got on the trail between noon and 1. Even though I was tired from the previous day's N. Cascades dayhike I was able to hike to the upper end of upper Snow Lake where I set up camp for the first night. Snow lake was extremely low. It seems like every time I come here the lake is lower than before. If they don't stop draining if for the growing Leavenworth population, there won't be much of a lake left! Suffice it to say that the fish were few, small and uncatchable. The next day I huffed it up into the Enchantments only to find that my favorite campsite at Lake Vivianne was already taken! I set off in search of another favorite and ended up at Crystal Lake, wondering if everyone up there had a permit. Several people were fishing at the Crystal peninsula and a large group was at the good campsite. A person from the group even came over to grill me about my intentions immediately following my arrival. I grufly replied that I was going to get something to eat before deciding where I would camp and if I would stay at the lake. I really didn't want to hike back over to the main lakes, since I might not find a good site there either!

After catching a fish, loosing a fly and eating some food I packed up and hiked back over to the nearest large lake (I forget the name) where I setup camp on a knoll above the lake. I settled in to fishing here and really started to get into the 'enchanting' spirit. I had a great time that night, hanging out under the stars and watching the amazing moonrise on the granite. I truly felt like I had found my own personal paradise or shangri-la.

The morning of the 3rd day I woke up with an immediate and overwhelming urge to vacate my bowels (a nice way of saying I had to go!). I really didn't think anything about the diarrhea I had until later in the day when I started feeling terrible. I dayhiked over Prusik Pass and went exploring on the Lost World Plateau. I nearly found a back way around to the snow lakes trail below Nada Lake, but I turned back after travelling for quite some time off-trail. On my way back I thought I was suffering from heat exhaustion. After taking several rest breaks and stopping to treat some water (iodine) I finally made it back to my camp around 5 pm. I was in a world of hurt: throbbing headache, diarrhea, dizziness and an overwhelming fever. I suffered through that night, the next day and the following night, eating very little and wandering from my tent only far enough to open the proverbial flood gates!

It was an extreme relief on my final day, when I felt well enough to hike out. I have never been quite so sick, and especially not 10 miles from a trailhead. Boy was I glad to be back to my car and starting to feel better. After a doctor visit and some tests I find out later that I had a bacterial infection: camplyobacter. The doctor prescribed some antibiotics and I am now fully recovered, thank goodness. I think I may have picked it up when eating out in Winthrop, at the barbecue with Micah, or from the water at the Hart's Pass ranger station.

Although I had an amazing time up until I got sick, I still haven't decided if the beauty was worth the pain. I hope I never run into one of these debilitating bacteria (or parasites) again! But I can't wait to enjoy the beauty of the Enchantments again. I probably will have to go back soon, so that I can truly explore the Lost World Plateau. This area was nearly as awesome as the main enchantment lakes but almost completely unvisited!

N. Cascades Dayhike

2006-09-20T12:43:00.000-07:00

I am finally getting around to posting about my long PCT dayhike which happened a couple weeks ago (9/5/06). After going to Mt Adams on Labor day weekend and spending two days fishing with Micah I drove up to the North Cascades and took a long dayhike on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). I hiked from Rainy Pass to Hart's Pass all along a truly exceptional portion of the PCT. According to the guidebook the distance was 31 miles one-way. I started out at roughly 5:45 AM and ended up at the Ranger Station at Hart's Pass at 3:45 PM (10hrs). I saw only one other hiker and she was a thru-hiker who had just turned around and was beginning to hike south. She was with two dogs and had been hiking for most of the summer.

It was cool how the trail actually followed along several ridges but also ended up dropping into at least one major valley near the center of the hike. The further north I went the smokier it became due to the nearby fires. Of course the smokier it became the more I worried that there wouldn't be anyone at Hart's pass from whom I might be able to hitch a ride. When I actually made it to Hart's Pass I found that not very many people were around. I talked with a hunter for awhile and drank the water stashed at the ranger station before starting the long walk down the road toward Mazama. Fortunately after hiking for a little over a mile I was picked up by the volunteer ranger who was headed down to town to get supplies for another week. She was nice enough to give me a ride all the way to Rainy Pass! Thanks a lot.

The highlight of the day was coming up on a really large bear in the meadows on the way up Grasshopper pass. I was daydreaming at this point and just noticed the bear as she/he turned and saw me. He or she quickly ran down the hill showing off his big furry and bouncing rear-end. I have included a photo of the meadow in which I saw him here. Unfortunately, I wasn't fast enough to get a photo of the bear!

Mt. Adams Fun in the Sun

2006-09-18T13:52:00.000-07:00

On Labor day weekend (2006) I took a nice day hike with my friend Heather at the relatively relaxing Mt. Adams in SW Washington. At Heather's insistence we woke at 3 AM and were on the trail around 3:45. We had a great day plodding up the mainly volcanic scree covered slopes to the summit at over 12,000 feet.

I had forgotten that there is an old building on the summit leftover from some miners. It is unfortunate that those who came before, primarily my parent's and grandparent's generations, feel it is ok to just leave evidence (I'll call it garbage) of their passing. Why is it that so many people think it is just ok to leave their garbage, whether it be a candy wrapper or a mine shack out in the wilderness? It seems more than a little ironic and idiotic that the Forest Services requires visitors to pack out all garbage, including used toilet paper, but does nothing to require that resource users like the miners who left decades ago, pack out their garbage. This is to say nothing of the hypocrisy of the fee system. Now I pay $15 for the privilege of walking up a publicly owned mountain, whereas people who dig, mine and generally make a mess are still beholden to the 1872 mining law which requires a pittance in yearly fees to maintain a claim! I could go on and on, but I won't. Here are a few of the choice photos.

Almost Enchanting

2006-08-23T14:04:00.000-07:00

August 18-20, 2006

Last weekend I had an almost perfect and almost enchanting weekend in the mountains. I say it was almost enchanting because I was near the Enchantment Lakes Basin but actually in a completely different basin which has some of the same benefits: rocks, cold clear lakes and high alpine scenery. It was almost perfect because the weather was spectacular and the fishing was a blast, but my fish cooking didn't work out too well!

I went to Leavenworth with the intention of getting an Enchantments permit. Unfortunately I did not win the morning lottery so I had to pick a different destination. I decided to do a thru-hike into the Mormon Ladies Lakes. I started at the end of the Icicle Creek Road on the Icicle Creek Trail, hiked up Icicle Creek and French Creek then took a right on the trail to Frosty Pass. I passed Lake Margaret and ended up camping my first night at Lake Mary which is just past Frosty Pass.

The fish at Lake Mary were really fun to catch even though they were pretty small. I think the largest one may have been 8 to 10 inches (probably 8). These fish weren't afraid of anything. One nearly swam right up to my leg when I was wading in the lake!

On Saturday I continued on up over Mary Pass and dropped down to Upper Florence Lake. I also took a few minutes to run up the ridge near Mary Pass. I can't remember the name of the peak on the ridge but I decided not to go to the top as I didn't really feel like scrambing up the loose rock.

