Movie Time in Tahoe

I Just saw The Simpsons Movie. I must be honest, it could have been funnier. Most of the funny scenes were in the previews, but there were still plenty of entertaining moments. I left the theatre, like others, singing the Spider Pig song.

A few days ago we watched Borat on DVD. I don't know how I was able to watch this entire movie. There were scenes where I had to turn away because they were so graphically gross. If you have seen it, you know what I'm talkikng about.

Body Painting at Club Blu

Last night we hit the casinos. Actually, we just went to MontBleu. It was dollar drink night at their night club, as well as body painting night. No, this woman is not one that is staying with us in Tahoe.

Added 07/15/08: So, if you are looking at this photo, I've been back to the club and have a new photo as can be seen here!

Beach and Personal Watercraft

We opted for a day at the beach and Waverunner rides. I only took one run out on the lake. It had been over five years since I'd been on a personal watercraft. These new ones are faster and can turn quicker that the last one I rode. I tried hard to get some air and splash into some waves, but the water wasn't choppy enough, but I did get nice and wet and had fun. We discussed hiking Mt. Talic tomorrow, but now the guys want to fishing, which interests me none. A short hike might be my alternate plan.

Annual Lake Tahoe Bike Ride

Almost the entire group went on this year's bike ride. Only three people stayed behind. Once again, a great day for a bike ride, with a lunch at the break and a butterscotch shake afterwards.



I didn't bring my own bike so I had to rent this beach cruiser that was too small for me. The 12 mile ride was mostly flat so it really wasn't a problem.

Donner Peak Hike

Our quick, "family" hike turned into an all day adventure. We drove over to the opposide side of Lake Tahoe to Donner Lake for an easy hike up to Donner Peak. I got hungry on the hike, but since I brought food, I wasn't forced to turn to cannibalism. We were not sure which trail to take or what peak it was. So the photo of me is probably on Donner Peak. The hike was 1.5 miles each way with an elevation gain of 1000 feet.



The hike was within a ski area, so there were ski lifts everwhere. There was also what looked like old mines, as in gold mines, in the hills too. We all made it back down, except for Greg, who took off on his own (with my hiking poles) and we had to wait 15 minutes for him to return. Now it is time for beer and burgers.

Lake Tahoe Leg Begins

Our first full day at Lake Tahoe was spent relaxing at the house and a trip to the beach. It was a perfect day - sunny, crisp clean air.



Today would have been the softball tournament, so we're trying to figure out what to do. Sounds like an easy "family" hike is being planned.

I'm So Confused

How could I have been so wrong? The Lake Tahoe trip started yesterday, not today. I found this out at 11AM while at work. Somehow I made it to Tahoe by sunset last night. This actually gives me a extra day of vacation. We found out last week that the softball tournament, which is the purpose of this yearly event, was canceled, so we have seven full days of sun-filled fun.

Missing Comic-Con 2007

For the first time since I started attending the Comic-Con, I'm not going. It conflicted with my summer vacation, which I really need. The only event I regret missing is the Futurama presentation. They'll probably talk about some episodes to be aired in 2008 for this newly renewed, brilliant show. Who knows, Matt Groening and David X. Cohen might even show an entire new episode! I just looked at who is on the panel and for the first time Katey Sagal will be there. She, of course, does the voice of the one-eyed Leela. I'll have to read other peoples reviews this year, as I'll be driving, boating, biking, hiking, camping, relaxing and drinking beer for the next two weeks.

