Gear – Page 3 – Bone of Contention

Grand Canyon – River and Back – May 21, 2012 – Part 1 of 4

May 23, 2012 by Nick

I am trying something new and just putting in links to open to the public photo albums on Facebook. Less pics in this text, but provides access to all the pictures.

Also, there will be links in the next post to one short video from the Colorado River and a short audio of insects at night at Indian Garden.

I may tighten up and get down with Flicker or something later, but seriously, how many things do i have to figure out how to use and keep track of and update?!?

Mt Humphreys Photo Set

Grand Canyon: 05/21/2012 – South Kaibab to the Colorado River to Bright Angel Trailhead

Grand Canyon: 12/06/2008 – South Kaibab to Tonto Trail West to Indian Garden to Bright Angel Trailhead Part 1

Grand Canyon: 12/06/2008 – South Kaibab to Tonto Trail West to Indian Garden to Bright Angel Trailhead Part 2

**Disclaimer** Hiking in general and wilderness adventures in particular can be dangerous endeavors. Know your limits and plan accordingly. If you don’t know your limits, start small and work your way up. Consider joining a hiking club! They are easy to find online or through your local backpacking shop. I should probably say something like this before every hiking entry, but really felt it was unavoidably necessary before this description of our recent Grand Canyon Adventure. We are both fine and had a super time. But – we helped a lot of folks during our trip, met a hiker in the midst of severe dehydration despite it being 9 PM, cool and dark, her having experience and being in a group of experienced hikers (they were on a Rim-to-Rim which is one of the most grueling things one can attempt in the canyon). She was so far gone that she could not eat and was barely able to drink. She had vomited several times before we came across her and her friend, and did again during our stay with them. Luckily, this was not far from a campsite and a Ranger Station – but these two had to borrow sleeping gear and remain in the Canyon for at least an overnight instead of following their plan and hiking out that night. Even ole’ Jake noted signs of minor dehydration near the end of our trip. I say that not to poke at Jake but to highlight the seriousness of the issues involved. Jake has several thousand miles ( I think about 4) of distance hiking under his belt and has hiked in the Canyon near thirty times and has done this exact loop at least 5 times. Plan, take breaks, drink loads of fluids, and eat snacks! **Disclaimer Ends**

Monday, 5/21/2012, Jake and I did a fantastic Grand Canyon Adventure! This is one that Jake has done many times, and that I have been a little afraid of since my first adventure into the Canyon, 12/06/2008. It is far too simplistic to say that the Canyon is beautiful, overwhelming, and difficult to internalize even while standing in its grandeur. That said, even amidst that unfathomable beauty, it is still possible to have a bad time. My first trip to the Canyon, while I am glad I went, it was kind of a bad time.

That 2008 hike was about 13 miles – down South Kaibab to the Tonto Trail West to Indian Garden and back out on Bright Angel Trail. I am very glad that I went, but that hike kicked me every place a fella can be kicked.

Monday’s trip was a bit more grueling – by design. The 2012 hike followed the same route with one exception. Instead of heading West on the Tonto Trail, we descended to the Colorado River, bringing the mileage up to almost 17 miles. In 08, I was in serious pain about 2 miles into the trip and suffered through every single step the rest of the way. On the final climb out of the Canyon on the well graded and relatively smooth Bright Angel Trail, my muscles were so sore that I walked about 20-30 feet at a time and often had to rest for 5 minutes in between periods of forward motion.

But much has changed from 12/08 to 05/12. I have actual trail footwear that fits and that I like! I have hiking poles! I have a “real” daypack with hydration system instead of a computer backpack crammed full of stuff! I am preparing physically and mentally for a much longer hike and have been training. It is May and not December! We planned the recent hike to do the final ascent in the dark on purpose and had all the appropriate clothing for such as opposed to getting stuck in the dark on accident in 08…

We both prepared well before leaving the house this time making only one mistake. Each of us continually forget how terrible warm-hot gatorade is and still make batches at home that won’t be used for 3-5 hours of travel time in the desert heat. We should have remembered to take powder and only mess with gatorade at water re-supply points where it can be consumed cool and lovely! But we did remember everything else.

The drive to the canyon is nice and we zoom right in with no waiting since we both have Annual National Parks passes. These give you free entry and parking to any National Park ~~and free entry and parking to any State Parks from the issuing State (generally your state of residence)~~. [I got this bit wrong. The passes work in many kinds of parks as listed on the link to said passes, but it seems to be only federally funded parks and not State Parks. Anywho, they are still a great deal if you do spend any time in National Parks!] In the case of the Grand Canyon, there is a dedicated lane for pre-paid/pass holders and it is like having EZPass on the highways back East. – Over 62? $10 for a Lifetime Pass!

I am going to skip the play-by-play level of detail here, but if you are planning a trip to the Canyon, feel free to give me a holler and I can hook you up with more detail.

We started the descent about 12:30 PM. I had about 4 liters of fluid – two of water in my Camelbak and two 32 ounce Gatorades. Jake blew me out on the whole descent, but particularly the first 1.5 miles. From the Rim to Cedar Ridge is probably the most crowded section of the South Kaibab Trail. There are a few lookout points along the way, and while there is no water at any point on the South Kaibab Trail until you hit the Colorado River, many people who want to go below the Rim but do not have the time or the wherewithal for a longer trip do the 3 mile roundtrip to Cedar Ridge.

Jake and I firmly believe in “Hike your own Hike!” and one would have to try very very hard to get lost on the Grand Canyon Corridor trails. He loves to blast through that first 1.5 down to mellower and sparser crowds of more dedicated hikers. On a day of extremes like this one, I try and hit a pace that I feel comfortable about from two angles. 1) Will this be a good pace for me for today? 2) Will I be able to hike and/or even move tomorrow if I maintain this pace today?

It should be said here, even though it is said everywhere, the South Kaibab Trail is gorgeous. It shows you more of the geological changes as you descend than you can see on Bright Angel, and it offers near constant uninterrupted views into the “main canyon” while other trails often meander through side or box canyons that offer much more limited views.