I dropped down to Upper Florence Lake and started to have some lunch. While eating I noticed that the fish were humongous (at least relative to those at Lake Mary). So I had to throw on a fly and try to catch them. It took awhile but I finally caught a whale of a cutthroat off a large boulder at the rock slide. Unfortunately, he slipped away after I de-hooked him as I was thinking about keeping him for dinner. I never quite figured out what these fish wanted to eat but I was able to catch a few (3 on Sat. and 1 on Sun) off a couple flies. These fish were challenging but really fun to catch since they were so large, especially for a high alpine lake. So I decided to stay at this lake on Saturday night and keep stalking the fish.

In the late afternoon when the fishing was really frustrating I took off on a great trail run over to the next lake, Lake Edna. Running on the wide open trails up on the ridges here was spectacular. It was even more fun with Dylan on the MP3 player! After my trail run I came back to the lake and finally landed a pan-size fish; a nice cutthroat of 12-14 inches. I kept him and quickly got to work cleaning and cooking him up for dinner. The gutting, cleaning and filleting didn't go so smoothly, primarily because I didn't know what I was doing and also because my knife was dull. But that was nothing compared to trying to fry the fish on top of my whisperlite. After a lot of burning I finally gave up on creating the perfect fish and just made sure it was over-cooked by setting the pan (lid) on top of a pot of boiling water. I ate most of the fish and a freeze-dried dinner as well.

On Sunday I hiked out passing Lake Edna, going over another pass and descending the Chatter Creek trail. I stopped at Lake Edna for a very cold skinny-dip before hurrying toward the car. On the way down Chatter Creek I met some other hikers: Jennie, Lindsay and Wendy along with Max and Heidi the dogs. After passing them I stopped on the trail for a snack and was surprised to hear loud scratching on a nearby tree. I looked over only to find that a bear cub was up a tree about 20 feet off the ground. Since I had no idea where mama bear was I quickly threw the food back in the pack and headed back up the trail. I waited with J, L, and W for a couple minutes before heading back past the spot where I saw the bear. Then amazingly, less than 5 minutes later I was startled by heavy crashing through the brush. I knew what it had to be. It was the mama bear. The only problem is that I had no idea if she was headed towards me or away from me so I backtracked quickly. After running into J, L, and W for the second time I set off down the trail which was now clear of bears.

An added bonus to the great weekend is that I went out to dinner with J, L, and W at Gustavs in Leavenworth. These three had spent a night up on Chatter Creek and had apparently had a pretty good time as well.

Deron & Erin's Wedding (late post)

2006-08-23T12:44:00.000-07:00

August 11-14, 2006

On August 12th I was privileged to attend my good friend, Deron Carter's wedding at Silver Falls State Park in Oregon. It was great to see two awesome people making a commitment to each other. And it didn't hurt that we all got to celebrate by getting drunk and hang'n out in the woods! Erin and Deron seem to be perfect for each other and I wish them all the best on their new life together.

Silver Falls is a beautifull park and turns out to be a great place to do a little trail running. I did a little run on the falls loop trail and had a blast running by something like 10 waterfalls.

After the wedding I took a trip up to Opal Creek in the hills outside Salem. This is a truly special place and would be even more so if it wasn't quite so crowded. But what can you do. When you have both a beautiful ancient forest, a refreshing stream with swimming holes and easy access you're bound to have a lot of people. On the drive in to the trailhead I was absolutely surprised to see a mama lion and her kitten on the road. The mother quickly dropped off the downhill side of the road while the kitten tried to climb the steep and rocky face on the uphill side. Consequently, I got a pretty good look at the baby cougar as she/he knocked rocks loose on the steep slope. The slope was a little too steep for her/his climbing abilities and I felt bad about separating the mother from her kitten so I only lingered for about a minute before continuing on down the road. I felt truly blessed. Now I have seen 3 of the stealthy mountain lions in my lifetime! At Opal Creek I did a little bit of running and hiking and took a short dip in the crick. I also got a look at the Ancient Forest Center. This looks like an interesting place. By the way I met Joe at Deron's wedding who mentioned that he will be working here soon. Quite a rustic looking little settlement up in the woods. Looks kinda like a place I might like to live!

After Opal Creek I buzzed over to Beth, Lance and Caleb's house to visit and hangout for one night. Jen and Vincent and their kids were there as well as Van and Sara. It was nice to get to see these friends and acquaintances, who I haven't seen for such a long time. On Monday morning I watched a little Caleb's football practice with Beth and then took off for the drive home.

This time instead of making the boring trudge back up I-5 I decided to follow the Oregon coast and take in some new views. Although it took a lot longer, I had a great time stopping every once and awhile along the coast and trying out the beaches. I will definately need to come back here and spend some time on the beach, especially around Oswald West.

Relaxing at White River

2006-08-01T14:16:00.000-07:00

This year I couldn't run the White River 50 miler on July 29 so I decided to try and help out instead. I volunteered and was assigned to work at the Fawn Ridge aid station (mile 31.7). Like I have done on several other weekends this year I planned to save gas (money!) by going away for the whole weekend instead of taking two trips from home on saturday and sunday. So I planned on staying at White River after the race on Saturday evening and exploring in Mt. Rainier N.P. on Sunday. All went as planned except the weather kinda cooled things off a little.

On Saturday morning I got in a 10 to 11 mile run by running from the Fawn Ridge aid station up to the Sun Top lookout (aid station). I got back just in time to help setup the aid station and before long the front-runners came breezing through the station. Mike Wolfe was in the lead by 2 or 3 minutes and went on to hold onto the lead for the win. He had a pretty impressive race, but I couldn't help but be a little more impressed with his fashion style. He was wearing a snap-button down shirt! I have virtually no fashion sense but for some reason this shirt just seemed to be cool (both figuratively and literally) for the occasion. Here is a very fuzzy photo of Mike.

Unfortunately, I got bamboozled into following one of the runners over halfway to the next aid station. This particular runner, who I won't name, came into our aid station in a slightly disoriented and panicked state and requested that someone go with her because she was worried for her safety. She went on to explain she had a rough patch in the same area when running the race the year before. She had already vomited several times and appeared to be likely to collapse anytime. So without thinking too much about the alternatives I followed her up the trail and ended up running/hiking maybe 3.5 miles with her before I finally refused her pleas that I continue and I turned around. I did not provide aid to her or support her run when on the course. When I made it back to the station I was informed that she had done something similar the previous year. I understand that she made it to the Skookum Flats aid station before she dropped or was pulled from the race. I learned my lesson. I don't plan on following a runner out of an aid station in the future unless absolutely necessary. Next time I will insist that they drop if the feel that they cannot continue without support. In my opinion, an important part of the ultra-racing is that a person understand themselves and their limits. The trick is to keep expanding your limits in terms of endurance, speed, distance and fun without putting yourself into a bad state from which you won't recover. It is an individual sport and as much a race inside your mind as it is on the trail. So for those reasons I think the runner has to take on total responsibility for themselves between aid stations, if not during the entire race.

Anyway, I had a great time seeing lots of runners I know and hanging out with some great characters. In fact I found, Ultrarunner and Race Director extraordinaire, James Varner, lounging in my chair when I returned to the aid station. He had decided to drop since things didn't seem to be going right on that day. It takes a smart ultrarunner to stop before truly hurting themselves. I have learned this the hard way considering that my current injuries are likely the result of over-training and continuing when I should have stopped in my last race. I got to see and talk to quite a few running friends and meet some of the finest runners in the NW if not the country. I had fun even though I wasn't running!