Parallels Desktop 3.0 For Mac

Yes, by the title of this post you can tell I'm done posting my Mt. Whitney pictures. There is an unwritten rule in blogging that once you write about something more current than your last post, you can't go back. It is time to move forward. I'm getting ready for my two week vacation which starts Thursday afternoon. I'm bringing my Mac Book Pro with me, and I wanted to use a mapping program with a GPS. However, there isn't a good one for Macs. So my solution was to buy Parallels. It is a program that runs on a Mac and allows you to run Windows at the same time. After installing Parallels, you install Windows XP. Then you can run Windows and any of its applications at the same time as you run Mac applications. You can share files also. I bought Street Atlas 2008 that included DeLorme Earthmate GPS. It took a while to figure out how it all works, but I was eventually able to run Street Atlas within Parallels and then when I plugged in the GPS unit in the USB port, a window popped up asking me if I wanted to have Mac or PC control the USB device. I chose PC, and after a long time the GPS finally acquired a good satellite signal. I had the GPS receiver inside, so it should work better in my car. My other dilemma was power. There is no cigarette adapter for the Mac. So today I bought a 400 watt DC to AC power converter. It was two standard plugs so I can plug my laptop plus one other device in. I haven't tried it yet, that will wait for tomorrow. I've gathered most of the stuff I'm taking, and its going to be a tight fit in the Mustang. Luckily the trunk is large and I have the whole back seat. I'm bringing hiking, camping and general recreational equipment with me. I'm probably packing enough stuff to survive for a month in case of a natural disaster! I'll be taking tons of photos on my trip and I'll be posting them when I have Internet access.

Mt. Whitney 2007 Web Gallery

I just finished "enhancing" the best of my Mt. Whitney Photos. This one here turned out really good, thank you very much. Click HERE to see the web gallery photo.

Clothes, Tents and Trails

Now just because I'm posting lots of photos of myself doesn't mean that I like to see pictures of me in some sort of egotistical way. I just like to have every place I go documented in a photo. This shot of me was taken at Horseshoe Meadows the day before we set out for Whitney. I was given a request to wear different clothes on my next adventure, that way when I look at the photo years form now I'd remember where I was by what I was wearing. I guess since I have only one pair of hiking pants and three hiking shirts that all look the same, I do look like I'm wearing the same outfit for the last year.


Not the prettiest camp site, but it was functional. Once again I squeezed into my little, and slightly claustrophobic, tent for the night, but it served its purpose. It kept me warm and safe from bears :-)

I believe that is Steve, and I think he is approaching Trail Crest. All the rocks and trials begin to look the same after a while.

Various Whitney Photos

I guess everybody has that "Huh?" look while setting up their tents. Must be the thin air.

I took fewer photos of the places I saw last year. After awhile all the photos look the same. I took most of my pictures after Trail Crest.

I think that is Anthony in the yellow jacket climbing a few switchbacks above me. He was easy to spot until he removed the jacket.

More Whitney Photos

I'm on a roll! Three posts in one day! After just too Stella Artois beers I've got a good buzz going. That's what happens when you take a break from drinking. Don't I look happy before the hike? My knees feel great, as do I.

After we arrived at Trail Camp, we all found a place for our tents. Someone before us had created these flat spots with rocks in between that were perfect for us. My spot just fit the size of my long and narrow tent. I was surprised that the ground was not that hard. I had bought titanium tent stakes in anticipation of hard rock, but I ended up pounding the stakes into soft dirt. Luckily there was very little wind and my tent didn't fly away without me in it.

The trail on the west side of the mountain was very rock, as you can see. Even though the scenery here looks desolate, it was actually quite pretty, with a few flowering plants giving the landscape a touch of color. Like I said before, you just had to watch your step or down the hill you go.

Whitney Food Experiment Gone Wrong

One of the lessons that I learned last year while hiking was that I needed a bigger variety of food. Last year I got so tired of Clif Bars and other dry, chewy food. So on the warm-up hikes this year I tried other food to see what tasted good while hiking. I bought all sorts of snacks, and had this great idea of making small baggies filled with various items. While hiking, I keep one bag in my pocket so I can stop and eat without removing my backpack. Well, when I started eating the food, it all tasted the same. Even worse, I put food in one bag that did not belong together. I ate a brownie and bit into a chunk of turkey jerky. Yuck!


Some bags turned out well. One had mostly dried fruit, and that tasted the best. I still ate the Clif Bars because they were more filling and after one year they tasted good again, plus there were new flavors like blueberry. Another mistake I made was bringing to much food. I think I hiked down with two pounds of food. At least if I got lost somehow, I would not have starved!

Now water was a different issue. I drank and carried to much. I realize now that I was drinking water when my mouth was dry, not because I needed it. Maybe I was so worried about getting dehydrated that I overcompensated. I'll work on consuming less water so I can save on weight in my pack. I can see how the more you hike and backpack the more you know your needs and after awhile you bring only what you need. I have no overnight backpacking trips planned for the rest of the year, just day hikes and camping, so I'll see how I do on those, water and food-wise.

