Technical Difficulties

Well, I had some issues with Blogger just now and that has led to my posting twice on the same day. Oh, no! What will I ever do....

I am in Boulder, CO today, crashing with Michele and Brian once again. I left the Bay Area on Friday and have been heading to Chicago since. I guess I didn't make much progress the last two days. Only a couple hundred miles, but I did get to explore a bit of Rocky Mountain National Park.

On Friday I drove up to Russian River and grabbed a few goodies for folks in the Midwest. I got stuck in some pretty bad traffic all the way from Novato to Sacramento and it took about an hour longer than it should have. Past Sacramento it cleared up and I had clear sailing on into Nevada. I drove until pretty late at night and found a national forest to get some free camping space. In the morning I woke up to find I had parked myself in an absolutely beautiful place that I had no idea about.







After dawdling for a while and taking some photos I got back on the road making it to Wyoming before I started to feel tired and in need of a break. I pulled over at a rest stop and tried to nap, but somehow I couldn't fall asleep despite that fact that I had been having a hard time keeping my eyes open on the road. Because of my dawdling in the morning and my extended break for tiredness, I didn't make it all the way to Colorado that day. Instead I found another national forest to crash in. Unfortunately this one was not anywhere near a pretty as the one in Nevada and I was not even inspired to take any photos in the morning when daylight returned.

Since, I was already behind my personal schedule I decided to go straight to RMNP, instead of hitting Boulder first. I drove over to the park and stopped at the visitor center where I discovered that backcountry camping permits were $20. Guh. no way I am going to pay that when I am used to free permits in Cali. Especially, not by myself for one night. So, I decided to do some day hikes instead.

I hiked up towards Ypsilon Lake that afternoon, but I failed to make it due to lack of daylight and some snow coverage on the trail that I was not willing to struggle through. I only made it to a tiny lake with the appropriate name of Chipmunk.



I had a difficult time finding a camp spot near the park that evening, but I eventually found one I was not too uncomfortable with and I managed to get some sleep. And that brings us to today where I went on another hike up to Thunder Lake in the Wild Basin section of the park. There was a lot of snow in the last mile or so of the approach to Thunder Lake, but today, armed with a ton of daylight due to an early start, I didn't let the snow deter me. It sure slowed me down though. The payoff was pretty worth it.







After the hike I got an interesting note on my windshield but that deserves it's own post. after reading the note and laughing all through my lunch I drove down to Boulder and I have been hanging out with Michele and Brian since. We just returned from trying a new pizza place, that was kinda good. Not amazing but definitely good. Tomorrow I am taking off for Chicago but not too early. I have about 16 hours to go and two days to do it. So I don't need to leave early at all.

14,000 Crunches

Or rather crunches at 14,00 feet. On my way from LA to Palo Alto for graduation I decided to climb Mount Langley the southern most 14,000+ ft. peak in California. And also one of the easiest. I drove up from LA, got my overnight backcountry permit around 3 and got on the trail around 4:30. What follows is a picture based trip report.

The first few miles were relatively flat with mostly sandy ground and widely spaced trees.


The first stream crossing.

After a while the trail tilted up hill and a few meadows broke up the trees.


The trail climbed to a saddle which was the entrance to Cottonwood Lakes Basin.


Shortly after this point I got my first view of Langley.


Near dark I arrived at Cottonwood Lake #5 and I spent the night under the tree on the right side of this photo. In the photo you can also see the snow chute that I had to climb the next morning, it is the band of snow leading to the lowest point on the horizon. (This photo was taken on the following day.)


The next morning I ate a little food and gathered the things I was taking with me up the mountain. I worked my way to the base of the chute where I put on my crampons and got out my ice axe.


I worked my way up the steep snow.


And at the top it looked like this:


Fortunately after a walking only a little ways towards the summit I was able to look to the west into the heart of the southern Sierra.


The walk to the top of Langley was long but not difficult after reaching the top of the snow chute. It looks pretty desolate and it is, but there were a number of plants and flowers growing up there and even a few marmots running around.


Despite my frequent stops to catch my breath I made it to the summit after not too long and I was able to enjoy the views and do a few crunches since it was so nice and sunny with hardly any wind at all.

Cottonwood Lakes Basin


Lone Pine, CA


Whitney


After eating a bit more I headed back down the mountain, descending the snow chute, and picking up the stuff I had left at my camping spot. The lakes and the basin looked quite nice on my way back to the car.

