AC and me....

When it's rippin' hot out I like to go to the mall. They really know how to use an air conditioner over there. And at the movies, too.

Our first couple of places in Pleasanton had wall air conditioning units. Mostly these machines just made a bunch of racket. I think the idea was to give you such a splitting headache that you would forget your brain was about to boil.

One time we returned to the place on Pleasanton Ave. after being gone for a few days and it was so hot in there that we started cracking up, it was actually comical. It didn't seem real. Why didn't the building spontaneously combust?

We used to drag the mattress over in front of the ac unit. Just so we could hear it better.

So, when it got too hot, we would split for the mall or the movie theater. I'm pretty sure movie theaters were among the first buildings to install central air, just for that reason. What better way to bring in customers?

August 14, 1945 – Honolulu, Hawaii

I came across this very cool home video shot in Honolulu, HI on August 14, 1945, the day WWII ended. The film was shot in color and really conveys the sheer joy and exuberance people felt that day.

People took to the streets in impromptu parades, piled into and on top of cars and trucks, and for some reason dragging garbage cans along behind them.

It caught my eye that guys were stacked ten deep on trucks and sometimes sitting on the fenders, one dude was standing on the roof of a moving truck. You wouldn't see that these days. Not allowed, too dangerous, not sensible. Those guys probably figured that after what they had been through, they could stand on the roof if they felt like it.

It would be a terrible irony, though. Survive four years of bitter fighting while island-hopping across the Pacific only to meet your demise falling of the roof of a pick-up at 45 miles per hour.

I sure hope it didn't happen, nobody deserves that.

Check out the video here:

http://vimeo.com/5645171

Grand canyon of the Tuolumne

I got together with three backpacking buddies last weekend for a four day fifty mile trip in Yosemite National park.

Jeremy put the trip together and took care of all the administrative stuff, which includes getting a Wilderness Permit from the powers-that-be in the Park. This requires advance planning as permits are issued about six months in advance.

Our destination was a loop hike in the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River. The planned route followed this path (see Tom Harrison Maps, “Yosemite High Country”):

Trailhead: White Wolf 7875'
Day one: Pate Valley 11.4 miles 4380'
Day two: Glen Aulin 14.2 miles 7840'
Day three: Ten Lakes Pass 16.7 miles 9628'
Day four: White Wolf 8.3 miles 7875'

Not all of us completed the original itinerary, but more on that later.

The weather was great, but it's been a long and snowy winter in the Sierras this year, so we were unsure what the conditions would be like on the ground. We figured we would take what Yosemite gave us and stay flexible. When we arrived at the White Wolf Trailhead turnoff we discovered that they hadn't opened up the gates yet. We parked alongside Highway 120 and set out from there, the first mile or so of our hike on the paved road into the resort and the trailhead.

Once we got on the actual trail we moved along at a pretty good clip considering how much snow was on the ground. The trail rolls up and down for almost four miles then starts to drop to the right (East) to descend into the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne. And it drops fast. We lost 2600' feet in roughly four miles. It seemed like a lot to me. Cameron pointed out that we were essentially putting the brakes on for our skin-out weights with each step, over and over and over again.

As we dropped into the Canyon we were treated to outstanding views of Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. When we arrived at the leading edge of the Pate Valley we joined up with the Tuolumne and it was BIG. Lots of water moving very fast. We continued along the river until reaching a nice, flat, roomy campsite just short of the bridge.

The evening routine was.......routine. Jeremy and I got in a game of dominoes.




We were up and moving early in the morning, crossing the Tuolumne via a bridge and starting up the Canyon itself. There is no good camping nearby on the far side of the river, at least not with this much water around.

It wasn't long before we came across a rather daunting obstacle. The Tuolumne was so high that it completely covered the trail, washing up against a granite wall. We had a choice, abandon the trip and retrace our steps back up to White Wolf or wade the river. There was really no discussion, we had a close look and sent Jay out into the river. He got through, so we all gave it a go. It was pretty sketchy. The footing was good, as the trail was made up of stones laid out like a roman highway, but the stones were under two feet of very fast moving water. While a slip was not likely, the consequences would be huge. I think we waded three more short stretches of river like this and several more easier segments.