At every waypoint down to the Tipoff, I smiled and sang songs of joy inside. It was a gorgeous day. I was having an absolute blast. And I was in zero pain. No discomfort of any kind. I felt kinda like Jake. I said hello to everyone. I stopped and talked to anyone who wanted to talk. I gave a few folks advice. I gave others encouragement. I stopped each time an ascending hiker approached to take in the view and give them clear trail (which is not just polite, but the actual canyon trails’ right of way protocol). I had a big smile on inside and out.

From the Tipoff down to the River was a special and exciting time and place for me. I have heard so many stories about the Canyon and the River. I wanted to see it in 08 but could not. And being here now and feeling this way – I was happy. Most of the trail below the Tipoff is nicer than the trail above. You continue to see varied colors and different types of rock and sediment layers. The very final descent is as steep and taxing as any other of the difficult sections of the Kaibab, but you can see the river and the two suspension bridges the whole time. I was still doing fine on water supplies, but knowing that there is not only water, but treated water from a spigot waiting for you between those two bridges makes it much easier to endure.

Next Up: Interlude 1 – Critters!

Mt Humphreys

May 18, 2012 by Nick

Jake and I climbed Mt Humphreys yesterday and it was quite an adventure. We had a good time and I learned many useful things.

We left much later than either of us wanted, but in the first of a series of twilight zone moments, it was my fault.

I carried my full pack with about 35 pounds, and I am pleased to say that I handled the weight well on the most strenuous hike I have done with a full pack since at least Crabtree Falls to the Priest shelter.

But, I have no idea what I was thinking, or perhaps, why I was not thinking – I had absolutely nothing useful in my pack aside from water, Cliff bars, and the iPhone. 35 pounds and nothing I needed. I was hiking in a light t-shirt and running shorts and I brought no other clothes. I actually did not even have enough clothing to be warm in the car on the ride back given that we would not finish the hike until well after dark due to the late start. Speaking of hiking after dark – I did not bring my headlamp or any other flashlight.

Mt Humphreys is the tallest mountain in Arizona and one of the big ones in the country at 12,633 ft. The last leg of the hike is fully exposed above treeline and every trail journal mentions the extreme wind. Did I have my wind/rain jacket with me? No.

In an attempt to prepare for the JMT, I brought both my one click digital camera and the iPhone so that I cold compare shots of large vistas and see if it was worth it to bring the actual camera as well as the phone on the longer trail. Pulled out the camera at a nice vista – dead battery. This was really not my day. I don’t do stuff like this.

I absolutely loved about 90% of the hike. From the parking lot to the saddle where the trail splits to different summit trails for the three main San Francisco Peaks – lovely. The summit however was not my favorite. We summited close together and still almost lost the trail 4 times. Once we got around three false summits and were on the final approach the wind was relentless. I did feel like it was possible to get blown off the mountain top. About 25 yards from the summit, in a series of huge sustained gusts, I sat down. While I was catching my breath, I thought – that’s it! I’m going back down and this summit can kiss my grits! But, I knew that I would regret that choice. Not so much for the missing 25 yards, or the missed view (it was awesome, but it was also a very hazy and smokey day) but for the self confidence. Part of choosing this mountain to climb is that it the closest thing we have to what we will face in the Sierras. I wore my pack to gain the inner knowledge and experience to draw on on difficult days that I can do it because I have done it. Letting my fear control me and keep me from the goal was just not something I was willing to do so I stood up and hiked to the summit.

Jake took the lead on the descent and we agreed that if we got a bit separated, we would meet on the saddle at the trail junction. I was tired, frustrated, cursing the wind, and having a little bit of difficulty seeing. My eyes are very sensitive to wind and water easily. All I wanted to do was get back to the saddle and begin the descent on the nice comparatively easy trail we hiked up on, and get back well below treeline before dark.

I don’t have a good way to judge how fast the wind was blowing. But I have never experienced anything like it. Much faster than anything I ever got skiing or sailing. This may be a little gross for some of you but I include it to complete the picture both of how bad the wind was and to add to the picture of the discomfort I was in at this point. Once we got into that extreme wind I had to blow my nose. I was afraid to pull out my handkerchief though as I imagined it would be ripped from my hands. I had already removed my hat and lashed it to my pack to avoid losing it. A few moments after the first impulse to reach for my handkerchief, that became obsolete as the wind was strong enough that it did the job for me. The wind blew my nose continually for the next hour or so.

Another key factor was whatever brain explosion happened to put me in this position. I was the reason we were later than intended. I was the one who somehow neglected to bring any of the gear that would have given me more comfort. A vast amount of my suffering was self inflicted and that made it worse. So that was my general state as I began to descend from the summit towards the saddle. Given all of that I still kept a few of the key elements of wilderness survival in mind – stay calm, think first, don’t make situations worse.

I wanted to sprint down to that saddle, but I forced myself to be very slow and careful. The last thing I needed was to fall. Even a minor injury at that elevation and time of day would have made things much worse. So I went slowly and carefully – and I still lost the trail twice. But each time I did the right things. I did not panic and I looked carefully in all directions. The first time I could not see the trail anywhere. So I climbed towards the peak of the mountain, figuring that since I can’t see the trail it is probably above me, and if not, I may have a better chance of seeing it from above. About 7 feet above me, I hit the trail and moved on.

The next time I lost the trail it took me a bit longer to even realize I was off trail. But once I did I stopped and looked slowly around. I saw a sign I remembered and rejoined the trail. Soon after I met back up with Jake and it turns out what had felt like hours in my mind had only been about 15 minutes. Good Old Jake had a long sleeve base layer for us both and 2 headlamps in his daypack and we adjusted our gear and descended. We made it well into the trees before dark and a had great time just enjoying being out of the wind and talking about all kinds of stuff. Once we got back to the parking lot about 10 PM, we just sat there and looked at the stars. I have never ever seen so many stars. It was beautiful.