Dip, Dip, Dip-loma

So I am taking in some Eurocup soccer while hanging out in Palo Alto. (The Germans are beating Portugal in the quarterfinals at the moment. Portugal seems to be the better side, except that the Germans keep scoring on a high percentage of their few scoring opportunities) In case any of you NBA fans out there were wondering why "flopping is described as a European thing in the NBA it is because of World Cup soccer. We see egregious flopping in a sport we associate with Europe (well forgieners) and then all flopping is perceived as being Euro despite it's presence in the NBA before the influx of European talent.

I have been in PA for almost a week now. I am in town to attend my Stanford graduation, which took place on Sunday. My parents also came to town and we were able to hang out for a few days doing some things around the Bay Area. They arrived late Friday night and I had arrived earlier that same morning from LA. On the way from LA I went and climbed a mountain, but more on that in another post. Before my parents arrived I got to hang out with my friend Blase and we ate some fabulous Carribean BBQ for dinner before watching Battlestar Galactica and some episodes of "The Tick".

On Saturday my parents and I went out for breakfast to Baji's Down The Street Cafe which was so good we went there for breakfast for the next four days in a row. After breakfast we went up to Santa Rosa to see the town and visit the Russian River brewery. Santa Rosa and the Brewery were as good as they have been in the past although the town was interesting with a "support the troops" day going on downtown. My mom and dad had a sampler of the full tap selection at the brewery and I got a glass of the Fluerette (an interesting beer brewed with spices and flowers, it was just okay although my mom liked it). Along with the beer we also put down two baskets of "Beer Bites" we only order one but they made the wrong ones at first and gave us the mistake to eat anyways.

We left the brewery and headed out to the coast b/c it was still early in the evening. We went to Bodega Bay and found our way out to Bodega Head which was fogged in and cold, but nonetheless was very cool b/c the hillsides were covered with blooming yellow bush lupine. I very upset not to have my camera. After returning to PA were grabbed some In N Out and hit the sack for our early day on Sunday at graduation.

Graduation went well enough. I was not overly bored. The speakers were relatively entertaining and the guys I sat next to seemed interesting and funny. It was a bit hot in black robes and a thick velvet hood. Oprah was the commencement speaker and she gave all of us books along with managing to be entertaining while talking for quite a while. after the big ceremony we walked around campus a bit picking up some stuff at the bookstore and also my diploma. It is nice to have the paper although I really don't have anywhere to put it at the moment. So I gave it to my parents to take back to RI.

After the graduation my parents got to see how Sushi treated them. We went to a restaurant that I have found to be pretty good. And well mom and dad survived the sushi and it seemed like they might not even be afraid to try it again. Although using the chop sticks was not their forte. The dragon roll was the most popular selection I think.

The next day we lazed about for a bit before going to a Giants game in the evening. We had managed to find good seats for the game and were perched in the second row of the upper deck pretty much right behind home plate. It was a nice place to view the game, and I had fortunately brought enough clothing and blankets to allow us to survive the cold air and breeze. I was able to try a Lagunitas IPA at the game, although I think the price was exorbitant (although expectedly so). Good game with lots of excitement, as the Giants made a big comeback and blew the game open late against a seriously over-matched Tigers reliever.

On Tuesday, my parents took off for Arizona to see how the heat was in the summer, since they are planning to move there soon. I was able to meet up with Amanda for some Jamba juice before going to see a movie with Jen. I then had dinner with Blase before going to the local climbing gym to see some old friends.

Yesterday, I basically hung around all day until going to dinner with Jen, Kenny, Bob Sandy and Linda at Jen's family's favorite Vietnamese restaurant, which since they are Vietnamese, is a high recommendation. I got to try a bunch of delicious food that I have never had before, which is always a plus. We then went to a frozen yogurt place which I avoided purchasing anything at for cost and taste reasons. Today I have been lazing around again, although I am writing this post which is well overdue. But soon I will head over to visit Patrick and Bridgette for the evening, and tomorrow I will head out to Chicago for Pete's wedding. I am excited about it I must say. Unfortunately for me there is too much beer around Chicago and not enough climbing. I will be drinking and spending too much and not climbing enough. Ah well, I won't be there for too long I hope. Maybe I can work in a run or two.

Gettin' dressed up

Today, I have to go get measured for the tuxedo I'll be wearing in Pete's wedding. And later this week I'll have to go pick up the fancy pants robes I'll be wearing at graduation. I am sure I will look fabulous in both getups, but probably a bit better in the Tux. You never know though. The robes might be quite flattering. I doubt it though. I think they are designed to conceal the many ills that often plague the bodies of a life long academic.