Mt. Whitney Group At Top

Aren't we a great look group of hikers? This photo comes thanks to Jim, and of course Kim who took the picture. We don't look tired at all. I heard that everyone at the top of Whitney was too sick or tired to enjoy themselves. I saw quite the opposite. Everyone was smiling and full of energy. I didn't see it, but there was a group of hikers that were passing around Wild Turkey, a very strong whiskey. Now that would have made me feel dizzy and light headed, and probably prevented my from getting down the mountain. Somebody asked my why I was holding my arm up in all the photos. I told him I was trying to do something different. I have the same look in almost every hiking photo to date, so I held my arm up to show my accomplishment.

Mt Whitney Videos

To view the video I took at the summit of Mt. Whitney, click on of the two links below. The MP4 file should play using Quicktime, if you have the latest Quicktime version. If either of the movies won't play, try saving to disk (by right-clicking and select "save as...") first and play from your computer.

Quicktime movie, smaller file and video size

MP4 movie, medium file and large video size

To view the video I took at Trail Crest, click on of the two links below:

Quicktime movie, huge file and large video size

MP4 movie, medium file and large video size



I'm still learning how to convert my camera's video format to a format that everybody can view, retains the 640x480 size and is compressed to a smaller file size but still has a decent video quality, as in no blurring or pixelization. I had trouble with both my videos, and that is why I have two files for each and no two are the same size/format. Anyways, enjoy!

Mt. Whitney 2007 Summit Day

At 4:40 in the morning my watch alarm went off. Once again, I was in charge of waking everyone up. But since it took me 10 minutes to get my hiking clothes on, by the time I walked tent to tent to wake people up, most were already stirring, except Jim, who was snoring away. Our plan, like last year, was to get hiking early, and just like last year, it took us almost two hours to get ready. At least we were headed up by 6:30. Being up at the crack of dawn is a nice experience. We saw the sun rise and watched the face of the mountains as they changed colors to this glowing orange. Also before sunrise, you could see lights all up along the switchbacks as other hikers had a much earlier start than us and were walking by the light of their head-lights.

Once we started hiking, it didn't take long to reach the switchbacks. I started at a steady pace, but slower than the "rabbits" ahead of me. This trail was so much easier without the snow we contended with last year. I was looking for the place where we turned around last year so I would know when I was higher than I had ever been before, elevation wise. I started feeling more excited as the mountains on the west side began to come into view. Then we hit the last switchback and suddenly we were at Trail Crest. Now this would have been an accomplishment on its own. The views to the west, looking at Sequoia National Park were unbelievable! I took many pictures and a video which I'll post later. Jim and I were the last two to reach this point but the others waited for us as this is a great place to rest, eat and enjoy the view.

After about 15 minutes we all continued on our way. The trail descended from this point before heading up again. The trail was very rocky and you had to watch your step. In fact, that really helped me not notice the sheer drop-offs to the left. I did remember to stop and look at the view and take photos. Along the way Jim and I met a very nice woman named Kim who was hiking alone. The rest of her group were walking much faster than her. They were regular hikers who had "bagged three fourteeners" in Colorado the previous week. Since Kim was hiking the same speed as Jim and I, the three of us ended up hiking together all the way up, taking breaks as needed.

I was really worried about how I would handle the thin air. I was actually doing much better than I had expected. The trick is to hike slow and stop and rest often. I had a slight headache and dizziness, but the symptoms never got worse.

Hiking along the trail, the summit finally came into view, and it looked very far away. More hiking led us over the famous "Window", which in a path that is about 5 feet wide and has long drop-offs on either side. It really wasn't that bad for someone like me who doesn't like heights. In fact, I stopped and had my photo taken there. My way of saying "I'm not afriad of you!". At some point along the route, we hit the 14,000 feet mark. This too was an accomplishment. As we got closer and could see the hut at the summit I knew it would not be too much longer and summit fever set in. I had an adrinerlin rush which helped me keep going.