I am glad that I have that experience to reflect on in times of need. I am glad that I proved to myself that I can carry 35 pounds (though my JMT pack will likely be 40-45) on a trail that gains 3,500 ft of elevation over 4 miles. I was not really worried about this part, but I was glad that neither Jake nor I showed any signs of altitude sickness or any adverse altitude effects.

And I made two decisions regarding the Grand Canyon river and back trip we have planned for Monday. I will only carry a FULLY STOCKED day pack and not my actual hiking backpack. I doubt we will do a 17 mile day with 10,000 ft of elevation change on the JMT. And we are going to hike in around noon so that we will get to see all those stars in the canyon!! Jake has done this hike many times and often at night. And we hiked out at night together on the same trail a few years back. It isn’t bad.

I hope you all had a good week.

Preparation

May 16, 2012 by Nick

The JMT preparation is going full swing. I pulled a few full days of research and planning during which I read or re-read the two trail guides I purchased, and a ton of trail journals of other hikers’ JMT trips. I made color copies of our map pages, posted them in Jake’s room, and have begun adding mileage notes to the re-supply points. It is an interesting tool to look at the trip this way.

We still have several unknowns, some of which may remain unknowns until we get to Yosemite Village and talk with the rangers. I have found some more up-to-date sites for information on facilities and such at some of the potential resupply locations and the news is a mixed bag. This year’s snowfall has been 50% less than usual which is good for us. Some of the more dangerous river crossings should be more manageable than expected. But the storms took out two of the major power transmission lines that feed the first two resupply points and it is unclear as of now whether or not these will be open.

There are four standard resupply points for the JMT; Tuolumne Meadows, Red’s Meadow Resort, Vermillion Resort, and the Muir Trail Ranch. One of the challenges to consider is that between Muir Trail Ranch and the Southern Terminus at Mt Whitney (about 110 miles), there are no resupply options near to the trail. If you are not interested or willing to leave the trail, this means that you have to carry about 10 days worth of food out of Muir Trail Ranch. In addition, Muir Trail Ranch does not have a standard gear/food re-supply available. Mostly it is just a really expensive place to do a mail drop resupply. Because of all that, many JMT thru hikers skip the Muir Trail ranch and carry 12 days of food from Vermillion Resort.

Jake and I like neither of these options. Luckily, neither do many of the PCT thru hikers and the PCT guides have loads of detailed info on the best ways off of the trail to the best points to access towns for resupply runs. Jake and I are going to go that route. I have found one already, but I need one more. Going off trail to do these runs adds a day or two to your total trip length per stop, but that does not really bother us.

I have been splitting my time between planning and conditioning. I am still not in fantastic shape and am working on shedding some pounds – but I have been regular with my stretching routine and floor exercises. The past 10 days or so, I have done all but one of my hikes with my full pack and at least 35 pounds. I did get my own trekking poles and am really pleased with them. In addition to the added stability and taking some the strain off of the knees, I like how they get your upper body and arms more involved in the hiking.

Just yesterday I did my first hike in who knows how long in shorts instead of pants. I can’t really consider this back east because I am ultra sensitive to poison ivy, super prone to contracting it, and despite that – utterly useless at identifying and avoiding it. But that is not really a problem in the Sierras. Much of the time we will be well above tree line anyhow. It felt great to hike in just some thin running shorts. This move will end up helping me out on added pack weight due to clothing as well.

In these last 11 days or so until we leave, I will continue to read and re-read the guides and journals to make note of more campsite locations, stretches of lesser water availability, places of higher bear activity, and when we are likely to approach the more difficult river crossings so that we can hit them early in the day before the day’s snowmelt swells the streams and increases the strength of the current.

I did a nice 9.5 mile loop yesterday, with a 40 pound pack, that has about a 1,200 foot elevation gain over the first 3 miles. Today is writing and planning with a milder walk in the evening. Tomorrow Jake and I will drive up to Flagstaff and summit Mt Humphries – an 8.5 mile round trip with a 3,500 ft elevation gain. Monday or Tuesday we will do one of Jake’s favorite Grand Canyon hikes – 17 miles round trip down the Bright Angel to the Colorado River and back out on the South Kaibab trail. This is a drop about 5,000 ft climb about 5,000 ft trip.

That’s it for now. Rock out!

The John Muir Trail

April 28, 2012 by Nick

This past month Jake and I have been talking about a summer hike and decided that we are going to do the 211 mile John Muir Trail!

We are both very excited. May is a planning and preparation month and we will begin end of May/beginning of June.

I ordered the best John Muir Trail guidebook in kindle form for me and a paperback for Jake. The definitive map set should arrive Wednesday.

I have read all of the text and most the appendices, and while it will be a fun trip, the planning is somewhat more difficult than East Coast/AT distance hiking. Unlike the AT guidebooks with distances to each shelter and water source in addition to elevations and route finding, the JMT and PCT guides lack that level of detail. Luckily, unlike many sections of the PCT, water is prevalent on the JMT, and there is enough info about locations of pre-existing campsites and water sources to make decent plans, but it does require more study and note-taking than back East.

We decided to walk the traditional North to South route to help us ease into the elevations, for greater ease of shuttling from the end back to the start, and because of the Northern terminus in Yosemite Valley. Jake and I spent two fantastic days in Yosemite back in 2009 and are excited to return.

The first two weeks of April, I was very down and decided not to fight it but to simply take time with my grief and feel the feelings instead of trying to push them down. The past two weeks I have been more active. I restarted my exercise routine with stretches and abdominal work and have done many local hikes. The past week, I loaded my hiking pack to 35 pounds and have started hiking with that to get used to carrying the weight again.

It is difficult to prepare for hiking in the 12,000-14,000 ft elevations we will soon meet, but we do live about 5,500 ft high and have several local hikes that offer 1,000-2,000 ft elevation swings and peaks up to 7,600 ft. This week I intend to continue working locally with my full pack, and next week Jake and I will do a trek to Flagstaff and climb the San Francisco peaks – 12,600 ft up.

