Hello everyone!
**Note "Epos" means Epic in German so Phil hopefully may understand the sheer scope of this event**
With significant input from Lisa D, I now have a game plan for our week after Christmas.
First the Purpose:
Rest. The Sabbath was given as God's gift to us for our good. So from Sunday December 26th at 2pm to 10pm December 31st, we will turn off our cell phones, ditch our laptops, forget the series of tubes that make up the inter-web, and relish Relaxation and Community. We will recharge with good food, good drink, and good friends.
Second, the guest list:
-David W - British West Seattle Intern whose mere voice will drive the least passionate person to heights of vigor and selfless abandon
-Phil F - German West Seattle Intern who purportedly wrestled Wild Boar and charted the most distant part of New Zealand
-Lisa D - West Seattle Master who has conquered 14,000ft+ Mount Rainier and set the record for longest base guitar solo in East Timor.
-Jen G - West Seattle Intern who owns no less than 12 copies of Fight Club...just in case and who knows more Chuck Norris Jokes than even Chuck Norris
-Linsdsay D – She is a West Seattlelite who is passionate about ministering to under-privileged inner-city kids. She loves card games and brings a healthy competitiveness to any match. Oh wait…um this is suppose to be about hyperbole. Crap, Hmm…Lindsay is responsible for the Gulf O …She has been know to associate with the Fellowshi…She is just awesome, but not a terrorist or anything, she just loves Jesus.
-Nick B - A Marine Com Spec who "retired" the Two of Diamonds through the Jack of Diamonds, has built a laser (motive) system that transmits power wirelessly to aerial vehicles over 1000 meters away, knows what is in your food (don't ask him, he will tell you in brutal detail), and he is rumored to be the first man to ever "take a bite out of crime".
-Sean A - West Seattle Master who is descended directly from William Wallace...he too has a two-handed broadsword
-And Me - The man with a plan
Third the Plan: (All these days are flexible depending on weather)
We will leave Seattle at 2pm on December 26th from the West Seattle Campus Intern House.
Our two car convoy (a Subaru Forester and whoever's vehicle can make it in snow) will cross into Eastern Washington's High Desert, and we will meet up with Lisa D at her father's House.
Monday will be a lazy day to relax with movies, games, or just some good solitude on the Her family's acreage.
Tuesday will be spent helping Lisa's dad brand cattle and/or shooting shotguns, rifles, and handguns of various calibers in the dessert. There is also a small chance that we will castrate a bull or five.
Wednesday we will leave the desert and head to Tundra at Mount Rainier's South side aptly named "Paradise". We will snowshoe from 5,200 ft above sea level to about 7,200ft. There is a possibility that we could stay in a cabin at the foot of Rainier.
Thursday will find us on the Straight of Juan de Fuca. I have a lead on a place to crash in Sequim. After arriving in Sequim, we spend another lazy day.
Friday we will head up to Hurricane Ridge and maybe do some more snowshoeing or just enjoy the view. Be back in Seattle by 6pm, and maybe we can burn the church's 13 Christmas trees in an Alki Bonfire for New Years Eve.
I have a 22LR Mossberg Rifle and 1600 rounds. Anyone else have any toys?
Feel free to comment with activity, food, drink, game, or any other ideas.
Josh
Monday, December 13, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Vegas Blog - Day 4 - Part 2
Miles: 1286.4
Gallons Burned: 29.7
Elvis Sightings: 11
Total Miles: 15922.6
Total Gallons Burned: 530.4
Total Caffeinated Drinks: 90
Total Gigabytes of Pictures: 33.77
So like I said we got on the bus to Fremont Street (about a 18 minute ride). The buses were clean and you could tell they were all freshly mopped due to the inevitable mess created by inebriated late-night passengers.
Par and I sat on the second level of the bus. Par had just made an observation about the lack economic development in the space between Fremont Street and "The Strip". I changed the subject by drawing a parallel between the people we had seen so far and the run-down appearance of the City.