Around 10:45 AM the three of us reached Mt. Whitney summit! Like I said, I never thought I'd be there. In fact, it was almost like a dream, an unreal experience and I'm not blaming the altitude this time. Turns out the other five in our group had been there for 20 minutes. So I signed the register, snapped many photos and took in the 360 degree view of the whole world, it seemed like. Our group posed for several photos, taken with every camera but mine, so I'll post those pictures when I get a copy. Kim was nice enough to take these pictures, even though she had to go back down to catch up with her fast-moving friends.

I wish I could have spent more time at the top, and there were more photos I'd like to have taken. I did take a video, and that too will be posted here soon. The top wasn't that crowded, but by 11:15, everybody began to leave. They say it is best to leave by noon, because that is when the afternoon thundershowers could hit. However, we had the best hiking weather we could have. Someone must have been looking out for us. The sky was mostly clear and sunny, with a few clouds that every so ofter covered the sun to cool things down. The wind was gentle and I never got cold. By the time I got to the top, I had removed my jacket and could have removed my zip-off pants legs, but left them on to protect my legs from the sun.

So we all left at the same time, and like hike up, everyone had their own pace. I ended up in the last group as my knees were starting to hurt. We all worked well as a team. The hikers in the lead always made sure the slower ones where in sight. I call it the "no hiker left behind" act. It took almost five hours to hike from our camp to the summit and less than three to hike back down. I could feel my knees getting more sore, however, all my leg muscles were hurting. This is the price I paid for bringing six liters of water with me. I ran out of water with just 15 minutes left of hiking to the camp, which wasn't too bad. The food I carried, however, was too much. You never want to carry food up just to bring it down again. I ate mostly easy to digest stuff like the Clif Shots and Clif Cubes and left the Clif Bars.


We got back to our camp site and immediately began to pack up for the hike down. This too took a long time, as everyone is tired and moving slowly. Our last task was filtering water. We had several pumps so this went quickly. Then I put my backpack on and man, it felt heavier than it did on the way up! Six miles down with this weight was a killer. The good news was that my leg muscles hurt so much it masked the pain in my knees. This time Steve and I ended up at the back once Darin and Jim passed us. Steve was walking slow to keep at my ever slowing pace. Jim offered to carry some of my stuff, but I go by the "pack it in, pack it out" slogan. Well, by the time I got down to the portal at 7:30, I was walking at about 1/2 mile/hour. I crossed the finish line unceremoniously, but at least I made it back.

We drove back down to Lone Pine and after a nice long, hot shower it was time for pizza and beer. Yes, time to re-toxify my body. It all tasted great, but there was a bed calling my name. Even though I was exhausted, I had trouble sleeping. Two days and 22 miles of hiking takes its toll on the body.

We woke up on Tuesday and after another good breakfast we headed back home. Somewhere in there we all bought a "I hiked Mt. Whitney" shirt, which I'll wear tomorrow to work. Just like on the drive up, we were all in a great mood, reliving the last few days and listening to the oldies on the iPod, you know, groups like Journey, Rush, Heart and Boston. We were home by the early afternoon, enough time to unpack, do laundry and get ready for work the next day. Work! Ahhhhhh. Luckily I'm taking a two week vacation starting next Thursday. More driving, hiking, camping and visiting with friends and relatives - I can't wait.

Mt. Whitney 2007 Report Day 1

First let me start by saying the the whole Mt. Whitney trip was a blast. We all had fun during the drive up to Lone Pine, eating breakfast, camping and hiking. Everybody was in a good mood and we were laughing and joking all the time. I can't remember the last time I laughed so much.

Once we all arrived at Lone Pine and checked into the Dow Villa, five of us drove up to Horseshoe Meadows for a warm-up hike. This is the place I camped at last year and I thought everyone would enjoy hiking at 10,000 feet. We hiked for about one hour and then headed back down. After about 10 minutes of driving down the steep hill, we smelled the smell of hot breaks. So we pulled over and sure enough the breaks were smoking hot. So we sat by the side of the road for 15 minutes waiting for the breaks to cool while amusing ourselves by throwing rocks over the hill.

For dinner that night we ate at Seasons, where I had a nice big pasta dish. Just as we started to eat, these two men from the table next to us who had been drinking wine came over and asked us if we were hiking Whitney the next day. Then they told us how they just flew in from San Diego to the local airport and hiked the Whitney trail in one day. We were trying to nice, be we just wanted to eat!

