Comic-Con 2006 Day 4: Final Day

I actually put in a full day today at the Comic-Con. I wanted to get there to see Walter Koenig, who played Chekov on the original Star Trek series, talk about his life and what projects he is working on. It was kind of funny, he just sort of walked into the room with his wife not sure what to do before someone led him to a waiting area. I'm not sure how old he is, but he was very articulate and didn't have any trouble walking up the stairs to the podium or showing the audience a dance some crazy fan dressed as Underdog did in a show. He is working on many small, independent projects, including Star Trek New Voyages, an internet show that continues where the old series left off. Then came the questions. Most were really good, but one woman asked "Just how much trouble are tribbles?". His response: "Isn't too early in the morning for silly questions?". Even I was embarrassed by this question.

After a fish and chips lunch, I briefly listened to five voice actors, including Billy West, who does some of the voices on Futurama, perform some of their characters. I left to walk around the exhibit hall one more time, hoping to find some last minute deals on actions figures. I lucked out, stumbling upon a Once More with Feeling Dawn. This is a one-per-case figure that is really hard to find. The price was much less that I expected so I bought it quickly.

I was sticking around to see one last presentation: Robot Rumble. Since Starship Smackdown is over, all we have left is robot battles. This is one of the nerdiest panels at the Con, and can also be one of the funniest. The panel and audience choose 16 robots from movies and TV shows to go one-on-one in hypothetical battles until there is a victor. I was rooting for the Buffy-bot, but she was defeated by the robot played by Yol Brynner in Westworld. The winner was actually the two robots from MST3K. This was definitely the end of the Con.

Final thoughts:

I had loads of fun and the long weekend went by quickly. It was like taking a vacation in my own town. I had fun not only at the Con but also eating at restaurants downtown which I don't do that often. My only major complaint is the over crowding. I think the solution might be to scale back the convention, starting with the Hollywood movie studios. Their presentations are wildly popular, but I think they'll try to use their money and influence to bring the convention to Los Angeles. Without them, fewer people might attend, plus Hall H could then be used for the other popular panels such as The Simpsons and Stargate, freeing up ballroom 20 for the next biggest shows. You get the idea. Bigger isn't necessarily better. I think the true fans would enjoy the smaller crowds and being able to attend any panel they wish. See you next year.

Comic-Con 2006 Day 3

Well, it may have finally happened. Comic-Con (almost) got too crowded to be fun. The day started out with an early walk down the streets of downtown in search of breakfast in what must have been the hottest morning temperature ever in San Diego. By the time we sat down for breakfast, I was dripping with sweat. So why I ordered a coffee I'll never know. However, the Ploughman's Boxty hit the spot for a hearty meal.

My sister and I then walked towards the Convention Center, but waited in the shade across the street until they opened all the doors. People were flowing down the streets of downtown towards the center like the flood gates had busted open. Once inside the main hall, we walked around for a while before I journeyed up to see the Simpson's panel. I got in what I thought was the line just to find out that the end of the line was way back around the corner. Since I didn't want to wait, I checked out the art show and then walked back to ballroom 20. The people who had left after watching the Lost panel had cleared out the room, but they were not letting people in yet, even though it was 15 minutes past the start time for Matt Groening to speak. What is their problem at Comic-Con? Just let everyone in and keep the show running on time! Well, I had seen Matt Groening talk many times before, and even though they probably showed a preview of a new episode, I didn't want to waist my time in a ever-growing line that might never move. So I went back downstairs and walked around some more until I realized that I needed to sit to rest my legs.

Sometimes the best presentations are the ones you catch by accident. There was room in 6CDEF for the Quick Draw event. They had three comic artists that were drawing sketches as quickly as they could, either as a contest to see who could draw the best in a short time or they had to draw pre-chosen words that a special guest had to guess, such as "you", "quick" or the toughest was "Styrofoam". It was all very amusing and I'm glad I was there to see it.

One of the artists was Scott Shaw, who every year has his Oddball Comics slideshow. I had seen him years before and even though I don't collect or even read comics, I found it funny. So after a late lunch at Rock Bottom Brewery, I found a seat and even though I was falling asleep in the beginning (thanks to the beer - again), I was soon laughing my ass off. Not only are the comic book covers he showed really strange, but his take on them made them that much funnier. His show ended at 7, which is the end of most events at the Con. Nothing was happening until 8:30, and I knew there was no way I was getting in to watch the masquerade, so I left and hopped onto the trolley.

I do plan on coming back on Sunday, where I might buy a few more action figures and catch one or two more panels.