Whenever I enter a new town, church, restaurant, bank, home, or grocery story I first tactically evaluate the environment (search for concealed weapons, chart the quickest escape route, identify any police), second evaluate the people (are they emotionally unstable, are they generally happy, are they hopeful, are they uneasy, etc.), and third look for the angles. I'm not saying that this is the right way to approach a new situation, I'm only saying it's what I automatically do (you can imagine how fast my mind was working in the highly secure casinos). So anyways I told Par that I noticed a general sense of unhappiness in Vegas. Walking down the street I noticed very few people who were smiling (maybe 1 in 20), and quite a few who looked genuine irked (about 1 in 5). He said he hadn't noticed. I continued that it felt worse that Seattle in the middle of winter when no one has seen the sun in 50-60 days and depression peaks. I wondered aloud why in a place where the sun is ever-present people were so unhappy, Par thought it might have something to do with the money-centric idolatry that is constantly exposed when people lose at a casino.
My mind then jumped to roses. A young lady in the seat in front of us had a dozen blood-red roses. I asked Par what the colors of roses meant. He didn't know. So I, the rude out-of-towner, asked her what the color's meant; she graciously shared that red=romantic love, yellow=friendship, peach=sympathy, and pink=gratitude.
I congratulated her on the dozen red roses and the affection they implied; blushing she said a client from her job at the Aria C&H had given her the roses. She then asked me to explain why I thought Las Vegas folks seemed depressed (she must have overheard my conversation with Par), and mocked me politely when I revealed that I was staying at Circus Circus (the worst fancy Casino Hotels according to locals). With my pride pricked Par piped up by asking how old she was and then if he looked liked Elvis (I had been keeping track of all the Elvis impersonators and Par thought he should count as the Sikh version of Elvis). She again politely told him that she was 22, and he didn't look like Elvis. Then she said turning to me, "But he has Johnny Depp's eyes." I immediately said, "No. No. Brown is just brown" trying to hide my embarrassment. So my one interaction with a real native Las Vegan ended awkwardly as I said, "Nice to have met you" and got off the bus with Par.
Aside number two:
This short encounter relates to something that I have been convicted of as of this Sunday. Pastor Mark as he preached through Luke 11 asked, "Where do you believe that if you ask for something good that God will punish or hurt you?" A strange question don't you agree? I was immediately hit in the gut. I was convicted that I have not asked God for a wife because I fear that he will curse me, hurt me, bringing death and horror to my (future) wife, my (future) kids, and myself. That's pretty jacked up, huh? By not asking God for a wife, I am basically saying that I don't functionally believe that God is good.
That nice, polite young lady was used by God to convict me that I don't trust him. I could have asked her to join us for dinner or asked for her contact info, but I chose not to.
End Aside
Par and I picked out three more Elvis impersonators bringing the total to 11. We returned to the Fremont Street buffet place for a second meal and reveled in all-you-can-eat prime rib again (only $11.99!!). Derek, Roland, Par and I caught some live music and headed back to Circus Circus. I stayed out later (since this was my last night in Vegas). I walked 10 miles up and down the Strip alone spending time with God, and looking the porn huckster's in the eye as I passed them. Half of them looked away, the other half met my gaze with glazed emptiness. I prayed for them that hope and knowledge of life would reach them. Then I slept.
Gallons Burned: 29.7
Elvis Sightings: 11
Total Miles: 15922.6
Total Gallons Burned: 530.4
Total Caffeinated Drinks: 90
Total Gigabytes of Pictures: 33.77
So like I said we got on the bus to Fremont Street (about a 18 minute ride). The buses were clean and you could tell they were all freshly mopped due to the inevitable mess created by inebriated late-night passengers.
Par and I sat on the second level of the bus. Par had just made an observation about the lack economic development in the space between Fremont Street and "The Strip". I changed the subject by drawing a parallel between the people we had seen so far and the run-down appearance of the City.