We all turned in early because our new plan was to wake up at 4:30 AM so we could eat breakfast and start hiking by 6:30. We wanted to keep the option open to hike to Trail Camp, and if the weather was good, attempt a summit that afternoon. Not everyone was up for that idea, but either way, getting an early start is always good. After a good, hardy breakfast, we left the hotel for Whitney Portal with our backpacks and hiking shoes. We started hiking, I think around 7:00 AM. I say "I think", because lots of the details of this trip are kind of blurry. For some reason I don't have as good memory of this hike as I would expect. I'm blaming it on the altitude. Anyways, after hiking six miles (or more due to the side trip to Lone Pine Lake for some of us) with 35+ pound backpacks, we got to Trail Camp around 1:00 PM. The weather was cool, with partly cloudy skies the whole way up. Shortly after we set up our tents, it started to get dark and cold, which can only mean one thing - rain. It rained and hailed on and off all afternoon, so no summit trek this day. The rain wasn't that bad, plus it gave us an excuse to crawl into our tents for an afternoon nap. We had plenty of time to get ready for the next day, including filtering water and preparing our dinner.


Trail Camp, which is located at 12000 feet and above the tree line, wasn't very crowded, and we had a good spot up against a rock face to protect us from the wind. After we boiled water for our dehydrated dinners, we sat and talked until about sunset. Then as we were ready to turn in for the night, the people camping next to us returned from their summit hike. They told us that there was a hiker that was suffering from just about everything, including altitude sickness. He had tried to summit in one day, and for some reason he didn't bring anything, meaning no food, water or equipment. They had helped him down the switchbacks, which took 3 hours. At Trail Camp, the unprepared hiker rested on a rock for a while. Everybody at the camp was concerned about him and around 8:30 he finally headed down with a flashlight, food, water and an emergency blanket given to him by other campers. We talked to someone the next day who saw him that night around 11PM at Outpost Camp and he slept there. I hope he made it out OK. I posted this on the Whitney Portal Store forum, and someone said this happens every day during the peak hiking season.

By 8:30 I attempted to go to sleep. I was worried about the hiker and had trouble getting to sleep. I finally got some sleep and then around 11PM I woke up for a pee break. When I opened up my tent, I thought I so Jim standing outside his tent, but he wasn't moving. I whispered "Jim?". I also smelled smoke in the air. I walked out of my tent and Jim was watching some men standing around a fire that they started where the solar toilets used to be. The rangers had been there during the day doing work and left their tools, including axes. These men were burning something and using axes to chop up wood and other stuff. This also worried me as I thought they might be crazy hikers who were going to terrorize the camp ground later with those axes. Well, they didn't and I managed to fall back asleap. At least I was lucky enough to be outside at night where the sky was clear and the stars were brighter than I've seen in years. The Milky Way was so vividly visible I wish I had stayed out longer. But my watch alarm was set for 4:40 AM and I needed all the sleep I could get for the next day - our summit hike!

Summited Mt. Whitney!

Yes, I made it. In fact, all seven in our group made it to the top of Mt. Whitney, the tallest mountain in the lower 48 states. I never thought I'd be able to complete this hike, and now that I have I feel like I have accomplished something wonderful.

I'm Ready for my Hike

After a near disaster yesterday, I'm ready for the hike up Mt. Whitney. As I was setting my tent up in my living room to make sure it had all necessary parts, a pole broke! So a quick trip to REI for an exchange and I have a brand new tent. I tested it and it works fine and it is packed away will all my other equipment, including six pounds of food and enough water bottles to hold nine liters of water. Now, I will never carry that much, but once we hit Trail Camp, I'll filter as much water as I can for dinner and breakfast plus the summit hike the next morning. Now we're talking about leaving earlier on Sunday, and if we get to camp early enough, we feel rested and the weather is clear, to attempt a summit that evening. We would get to the peak before sunset but would be walking down using our head lights, which would be kind of fun. However, I don't see everyone agreeing to this plan. Another possible change in plans is that Paula might join us. She had summited Whitney several times. It is good to have people with experience. So, wish us luck and I'll be reporting the results next week.