On Sunday I woke up to a slightly wet and gray morning so I chose to take it easy and do a roughly 8 to 10 mile loop hike/run in Mt. Rainier. I went up the Glacier Basin trail, climbed up the Burroughs Mtn. trail and traversed over near Sunrise before dropping back down to the White River campground on the Wonderland trail. I didn't get any real views of the mountain but I did get a little bit of solitude on some sections of a trail which is usually packed with people (touristas). I have got to get back there and run the entire Wonderland trail! Here I am sitting in a rock chair on top of Second Burroughs.

Horse Apples for Dinner?

2006-07-31T15:17:00.000-07:00

I have finally recovered from most of the mosquito and fly bites I received on the weekend of July 22-23, 2006. Or at least I have recovered enough to post this bit of commentary on a wonderful weekend at Cougar Lakes, just East of Mt. Rainier.

I was guided by two intrepid explorers from a place they called Walla Walla. Last I heard this was somewhere near Bugs Bunny's home and was full of sweet onions. Anyway, these two, 'Brielle and Beezer, we'll call them B+B for short led me into one of the horsiest, hottest, bug-infested wildernesses I have ever seen. I had a FANTASTIC time!!

Actually I was a little worried when I arrived at the trailhead on Friday evening and promptly was bitten by at least 5 skeeters before I had even opened my first beer! But I made it through that first hot and buggy night by convincing myself that if I turned off the lights the bugs couldn't see me and they would just go away. At some point during the middle of the night they did go away or at least take a short nap.

On Saturday we hiked up to Cougar Lakes and were pleasantly surprised to find slightly fewer bugs at the higher elevations. We did however meet several large stinky animals which carried some lazy wilderness visitors. When passing Swamp Lake on the way to our destination, the stinky animals became quite agitated at the sight of Mr. Beezer. I can only presume it was due to his fondness for trail apples. On several occassions he reminded us that the smell of horse excrement made him hungry! I was afraid to ask if eating the horseshit would satisfy his hunger.

We found a nice secluded camp near the beach at the larger of the two Cougar Lakes. From here we set about trying to catch the fabled wild mountain trout with our fly rods. That evening I caught one 6-7 inch Brookie and Beezer caught two large minnows (5-inchers) before it became too dark to fish. During the afternoon on Saturday, while my inexhaustible guides slept, I ran up to the top of the ridge near the lakes and got an awesome view of Mt. Rainier and Mt. Adams. I nearly made it to the Pacific Crest Trail before I turned around so that I could make it back in time to wake up the guides for dinner.

On Sunday we spent a lot of time wading into the lake and swatting the air with our fly rods, but didn't have much luck with the fishing. We got a little sun and did a little bit of bathing or wading in the cool clear waters before heading back down the dusty stinky trail. I had a great time on this trip but am still wondering if the B+B guide service is not just a front for a minnow-poaching horseshit-eating couple of onion smugglers. I have posted some of the photos here. You be the judge.

Another Awesome Weekend!

2006-07-18T11:41:00.000-07:00

I had another great weekend in the mountains July 15-16. First I started by climbing Eldorado with the Mountaineers. Then I went hiking and exploring near Cascade pass on Sunday. And amazingly I had no pain at either of my injuries (left groin or right metatarsals)!

The climb up Eldorado was surprisingly easy and even the knife-edge snow ridge at the top was not quite as agro as I anticipated. We had a good Mountaineers group. Everyone seemed to be in good shape and we were able to complete the round-trip car to car in a respectable less than 12 hours. The views from the top weren't so awesome since we were in the clouds (for the most part). But later in the day it cleared and Sunday we had an absolutely electric blue sky.

On Sunday, I hiked up to Cascade Pass from the end of the Cascade River road, where I had car camped the night before. Based upon a recommendation from the eldorado climb leader, Jim Jung, I took a right at the pass and tried to go over Cache Col. But when I got to the steep snow field near the col I had second thoughts as I left my axe at the car, I was wearing trail runners and the runout looked a little gnarly. So I backtracked to the pass and headed down into Pelton basin and beyond. I ended up at a waterfall down near the base of the second valley. I took a short break before starting back. The Cascade Pass trail is a little heavily used for my taste, but one of these days I am going to have to run over and see if I can get to Stehekin in a day!

Mountain Marathon

2006-07-10T13:29:00.000-07:00

On Sat. July 8 I planned on hiking to Lake Byrne which is near Glacier Peak. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that the White Chuck River road had been washed out at least a few years ago! So when I arrived at the road washout, at 1.7 miles from the road beginning, I was a little pissed to say the least. The trailhead is at 10 miles from the road beginning!

Because I got there at the relatively early time of 8:20 AM I decided to try and make it to Kennedy Hot Springs which is at around 5 or 5.5 miles from the beginning of the trail. This means that a total round-trip distance of 26 to 27 miles would need to be covered.

So I took off running up the old road. The road was washed out at two locations in the first couple of miles but was in relatively good condition all the way to the trailhead. In fact the road was actually pleasant as the area does not appear to get many visitors, the forest was lush and the river rumbling could be heard at all times. The first mile of the trail was relatively nice if not a little over-grown in spots but thereafter the route became downright challenging and dangerous. I counted 11 landslides which I had to either skirt around in the riverbed or climb up and over. A few of the slide areas were a little nervewracking to cross below as rocks were heard falling! I made it to the confluence of Kennedy Creek and the White Chuck River only to find that most of the manmade structures and the trail had been obliterated by the river. I found the remnants of a camp area and a toilet (wallowa) after crossing Kennedy but I couldn't find a way to cross the White Chuck River to get to the hot springs. Besides I was worn out and it was already 2 pm, so I started back. I found an interesting cache near the Kennedy creek camp area: A USFS owned First Aid kit and backpack stored in a bucket. It appears that this is all that is left of the USFS patrol cabin which reportadly was located near here. I ran back to the car, pleading with my left groin adductor not to give up until I made it back.

Besides the fun of the trip and the beautiful scenery an added bonus is that I think I figured out the cause of my injury. The groin pain or tendinitis must have developed due to the metatarsal pads and superfeet insoles which I have been wearing. It may even be partly due to my trail shoes which don't provide nearly as much support as my road shoes. So, although, I have a long road to recovery, at least I think I have a clue as to how to overcome the injury. I was able to overcome the adductor pain by adjusting my gait as I ran. This is what led me to think that the pads and insole were causing an unusual stride which may have in turn led to the groin tendinitis.

I am betting that the White Chuck Road will never be repaired, unless a timber sale goes through. That road will never be repaired or re-routed for the sake of hikers or wilderness enthusiasts. Unfortunately this is not me being cynical. This statement is just based on reality. At least now I know where to go to get some solitude!

Cle Elum River Weekend

2006-07-07T13:17:00.000-07:00

For the 4th of July weekend I borrowed my friend Calvin's cabin and spent 4 days hiking and relaxing in the sunshine! I had a great time taking some extended hikes including a loop of Pollalie Ridge and the Waptus River trails (>21 miles). Unfortunately, I broke a piece of exterior trim on my car when driving up the road to the cabin. But I am trying to forget about this and focus on the positive. I actually was able to run a little bit and my left groin is no longer bothering me!