Whenever I enter a new town, church, restaurant, bank, home, or grocery story I first tactically evaluate the environment (search for concealed weapons, chart the quickest escape route, identify any police), second evaluate the people (are they emotionally unstable, are they generally happy, are they hopeful, are they uneasy, etc.), and third look for the angles. I'm not saying that this is the right way to approach a new situation, I'm only saying it's what I automatically do (you can imagine how fast my mind was working in the highly secure casinos). So anyways I told Par that I noticed a general sense of unhappiness in Vegas. Walking down the street I noticed very few people who were smiling (maybe 1 in 20), and quite a few who looked genuine irked (about 1 in 5). He said he hadn't noticed. I continued that it felt worse that Seattle in the middle of winter when no one has seen the sun in 50-60 days and depression peaks. I wondered aloud why in a place where the sun is ever-present people were so unhappy, Par thought it might have something to do with the money-centric idolatry that is constantly exposed when people lose at a casino.
My mind then jumped to roses. A young lady in the seat in front of us had a dozen blood-red roses. I asked Par what the colors of roses meant. He didn't know. So I, the rude out-of-towner, asked her what the color's meant; she graciously shared that red=romantic love, yellow=friendship, peach=sympathy, and pink=gratitude.
I congratulated her on the dozen red roses and the affection they implied; blushing she said a client from her job at the Aria C&H had given her the roses. She then asked me to explain why I thought Las Vegas folks seemed depressed (she must have overheard my conversation with Par), and mocked me politely when I revealed that I was staying at Circus Circus (the worst fancy Casino Hotels according to locals). With my pride pricked Par piped up by asking how old she was and then if he looked liked Elvis (I had been keeping track of all the Elvis impersonators and Par thought he should count as the Sikh version of Elvis). She again politely told him that she was 22, and he didn't look like Elvis. Then she said turning to me, "But he has Johnny Depp's eyes." I immediately said, "No. No. Brown is just brown" trying to hide my embarrassment. So my one interaction with a real native Las Vegan ended awkwardly as I said, "Nice to have met you" and got off the bus with Par.
Aside number two:
This short encounter relates to something that I have been convicted of as of this Sunday. Pastor Mark as he preached through Luke 11 asked, "Where do you believe that if you ask for something good that God will punish or hurt you?" A strange question don't you agree? I was immediately hit in the gut. I was convicted that I have not asked God for a wife because I fear that he will curse me, hurt me, bringing death and horror to my (future) wife, my (future) kids, and myself. That's pretty jacked up, huh? By not asking God for a wife, I am basically saying that I don't functionally believe that God is good.
That nice, polite young lady was used by God to convict me that I don't trust him. I could have asked her to join us for dinner or asked for her contact info, but I chose not to.
End Aside
Par and I picked out three more Elvis impersonators bringing the total to 11. We returned to the Fremont Street buffet place for a second meal and reveled in all-you-can-eat prime rib again (only $11.99!!). Derek, Roland, Par and I caught some live music and headed back to Circus Circus. I stayed out later (since this was my last night in Vegas). I walked 10 miles up and down the Strip alone spending time with God, and looking the porn huckster's in the eye as I passed them. Half of them looked away, the other half met my gaze with glazed emptiness. I prayed for them that hope and knowledge of life would reach them. Then I slept.