Yesterday I did a fairly level and smooth hike, but 10+ miles with a 35 pound pack is still a good day. The tunnel that takes you under a roadway from a parking area to the trail was flooded from a recent rain and I walked through it knowing that soon, I won’t have a choice. My shoes dried out quickly, but with a huge blister starting to form around mile 6, I knew which socks would not be making the trip. I was a little sore today, but I popped that sucker and we did a nice three-mile loop.

I have been using Jake’s trekking poles and quickly decided that I need to get my own. But the poles and a bear canister are the only new pieces of equipment that I need for the journey.

Once we get the maps, and become more familiar with the trail guides, we will get more detailed, but for now we are looking at three weeks. The biggest factor yet to work out is the food resupply. There are lots of options, but we need to tailor them to our trip or vice-versa. Three roughly 70 miles stints between supply stops would be great.

More will be revealed, but for now, I am just excited.

If you are curious, this relatively short blog has an interesting account of a JMT thru-hike.

Hiking in PA

April 8, 2011 by Nick

One downside of being in PA instead of VA – longer drives to most of the hikes featured on hiking upward.com. I love this site and wish i had found it decades ago instead of last year, but i am grateful for it nonetheless. I have only done a few of the hikes on here, but i have read about most of them and have a list of at least 15 in the queue. In addition to all the great info from the group/original authors-hikers, every hike also has user reviews that provide great intel. My favorite feature is the solitude rating, but information about water availability is also key. I have found the maps, distances, directions, and elevations to be spot on. There are also more loop trails that are long enough to be done as overnights than i have found in any other place.

I have found some resources for Southeastern PA and the surrounding areas, though none i like as much as hiking upward. This is a similar group, but i have not put their intel to the test yet. The York hiking club has some good intel and led me to a few more established trails i did not know about. I did several hours of research checking out links and trails from these sources. To get a good idea of what the trails would really be like, i had three or four different maps/map sites open at the same time to try and compare and locate topo, route, terrain, road crossings, water, and frequency of city/town/roadway walking. SE PA is a mixed bag for hiking. There are lots of very rocky trails and on any trail, you cannot go more than 10 miles or so without at least a road crossing if not some miles walking on a curvy country road and then through an old town. It can be nice and has its own charm, but the drivers of cars are not expecting you to be walking on the road, and this is not the best way to travel with your dog. But, we all have to make do.

Several weeks ago, i was doing some gear research while also reviewing PA trail maps. Lucas and i loaded up the car for a double duty mission. The closest REI is in Timonium, Maryland. It is more of a haul than i would like, but there are a few very beautiful backroad ways to get there which balances out. It looked like there was a decent day hike possible right by one of the bridge crossings. We hit REI, finished the in-store research and bought 2 pair of REI Adventure pants. And really – how can you not buy ADVENTURE PANTS!!! The reviews were awesome and they felt great. I have been unsatisfied with my North Face zip-off pants since i bought them years ago. They breath OK, they feel OK, but they dry slowly due to the extra fabric that makes up the giant cargo pockets. While it is great to be able to carry lots in your pockets, the downside for hiking is – now you are carrying lots in your pockets! More than all of that it was the size. I bought a 30″ inseam and walked on the cuffs even in my boots. They run long. Jake had the same issue. And they have zippers at the bottom for easy on/off without removing your boots. Nice feature, but how to hem them? Anyway, the ADVENTURE PANTS are great. I have done two day hikes – one easy 7 miler and one moderate 10 miler as well as daily walks in the hood and some normal daily wear. The 30″ inseam is actually 30″ and i can wear the pants with sandals and not walk on them. They were both warm and not too hot while hiking and resistant to dirt when i sat on logs/ground. They dry much quicker than any other pants i have ever had. Out of the washing machine, hung inside, 3 hours. Probably would be 5 after hand-washing in a sink. Lite, pack small, wrinkle free – enough said.

We headed back to the bridge to check out the trails. I took a day pack with just the essentials and cold weather gear. Of course i put the ADVENTURE PANTS on in the parking lot, and we hit a nice trail through the woods, along the river, then up an old logging road through a rhododendron forest beside a beautiful stream with several deep pools and small waterfalls. A little ridge running led back down to the river and a view of the Holtwood Dam. I saw two trail names i recognized and it seemed like at least one of them would hug the river for many miles.

When i got home i had two things to research – decent maps and guides for The Mason Dixon Trail and somewhere to get at least one of my busted cameras repaired. I found the trail’s homepage and this highly detailed map:

Seriously though, they have some great info on their site and provide updates to the trail map/guide as needed and seem to actively and continually work to keep the trail clear and in decent shape as well as lobbying private landowners to get the trail moved off of dangerous roads. One location to purchase a full set of maps and guides is the local hiking shop Wildernest. The folks in there are nice. One of the part-time employees was in Physics with me and Jake back in the day. And this is actually where i bought my first real pack (my now torturous 7.5 pound pack of death).

I found a local camera repair shop as well and learned that for either camera, it would cost about $120.00 to fix. That is $10-$40 more than either of them cost. I bought a replacement camera for the newer model – so that i would at least end up with two batteries and two chargers.

I spent a few days going over my new maps and planning what to try next. It is getting better now, but two weeks ago it was still colder outside at night than i generally like, so i was looking at a day hike instead of an overnight. Also, it is not easy to determine where it is legal to camp along this trail. I imagine that most places it would be OK if you were quiet and respectful and used a stove instead of an open fire, but the trail is on private land, state game land (no camping), and city and county streets. As a solo hiker, i have to look for good out-and-backs or loops.

Lucas and i both liked the area near Holtwood Dam, and i found a reasonable hike to try out using that as a launching point. I loaded my daypack to about 20 pounds to get some practice with the weight. We started at the dam, the turn around point from the last hike, and headed further up river (north). The first mile or so was right along the river bank and through some folks’ backyards. Then it turned uphill hugging another nice creek and rhododendron forest.