Also there isn't too much snow left in the high country. I am sure that in a couple more weeks it will be easy to go high pretty much everywhere in WA. Last weekend there was still 3 or 4 feet of snow in some places, like at passes with lots of tree cover. The snow made the hikes a little difficult as routefinding became very difficult. It wouldn't be so hard if I had been above tree-line where I could guide myself by landmarks but when travelling through the trees on slightly sloping ground the navigating back to the start point was difficult. I am already wishing I could go back, especially to do some more fishing. I only got out on the river for about 1/2 an hour on one day. I wanted to get to some high lakes but was stymied by the snow navigation difficulties. Oh well, here are a few photos.

Bike Accident

2006-06-16T15:14:00.000-07:00

On my way home from work yesterday I got hit by a car while riding my bike. Fortunately, I only ended up with a few scrapes and bruises and so far it looks like my bike is ok too. The photo above was taken before the accident!

Speaking of my bike it has been getting a good workout lately since I haven't been able to run for nearly 5 weeks now. According to my doctor I have tendinitis at my left groin. So I am starting my recovery now. I have been biking when I have alot of energy on the weekends and doing some short walks in the evening.

This non-running and recovery is much harder than running ultra-distances. I am trying to look at this setback as a new challenge. If I do it right maybe next summer I can run a 100 miler!

Icy Feet

2006-04-28T14:53:00.000-07:00

I am back from vacation and still injured!! How is this possible? Anyway I thought I would post a picture here of what my right foot gets to experience every evening. Maybe this injury is just a symptom of my old age! I am trying not to dwell on it . . .

Back From Heaven

2006-04-28T14:35:00.000-07:00

Last saturday I returned from the great vacation to visit John and the canyonlands. Once again I was absolutely blown away by the beauty, the apparent solitude, the adventure and granduer I found in the canyons of Utah.

We spent our first five days in Dark Canyon. Although we abandoned our technical loop plans on the second day, we still had a great time daytripping up and down the canyons. We spent our first night on the trail under a tarp during a windy and rainy thunderstorm. Welcome to the canyon! Amazingly, the night was not all that uncomfortable, once I was sure that the tarp was well staked down and was not going to blow off. The second day in the canyon, we attempted to climb up and out of Dark Canyon per our planned loop, but gave up when we discovered our packs were too heavy and our will too weak. When planning the hike I definately underestimated the difficulty of steep off-trail hiking and climbing with a 7-day comfort pack (minus tent). So instead, we hiked back up canyon to a great cottonwood wash and made camp for the next couple of nights. On the third day we hiked down canyon again and continued on to Cataract Canyon and the mighty brown Colorado River. We also did a short trip up a side canyon which involved a little climbing.

On the fourth day we spent 13.5 hours hiking and running a little up Lean-To Canyon. We accomplished our goal of going nearly all the way up canyon from the Dark - Lean-To confluence to the airstrip on top of Middle Point. This was one of the most amazing days of exploration I have ever had. We started early in the morning but were turned back after an hour of hiking when we encountered a 200 to 300 foot high dry waterfall at canyon bottom. Once again I (or maybe we) had done a poor job of planning and guidebook reading. We had missed the description which clearly stated that we should take the trail high on the canyon shelf. We backtracked to the confluence and hiked up over the obstacle. This dry waterfall / obstacle was amazing as the dry riverbed was absolutely flat like a road up until the drop off which was steeper than vertical. I took several photos, one of which is shown to the left, but no camera can adequately convey the scale and verticality of this feature.

Anyway, our high ledges detour directed us back into the bottom of the canyon where we travelled up the slickrock floor of the canyon. We passed through an absolutely gorgeous spring area with hanging gardens and large cottonwood trees. In a few locations we followed small trails or footprints up onto ledges in order to bypass some additional drops (dry waterfalls) and pools. When it appeared that we were nearing the upper end of the canyon we struck out on a course up and out of the canyon. Using the GPS, map and compass we guesstimated our position and set out for the airstrip which was located on top of the plateau. I have to admit I was a little amazed when John spotted a plane parked in some trees near a clearing. After reconnoitering the airstrip and walking down the nearby dirt road for awhile we decided to backtrack to camp. I only wish we would have had the time and energy to run out the dirt road and continue north until we were directly above the rim of the Colorado River. Based upon the map I can just imagine that the vista from this point, near Middle Point, is awesome!

The following day we packed up and hiked out of Dark Canyon, up the "appallingly long talus slope." Although it only took 45 minutes to go up the talus slope to exit the canyon, it truly was one of the hardest hikes I have ever done. Because of the steepness of the slope and the heavy loads this climb was like ascending a rickety ladder with a gorilla on your back. My legs were shaking by the time we crested the top of the slope.

After loading up the car and finishing off the warm beer we set out with the intention of exploring the Maze in Canyonlands National Park. We stopped in Hanksville on the way back north had a greasy hamburger dinner, picked up some gas, and beer. Unfortunately, we only got a six pack. Note to self and to John: always buy two or three times as much beer as you think you will need when heading into the hot desert (also get more water!). We drove into the BLM / Glen Canyon Recreation Area land which is west of Canyonlands NP. We found a car camp spot just outside the park and spent a very cold night out, on the high plateau. It definately got below freezing as water in the water bottles froze.

The next morning we checked in at the ranger station and inquired as to our options for seeing the Maze. We were informed that we would either need a higher clearance vehicle or we would need to hike at least 14 miles just to get to the Maze. Since we only had a couple more days we decided to check out the alternatives in the BLM area just west of the park.

Our first day hike in this vast, and nearly visitorless, playground was down Bluejohn canyon, the canyon made famous by Aron Ralston's infamous day trip. Recall that Aron Ralston got his hand stuck while descending Bluejohn and spent several days waiting for a rescue before cutting off his hand with a pocketknife. This alone was enough to make us want to check out the canyon. Is that a little sick and twisted? Anyway we were not sure quite where to go to get into the upper north bluejohn canyon (and this descent would require a rappel) so we started down west bluejohn canyon. We made it through a short narrows with a little overly dramatic downclimbing on my part. It must have taken me 1/2 an hour to make a couple exposed moves on top of a dirty sloping bench before I joined John at the bottom of the slot. After this shallow slot the canyon opened up and joined with the north canyon. We continued down canyon and were soon in the infamous narrow slot canyon where Ralston spent several days. I don't have alot of experience with slot canyons, but I have to say this was an absolutely spectacular and a little technical canyon. It was extremely fun and a little challenging squeezing through and clambering over boulders in this slot where it became so dark that we had to put on our headlamps! After awhile we came to a vertical drop with a small pool below. It was obvious that this was the end of the narrows as the canyon looked like it was widening below the drop. I also knew from reading Ralston's book that this was the final rappel before the hike out in Horseshoe Canyon. Since we didn't have a shuttle to take us back to our starting point we did not put ourselves in a non-retreatable position by rappeling down the drop. We backtracked to the car. Because we got back to the car so early, around 4:30 we packed up and sped over to the Horseshoe Canyon trailhead to hike up from the other end.

Horseshoe Canyon has a large parking lot and obviously is a well-visited area due to the ancient rock art. In fact, the actual canyon is located within a satellite area of the national park. Around 5 or 5:30 pm we left the car and ran down into the canyon hoping to see as much of the rock art as we could before it got dark. This was a brilliant idea, because we had the entire canyon to ourselves. Before long we found the first of a couple of major rock art or pictograph sites. At the Great Gallery I was blown away by how extensive and varied the art was. We pondered the meanings behind the rock art as the entire canyon bottom faded into shadows. It was a truly mystical and a little bit haunting to be so near to such old and strange figures. Some of the art figures were reportedly created up to 4,000 years ago! We hiked out of the canyon in the dark under a cloudless and absolutely star-filled sky.