Comic-Con 2006 Day 2

Day 2 of the Comic-Con started out hectic because I wanted to park at the convention center and I tried a new way to drive there. It seemed like a good plan, plus I left my house early enough. However, traffic control around the convention center is really bad. I ended up driving past a line of cars that was not moving and at the light there were two left turn lanes, so I entered the right-left lane, without cutting anyone off. Then the light turned green and I would have gotten through the intersection had the car in front of me not stopped to let every one else who did not have the right-of-way through. So the light turn red and I'm still in the intersection blocking all the cars on Harbor Drive. Honking the horn never helps but eventually the person in front of me moved and I got into the parking garage.

Once in the convention, I walked around a bit before heading up to the Family Guy panel. It was actually combined with American Dad, since they share writers and directors. Seth MacFarlane, the creator of the show only made an appearance by cell phone, but he did do the voices of Stewie and Quagmire, enough to satisfy the audience. The eight or so guests talked and answered questions for one hour, plus they showed a short preview of upcoming episodes of both shows.

The next event I attended was Battlestar Galactica. Four of the main actors made it this year, including Edward James Olmos, who claimed that this was his first convention. He did pretty well considering the large, rowdy crowd he was speaking to. The cast, which also included Lucy Lawless, seemed to be having as much fun as the audience. There was a montage of clips from the upcoming season but no specific scene was shown. They said that season three will be the "darkest" season yet.

Right after that was the Bones panel which consisted of just David Boroanaz and a producer. It would have been better with the star, Emily Deschanel, but David Boroanaz was still entertaining, for at least a while.

More time on the floor and somewhere in there I ate lunch and then dinner, with a couple of beers each time. Hoping for a second wind, I stayed for the SNL: Saturday TV Funhouse with Robert Smigel. This panel stated out different with Robert Smigle in the audience with his dog puppet, making fun of people and SNL. Then he ran out the door to attack the Klingons in the room next door, but they had already left. That was really funny and unexpected. The camera stopped working as he left but the audio was still on. Once he made it to the stage he showed a bunch of clips from DVDs of his works, including some that were banned from TV. He also showed a clip that included Jesus Christ watching Linus give his speech about Christmas on the Peanut's Christmas show (which was actually very serious and touching scene), and after the short cartoon was over, Robert Smigle pointed out that Jean Schulz, widow of Charles Schulz, was in the audience. She stood up and everyone clapped.

I thought about staying for the Spike and Mike Sick and Twisted Festival of Animation, but I was getting tired (thanks to the beer) and called it a day. After all, Saturday is the biggest and busiest day of all.

Comic-Con 2006 Day 1

I just got home from the first day of Comic-Con 2006 here in warm and sunny San Diego. I arrived around 2PM after ditching work (not really). Since I picked up my badge the day before I didn't have to stand in any lines, allowing me to walk in and start wandering the endless exhibit hall. After about an hour I head up to room 24A to hear Eugene "Rod" Roddenberry Jr., the son of the creator of Star Trek, talk about, what else but Star Trek. I arrived about 10 minutes early just to find out that the room was full and they were not letting anyone else in. Apparently they are enforcing the "no standing in the room" policy this year. There seems to be more of those clueless Elite Security personal this year, who are about as useful as an extra wearing a red uniform in the original Star Trek series. I guess Comic-Con planners didn't expect so many people to attend this panel so they held it in a really small room. What were they thinking? It is Star Trek!

So back to the hall I went, where I ended up buying some action figures, including two new Buffy/Dawn figures, a Lean-Luc Picard Comic-Con exclusive and the entire set of Homies series four. Yes, my taste in collectibles is all over the place. As five approached, I went upstairs to attend a panel on action figures, appropriately enough. There were representatives from about eight different companies there and they responded to all questions with both serious and humorous replies. They were going to raffle off some actions figures, but due to time constraints they just gave everybody in attendance a free figure! You had no choice what you received, but like the guy said - they are free. I ended up with a Halo 2 Heritic Elite figure, which I don't really want. Anyone want it?

From there I headed home to recover for the next three days. This will be a long and fun-filled weekend.

Comic-Con 2006 is Coming to San Diego

It starts tomorrow, and I'll be there all four days. So stay tuned for my daily blog reports with photos and more!

Alabama Hills and Manzanar

After driving down the nerve-wrecking road from Horseshoe Meadows I had hours to kill before I could check in to the hotel in Lone Pine. As I drove passed an area called Alabama Hills I decided to drive in and take some photos. I was here once before and probably took the exact same photo, but one can never take too many pictures. Alabama Hills is famous for being used as a filming location for Hollywood movies. Once you have been there, you'll recognize the location by the unique rock formations in various movies, especially westerns.