There was some more nice ridge running then up and down the rolling hills this part of PA is known for – largely following other streams.

At about 3.5 miles, we hit an old forest road that was covered in grass. It was like a smooth highway in the woods.

The next part of the trail was on gravel then paved roads. These had very little traffic, but like most roads with very little traffic, the cars were going about 50 over the blind hills. I decided to walk the rest of the road section to at least see what the next part of the trail looked like. Lucas had been doing great in the woods, but he seemed bored once we hit the road. Once we were in the open, the wind was intense and the effective temperature dropped. I had on many layers, a rain jacket that is great in the wind, a hat and gloves, and i was still cold.

As we approached the last road crossing before heading back into the woods, i saw an Amish farmer mucking his fields. This is stinky, but kinda cool to watch. Back in the barn, they load a flatbed wagon with poo. A team of horses pull the rig into the fields and the driver throws a lever and a simple gear using the motion of the axles turns a mechanism like an old paddle boat wheel that flings poo off of the wagon and onto the field.

After watching and taking some photos, i pulled out the map and saw that just across the road, the trail went along the edge of a field for about 70 yards before hitting the woods again. This section of the trail had minutes ago been coated in fresh poo. Lucas and i decided that this would be a fine place to turn around for the day.

Cross the road, walk abreast of the treeline, in the yummy new brown trail!

The next phase of the trail, along the power lines then back into the woods

We had a nice walk back to the car and Lucas slept very well after our 10 mile day.

I am still studying these maps to select the next sections to attack, but my next hike will be in good old VA at the beginning of May…

– –

I still have not set-up my self-hosted blog, so i can’t post video yet, but if you like video of dogs and water there is a good one of Lucas from this trip that i will post on Facebook (Mason Dixon Trail Stream Crossing), along with the full album of pics.

Time for a Quickie

April 4, 2011 by Nick

Ran 1.83 – Pace 8’41”

Not too bad after such a long break. My back has been killing me the past three days, but it felt a little better this morning and it is too gorgeous outside today to not take advantage!

I had one or two bad back moments in the run, but was able to find a decent posture and stride.

I ditched the old course today and started out towards the prettier areas. I did not get to the ridge lines and vistas with a 1.1 out and .7 back, but it was nice to go somewhere different.

It makes sense, but it is nice to experience how maintaining my floor ‘core’ exercises is paying off. I have kept to the twice a day inside exercise schedule and my legs and body (aside from back) felt great. My breath was good until about 1.7. That is an area where sticking to the schedule is going to be the only thing for improvement i believe.

I am going to have a little fashion show with my camera and the mirror soon to showcase the new hiking/running gear and you will see how i owed it to the clothes alone to get out there and rock !m/!

In the meantime, here’s Lucas on Saturday, killing a groundhog …

He is a silent killer, until the breaking of bones...

Hiking in PA – Preamble I

March 30, 2011 by Nick

My history of hiking in PA has been less than ideal. I did get my first ‘real’ gear up here – pack, tent, and sleeping bag. I had also decided to do some exploration and maybe do large sections of the AT while living up here in 1996-7. I planned a two night trip to test my tent that did not go so great. Somewhere before reaching a spring, i lost the trail, wandered about for a few hours, ran out of water, and was generally not in the best of spirits by the time i got back to the trail. I just did an overnight and went home the next day.

– This is about to take a somewhat gross and potentially disturbing turn – though there is some redemption, or if not that, at least a happy ending.

Jake and i became good buds in 96 and talked about hiking a bunch. When the weather turned warm, we decided to hike together. Jake had not really done much hiking, but was interested. He was game to try anything, so i pulled out the maps for the old tent trial trip. We loaded Guthrey into the truck with our gear and headed out. About 45 minutes south of the trail, Guthrey fell out of the truck. I heard a sound like something being dropped into the bed of the truck and glanced in the rear-view mirror. I could see Guthrey still tumbling in the road. I pulled over and stopped the truck as quickly as i could, which took about an eighth of a mile, and ran back to Guthrey. From the minute i saw him in the mirror, i was screaming and crying and sobbing and yelling. I know that Jake did not know what was happening right away. He probably asked some questions and i may or may not have answered – i can’t remember that part of it.

I sat in the middle of the road with Guthrey and Jake stood a little bit away sort of watching for cars and also freaking out with me. Guthrey was alive, but it was obvious he was in terrible shape. I could not tell how many or which bones were broken, but i could see his head. There was a hole in his skull about the center line of his nose and an inch or so above the center line between his eyes. It was about as big around as a quarter and blood flowed from it in time with his heartbeats and his breath.

This happened right in front of someone’s house. The coolest old dude came out and talked to me. He was firm and kind at the same time. He told me i had to get out of the road. I said i could not leave my dog there, he might get hit by a car. I told him i was afraid to move him because i might sever his spine or do something else that might kill him. The man said that he would die for sure if we did nothing and anything had to be better than having us both get hit by a car. As carefully as i could, i picked Guthrey up and moved him into this man’s yard and laid him back down.

My sense of the timing and even the order involved in all of the steps is elastic at best. But i remember certain parts in great detail. I knelt gently petting Guthrey and still weeping. Jake was there and weeping. I can’t remember if he was also petting Guthrey, but i am sure that if he was not it was only for fear of hurting him. At some point, the man’s wife took Jake inside to use the phone and find a vet. Out of the blue, Guthrey opened his eyes, stood up smiling and tried to walk before he fell down and passed out again. That moment – hope, joy, fear, guilt, pain, wonder.

We were in a part of PA that neither of us was familiar with. I had been on this road once before on the previous hiking attempt. Jake had never been there. Jake had the directions. But we were both nervous and terrified. Then we had a new impossible moment. I told Jake he had to drive. The big blue truck is an automatic, and it is in a little better shape now (mechanically at least), but still it can be difficult to drive. Back in 1997 it was no picnic. The steering was beyond loose. There was so much play in the wheel you could turn it over 90 degrees in either direction and have no affect on the tires. Braking was also quite a chore. In part, it is a heavy truck with older brakes (i had not re-built them yet – so most of the braking system was from 1970). In part it was the way the engine was tuned. It was still in winter mode – rich mixture, advanced timing, high and fast idle. Even at a dead stop, you really had to stand on the brakes to keep the truck in place.