After a night car camping at the Horeseshoe Canyon parking lot we drove over to the Angel Point trailhead at the Dirty Devil River. Here we descended down slickrock into a large canyon with a truly dirty river. The Dirty Devil was so full of sediment that later in the day it clogged my filter even before I had pumped 1/5 of a quart of water! We hiked up a couple of canyons, including Robbers Roost. Unfortunately, this was not the place to wear shorts, due to the abundance of sharp prickly bushes, not all of which were the famed blackbush. There were also huge prickly pear cacti groves and all manner of sharp sticks, branches and weeds. The sun and the heat were somewhat relentless and our water supplies were extremely limited (due to our poor re-supply in Hanksville two days before!). So we hightailed it back up the canyon walls where the car and a 2.5 hour waterless drive awaited. As noted above, I attempted to filter water at the Dirty Devil as I knew that we would not have enough water for the drive back to civ. Unfortunately, filters were not made for 50% sediment / 50% water!

Once we were at the car the Jimi Hendrix was set on high volume and we set out for the long and bumpy ride back to the paved highway. By 1 AM we were back in Denver raiding the Gallagher kitchen and taking full advantage of the water and beer supplies.

I can't wait to go back!

Cold & Windy Spring

2006-04-03T10:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went for my first spring hike in the mountains (not the lowlands) and boy did it feel like winter! Every once and awhile the sky would start to clear but after 15 minutes of hiking ominous clouds would race in and the wind would shower me with ice crystals from the snow on the ground. It was refreshing to be out on the tops of the hills feeling the full blast of weather. The wind was blowing so hard you can see my goat was even blown over in the wind -->

I went to Mt. Washington and hiked to the top of a ridge near the peak. I'd been here before, just hiking up to the climbing areas. But yesterday I went further up onto logging roads and into tons of snow. In some places it was slow going with postholing up to my knees. I tried an off-trail route straight up a bowl on the northern side of the ridge but was turned back by at least 40 degree steep loose snow. I didn't really need an ice axe but a huge snow shovel (or snowshoes) would have helped!

Anyway I backtracked and followed an old logging road grade around the side of the ridge before clambering to the top. The views of the I-90 corridor aren't much to write home about but it was great to be outside and moving. After the hike I soaked my feet in the icy Snoqualmie River. So I'm hopeing my right foot will feel better this week!!

Only 2 More Weeks!!

2006-03-29T11:44:00.000-08:00

Blue Sky Red Rock Blazing Sun. Only two weeks and I will get to wander through some (Dark, Middle, Bowdie, Youngs, Cataract) canyons for up 7 days!! The following photo is old canyon porn from my Paria trip a few years ago:

I've gotta get outta this office!!

Words to Live by

2006-03-22T12:53:00.000-08:00

I just had to post this quote since I have seen it a couple times recently and it is so important for me to remember.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that
you didn't do than by the ones you did do."
- Mark Twain

Metatarsalgia Go Away!!

2006-03-20T12:59:00.000-08:00

Maybe writing down my frustration will help! Who knows? At least I have finally got a name for the pain which I have had in my right foot for the last two weeks. After dropping out of the Chuckanut 50K on saturday I got some great advice from Scott Jurek.

It sounds like my pain is a symptom of what is called Metatarsalgia, an inflamation of the tissues around the metatarsal bones in the foot. I guess I have been running a little too much. It may also be due to aging since the fat stores on the bottom of the foot become thinner with age. I don't think it is my shoes since I have been running in the same style road shoes for a few years. But just in case it is due to my newer trail shoes I am going to reduce the amount of time I wear my trail shoes. In addition, I need to get a metatarsal pad, take it easy on the running for a little while and do some post-workout icing.

Some great links:

www.spinalhealth.net/inj-foot.html
www.mayoclinic.com/health/metatarsalgia/DS00496

I can only hope that my foot will toughen up so I can plan on making it to the rest of my spring and summer races. Bighorn 100 or bust!!

Couldn't Have Said It Better Myself

2006-03-01T12:03:00.000-08:00

Live passionately, even if it kills you, because something is going to kill you anyway.
Webb Chiles

Note: This photo was from a couple years ago on top of Mt. St. Helens (I think?).

Who is Intelligently Designing Who?

2005-12-20T11:17:00.000-08:00

Ah, the so called debate between Evolutionists and Intelligent Design Proponents continues on unabated. At least in my opinion the real tragedy is that the IDers pretend to be debating the issue. It appears to me that the so-called imminent ID scientists are really just putting forward their arguments in order to weaken the authority and respectibility of scientists and the work they do for society. The long term hidden agenda seems to be to give the judeo-christian religious right some pre-eminent authority over our society's TRUTH. Of course the TRUTH of reality is what a rational society uses to base all their decisions on. When scientific truth is debased and discredited, as it has been for the last several years, it will be much easier for different faith-based truths to control the public discourse, determine to the detriment of science and technology what we teach in schools, and promote certain religious groups as the so called Chosen People. I can't write about this subject nearly as well as some others do so here are a couple of great links:

A scientific debate at Natural History Magazine
http://www.actionbioscience.org/evolution/nhmag.html

An opinion
http://flakmag.com/opinion/intelligent.html

Damon

2005-12-19T23:00:00.001-08:00

It has been two years and I have no words for today.

Just some photos.

Mountain Castle

2005-12-15T14:53:00.000-08:00

Once again it has been awhile since I last posted. Just thought I would check-in and put a couple words and photos up about my ski trip last weekend.

I went up to Rainier last weekend and skied up to Camp Muir. Actually this is the first time I have actually skiied all the way up to Muir. Last time it was socked-in and I turned around when I couldn't tell up from down. It was absolutely beautifull on Sat. 12/10 and a little warm due to the inversion. It was 40 degrees at the parking lot and 25 down in the valleys! The ski up was fun, but surprisingly tiring. It must be old age! The ski down was fun for a little while but became a little tedious when I forgot how to ski and the snow started to become soft. The upper part of the ski was hard and a little icy with some significant sastrugi (or sun cups?) which made the skiing a little hard. On the lower section I was just tired and in a hurry to get to the car before dark and before the gate closed. The sunset was unbelievable; pink apenglow reflected off of every snowy surface!!

Anyway the time to Muir seemed slow at around 3 hr 15 min. Time down was way too slow!

With all the falls I took, the worst one was when I was clambering up the last 30 feet to Muir. I slipped on hard ice bent my pole and put a gash on my thumb. In fact my thumb still hurts. I wonder if it is broken? Anyway attached are a couple of pictures.

Boy it seems like they keep building more structures at Muir! This one photo almost looks like there is a castle on the mountain. What a sweet place this would be to have your own private castle. Preferably with a warm hearth!