Vegas Blog - Day 4
Miles: 1286.4
Gallons Burned: 29.7
Elvis Sightings: 8
Total Miles: 15922.6
Total Gallons Burned: 530.4
Total Caffeinated Drinks: 90
Total Gigabytes of Pictures: 33.75
Sunday. We woke up late and debated what to do for about an hour. We eventually when to a nearby Krispy Kreme. After eating donuts and talking about the regulative principle. Oh man! Not again! Alright let's have another digression:
Sorry, you probably didn't want to know any of that. Anyway, after the donuts and dialogue we walked up to see more fancy Casino Hotels. New York, New York is a ridiculous C&H. It features the Brooklyn Bridge, Empire State building, Statue of Liberty, and a roller coaster that travels from the outside into the Casino. Excalibur is styled after a fairytale castle complete with turrets and a drawbridge. Luxor is a C&H that is truly one of a kind. It is a huge obsidian pyramid and attached sphinx. Inside there is a triangular prism room. To access the hotel rooms you use four Inclinators. These fancy elevators travel at a 39 degree angle up the corners of the pyramid. The MGM Grand is indeed grand. This C&H is based on the Wizard of Oz. You enter on the yellow brick road and are greeted by a lion in his glass-cased environment. It boasts the most rooms of any hotel in the world: 6,852!!
Following our wind-swept 95 degree heat walk we jumped on a bus to venture down to Fremont Street again...
Gallons Burned: 29.7
Elvis Sightings: 8
Total Miles: 15922.6
Total Gallons Burned: 530.4
Total Caffeinated Drinks: 90
Total Gigabytes of Pictures: 33.75
Sunday. We woke up late and debated what to do for about an hour. We eventually when to a nearby Krispy Kreme. After eating donuts and talking about the regulative principle. Oh man! Not again! Alright let's have another digression:
So "what is the regulative principle?" you ask. Well you'll be sorry you asked, that's for sure! Some Reformed Christians believe that in the Bible the New Covenant Church grants many freedoms including the limited contextualization of the gospel (see Acts 17:16-34). But some really reformed folks (including Derek, Rolando, and Par - please correct me if I am misrepresenting you) believe that when it comes to worship, only the existing songs in the Bible are legit to sing. Also only instrument that existed during the time period of the Bible are acceptable. In my opinion this is akin to some White guy going to my ancestral land of India and telling some rural village of Gujarati folks, "Ok now that you love Jesus you need to get an electric Guitar, some tattoos, where are your cigarettes...you're not wearing black. What kind of Christians are you??" (The cigarettes, obsession with black, tattoos, and instruments are all cultural norms at my church of Mars Hill in Seattle) To mandate the way that people respond to God is lame. The precise reason that the Spirit-led gospel has had such a huge impact is that it is soo adaptable. I think imposing a 2000 year-old cultural standard is foolish and not respectful of the amazing diversity of God's image-bearers.
Sorry, you probably didn't want to know any of that. Anyway, after the donuts and dialogue we walked up to see more fancy Casino Hotels. New York, New York is a ridiculous C&H. It features the Brooklyn Bridge, Empire State building, Statue of Liberty, and a roller coaster that travels from the outside into the Casino. Excalibur is styled after a fairytale castle complete with turrets and a drawbridge. Luxor is a C&H that is truly one of a kind. It is a huge obsidian pyramid and attached sphinx. Inside there is a triangular prism room. To access the hotel rooms you use four Inclinators. These fancy elevators travel at a 39 degree angle up the corners of the pyramid. The MGM Grand is indeed grand. This C&H is based on the Wizard of Oz. You enter on the yellow brick road and are greeted by a lion in his glass-cased environment. It boasts the most rooms of any hotel in the world: 6,852!!
Following our wind-swept 95 degree heat walk we jumped on a bus to venture down to Fremont Street again...
Monday, August 30, 2010
Vegas Blog - Day 3
Miles: 1286.4
Gallons Burned: 29.7
Elvis Sightings: 8
Total Miles: 15922.6
Total Gallons Burned: 530.4
Total Caffeinated Drinks: 90
Total Gigabytes of Pictures: 33.7 - Apologies I can't upload my pics from my Camera phone without my card reader back in Seattle, so you'll have to wait.
On Saturday, Par, Derek, Rolando (sorry for calling you Alehandro), and I woke up late and drove out to the "M" Casino, a luxury Resort/Spa/Casino about 10 miles off the Strip. It is one of the newest casinos in Las Vegas and is well known for its amazing buffet. We waited in line for about 25 minutes only to be told that instead of the $15 advertised cost, the Saturday brunch featuring seafood, was $30. So we decided to get some In and Out Burgers instead.