I don’t remember if Jake was 18 or 19 at the time, but it is suddenly his job to drive this giant old truck through unfamiliar curvy roads as rapidly and as safely as possible while looking for the turn for the vet which we had never seen. It may have been easier for me to drive, but i could not do it. I could not let go of Guthrey. If we got in a wreck with Jake driving and bad things happened, i knew i would not blame him at all. I could not face the possibilities of what could happen if i drove and we killed Guthrey getting him into Jake’s lap on the seat, or if he passed on the way to the vet. This all happened in the briefest of instants. Jake did not want to do it, but we did not argue or discuss it. We just did it. I picked Guthrey up and got in and Jake drove. Talking him through driving the truck gave us both something else to focus on instead of simply obsessing over Guthrey.

We knew we passed the vet, but we did not see it. We saw Bob’s Market which was a sign that we had just missed it. We pulled into a gas station and Jake asked the guy who knew nothing. I told him we should just turn around and go to Bob’s market. We did. Bob’s market is set back of the road about 100 yards to give room for the parking lot. When we were almost to the front of the store, i saw the vet across a field on another road. I jumped out with Guthrey in my arms and ran over. I can see the receptionist and some people waiting on the benches inside, but no one will help me. The doors are both “pulls”. I am covered in blood and carrying my 92 pound deeply wounded dog. I am kicking the doors (gently – but still) and probably yelling.

They come and lead me to the back. I get Guthrey on the table and am ushered away. Knowing that Guthrey is being looked after, i am still freaked out, but a little calmer as there is now truly nothing i can do. I head back out to find Jake and we hug and talk and cry and freak out some more. Oddly, i don’t remember much of the rest of the details about this time at the vet. I remember that i spent a lot of time in his cage in the back as he was in and out of consciousness from fatigue and stress and surgery and anesthesia, and lots of pain killers. I remember staying long after they were closed until the last person was leaving and locking up. I remember being there in the morning long before they opened but when the first person arrived to see to the animals. I remember Dr Bill coming to the back at some point and saying that i could take Guthrey home. He said that normally he would keep a dog under observation for much longer after a surgery like that, but that if i was going to sit in a little cage with him all day, i would probably watch him at home and not let him fall or hurt himself.

My parents were out of town. I think it was Spring Break, but i am not sure. I just know that Jake and I made a fort in the living room in front of the tv. We built some walls of furniture and pillows and had lots of blankets on the floor. For a week, we stayed with Guthrey in the living room and petted him and watched movies. We took turns running errands just to have a chance to get out of the house. We would go out for the essentials, more movies and pizza.

Guthrey healed nicely and came back to his old self with a few small adjustments. We were close before, but our bond was deeper now. He had liked Jake before also. Guthrey was a big fan of anyone who wold actually go and walk with him, which few of my other friends ever did. But he was closer to Jake after this than i think any of us really imagined.

Jake, Lucas, Guthrey - Chimbo, RVA, 2001 (ish)

It was not too long after the surgery, definitely while he still had the metal plates in his legs, that he started jumping up into the back of the truck again. He loved riding back there, though i have never let him or any other dog ride back there again. It took something major like that for me to learn this particular lesson. In my defense, i was not throwing caution to the wind and blithely sticking my thumb in the eyes of the fates, i simply did not know any better. Every dog i can remember from growing up rode not just in the back of pick-up trucks, but in the back of that pick-up truck, and not just dogs. My sister and my cousins and i rode back there all the time. Growing up, my sister and i spent every summer down south either in Central Mississippi, or South Georgia, or both. At the end of summer, we rode back up north to Virginia, or Tennessee, or Kentucky. I remember sitting on the lowered tailgate for most of the way up the Natchez Trace and then the Blue Ridge Parkway.

I don’t know how to transition out of this and back to hiking in PA, so i am just gonna stop now and come back to it next go round.

Take your pants to the woods!

March 28, 2011 by Nick

Let me hit the promised issues before we get to the title…

1. I have not had a run since the 19th. This makes me feel less than awesome, and i hope to get back on the stick. If you read here regularly, you will know that i have had some difficulty running in the cold weather. I also have generally felt pretty good when i do suck it up and run through the cold, but it is difficult to get out there. We had an actual nice and spring-like week that turned back into cold. In PA we are back to highs near 40 and single digit lows.

I did make one of my three goals that i set through the online nike+ system. Due to taking a week off i did not make my frequency or distance goals for March, but i did meet the ‘pace’ goal. I had 5 runs under a 9’/mile pace. While i do want to work on frequency and distance also, this was a great hurdle to overcome. It seems that my body now knows how to get out there and maintain 8’30”-8’45”. Once i am easily breaking two miles and ready for more, i can begin to do some much more beautiful runs. The route i am using now is pretty boring, but it is a combination of the safest and flatest route under 3 miles i can use without driving somewhere to run. Once you are comfy with even 3.5, there are some really beautiful runs through the farmland, along the ridges of Lancaster’s rolling hills, and beside some nice creeks and rivers.

Guthrey and Vance near Slackwater bridge - 1996(ish)

I have kept up with my indoor activities. I am doing the full stretching routine twice a day, as well as my floor exercises. I am still increasing my reps as i get stronger and build endurance. The morning session is 18 push-ups, 60 twisty crunches, 60 regular crunches, and 60 leg lifts. The evening is 15, 50, 50, 50. Lucas and i are still walking 4-8 miles in the neighborhood everyday, and on the 26th we did 7 or 8 miles in the woods. More on that at the end of this post – or the beginning of the next one.