My friend the Boobie

2005-11-15T14:15:00.000-08:00

Today I was sent a link to check out this great picture of Beezer and the Boobie! I guess the Blue-footed Boobie likes the particular fish lure Beezer was using. I just had to post this here for future laughs; especially after reading Beezer's response to catching the Boobie (from the MexFish website) "Blue Footed Booby: From Zack Thomas, this shot of a Blue Footed Booby, taken at Bahia San Nicolas in July 1999 on a blue-and-silver hoochie (their favorite) and 40-pound test. According to Zack, John Cunnison said gleefully moments before this photo was taken, "This is the first booby I've touched in months!" Seriously, said Zack, in the San Nicolas area, for some reason, boobies can become such a nuisance attacking trolled lures as to make fishing nearly impossible.

I can't wait to see Beezer and 'Brielle next month. I'd like to hear more about the Boobie catching story.

Tackling the Tatoosh Traverse

2005-09-29T12:15:00.000-07:00

I just knew that last weekend, Sept 24-25, 2005, was going to be a blue-sky weekend. So I made last minute plans to get my 20 mile training run in on Saturday morning, pack up some gear and take off for Rainier N.P. on Saturday evening.

Because the weather was going to be so nice I decided to try to do the Tatoosh Traverse for the first time. Since I was going to be alone and the traverse is basically a one-way trip along the majority of the Tatoosh mountains I decided to stash my bike at the exit trailhead for Pinnacle Peak. I would then need to ride back down the road from Reflection Lake to Longmire. I was looking forward to this ride as it would be fast and almost all downhill!

I snuck into the park late on Saturday and caught some zzz's in the back of the car. At around 7 A.M. I hid my bike up in the trees near the trailhead and zoomed down to Longmire for the start at the Eagle Peak trailhead. While hiding my bike near Reflection Lake I was not surprised to see that several people were arriving and setting up to take pictures of the sunrise and Mt. Rainier. Although it makes great sense to try and get good photos at sunrise it just seems so weird to me that people would drive all the way up (probably from their campgrounds or from home!) just to get some early morning photos. I figure if you are going to get up early to see the beauty of the morning, why not start a hike, get away from the pavement by at least a few miles and actually try to see something few others get to see. Anyone, and sometimes it seems like almost everyone, captures that postcard view from Reflection Lake. Sometimes it seems like photos, no matter how well done, mean nothing without a real experience to act as a caption. A little pain and suffering or epic adventure doesn't hurt to embibe that photo with some spirit. But I am getting off-topic. Being the hypocritical elitist that I am, I quickly took a couple of horribly exposed photos of the Mountain prior to starting my adventure.

It seems like it took forever to get started on Sunday morning. At first I had a hard time trying to find the actual trailhead for Eagle Peak. And then I spent a good twenty minutes trying to figure out how I was going to carry water, food and minimal gear. Somehow I had forgotten my backpack at home but managed to bring all kinds of other gear, including the bladder for my Camelback and alot of food. In the end I made do with a small MSR bag and a webbing strap which I could drape over my shoulder. My jacket and fleece had to be worn or tied at the waist.

Around 8:30 AM I finally took off up the trail in a hurry. The section of the traverse I was doing was supposed to be only 10 miles in length with 7000 feet of elevation gain, but around 6 miles of this was off-trail bushwacking and scrambling. I was planning on scrambling up 7 peaks: Eagle, Chutla, Wahpenayo, Lane, Denman, Plummer and Pinnacle.

I made it to a saddle between Eagle and Chutla just before 10 AM. At 10:15 I had already climbed Eagle and made it back to the saddle! I was a little surprised that Eagle was so short and relatively easy, with maybe some 3rd to 4th class scrambling. I was surprised to see two guys top out at the saddle just as I was getting ready to head up Chutla. They said they were doing the traverse too. At least one of them had done a portion of the traverse from the opposite direction. I wished them luck and told them I would probably see them later in the day. I never saw them, except for when I was descending Chutla and I spied them finally topping out on Eagle.

Chutla was even easier than Eagle with a decent scramble trail all the way to the top. I was feeling a little confident that I could complete the traverse. I knew from looking at a topo at home and talking to the other climbers that there might not be a doable traverse over Chutla. So I spent only a minimal amount of time looking for a way down the opposite side before giving up and heading back down to some meadows. From there I had to climb back up to a saddle between Chutla and Wahpenayo.

I spied a couple of goats as I ascended Wahpenayo. I was surprised that as soon as they saw me they clambered away in a hurry. I was at least a couple hundred yards from the goats. Unlike in the Enchantments and some other places I have been, the goats were actually scared of people. I took this to be a good sign that the park is still a little wild.

Made it to the top of Wahpenayo and wished I had time to sit down as there were quite a few nice warm boulders on which to take a lunch break. But I didn't spend more than three minutes on top before I was picking my way down to the west ridge. From this point until Lane peak I had to travel cross-country or on game trails as the route was not at all clear. I clambered down some rock fields and through some meadows until I was at a tarn below Lane Peak. I finally found a human trail, albeit a thin and overgrown one, at a small pass on the southwest side of Lane.

I started up Lane with some worries that I was running behind and that the peak was a little too dangerous for me. I made it about a third of the way to the top before I scared myself on the loose steep rock (some 4th class with loose rock) and turned around. I decided this would be a terrible place to have an accident since it appears that very few people visit this peak, in the middle of the traverse.

Soon after giving up on Lane I had scrambled up Denman and Plummer which were both easy hikes. Several people were at the top of Plummer which indicated I was back into the well-travelled backcountry. I dropped down to the Pinnacle and Plummer saddle and noticed a large group up on the rocks of Pinnacle. From where I was it looked like they were doing some serious climbing, with helmets and ropes. Since my guidebook (a piece of junk: 75 Scrambles in Washington) indicated the route headed northeast up the peak I traversed to the south side of the peak to look for an easy route. Of course this traverse was a waste of time just like so many other directions I have taken from this book. I ended up heading up to where I saw the climbers earlier.

The climbing got fairly serious with alot of exposure and relatively steep rock. I was a little surprised and definately a little scared. But since the rock was not loose, for the most part, and because a group was on the route I felt a little more secure. Soon I came upon their fixed rope hanging down the route. I stopped a couple of times to consider the danger but continued climbing next to the rope, knowing that I might be able to grab the rope as a handline if need be. I made it to the top and met a group of probably at least 10 students and a couple of instructors. I found out the group was from PLU and was part of a class. Since they were preparing to descend and I didn't want to fall behind the group I set about downclimbing in a hurry. I didn't really get to enjoy the view from here, but I know that this is a peak I should come back to for a relatively airy summit perch with an awesome view of Mt. Rainier.

The descent went quickly and I was back on the short Pinnacle peak trail before I knew it. Another mile down to my bike and I had completed 6 out of 7 summits of the Tatoosh. I definately felt that I had accomplished something. And I had done it on a gorgeous day in an absolutely beautiful setting! The icing on the cake was getting to zoom down the road on my bike. I am sure the park service frowns upon biking down the narrow road, but this was definately one of the highlights of the trip. I am already starting to wonder how to do the entire traverse which includes at least a couple more peaks on the south end of the Tatoosh range.

The Enchanted Cutthroat

2005-09-28T10:00:00.000-07:00

On Labor day weekend 2005 my brother, Micah, and I explored the Enchantment Lakes area. Once again I was overwhelmed by the austere beauty and the 'enchanting' wildness of the Enchantment Lakes. But this time around Micah came (1st timer) and we had more time than I have had in the past to explore and do some fishing.