From there I drove up to Whitney Portal just to get a preview of what it would be like the next day. I was surprised at how uncrowded the parking lot was. Last time I was there the parking lots filled up quickly, forcing you to park down the hill along the road. I found a spot right near the store and walked around, taking more pictures, including this one of some people fishing.



After only 30 minutes I drove down to the hotel to find out when I could check-in. They said come back at 1PM. So now I had two hours to fill. I drove up and down the main road a few times before deciding to head north to Manzanar Historical Site. Once again, I had been here years before with my brother. Back then, all there was to see were a few old cement foundations scattered along some dirt roads. Since then they added a visitors center. I was really surprised at how nice the center was. They have a huge room with dozens of exhibits that explain the history of this "relocation center" as it was used during WWII to house Japanese Americans. There was almost too much to see and read. I was actually "moved" as I walked around, thinking how bad it must have been to live there. This photo of a wall with all the names of the "residents" (and an exit sign) was very touching. I would recommend to anyone that they stop there next time they drive up the 395.

Mt. Whitney Photos by Chris

Just in - Mt. Whitney trip photos taken by Chris using his Nikon Coolpix 5700 camera. There is a non-Flash version here, and a Flash version with relaxing background music here. Chris took hundreds of photos, and theses are some of his best. Looking at the pictures I don't even recognize some of the scenery. He took the time to stop and photograph what most of us walked by without noticing. There were lots of shots I didn't take because I was too worried about the snow, weather and falling down a hill.

Mt. Whitney Reflections and Photo Gallery

I have posted my best pictures from the Mt. Whitney hike here. These have been slightly enhanced in Photoshop, where I also used a feature that Chris told me about to create the photo gallery.

Reflections:

After we finished our hiking trip along the Whitney Trail, we realized that had we got started hiking the second day at 5 AM then we would have been much higher up the trail, perhaps even to Trail Crest, when the lightening storm hit. This would have put us in even more danger. I guess it was a good thing that we only got as far as we did.

I wonder if I would have made it to the summit if the weather hadn't turned bad. Hiking up the switchbacks I was feeling fine. It wasn't until we stopped to discuss our situation that I started feeling the symptoms of acute altitude sickness. We were at 13,000 feet, the highest I've ever been (except for in an airplane), and I should have eaten more food. Water wasn't a problem - I drank plenty of that. The only way to feel better at this point was to head down, so if I continued up, I would have felt even worse, in theory. Maybe more food would have helped. I will never know. If the altitude hadn't affected me, and the weather was good, I probably had the physical strength to make it all the way. However, then I would have to hike back down, where my knees would have taken a pounding during the 11 miles return trip. My knees barely held up with the seven mile trek they endured that day. I won't even talk about the blisters on my blisters.

Talking about this now I sound like my body is falling apart. I'd like to think I'm in pretty good shape. During the training, I was hiking so much that I lost weight (and some of my beer belly) and reduced my body fat to 12%. I could not have been in much better shape. That is why I can't figure out why I got so sick upon returning home. What started out as a sore throat the day I drove home, turned into the worst sore throat of my life! There was one day last weekend that I could eat or drink anything because my throat was so swollen. Plus I was coughing all day long, making my throat even worse. I saw the doctor and he was stumped - didn't know what was wrong with me. So he sent me to the lab for some blood tests. They all came back negative - there was nothing wrong with me. Even now, a week later, I still feel weak and slightly sick. I hope that next time I go on a strenuous hike that this never happens again. In fact, I'd like still like to hike San Gorgonio later this summer.

Hiking Mt. Whitney

The time had come. Time to conquer Mt. Whitney. It was 1993 when I hiked the Whitney trail for the first time. I was with my sister and we hiked up to Outpost Camp - a relatively easy day hike. Since then I have always wanted to hike to the top but never thought that I would have the opportunity or ability to make it. So here I am, thirteen years later carrying a 35-pound pack ready for this anticipated and challenging trip to the summit.

Steve, who organized this trip, got the permits and gathered eight people to make this two-day trek. Our goal the first day was to hike up to Outpost Camp. We got started late in the morning, knowing that even at a slow pace it would only take us four or five hours to get there. We all weighed our packs at the scale and I had the lightest. Some of the other packs weighed almost 50 pounds! Turns out my pack should have been heavier because I needed to carry more water. I had a water filter, but since it takes time and effort to take off the pack, set up the filter, pump water and put everything back, I was reluctant to keep using it. It also seems that I drink more water than most people. I was drinking about 1 liter per hour of hiking.