Getting Ready For Mt. Whitney 2007

Only two days left before we leave for Lone Pine. I thought I had everything I needed last weekend, but I made one more trip to the grocery store for food and another REI visit for last minute items, such as an extra shoe lace for my boots. Yes, that I on the list of items to bring. Some items I didn't get include duct tape, 50 ft. nylon cord and matches with lighter. What I am bringing is a wide variety of food. I must have bought 10 pounds of food for the hike. Now I have to sort it all out into baggies for each leg of the hike. Last year everything I ate was dry and tasteless. This year I'm bringing such items as turkey jerky, strawberry newtons, cheese crackers, clif bars, clif cubes, clif shots, nilla wafers, beef sticks, various dried fruit, protein bars and more. Even with all the stuff I have laid out on the card table, I hope my backpack weighs less than 30 pounds at the start of the hike. Water, of course, will be my biggest concern. There are plenty of places to filter water along the hike, until you reach switchback 24. I'll need at least 5 liters of water to get me to the summit and back. I'll be drinking plenty of water that morning in preparation. We have arranged who is driving, but not when we're leaving on Saturday. I'd like to get there as early as possible so we aren't in a rush to check into the hotel, get our permits, bear canisters and such. Now there are two people who are thinking of camping at the portal that night. I have nothing against camping, but I'd get a better nights sleep in a hotel. It looks like the fires up north are under control, and the weather is looking good this weekend and the monsoonal moisture is dissipating. I'm try to get mentally ready for this hike and I have a good feeling our group will make it to the summit.

San Jacinto Hike July 2007

Darin has been at this summit more than any of us, so he had nothing to prove. However, why hike a mountain if you are going to stop short of a summit?



I believe this is the slope leading to or from Little Round Valley. Which ever it is, it seemed to take a long time to get to the next junction.

Speaking of junctions, here I am at one of them. Even with a map and a sign at every intersection, you have to be careful not to take the wrong path, or your hike could be longer than expected.

San Jacinto Marion Mountain Trail

I didn't realize that the Marion Mountain path up intersected with the Fuller Ridge trail that we took last year. So once again, we hiked through the "Pokey Narrows". Sharp thorns on both sides of a narrow trail, throw in some awkwardly places rocks and it makes for an interesting trek. Luckily it isn't too long. Since we hiked from the tram two weeks ago, and that route was only .5 miles shorter, I thought this hike wouldn't be so bad. But the first 2.3 miles up were very steep, as described in this web site. People called the trail a butt-blaster, but it was more of a quad-blaster on the way up and a knee-blaster on the way down. Add in 4800 feet of elevation gain and an extreem work-out hike it was.

We went slow on the ascent, that is why it took six hours to hike six miles. Our goal was to get Jim up to the summit for the first time, so we went at his pace. He was wearing a heart monitor, and whenever his pulse got above 160, we rested until it got down to 120. Last year we left him sitting on the switchbacks above Little Round Valley as bear food. The bears didn't get to him, luckily.



As you might expect, I had water issues. With only one liter for the hike down, I had to ration my water. In fact, all three of us ran out of water just before we got back to the truck. We had some Gatorade and water waiting for us which never tasted so good. The trail was very dusty on the last stretch, and I was in the rear breathing in all that dust. Now for the next week I'll rest my legs, drink plenty of fluids and be ready for Mt. Whitney.

On the way up, we encountered about eight Japanese adults being guided down the mountain. They all said "hi" to us and looked like they were doing well. On our way down the last two very steep miles, we saw the guide, Bob, hiking back up the hill. He said he lost three of his group. They somehow took a wrong turn at a junction and could have been on any number of trails. When we got to the trailhead, the group that made it down were waiting for their friends. It was 7:30 and getting dark. On the way out, we stopped at both range stations to give them a heads-up, but they were closed. I hope Bob found his missing hikers.

Jim Made It!

Yes, Jim made it to the top of San Jacinto. There is no Photoshopping in this picture, however, there is an orb! There was no one at the top but us, amazingly enough. This was nice, but getting a picture of the three of us was not easy. I set my camera on the wooden elevation sign, set the timer and ran up on the rock just in time. We all had a good laugh at the right moment, so this photo turned out perfect. The 12 mile round trip hike that was supposed to take 7 hours took 10. So we got home much later than expected and I am going to bed very soon. Currently I'm icing my very sore knees, however, every muscle and joint in my body hurts right now. The hike was very difficult.