This was my fifth trip into the Enchantments so I was a little apprehensive that I would get bored with the scenery. I didn't get bored in the least, even though this trip was the longest at 4 days. In fact, I think I need to stay up there for awhile. Maybe a week or two will do me some good!

Anyway, we hiked in under partly cloudy and just slightly chilly conditions on a Friday afternoon. We started at the Snow Lakes Trailhead and hiked to our first campsite at the far end (western) end of Snow Lake. Although I usually don't stop at Snow Lakes we stopped since it was near dinner time and we wanted to try out the fishing on the lake. The lake was extremely low due to the drought conditions and the fact that the Forest Service was spilling water through the outlet pipe. The water level was at least 15 feet lower than normal!. So in order to go fishing we had to walk down the moderately steep sand beach and gingerly stand near the beach edge. The sand at the water line was like quicksand which threatened to take a shoe. In fact Micah's foot got sucked down at least once. At this lake we didn't catch any fish but we saw a few and at least one large fish was swimming around near the inlet stream.

On Saturday we climbed up to the Enchantment Lakes zone under sunny blue skies. We stopped at Lake Vivian (I think), at my favorite campsite near the waterfall and did a little fishing. The campsite was already occupied so we just had some lunch and caught a few cuththroat. We hiked on in search of a private camp and some secluded fishing. We came across quite a few people on the trail, including several fishermen, and at least I was getting nervous that we wouldn't be able to find an agreeable campsite. So we followed a trail which goes toward the Ingalls Creek Valley and ended up finding Crystal Lake. This was a great find as I had never been here before and it was so far off the path that we had the entire lake to ourselves. The lake sat in a deep valley somewhat protected by some cliffs on the lower portion of Little Anapurna and some cliffs which rose to McAllistar Peak (I think?). We set-up camp on a peninsula which juts out into the lake and went to work trying to catch some fish. We both caught quite a few little and medium sized cutthroat on just about any kind of dry fly we tied on. In fact I was getting a little tired of catching and releasing these small fish. The wind was picking up and it was getting cold as the sun went down behind Little Anapurna. Just before giving up for the day I walked back near the camp and found a large flat rock with a deep drop-off just off-shore. With my hands stinging from the cold I tied on a hopper and set it down less than 10 feet off-shore, right over the hole. In a flash the hopper was taken and I felt a good tug on the line. Although most of the fish put up a good fight as all good cutthroat do, I could tell that this fish was big by the strength of his tugs on the line. I pulled him in to find a beautiful 19-inch cutthroat who was a little past height-weight proportionate. He had some meat on him. I was so surprised and excited that I de-hooked him and ran across the peninsula to show Micah. It was pretty obvious we were gonna have to eat this beautiful enchanted fish. This was the first fish I have ever taken and eaten while still in the backcountry and definately one of the largest trout I have caught. When we cut him open and cleaned him we found to our surprise that his stomach was packed full of black ant bodies! This guy obviously had found a great spot to slurp down ants. Anyway we each got an 8-inch long (at least) fillet which we breaded and fried in some oil. With the fish we had our spicy Jamacian red beans and rice (dehydrated meals) and some bagels with cheese. Although the meal was by no means gourmet and it was not nearly as hard as some to cook in the backcountry, it was without a doubt one of the finest and most satisfying meals I have ever had while hiking.

After dinner we took a little walk at dusk and marvelled at the awesome landscape all around us. We shared a cigar and watched the stars come out. The clear night sky gave us an awesome view of the shiny part of the universe, but we paid for it as it was cold and very windy. Although we were probably less than a trail mile from our nearest neighbors it truly felt like we were in a wild and primeval place. An enchanted place.

The next day, Sunday, we hiked through the remainder of the Enchantment zone, where we saw even more people than the day before and a few mountain goats too. I stopped and caught another fish at another lake. Before long we were in the upper Enchantments where there are very few trees and little vegetation. We stashed our packs and made a quick dash to the top of Little Anapurna. The views and the vertigo were a little overwhelming on top as we could see many of the major peaks in Washington: Rainier, Adams, Glacier, Stuart, Baker, Daniel. We ended our day at the shores of Colchuk Lake after dropping down Asgard Pass. Just as we were setting up the tent it started to rain, but fortunately stopped soon thereafter. A little whisky and we crashed at our campsite nestled in the trees above the lake.

On our final day we did a little fishing at the lake but had no luck as the fish seemed to be far off-shore. Micah thought the fish were probably kokanee as they seemed to be travelling in schools. So we packed up around mid-day and had a relaxing hike out to the trailhead. Micah fanagled us a ride back to the Snow Lakes Trailhead where we quickly packed up and headed home.

All in all, I can't believe how hitch-free and relaxing this adventure was. It probably had a lot to do with the fact that I was in a truly wild and unique place with my best friend, my brother.

Mt. Rainier Climb

2005-09-06T12:39:00.000-07:00

This post is a little late but I thought I should put down something about my recent climb of Mt. Rainier. The climb was significant mainly due to the fact that I have wanted to climb the mountain ever since my first unsuccesfull attempt over 10 years ago. It was also significant because Matt Heller and I were finally able to find a time when both of us could be at the mountain!

Our climbing trip started with a relaxing 3 mile walk to Glacier Basin camp on the northern side of the mountain on August 22, 2005. We camped in the trees at Glacier Basin and left for our high camp around 9 AM on the 23rd. We hiked up to the base of the Inter-Glacier where we put on crampons and started up the icy glacier. The inter-glacier presented few difficulties with only a few crevasses. It did however, present some risk of rockfall near the base. The inter-glacier was relatively uneventful except for the clouds/fog which periodically obscured the route. We de-cramponed at the top of the glacier and started hiking up the dirt/rock ridge passing Camp Curtis and getting some great views of the lower Emmons Glacier below us. At this point we had to decide whether or not to drop onto the Emmons and hike up to Camp Schurman or to climb over Steamboat Prow. We had received some warning that the drop onto the Emmons might just be a little too fast for us as it reportedly consists of ball-bearing size gravel on top of a hard and steep dirt slope. We decided not to chance the dirt downclimb. Instead we hiked to the top of Steamboat Prow and downclimbed a couple hundred feet of loose rock (4th class). At least for me, this truly was the hard part of the climb as there was significant exposure and I was downclimbing on really crumbly rock and gravel with a heavy pack (on the way out going up was much easier). After quite a bit of swearing on my part and some waiting on Matt's part we finally stepped into a windy and sometimes cloudy Camp Schurman.

At Camp Schurman we met a large guided group from Alpine Ascents who were also planning on a summit attempt on the morning of the 24th. We ate an early dinner around 4:30 PM and prepared for a start at 1:00 AM. Then we went to bed around 5:00 hoping to get some rest before the early start. I had a terrible time trying to get to sleep with the blinding light on the tent walls and the gusting winds. I really wished I could have slept in the ranger's hut which looked so cozy in contrast to our wind exposed perch between two glaciers. Just about the time I started to fall asleep, around 7 PM a noisy group stumbed into camp. They immediately set about making a racket until one of the neighboring guides asked them to keep it down. I awoke from my 2 to 3 hour nap around 12:15 AM when the guided group was preparing to leave. I got up and convinced Matt that we should leave early since there was no way I was going to get back to sleep until after the others left.