We started up the trail after a taking a group photo, winding up the trail towards Lone Pine Lake. We had to cross several small streams along the way, and the spray from the running water felt good in the heat. Once we arrived at Lone Pine Lake, everyone took off their packs, had some food and relaxed. A few of the guys even went for a swim in the cold waters, and one tried his hand at fishing. After about an hour, four of us packed up and headed to our camping area. It is only a one-mile hike from the lake to Outpost Camp, so this stretch didn't take very long. Once there, I set up my little tent. About this time the weather rapidly changed.
The sky got dark, the wind picked up, the temperature dropped and it started to rain. It wasn't raining hard, but it is no fun cooking food and pumping water in the rain. And did I mention that there were more mosquitoes? This time I had most of my skin covered except for my hands, and that's where they were trying to bite me. By the time everyone ate and got their food placed in the bear canisters, it was time for bed.

The plan was to wake up at 4:30 AM and start hiking by 5:00. Good luck! Well, at 4:30 my alarm went off. I hadn't slept too bad, maybe five hours with three trips to the "bathroom" during the night (where I once again scanned the area for bears - there were none). Somehow I became the human alarm clock, walking to everyone's tents and saying "4:30, time to get up". No matter how hard we tried, everything took longer than expected. We didn't start hiking until after 6:15. People were probably getting annoyed at me as I kept saying "we need to get going!". I couldn't wait so I left on my own.

I was full of energy and made it quickly to Mirror Lake. I was following the trail and soon realized I didn't know where to go. The trail ended! I wasn't lost, because I knew how to get back, but then I heard Jim's voice from way above telling me to turn around. Seems I missed the turn at the Mirror Lake sign. So much for my head start.
The next milestone was Trail Camp. It is about three miles from where we camped. This part of the trail was very steep, it had fewer switchbacks and much of the path was hard rock.
It also had our first snow crossings. Most of these weren't too bad, but one in one spot the trail was only one foot-width wide. Hiking poles weren't much use here - just careful steps and good balance (on the way back it was icier and I slipped and stopped from falling a great distance down a steep, snowy hill by leaning into the snow). It was along this trail that the group started to spread out, with some people walking faster and other stopping more often to eat or take photos. Eventually we all made to to Trail Camp. I had never been this far along the trail before, and didn't know what to expect. We were already passed the treeline, and this area looked like a Moon-scape. There weren't that many tents set up. In fact, I couldn't even see where there was room for many tents with all the rocks. We stopped here for some food before we headed to the dreaded 97 switchbacks.

As we got closer to the switchbacks, we realized that we didn't know how to get to them. There was a huge snow field in front of us with what looked like several paths that had been created by previous hikers. Up to this point, we were surprised that there were so few other hikers on the trail. We were hoping to follow others who knew their way. So we decided to follow the most worn path across the snow. The snow was soft and required lots of work as we went straight up the side of the hill, with our legs sinking deeply into the snow. We finally got to a point where we could see the trail in the dirt off to the right. These were the switchbacks. Once on the trail, the hiking was much easier. I was told that there was a spot coming up where I could filter water. I had already drank most of my water, once again. I finally got caught up to the leaders and we stopped to refill our water. This is the last place to get water, so I filled up 4 liters worth. This took a long time, plus I was sitting uncomfortably on a jagged rock. By the time I finished, everyone had left me behind, except for the brothers, who were slowly making there way up behind me. I wanted to catch up to everyone else, so I skipped eating, which was a big mistake.

I continued up the switchbacks, meeting up with Mike. There were several patches of snow to cross, making the trip slow and tedious. We then made it to the famous cable section. The snow was so thick here, that the only way to get by was to go on the outside of the cables, in the snow, and then back inside and up a 6 foot rock. We helped each other out here, but even so, this was the scariest part of the hike. One slip and down the snow covered hill you go. Once we all passed this section, we continued up. The whole time I noticed clouds forming to the south and west. I knew this wasn't good. If my sister was with me she would have had us turn around at first sight of any clouds. She is smarter that us - we kept going. After all, is was only 10:15 AM - thunderstorms usually happen after noon. The higher we got, the colder the air became. I put on an extra jacket and kept hiking. Then it started to rain. Then the rain turned to hail. Then the hail turned to snow. At this point the eight of us were widely scattered along the trail. Chris was the highest up, then Steve, Mike and I and the rest were somewhere below. We were discussing what to do. Mike and I both agreed that we should go back down. Steve said "Maybe it will just blow over". Storms on Whitney never "blow over". Just as somebody asked "Should be go back?" there was the loud clap of thunder. At that point we all quickly turned around and headed down to safety.