7/7/7

Today was an interesting day. I didn't to anything of note myself. If fact I only left the house once to get gas (only $2.91 at Costco) and buy some last minute food for the week and the hikes tomorrow and next week. I did spend a lot of time watching television, including the Live Earth concerts in high-def on Universal HD. I only saw a few performances, including Duran Duran and Madonna. Both sounded good. Yes, I'm still living in the 80s. I have also been keeping my eye on some big fires north of Lone Pine that are burning in the Owens Valley. They have closed a section of 395 and are about to evacuate the city of Independence. This fire, if it keeps burning and spreads, could affect our Mt. Whitney adventure next week. I know, I shouldn't worry about stuff beyond my control like fires and weather, but I feel I'm in the best hiking shape of my life and I don't want anything stopping me from summiting Whitney.

My Last Beer!

Until after hiking Mt. Whitney. Yes, I have started the "detoxification" of my body. Too bad my last drink was a grapefruit-tasting firkin beer. At least I look happy. I've also had my last physical therapy appointment and tomorrow is my last hike until Whitney. We are hiking San Jacinto again, this time taking the Marion Mountain trail from Idyllwild. It is only 12 miles round trip, but has a steeper route with a 4800 feet elevation gain.

Firkin Friday Summer 2007

We went to the Firkin Friday at Karl Strauss in Carlsbad this evening. This is a good action shot of the keg tappin. There was more spray later when the waitress spilled wine all over the table next to us, including into a ladies purse. She was not happy. I think she needed a beer instead of the water she was drinking. The Firkin beer was an IPA, and it tasted like grapefruit juice.

Not Likin' the Frikin Beer

My cell phone camera was full so the photo was low quality - as was the Firkin beer. Well, it was good enough for me. I drank mine and Ms. Kitty's too. We left in shame, with undrunken beer on the table. However, no body forgot their leftover dinners. I Finished all mine - a mac'n'chese bowl.

Miramar Lake Bike Ride

For the first time since before September of 2001 I rode my bike around Lake Miramar. Why has it been so long since I've taken this ride? Because the the path across the dam was closed after September 11th and it just reopened yesterday. The path leading to the dam has barbed wire lined fences on both sides, which made it seem like I was riding around or into a prison. However, the path on the dam itself only has a fence on the lake side, allowing an unobstructed view to the west towards the ocean. It was kind of hazy, so the visibility wasn't that good, but still looked nice with the sun low in the sky.

My plan for the day had been to wake up early and drive to the bike path that runs along side highway 56, and then ride my bike all the way from Black Mountain Road to Interstate 5 and back - a 16 mile ride. But since I got invited to an impromptu party last night, I ended up sleeping in until 1o AM. Then I realized I had no hot water. So I spent the next hour fixing that. I think what happened was when they were installing my new furnace, they shut off the main gas, causing the hot water heater's pilot light to go out. So after reading the instructions on the hot water heater, I ignited the pilot light and an hour later I had hot water once again. So at least I now know how to do that. Someday I should drain the hot water tank. They say this should be done once a year, but I've never done it, and the hot water heater is 11 years old. I'm thinking of having it replaced with a tankless water heater. They're more expensive, but are more energy efficient and will save you money in the long run.

New Air Conditioner Installed

I finally came home from work to a cool house. My air conditioner has been installed. It took them less than a day to install it. I have the thermometer set at 77 degrees right now, and it look a while for the AC to cool the house down. I can see I'm going to have an issue with the distribution of the air. My bathroom was very cool, while the living room, the farthest room from the blower, was the warmest. The Honeywell air filter I had added I'm sure will keep my house very clean. In fact I have just the fan running now, and with the variable speed blower, it is so quite I can't even hear it, but I feel the air blowing from the vent in this room. My only complaint about the air filter is it makes a loud "zap!" sound when a large piece of dust gets in, kind of like a bug zapper. This is normal and over time they said it would happen less as the air in my home gets cleaner. Now, I can't wait to see my gas and electric bill for July.