So we left camp at 12:45 AM and started hiking up the Emmons glacier under a clear but windy sky. Matt led us quickly through some of the lower crevasse fields and onto the "corridor" where we came upon the guided group (AA). We passed the AA group as they sent three climbers back down the hill. About this time the view was spectacular. Off to the northwest we could see some lights from the southern Seattle metro area and in the north we could see the aurora borealis. We trudged alongside the other group for awhile before temporarily losing them as we took a traversing route. As dawn started to lighten the mountain it became obvious that our traversing route was taking us into a labyrinth of crevasses. So we angled back a different direction and ended up far above the other group. After taking a short break probably somewhere around 13,000 feet we started a long traverse to make an end run around the bergschrund. We stepped across the bergschrund onto a saddle and realized we still had a long ways to go to get to Columbia Crest. We had both slowed by this point, but Matt was moving extremely slow now and it was 10 AM. To make a long story short we had an argument about whether or not to continue. I admit I said somethings which were mean and unfair. Since then I have apologized for my bad attitude.

Suffice it to say that Matt wanted to continue to the summit. So we took what we thought would be an easier route up a talus slope and finally made the summit at 11:11 AM. We spent just enought time for a few pictures on the frigid summit before starting our descent. It still amuses me that when we arrived at the summit Matt immediately sat down. All the pictures he took were from the sitting position. He didn't get up until we left! The view from the top was brilliant as we could see a relatively large area before the haze obscured the view. We could see Mt. Adams, St. Helens, Glacier, Stuart and I believe Baker.

The trip down was relatively uneventfull except for the fact that we were dog-tired and took far more time than the route required. We arrived back at Schurman sometime around 3:30 PM. We chose not to go home that day. Instead we passed out for about 12 hours before starting the walk home on August 25.

The climb was a great adventure and a significant learning experience for me. I was glad I had the chance to climb with Matt and hope that the bad feelings we both had as a result of our argument will stay on the mountain.

I can't wait to explore another place as awe-inspiring and beautiful as Mt. Rainier.

Caught in the Tides

2005-08-19T09:26:00.000-07:00

The other day I was taking a break from kayaking, just hanging-out on the beach when I spotted a tennis ball in the breaking waves. The waves would rocket the ball onto the beach at every break and then capture it in the receding water and pull it back to sea. The ball could never quite get a hold on the beach and was being forever tossed and turned in the surf. In fact the waves were slowly directing the ball from one end of the beach to the other end. I know it sounds a little simplistic and corny but sometimes, or at least lately, I feel like that ball being tossed one way or the other, never quite free to make my own path and never quite able to grasp onto something solid. Then again there is something to be said for just enjoying the ride. Or in this case, just surfing the wave! Who knows maybe that ball will end it's journey on the other side of the Pacific!

A True Patriot

2005-08-10T13:57:00.000-07:00

I read today about a U.S. soldier wounded in Iraq and his refusal to meet President Bush, Vice-President Cheney and Secretary of State Rice. As far as I can tell from reading the news piece this soldier, Mr. Terry Rodgers, is a true American Patriot of the first order. Just like so many others, he chose to serve his country by taking a job in defense of our country which could very well kill him and actually did severely injure him. At least based upon the article it appears that he didn't join the military in response to the politics of the time. He went for much more rational and realistic reasons:

"It was something I always wanted to do," he says. "I thought it looked fun. I just wanted to get out on my own for a while. I got kind of bored being around here. I wanted to try something new."

Mr. Rodgers was severely injured a few months ago as a result of an improvised explosive device. While recovering in the hospital he was visited by a few celebrities. But he refused to meet with the President when the President came by the hospital for another photo opportunity. This soldier did the right thing by not allowing our President to use his sacrifice for political aims. Considering that our President still has not produced a true and reasonable explanation for why Americans need die in Iraq, I can only speculate that the reason we are there is for purely political reasons. There was no threat. And isn't the threat of attack or the actual attack the only justifiable reason for sending our soldiers to die??

So thank goodness for patriots like Mr. Rodgers who could so easily accept the role of wounded soldier being comforted by a grateful president. Instead he chose to speak out by not allowing his presence with the president to further a cause which he no longer supports.

Mr. Rodger's comments on the future of the war are extremely disheartening and at the same time they sound like they could have come from a soldier stuck in another truly political war, Vietnam:

"It's gonna go on as long as we're there," he says. "There's always gonna be insurgents trying to blow us up. There's just too many of 'em that are willing to do it. You're never gonna catch all of 'em. And it seems like they have unlimited amounts of ammunition. So I don't think it's ever gonna end."

When will all Americans stand up and refuse to let our leaders send Americans to their deaths for something (who knows what the reason is this week) far less important than the defense of our country and our freedom?

Leaky Toes and Frankensteinien Walk

2005-08-03T11:06:00.000-07:00

I did it. I completed my first 50 mile trail race in a relaxing 9 hours and 21 minutes. It has now been over three days since the run and my body is still recovering. Although I had a serious frankenstienien like walk and whole body tiredness the day after the run, I felt like I might be able to start running again within a day or two. Then I went to cut my toenails. Immediately after cutting my two large toenails, blood and fluid seeped out from under the nails. Three days later my toes are still in pretty bad shape! I hope my body starts healing quickly. I want to get out and go running!

The race was amazing (and hard). Everything was going well up until mile 18 or so. The sky was a brilliant blue and Mt. Rainier was watching over as we climbed to Corral Pass and then turned around and began descending from the ridge. It was at the first steep descent where I tripped and fell face forward, sliding at least 10 feet down the trail. Another runner was nearly to me before I got up. He made some comment about the joys of trail running and continued down the trail. I got up and found that my race number was torn off and my entire front torso and legs were caked in dirt. What was worse was that my handheld water bottles were covered in dirt. I was so angry about falling that I just re-attached my race bib and started back down the trail.

Within a few miles of my fall I started to suffer from acid reflux. I think it was the GU2O drink which caused my stomach to go on the fritz, but I don't really know. The reflux continued throughout the remainder of the race. It was really annoying and definitely slowed me down, but fortunately it did not keep me from finishing the race. To be honest, the reflux and the slow recovery are dampening my enthusiasm to run another 50 plus miles, but I am starting to think about trying the Western States 100 mile next summer!!

I met some great people at the race finish, including David Horton who is currently attempting a new speed record for the Pacific Crest Trail. Although running ultra-distances seems relatively normal to me, what Mr. Horton is attempting seems downright crazy. He is on schedule to complete the entire PCT, all 2650 miles of it, in under 63 days!! He run/hikes on average 40 miles a day! for weeks! He says that he plans on being done, at the Canadian border, by August 9. Good luck and god-speed (or should I say bear-speed)!

The first post. Filling the White Space.

2005-07-29T11:58:00.000-07:00

Nothing on my mind. Nothing on the page

Ok, only one thing on my mind. I'm somehow supposed to run 50 miles tomorrow!
I am really excited about running my first 50 mile ultramarathon (White River 50). But at the same time I am getting a little nervous. I just need to remind myself, it is simple, just start running and don't quit. Stopping for a minute or two or walking on the really steep parts is certainly ok. But quitting . . .is just not! Gotta stop dwelling on this. The views of Mt. Rainier from Suntop are going to brilliant. I can't wait.