At the time I didn't realize what had happened to Chris. Just before the thunder, he saw or heard an electrical arch between his hiking poles. Wow! That is too way close. Turns out that there were other hikers on the top who also got caught in the storm and had to run for their lives as they heard the static electricity in all the rocks and their hiking poles. The trip down the trail wasn't to difficult until we hit the cable section. The snow was more icy and I had to hold onto the cables to keep from sliding away. Good thing the lightening did not strike then! Further along the trail, I heard someone yell and saw Erin lying on the rocky ground writhing in pain. He had twisted his ankle and fell over. We didn't know that to do. His brother Tony said "Come on, get up. You can't stay here". Typical brother. Well, he wasn't going anywhere for a while. After about 20 minutes, Erin was able to stand. They gave him painkillers, carried most of the stuff in his pack and he was somehow able to walk on his own. We didn't know what to do if he could not have walked.

We later found out that there was a woman higher up on the trail that needed more help than Erin. I read on a forum after getting home that this woman was rescued by a man who we passed on the switchbacks. This man was on a ten day hike with his sons. We passed them on the way up and down, talking to him briefly, but enough to learn his pack weighed 70 lbs. The man ended up carrying this woman who was soaking wet, delirious and probably ready to die if she didn't get medical care, back to Trail Camp. He had a satellite phone and called for help. A helicopter was later sent to pick her up. She was lucky he and other hikers helped. We had no idea this was going on behind us.

The three of us in the lead took a different path down the long snowfield below the switchbacks. I don't know if it was a better route or not, but as we watched the others behind us, suddenly one of them started sliding down the snow. No, he didn't slip, he just wanted to slide down. Turns out it was Jim and he said he had the ride of his life. Glad that someone was having fun for all of us.

By the time we all got to Trail Camp the snow and rain had stopped, but we still heard thunder rumbling above. The skies were very dark so we kept up our good pace. Hiking down the trail we walked faster and took very few breaks. We just wanted to get back to the cars as soon as possible. At one point I ended up alone, between the faster and slower hikers. I suddenly started feeling very sad and depressed. I guess the realization that I wasn't making it to the top finally set in. I wanted to make it so bad, that the disappointment was very hard. Then I remembered reading the night before we left about all the sicknesses you can get from hiking at altitude, and depression was one of the symptoms. So I quickly turned my thoughts to happier times and preceded on.

I seemed to take forever to get back to our camp site, where we still had to pack up. The camp site was now very crowded. The night before there was only one other tent besides our six. Now it looked like a small city, with people running everywhere. As we gathered our belongings, Steve, who started feeling sick eariler, got worse. He had to sit for a long time before feeling well enough to walk again. I too felt somewhhat sick, probably from the altitude and also not eating enough food, but not so sick that I couldn't get ready. I think it took us one hour to pack up all our equipment for the final leg of our journey. The other five hikers who were not injured (or me), agreed to carry much of the equipment for Erin and Steve. Jim also wanted to carry some of my weight, because he knew how bad my knees were hiking down San Jacinto. I ended up giving him my tent poles, which weighed about 3 ounces - at most. I also want to mention that Jim was very helpful with getting ours packs adjusted correctly, and he cracked my back several times relieving my upper back pain. In fact, everyone worked well as a team, helping each other out.

Jim, Darin and I were the last to break camp. I tried my best to walk fast with my full pack, sore knees, tired muscles and blisters on my toes. I know, sounds like I'm complaining. Darin set the pace for me, but it wasn't until it started to rain that I sped up to his liking. I was basically the last one down. Even the two injured hikers beat me. How sad. We arrived at the parking lot around 5:15 and were back at the hotel by 5:45. After a shower I was ready for pizza and beer - and so was everyone else. We were all feeling better by dinner time, completely forgetting how bad we felt as we hiked down. We all agreed that the hike was a success, even though we didn't summit. We all had fun and survived.

It was a learning experience for me. Now I know what to expect and I know what to do differently next time. I needed a bigger pack, poles that don't collapse, broken-in shoes, bigger variety of food (I don't think I can eat another Clif Bar), more warm-up hikes, and if possible, camp at Trail Camp for a shorter trip to the summit. Also, hiking later in the year with less snow would be better. My knees aren't getting any better, so I can only hope I'll have another opportunity to make it to the summit. In fact, Darin and Steve are already talking about trying the Mountaineer's Route up - which is shorter but much steeper.

Sister's New Home and Beer

The traditional shot of Karen in front of her new house. Look how happy she looks.


Her fully stocked new refridgerator.


Turns out I didn't miss out on the Karl Strauss beer after all. This is my first real beer in over a month.

Camping at Horseshoe Meadows

Before hiking up Mt. Whitney, I spent one night at Horseshoe Meadows camping and hiking. This place is south of Whitney and at an elevation of 10,000 feet. You drive near the camp sites. I arrived around 3:30 and set my tent up away from the noisy teenagers. My tent is just big enough for one tall person and not much else, but it weighs less than 3 lbs with the rain fly and poles.