So, as I mentioned previously, my birthday was on Saturday and it was awesome. I went to a Dodger's game with Josh, Meghan and their friend Kara. It was a good game and we had pretty decent seats. We were in the second row of the upper deck, just above the railing so that we had an unobstructed view of the whole field. I did struggle to gauge where line drives were going to land. There were hits I thought were going to be caught and lineouts I thought were going to be hits. I think I'd have to spend a few games in those seats to get used to it.

After the game we came back to Josh and Meghan's place and cooked up an awesome dinner, with bruschetta, green-lipped mussels steamed in beer broth, and steak frittes. Meghan made some amazing molten chocolate cake for desert which paired with with a bottle of the New Glarus Raspberry Tart. Speaking of beer. There were four of us drink that night so we were able to drink a few more beers than Josh and I can usually make it through with just the two of us.

Here is the list:
Stuise Earthmonk
JW Lee's Harvest Ale 1998
Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA
Struise Stuiselensis
Russian River Temptation
Upland Wheat
Alesmith Old Numbskull
New Glarus Raspberry Tart
Three Floyds Dark Lord Stout

All in all it was a great day. And I owe a huge thank you to Josh and Meghan for making it all happen.

The next day I lazed around for a bit before taking off to go to Black Mountain a nearby bouldering area. Well not too near to LA, it is out in the mountains west of Palm Springs. To get to Black Mountain you approach from the west side of the range and drive up a dirt road towards a boulder-strewn campground. There are lots of cool problems there, but it is certainly not for the novice climber. I checked out the OK Corral area on Sunday evening and climbed a few interesting problems there. I saw many more interesting problems that were just a but too hard for me. I then drove up the road to find a spot to sleep in one of the free group campsites that climbers generally stay in.

The first one I came across had a tent and some gear in it but the owner was not around I set up my stuff on the far side of the campsite, which was actually farther away from his stuff than the next site would have been in most of the official campgrounds I have been in. I ate my dinner and listened to the basketball game (Lakers/Celts game 2). I was just getting ready to go to bed and read for a bit when the guy came back. After a couple minutes he came down to talk to me, and it was clear he would rather that I was not there. I offered to move and it took him a bit to admit that he actually did want me to move. I agreed because it really was no big deal. I was only there cause I didn't know how far up the road the next site was, and I figured this was big enough to fit both of us (and more for that matter). However after I agreed to move it came out that his girlfriend was coming up that night and since he hadn't seen her in a week they were going to be "noisy" all night. The real reason he was uncomfortable is he didn't want anyone within listening distance. I of course told him he should have said that right away. I have to problem at all giving some lovers a bit of privacy if they need it.

So I moved and it was easy. The next site was just up the road. I woke up the next morning (Monday) and headed to the Boulder Basin Campground area. This is the main climbing area but also a campground you have to pay to sleep in. Some of the boulders are right next to the campsites so it is a good place to go on weekdays and avoid on weekends. After I had checked out some of the problems and had started warming up I met another group of climbers from Murrieta. I ended up hanging out with Joel, Terry and Daniel for the rest of the day and together we went out to the summit area to find The Visor boulder and the climbs NRA and Facemeat. I was able to climb Center Visor (V6), Joel almost managed it but was unable to pull the mantle. It was a hard mantle, there must be an easier way than I did it, but I was happy to have done it however awkward it was. I think got it on the third try, but after the first go who really cares. Daniel sent Facemeat (V6) and Joel was very close. I did not try it because it involved small and painful looking crimps, that would have been well... painful. Well then proceeded back to the campground area where the guys showed me the climbs Bull Durham (V6) and Velvet Revolver (V7). The opening moves on BD weren't too bad, but the crux involved a long move off of two painful holds. I think I will wait until I and stronger and the holds don't hurt so much to try to send this one. However VR was much nice on the fingers and I almost got the crux move a couple times. And I think I would have sent it, but my should was hurting me pretty bad for the first time in months and I had to stop climbing for my own well being. I think that doing pushups the other night must have messed me up, by weakening my muscles as they recovered from the workout and then I stressed them again climbing. Hopefully a bit of regular push up work will make it so that my muscles are not too sore and weakened, and I can both climb and do push ups.

In any case, I high tailed it back to LA after that and I hung out with Josh and Meghan last night. Josh and I tried some coffee stouts, Peche Mortel and the Central Water's Coffee Stout, along with the Great Lakes Blackout Stout.

Tomorrow I will leave for Stanford, but I think I might go climb a mountain on the way....