This part of the hike was very slow as we negotiated the river. We had a snack on a granite ledge opposite Colby Mountain and Grand Mountain (peaks which I think will play a role in the second half of this story), then we arrived at the big climb just as the sun was really starting to beat down. There is an excellent campsite at the junction of Return Creek and the Tuolumne.

The climb was long, hot and difficult. In the morning I was hyper aware of snakes, this was prime rattler country. But in the afternoon I couldn't care less, “Bite me please, just make it quick!”. But the payoff for the all the work was in the view as we approached the end of the Canyon. Water Wheel, Leconte and California falls were all massive, just incredibly spectacular.



We arrived just short of Glen Aulin after about eleven hours on the trail and set up camp. I, for one, was completely spent. It's not that I just felt tired, I felt unwell. I broached the subject of bailing out on the remainder of the trip. There were options available for an easier way out and I was giving them serious consideration. The others made a game, low pressure effort to convince me to stick with it and I decided to delay a final decision until morning.

Way too tired for dominoes on this night.

In the morning we were up early again and underway by seven. I felt better and decided to try it out for a while. The trail out of Glen Aulin en route to Ten Lakes Pass starts out very mild for the first four miles or so. Even so, I was barely making it and was just trudging along one step at a time. It was becoming apparent to me that I wasn't going to make the day.

In the morning Jay had approached me and said “Hike your own hike. Do what works for you, don't worry about us at all.” He gave me “permission” to think for myself and make a decision that was best for me without feeling a self-imposed pressure to keep up or complete the trip. This was an immense help. I found his words very thoughtful and backcountry savvy.

You know how when you watch a good tennis player or skier and they make it look easy and effortless? That's Jay in the woods – 100% at home. That's not to take away from Cameron or Jeremy. Both are strong, accomplished backcountry walkers and excellent hiking partners.

At any rate, I ultimately decided to turn around just short of the junction with the trail leading up to Ten Lakes Pass. We decided I would return to Glen Aulin for the night, then exit to Tuolumne Meadows in the morning. The rest of the group would continue to Ten Lakes Pass, then on to White Wolf and meet me at the diner in Tuolumne Meadows.

I returned to Glen Aulin around noon and found a nice campsite in the woods just downstream from the High Sierra Camp. I rolled out my ridgerest pad and laid down for a second. Next thing you know, I was waking up from a nice nap. I had hours to kill before dark, so I set up a schedule. Gather firewood, mess around with my tarp, read, take some photos, eat dinner and dessert, make cocoa, hit the sack at 9:00. Glen Aulin is a beautiful place to camp, by the way, and easy to get to from Tuolumne Meadows. Not remote, but a great spot anyway.



In the morning I was feeling much better and hit the trail by 7:00 and was in Tuolumne Meadows by 10:00. I asked the first couple I saw where the diner was. They said “Oh, you mean the restaurant, it's closed”. I told them that was ok. I just needed to know where it was. “But it's closed”, they said. Ok, thanks a lot then. I walked over to the visitor center. I told the ranger there about the trail conditions in the Canyon and asked where the diner was. He said there was no diner, but the ranger working next to him interrupted and said, “You mean the grill? It's about a mile that way”. Ok...the grill it is then!

I made it over to the store next to the closed grill and gorged on a constant stream of junk food and enjoyed some excellent people watching. Lots of “dirt bag” PCT through hikers around, characters all. And I mean that in the best possible way. They were already lean and mean, tanned and lined and mailing home their ice axes.

The rest of the group showed up exactly on time at 2:00, we took off toward home, sharing stories the whole way.

This is a spectacular hike, even just the part I did. I had a great time, suffering and all, and experienced some great scenery.

USA v Slovenia

World Cup Soccer, USA v Slovenia

Wow, what a game.

I don't think anybody, least of all the players, thought Slovenia would be a walk-over, but we had to be the consensus favorite.

The US team started out the game in a lackluster fashion. They spent the whole first period one-half step behind the Slovenians and, sure enough, went into the break down 2-0.

The US central defenders were not strong. I don't think Onyewu is 100% recovered from his knee injury. He seems to wobble when he runs and has trouble keeping up with the attacking runners.

And I like the idea of Demerit more than I like his play. To travel to England as a relatively unheralded player and end up starting in the Premier League and on the US National Team is extremely impressive. But he seems to flail around a bit back there.

The second half started out better with the US picking up the pace. Donovan set the tone by dropping deep into his own half to defend and pick up the ball to move forward. Anything good was going to have to come through Donovan or Dempsey, or both.