I started my hike up a trail towards Cottonwood pass, but only had two hours before I wanted to be back to warm up dinner. I made the big mistake of wearing shorts and a short-sleeve shirt. There were a million mosquitoes and I left the deet in my car. What a mistake. I got bit on my arms, legs and neck about 30 times. I had to cut my hike short and run back to camp, but the bugs followed me! Luckily there were few mosquitoes at the camp site, so I was able to cook my dinner in peace.

Before going to bed, at 8:30, I put all my food in the bear canister near the traihead (the one near me was broken - or also people proof). I had trouble falling asleep, wondering if a bear was going to paw my tent during the night. I had to get up several times during the night to empty my bladder, and each time I shined my light 360 degrees around looking for bears. There were none. I finally got up around 8:00 AM and packed my stuff into the car. Not much else to do here alone so I headed down the mountain.

I believe that staying at 10,000 feet for the night really helped me acclimate to the altitude. However, it is kind of boring camping alone, so I don't know if I would do this again.

Mt. Whitney Will Still Be There

That's what they say to people who are disap-pointed at not making it to the peak of Mt. Whitney. So yes, we didn't make it all the way, but the hike was still a fun-filled adventure with plenty of memories and stories to be told. What stopped us? Lightening! We were about 3/4 of the way of the 97 switchbacks leading up to Trial Crest when we heard thunder. However, we made it to 13,000 feet, which is the highest I've ever climbed. Stay tuned for more stories and photos of my hiking/camping/backpacking trip.

Ready for Camping and Hiking

I made my last trip to REI today and bought a compass. So now I am ready for camping and hiking. I'm leaving Saturday morning and driving to Horseshoe Meadows for a little hiking and camping. Sunday everyone else will be arriving at Lone Pine and we'll be in a hotel for the night. Monday we start our hike up Mt. Whitney to Outpost Camp, which is only 3.8 miles up the trail. That means Tuesday morning we'll need to wake up early so we can summit before noon and then hike all the way back to Whitney Portal. Tuesday will be a rough day. After a shower in the hotel, beer and pizza awaits us. We'll be driving home on Wednesday. The current weather forecast is for a 10% chance of afternoon thunder showers on the mountain. Hopefully we'll be in the other 90% chance of sun. According to recent hiking reports, there is still plenty of snow on the switchbacks, so everyone wish for warm sunshine this weekend. If I end up standing at the bottom of the switchbacks yelling "nooooooooooooooo" like Darth Vader I just might turn to the dark side too. Yes the mountain will always be there, but I'm not getting younger and my knees are not getting stronger.

No New Home for Me

I ran the numbers and decided against buying a new home at this time. It's not the mortgage but rather the homeowners fees and mella roos, whatever that is. The two fees together would have added up to $600/month. That is money that I see no return on. It all goes towards the "community". I still have to pay all expenses for my home. Someone somewhere is making a ton of money off the sale of new homes here in San Diego and I'm not going to make that person any richer.

My Sunday Wasn't Relaxing

What happened to my plans to relax this Sunday? I did sleep in, drink three cups of coffee and eat breakfast, but then I drove to REI to exchange my hiking poles and buy more supplies for hiking. Then I came home and filled out some paper work for buying a new home. Then I decided to drive back to Del Sur to take another look at the model and ask more questions, plus take pictures. From there I drove to my Brother's house and showed everyone there the photos I took. Now it was time to drive home and do three loads of laundry. So much for relaxing. Speaking of beer, I sure could use one. I haven't had but one drink in the last two weeks as part of my effort to "detoxify" my body before hiking Mt. Whitney. I don't know if it is helping, but I do know that I am really craving a beer. Some people might suggest that I have a problem. They would be right. My problem is that I really need a beer! But it will have to wait until after I have summited in nine days.

Del Sur

What is Del Sur? It is a new master planned community being developed in the center of San Diego county. Why am I talking about it? For some reason I drove to their grand opening event today (after hiking) and toured some of the models. I didn't know what to expect as I drove out in an area that used to be rolling hills and dirt trails. First I was directed to park in a dirt parking lot. Then I saw a shuttle and assumed I needed to take it, which I did. It dove for a few minutes and dropped everyone off at the welcome center, where there wasn't much to see. From there I boarded another shuttle to another area where there was a band playing, free food, and several model homes to walk through. It was quite a festive event on a very clear, not-too-hot day. I had already researched the various developments and plans online so I headed directly to the Madeira models by Shea Homes. I was most interested in plan 3, which was a two story with 4 bedrooms. More important, there was a bedroom downstairs that can be configured as an office. There was also an interior courtyard in the front of the house. I have never seen a room like this. It looks like a room, but there is no glass in the windows, just decorative iron bars. It could be fun place to read or drink a beer. I haven't decided if I'm ready to move into a new home, but now might be my best chance to do so. I'll start the paperwork and see what happens.