A Mighty Wind

Josh had Tuesday through Thursday off this week so I lured him in to taking Watson on a backpacking trip with me up in the mountains near Bishop. We planned to drive up on Tuesday and get a permit for a single overnight in the Little Lakes Valley area. With permit in hand we would go for a little hike, and camp near the Buttermilks before heading in to the wilderness on Wednesday.

Well, Tuesday went to plan: we got up to Bishop around 3:30 and got our permit in short order. After a walk across the street to grab some chili cheese bread, we then headed up to South Lake to go for a short hike. I was hoping we'd be able to get up to one of the lakes on the way up to Bishop Pass. But we only started hiking around 5:15, so when we had not reached the lake by 6:30 we turned around. I had no desire to be out after dark. We headed back down to the car and went to go find a place to camp. We drove over to the Buttermilks and set up camp after a brief walk around the boulders.




The night was very nice, warm and still and I slept well until around 2:30am. And then the wind started....

We spent a restless night until the light of damn began to grow. The wind never abated and made the tent very loud. Watson did rather well with all the noise and failed to freak out as Josh sort of feared. There was some really nice light on the surrounding mountains, however this was largely due to the very ominous clouds looming over the high country.



We were feeling rather doubtful about the weather and decided to drive into Bishop to see if we could find a weather forecast. I was fully prepared to hike around in the rain, but I didn't really want to, especially with the dog. We failed to find a forecast in Bishop perhaps because it was only 6am. So we decide to bag our plans for overnight hiking and instead head up to Mono Lake and check that out since Josh had never seen it before. Mono Lake was just as interesting as it ever is although the cloud cover rendered the light a bit too poor for good photography.

The wind kept up the whole day and at the Mono Lake visitor center Josh heard that there would be gust of up to 70mph up in the high country. This made our decision to head back to LA very easy. We went to the Tioga Gas Mart for some excellent lunch food to fuel us for the drive home. We stopped in Bishop again on the way south for some gas and a bakery visit. And then we drove back to LA fighting wind gusts the whole way. It was crazy how windy it was all the way from Bishop to Palmdale.

Yesterday, Josh and I hung out and made plans for my birthday on Saturday. We are going to go to a Dodger's game and then have a steak dinner with some awesome beers that we have been saving up. In the evening, we went shopping for food for Saturday, watched the first game of the NBA finals and then organized our current store of beer, aka "the cellar", aka "Josh's closet".

Today, I am going to head back to Stoney Point for some more bouldering to try to get a little bit more exercise than I have been getting recently. I should probably go for a run sometime soon also so that I don't get to weak in the legs. I have big plans for August that depend on lots of walking. In fact I will be detailing my plans very soon in this space.

Four Time Zones, Two Days

Memorial Day weekend on Lake Michigan.


So when last I wrote I was in St. John, MI waiting for The Livery to open up. It was well worth the wait although it took me a little while to get to the really good stuff. I met a few very nice folks, Dixie and Tim the bar-tending couple, Mike the Livery's biggest on-line advocate and Steve the Owner/Brewer. In the course of meeting these fine folks I tried a lot of Livery brews and they ranged from merely okay to fantastic stuff unlike anything I had tasted before. Favorites of mine were the Bourbon barrel aged Triple Wheat Bock, and the Merlot barrel aged Malliot Juane (which I think is a beire de garde). I am hoping to form a relationship with those guys so I can try more of their beers despite their lack of distribution. In return I will try to spread the word of the Livery in Socal.

When I left the Livery I took with me a growler of Red Canoe, which is a wonderful Irish Red Lager, for Grant, my buddy in Indy. I rolled on down to Three Floyds which is barely out of the way heading from The Livery to Indy. While there I had a delicious rueben and a glass of Dreadnaught IPA. Both were delicious and it is hard to decide which was better. I got to Grant's place in Indy around midnight and a a brief chat with him before hitting the sack.

The next day I got up at a reasonable time and hit the road to LA. I put in two relatively long days of driving. The highlight was stopping in Albuquerque to get some chicharones a delicious crispy fried pork that can be used to fill any sort of Mexican type of dish. Along with the chicharones, little bit of fresh Mexican cheese and some flat bread made an excellent meal. I stayed the night in New Mexico and got into LA around 8:30.

Since, then I have been drinking some awesome beer with Josh, climbing at Stoney Point and eating meat with Jen. Josh has a few days off this week and we are discussing an overnight hike in the Sierra with Watson. If that happens there should be some good pictures forth coming in this space.


Stormy Sunset in the Texas Panhandle.