2. The Spam bin has been fairly boring since the last report. Mostly it has been huge comments filled with online gambling and casino links – nothing suspicious about that… There were two oddly accurate spams though. It took me a minute to be sure that these were spam. Luckily there were two, and they were identical, and the commenters’ email addresses were almost identical, but that aside – oddly on point. It was two or three grammatically correct sentences about the virtues of Dome tents and how they maximum available interior space with a minimum of added weight.

3. The informal poll on discussing hiking equipment – i was going to ask you folks if you were remotely interested in my search for “the right” hiking gear, because if you are not, that could be pretty boring. Then i realized that i don’t really care, and you can skip it if you don’t want to read it. In part, writing about it here helps me organize my thoughts and remember specific products which is extremely helpful when i am face-to-face with a sales person. And i am a process guy. To my way of doing it, there are lots of processes in hiking. The more processes i employ and the more efficient i can make these processes while at home the more relaxing and enjoyable the adventures when i do make it out into the woods. I know that there is at least one other backpacker and several hikers who read this, so i will probably continue to share about the hiking gear process. Hopefully, you guys will continue to chime in with your experience and advice from time to time as well.

I have to go back to job research now but, the title comes from Saturday’s adventure (Mar 26). I went to the REI in Maryland, bought some new hiking pants, and then had a great hike on some new trails. Lucas loved it, and was even peppy around the neighborhood the next day.

Next Up – more on the hiking pants, learning about trails in Southern PA, the most awesome resource for hiking trails in VA…

Pending – job update, vegan vitamin update (i feel good), probably a short piece on race relations in Friday Night Lights in celebration of the final season launch on regular TV (iTunes Store for me) – no spoilers please, and i will warn you of the spoilers in my FNL essay – it will probably be confined to two episodes in season one.

Big Ball o’ Random (or small pile of unassociated items)

March 26, 2011 by Nick

1. Kelly made me realize that i did not put out the word on Lucas. After writing about it here, i never closed the loop. He is doing great. His stomach was pretty much settled by the time i got back on Monday. The vet visit on Tuesday was super and he passed all his various blood work and other tests. It was just a simple upset stomach with no larger issues related. That is what i suspected, but it always nice to get more definitive analysis.

2. Last weekend’s trip to NOVA was fantastic. It was better than i could have imagined it would be. I am not finished processing and feeling and remembering – but it was a great time. The music was awesome, and seeing old friends was hard to describe – in a good way. There are many people who showed up that i did not get to spend much time with, and there were definitely folks missing, and other friends that i did not get to see – but that is kind of the nature of trying to fit twenty plus years of catch-up into one weekend.

NR, KAB, LT, KM(R) - photo some guy we got to snap a shot

Aside from seeing old high school buddies, i got to re-connect with some “newer” friends as well. When i lived in Annandale in 2006/7, Lucas and i made many friends through the Mason District dogpark, but there was one family we bonded with deeply and almost instantly. The whole circumstance is strange in that two less-than-social dudes met, bonded, and have stayed great friends. Like many situations, the dogs had a lot to do with it. Lucas will get along with just about anyone, but he has had few great dog friends. There were a few other street dogs or dogs that got loose regularly that he played with as a puppy before he joined my team. Of course he loved Guthrey. But Fox is the first dog since Guthrey that Lucas really seemed to love. And, Fox was the same way. He also liked to see other dogs, and could get along fine, but had really only had one other dog friend before Lucas. Who knows what the factors involved really are. Did the dogs know that Mehdi and I had few friends and though we liked being alone, we were also lonely? Did the dogs simply like each other regardless of how the bipeds felt? Is it something deeper but ephemeral – that because these dogs chose us individually, that we were predisposed to like the same kind of people? Is it a combination? I don’t know, but i am glad it happened. I met Mehdi’s wife and we all became close.

As things do, we drifted apart a bit once i left for India and i had not really gotten back together with them since i came back to the states. In the interim, Fox passed and they have two new friends now. Not being able to bring Lucas to see Mehdi and Maria was the big downside of leaving him home last week, but i still think it was the right call. It was excellent to see my old friends and to meet the new dogs and go on some of our old walks. It did not take us long to discuss and then move past “the missing years”. The stuff i wrote above is of course “the good parts” version of the story. Not that there were problems between us, but that was not a very good time in my life – which is a different story – or a part of much longer story.

3. La Traviata arrived and i have really enjoyed listening to it this week. I was planning on continuing to refine my Spanish skills (and vocab!) this year, but i may have to hit an educational detour to learn more about the lyrics to this opera. I only know a handful of Italian and have not used it since 1992. But that is quite a decision to make. I love this music and wouldn’t it suck to discover that the lyrics are trite! It is hard to imagine in this case, but let’s face it, most musicals are trite… My mom asked me recently if i wanted to go see a high school musical with her. She has one private student that she has been teaching for about 8 years, and this girl was making her singing and dancing debut. I asked my mom, “what show is it?” She said, “The Music Man!” I told her, “No. Mom, that is a terrible show.” Which is true. I was in it. Like most musicals, it was fun to be in – and i believe we performed it well – but, like Tim Kelly adaptations, that does not make it a good show. Anyway – i am trying to decide whether or not to learn more about what is happening in La Traviata.

4. One of my very smart friends misused ‘comprised’ in a recent online self-published venture. I spent a few days trying to figure out how to deal with this. I am not a grammar or punctuation or even spelling Nazi like some of my smart friends. But the proper use of words themselves is one of the areas of language that i do care about. Comprise is one of my pet peeves. I do notice and get bugged by the common faults – their, there, they’re and such. But they generally make me less fussed than a misuse of ‘comprise’. People who mess up with something like ‘there’ and ‘their’ may have never learned the difference, or may be lazy, or may have difficulty proofreading. But comprise ain’t one of your common everyday words. It is one of those book learnin’ fancy words. I do not assume that my friend was attempting to put on airs by using the word, but i see this error all the time and generally, it is someone trying to sound smarter than they are, or trying to make their argument sound fancier, or more authoritative.