Awake at Six in the Morning I Was

Somehow I woke up early as planned and started my hike up Mt. Woodson by 7:30. It was very foggy for the first 30 minutes, then as I ascended above the clouds, the temperature rose about 15 degrees. My backpack weighted only 5 lbs., but my legs were asking me, "Why are you doing this? Didn't we just hike last night? How about some rest?". Well, I ignored my leg muscles and made it to the peak and back in three hours, which is a good time for me regardless. No more hikes until next weekend when I do some easy hiking at altitude before Whitney. I have decided to drive up on Saturday and camp at Horseshoe Meadows area. It is at 10,000 feet and should do nicely for acclimation.

Hiking with a 30 lb. Pack

This is a picture of my backpack weighing 30 lbs. I know you can't tell by the photo, but you could if you had it sitting on your back as you hiked up three miles! All part of the training for Whitney. Tomorrow I'll try to get up early and hike Mt. Woodson with a light pack. Sunday I plan to sleep in and rest, rest, rest.

More Photos of Mt. San Jacinto

This is a view looking down towards the north. The I-10 runs through that valley. This photo shows the stark contrast between the desert and the mountains. Sometime soon after I took this photo, we saw our only non-rodent wildlife - some kind of deer. It ran off too quickly for anyone to take a photo.

On the hike down I stopped to photograph this nice meadow, not realizing that there was a knocked-over sign that said "Stay on the Trail". I was off the trail. Hopefully I didn't harm the plants!

Darin and Mike relaxing at the peak. That is pretty much what everyone was doing. Looking back at that group photo I have posted below, you can tell we are all very tired, but trying hard to smile. I wonder how I'll feel at 14,000+ feet? Speaking of Mt. Whitney, I had a strange dream last night about hiking Whitney that involved president Bush and a bunch of other weird stuff. I have been both excited and nervous about Whitney, almost having a small anxiety attack today. I keep thinking about stuff like the weather, snow pack, altitude and bears. All stuff I have no control over. The day of the hike can't come soon enough.

Fun Hike Up Mt. San Jacinto

The day started for me at five in the morning. However, the hike didn't begin until 9:30. It takes awhile to pick everyone up, drive to Idyllwild, get a day hike permit, use the bathrooms, drive five more miles an a paved road followed my 7.5 miles on a dirt road. Even though we were all tired from waking up so early, the trip on the dirt road was an "E" ticket, for you younger folks who remember the classic Disneyland passes. Darin drove aggressively along the rough road, flying over the bumps at lightspeed. We arrived at the trail head for the Fuller Ridge hike up Mt. San Jacinto.
Once we got all our equipment on, we headed up the trail. The first stretch takes you up the side of the mountain to a pass, where you drop down about 300 feet in elevation. The hike starts around 7200 feet and ends at 10,834. In between there are three areas where you hike down just to hike up. The hiking down might seem nice, but then you remember you have to hike back up on the way back.

The initial pace for us was probably a little fast. I got tired quickly, not being acclimated since we just arrived from sea level. I needed to stop often, drink lots of water, and needed a meal break within the first hour of hiking. In fact, that became a problem. Everyone, that would be five of us, needed to take a break at different times due to hunger, blisters and exhaustion. That is one reason it took us six hours to travel the 7.5 miles to the peak.
After a few more trails that went up and down, and a nice lunch break near a creek, we joined the "main" trail. This is the trail that people hiking up from Idyllwild use. The hike from here is all elevation gain. By this time I was beginning to get acclimated, feeling better that I had felt before. We slowly made our way up. At one point we encountered two hikers that were resting. I heard one of them say that they were practicing for climbing Mt. Whitney. I told him that we were doing the same, and he replied by saying that last time he hiked Whitney, he hike Mt. San Jacinto every week for six weeks. He kind of implied that we weren't ready, but we never saw those two hikers again. I believe they didn't get much further.
Along the way, I tried to stop to enjoy the view, but it wasn't until the hike down that I realized how breathtaking the view was. Going up I was concentrating on making it to the top - I had summit fever! It seemed like forever before we joined the trail that leads to the tram. From this point, it is only .3 miles to the top. However, the last stretch is a scramble up rocks with no defined path. After a short top a the hut, we made the final accent to the peak. Yes, we made it! Time for pictures, water, food and a look around at the desert far below.