Finally Donovan got free on the wing when his marker fell and advanced on the goal. Donovan didn't have any support and had to take what was available, which was not much. He rocketed a shot at the roof of the goal, as if taunting the keeper, “You can block this shot with your face if you want to”. The keeper declined the offer and the score was 2-1.

Bradley evened the score, poking a loose ball into the net in the 82nd minute. Then Edu buried a brilliant delivery from Donovan off a free kick. A 3-2 victory assured but for a quick whistle from the referee. Nobody knows what the call was and no explanation has been offered.

So we settled for a draw.

And why are the Slovenians wearing Charlie Brown's shirt?

By my calculations, here's how we advance:

If we beat Algeria, we advance no matter what.

If we tie Algeria and the England/Slovenia game is a draw, we tie-break on goals with England (where we hold the advantage for now).

If we tie Algeria and England wins, we're out. If we tie and Slovenia wins, we advance.

If we lose, we're out.

Basically, we need to win the game. Doable, but who knows?

Lunchtime Soccer – Part 1

I started playing in a pick-up soccer game at lunchtime a few months ago. I never played before in my life but it looked like fun, so I thought I would give it a shot.

It is a lot of fun, and GREAT exercise. It's basically a series of 20-30 yard sprints over the course of an hour.

Of course, I'm not a very good player. Ok, I'm lousy! I just stay back on defense and try to keep it simple and learn as much as I can. I will say that I am getting better little by little, certainly my fitness has improved.

Most of the touches I get on the ball are the result of me blocking a pass or a shot. I'll get a pass from a teammate occasionally, but about half the time I get nervous and don't do so great on my follow-up pass.

A player that only comes out occasionally will pass the ball to me and maybe I'll move it along well, maybe not. If not, that guy won't pass it to me again.

Sometimes it's almost comical. Earlier this week one of my teammates had the ball at his feet and was holding off three defenders. He looks up and sees me standing all alone in space, then looks down and goes right back to getting worked over by the defenders.

I guess he figured that he would take his chances on his own rather than give the ball over to me. I chuckled inside. I can't blame him. As far as I'm concerned, I have to earn the right to have the ball passed to me.

Oh well! I'll keep working on it......

Searchlights

You know those spinning searchlights they used to use to publicize the grand opening of a car lot or something?

When I was a kid my Mom used to throw us kids in the car and have my Dad drive us around to find the lights. Then maybe get a root beer float at A&W.

Good times.

Big Basin State Park May 14/15, 2010

My buddy Greg and I went out for a quick overnight trip to Big Basin State Park last Friday night.

Big Basin is a local State Park in the “Redwood Belt” of the Coastal Range. Lots of very large, very beautiful trees.

I originally thought about using this trip as my first solo trek. The park is close by and hardly the wild backcountry, so I figured it would be a good chance to spend the night out alone to see how I liked it.

Turns out, the backpacking campsites are all designated by the park and are all together in a cluster. There were ten sites with a capacity for up to 60 people spread out along about 200 yards of fire road. We had a couple of guys about 30 feet away and a group of maybe 10-12 young people about 50-60 feet away.

Had I been by myself, I would still not have been alone. I was glad to have Greg along for the company. I'll get that solo trip in another time in another place.

Back to the beginning, I picked Greg up at his office at 2:00, we drove to the park, registered and got on the trail right at 4:00 pm.

Our destination was Sunset Camp 5.5 miles up the trail. The trail immediately dives into the woods and rolls along up and down parallel to a creek. I forget the name of the creek. Finally we arrived at the Berry Creek trail intersection, hung a right and headed up the hill along Berry Creek. There are a set of three pretty good size falls along the creek.

After a short steep climb we made it up to our campsite. We really didn't have too much light left, so we just set-up camp and ate dinner right away. After dinner we hung our food and I talked Greg into a couple of hands of dominoes with my MYOG balsa wood tiles. I forget who won.

In the morning I played around with tarp set-ups. My friend Ken loaned me two tarps that I tried in different pitches to see how I liked tarp life. I liked it fine.

After a while we packed up and headed out, covering the 5 miles back out to the trailhead in dead-on two hours. I was home by 2:00 pm.

I had a nice visit with Greg, always good company, a nice walk and a good camp-out. It was a pretty good start to the weekend.