So here is a good rule of thumb, a fast and loose usage guideline for you folks. ‘Comprise’ means ‘made up of’, ‘consists of’, or ‘composed of’. There are many specific cases we could go through, and i will be happy to address any if you send in your questions, but the most common mistake is people saying ‘comprised of’. As you can see from having just read the definition, saying ‘comprised of’ is like saying ‘composed of of’ which sounds a lot less fancy and authoritative than the user is probably going for. “The US is composed of 50 states.” “The US comprises 50 states.” Those two sentences mean the same thing. That is probably enough said.

Wrapping up now as i want to finish some research and preparation then head down to Maryland for a quick look at REI (i got my 2010 dividend in the mail), and then some hiking.

– – In the next episode –

Exercise update

Spam Bin update

an informal poll on the issue of discussing hiking equipment

Anybody seen Rerun? Update IV

March 18, 2011 by Nick

The Nova Trip

I am going down to NOVA for two musical events and several sort of mini-reunions.

I have never been to any of my “Official” reunions, though I may drop in on one of the next in the series. Partly this is because few of my best friends from high school were in the same grade or even attended the same school. Partly this is because they cost a lot of loot and are not even at the school. We are denied the sort of reunion we grew up thinking about, hearing about, and watching on the big (and little) screen. To me, these official functions seem more like conventions than reunions. I know I am not alone in this and some of our modern social media tools are helping to fix this. My class has a group on the Facebooks, and there are at least two gatherings a year organized that way. And, there is always some “unofficial” (less costly) gathering to coincide with the official convention gathering.

This weekend’s events are neat in that they revolve around a place and a band (or bands). This cuts down on the limitations of school and grade and allows people who cared about the same kind of stuff, and the same people, to come together. I like that. Truthfully, I was not crazy about the place nor many of the hangers-on. But I too had some special times there. And I too had some special people connected to that place. And so I also go to look, to listen, to imagine, to remember, and hopefully – to connect.

This will be only the third or fourth show I have been to since 1992 where I was not playing, or doing sound, or being a guitar tech or general roadie. It is always a little weird for me to try and simply relax and enjoy. I feel like I should be doing something. The levels are not mixed well, the sound is not balanced in the house, and that guy broke a string, but the dudes at the door made me check my leatherman, I forgot my flashlight, and I don’t have any extra strings in my bag! It can get a little tense…

I am also excited for reunions with some non-school friends. Lucas and I were looking forward to seeing our old pals and hitting some of the old trails. But he has some kind of stomach bug and will have to stay behind in PA. I don’t want to risk infecting those we visit. “Thanks for letting me and my dog stay at your house. Here’s a little special something we brought just for you!” I don’t think it is a real medical problem, just a stomach bug. But, we do our last walk between 10 and midnight. Two nights ago he woke me and my dad up at 4:00. This morning he got me up at 1:30 – two hours after the last walk. I am not complaining. It is not his fault and I am sorry he is suffering, but that is definitely not the kind of gift we want to leave behind…

Let’s segue into

Hiking Part III – Tent of Lucas

I got this wicked badass tent for Lucas last year. We did one hike up Crabtree Falls and on to the Priest Shelter. There had been thunderstorms forecast, but I looked at the weather and it seemed like your average Virginia summer thunderstorms – sweep in and dump water and sweep out. It rained for at least 12 hours. Lucas was not pleased.

I started looking into doggy tents as soon as we got back. There are many on the market. Few are actually designed for backpacking. REI has one that seems ok except the floor is not fully attached, so you are going to have water flowing through the tent – which defeats the purpose if you ask me. I found one that sounded good and was reasonably priced.

The tent itself is good. Nice solid construction. The side panels and the door work great. The flaws were obvious and immediate. It uses the fabric sleeve method for the tent poles instead of clips. I hate tent-pole sleeves. Feeding poles through fabric tubes makes me feel like I am not living in an era where we have sent men to the moon and miniaturized computers that are more sophisticated than those astronauts had down into the palm of my hand! Anyway, it is hard to feed the poles through these fabric sleeves.

Part of the reason it is so difficult is the second flaw with the tent. The poles are total garbage. They are super cheap and flimsy. I felt that right out of the package. I was actually surprised that they made it through the first trip without breaking. I set-up the tent indoors for a trial and to get Lucas used to it. I set it up in the woods for one overnight. And I set it up to clean it before I put it away for the winter.

The first time I set it up post-winter, about a week ago, two of the poles snapped. I went to EMS to discover that they do not have any kind of replacement poles. Later I took a road trip to the closest REI in Towson MD and discovered that they also do not carry replacement parts for poles, or replacement poles. I did get some great intel on a company that does make poles, and that may be the way to go.

One idea that I had (unfortunately a little late in this whole dog tent process) is to look at children’s tents. I bet that there are kid sized tents made by reputable companies that would fit the bill. And with our “protect the children” litigious society, I bet they would be decent quality. But, I am going to continue to explore fixing the one I have for now. The folks at REI had some good advice. Check out the used equipment sales. I can probably make the poles from any tent work with a few adjustments, so any inexpensive tent with decent poles would be good.

I did “repair” the existing poles with duct tape and set the tent back up and it held overnight without signs of over-stress. The question now is probably cost effectiveness. Is it better to get replacement poles, to cannibalize poles from a used or cheap tent, or to find a children’s tent that will work? I don’t know. Back to the research cave…

For those who may have been thinking, “why not just put the dog in your tent?” Good point. But, the last hike with all the rain is my counterexample. I love my dog and would do just about anything to protect him if it were necessary. But he was already soaked. I mean super soaked, by the time we got to camp. I had some dry clothes and gear, and could keep the tent and its contents dry. There was no way to dry off the dog. Inviting him in would not dry him, only wet me. Also, while Lucas is an affectionate creature, he doesn’t really like anybody messing with him while he sleeps. He will snuggle for a minute (or allow you to snuggle for a minute) and then he wants to go somewhere else and stretch out without you bein’ all up in his chili. So, that’s why…