I'd say were were up there for 30 minutes before heading down. We looked at our watches and realized that we needed to hurry if we were going to get back to the car by sunset.
Hiking down takes less energy, so we stopped less. However, hiking down is also very hard on the knees. All the Glucosimine, Motrin and aspirin in the world could not have stopped the pain in my knees. By the time I got near the trailhead, which was after sunset, I was walking about one mile per hour, dragging my left leg along. However, that wasn't the worst part of the hike down. The worst thing that could have happened - I ran out of water! I thought I had enough. Four liters plus a bottle of Gaterade. I drank all my water about an hour after summiting. Luckily, others had extra and let me drink some of their water. But by the end, almost everyone was out of water. We didn't bring water filters. Thank Jim for leaving two bottles in the car waiting for us. That was a lifesaver.

Like I said before, those downhills on the way up were torcher on the way back. My legs were burning with pain going uphill, and my knees were aching on the downhills. That last stretch down the side seemed to take forever. It was getting dark, I was bringing up the rear, I was out of water and it was also getting colder. I did have a sweatshirt and a light, but luckily did need either.
Once back to the truck, at about 8 PM, we headed home. That bumpy road was not much fun this time. Darin drove slower, which also made the drive out seem longer, which it was. Back in the local town, all the stores were closed, so we didn't stop for food until Hemit. I ordered a Six Dollar Western Bacon Cheseburger at Carl's Jr. and gobbled it down, as well as several lemonaids.
I didn't arrive home until midnight. After a nice warm shower, I went to bed and slept like a rock. I had told people at work to expect me in late on Monday, so I woke up at 8 and got to work at 9. I didn't feel as bad as I thought I would. My knees didn't hurt and my muscles were a little sore. After many cups of coffee, I was ready for the day.
Looking back, the hike was memorable and fun. One or two more local hikes this weekend and I'll be ready for Whitney in two weeks. I am excited!

Me at the Peak of Mt. San Jacinto

I made it! Somehow. Yesterday's hike up San Jacinto was the most strenuous, difficult, exhausting hike I have ever been on. I thought I was in good shape and prepared for the hike, but the mountain proved otherwise. I'll discuss the hike more tomorrow when I'm not so tired and sore. I'll just say that the best word to describe the hike was "memorable".

Cleanup of Old Computers and Shopping Spree

Well I finally got rid of a ton of old computers and equipment. This stuff had been sitting in my garage and bedroom closet far too long. Most belonged to my Dad, but some of the pieces were mine. The parts I took away today included two computers, a monitor, three scanners, two printers, various tape and CD drives and more. I still have three computers and an extra printer and scanner at home. I had intended to give it all away so some poor family could enjoy "new" computer system, but no charity wants this stuff. I guess there is such a huge glut of old computers, that charities can be picky about what they take. They don't want anything too old. Hopefully some of the parts can be used, and I hope the hazardous waste within the cases is disposed of properly. Either way, I have more shelf room in the garage, which I'll need for all the camping/hiking stuff I'm buying. I made many shopping stops today. Stop one: Ford to get my first oil change for the Mustang. Two: my brother's work to dump off the computers. Three: Carl's Jr. for lunch. Four: Henry's Market to buy some Clif Bars and other snack food. Five: Sports Authority where I purchased more hiking clothes, including a rain/wind jacket. Six: Sav-ons for various items. Seven: Vons, for general food. Now I am exhausted and ready for one of my famous naps.

Foggy Iron Mountain Hike with new Backpack

This time four of the eight hikers made the Iron Mountain hike - in the fog. I don't like fog, even though it was cool outside. I used my new Gregory backpack for the first time. My only problem was upper back pain. I need to learn how to pack and adjust it properly. There are so many straps in the back. What are they all for? This Sunday we are hiking San Jacinto and I'll be using just my day pack.

Progress on old House

The "new" house is beginning to take shape. I'm glad to see that the new owner is keeping it a one story home. The garage has been turned away from the street and made into a three car garage.

Worf and Riker Star Trek Figures

Room. It is all about room now, as in not enough! Where am I going to put the six new Star Trek figures? I guess the real question is why do I keep buying them? I must have some obsessive/compulsive disorder that causes me to keep collecting. It used to be fun, going out to the stores around town, looking for all the figures. Now they are just a "click" away, thanks to the internet. What will the internet offer next, free porn?

Make-up Hike and Self Portrait

This after-work hike was a make-up hike for the one I missed on Sunday when I was sitting around drinking beer. I set a new personal record by hiking to the top of Iron Mt. without stopping and in 55 minutes. Then I hiked down without stopping in 50 minutes.

Edit: Forgot to say that my backpack weighed 20 lbs. at the start of the walk, maybe 30 lbs. next time.