As an aside, the M Casino (short for iMagine) is a externally beautiful casino, but upon entering it disappoints madly. The casino's foyer and casino floor is decorated in faux tiger stripe and black with accents of mahogany. It left me with an overall feel of being locked in bad 1970s funhouse.
At the burger joint, we enjoyed the Delux Meals and lemonade as the wind gusted madly outside. If you look on the bottom of the soft drink cups at In and Out Burger, you will find an Easter Egg. The verse John 3:16 is printed covertly. It turns out that the family who owns the chain is Christian and wanted to make a subtle homage to their God.
In the fall, Vegas enjoys brutal winds that have been known to exceed 90 miles-an-hour and we experienced the full force of those winds on our way back to Circus Circus.
That evening Derek and I went to the outdoor pools at C&C. Due to the high winds, one of the pools was closed, so we enjoyed the other pool.
Later that night, we all went to Fremont Street. The part of Las Vegas is far from the upscale casino hotels and it features cheaper games and lower minimum bets. Needless to say my eye saw no difference in the average patron's attire. You see the whole city is casual. In the high end casinos you will find folks from Missouri walking around in tank tops and torn jeans, and down on Fremont Street you will find folks from Iowa walking around in pain splattered t-shirts and flip-flops.
We found the cheapest buffet and enjoyed all you can eat NY Strip Steak for $12.99. I especially enjoyed the all-you-can-eat complementary deserts.
Later, Par taught Rolando how to play Craps (I learned how to play back in 9th grade when my frustrated math teacher, at my inner-city high school, taught us the game in a desperate attempt to get anyone to pay attention in class).
I wandered about alone for a little while enjoying "the world's largest TV". The screen is suspended 120 feet above a three block stretch of Fremont Street. It is an LED grid very similar to the jumbo-trons at all (american) football stadiums. Every 35 minutes the lights on the street would go off and a music video (complete with advertising) would play on the huge screen featuring music from The Beatles, The Who, and Aerosmith.
I counted no less than 8 Elvis impersonators on my little walk.
We got back to C&C late and slept into double digits.
Gallons Burned: 29.7
Elvis Sightings: 8
Total Miles: 15922.6
Total Gallons Burned: 530.4
Total Caffeinated Drinks: 90
Total Gigabytes of Pictures: 33.7 - Apologies I can't upload my pics from my Camera phone without my card reader back in Seattle, so you'll have to wait.
On Saturday, Par, Derek, Rolando (sorry for calling you Alehandro), and I woke up late and drove out to the "M" Casino, a luxury Resort/Spa/Casino about 10 miles off the Strip. It is one of the newest casinos in Las Vegas and is well known for its amazing buffet. We waited in line for about 25 minutes only to be told that instead of the $15 advertised cost, the Saturday brunch featuring seafood, was $30. So we decided to get some In and Out Burgers instead.
As an aside, the M Casino (short for iMagine) is a externally beautiful casino, but upon entering it disappoints madly. The casino's foyer and casino floor is decorated in faux tiger stripe and black with accents of mahogany. It left me with an overall feel of being locked in bad 1970s funhouse.
At the burger joint, we enjoyed the Delux Meals and lemonade as the wind gusted madly outside. If you look on the bottom of the soft drink cups at In and Out Burger, you will find an Easter Egg. The verse John 3:16 is printed covertly. It turns out that the family who owns the chain is Christian and wanted to make a subtle homage to their God.
In the fall, Vegas enjoys brutal winds that have been known to exceed 90 miles-an-hour and we experienced the full force of those winds on our way back to Circus Circus.
That evening Derek and I went to the outdoor pools at C&C. Due to the high winds, one of the pools was closed, so we enjoyed the other pool.
Later that night, we all went to Fremont Street. The part of Las Vegas is far from the upscale casino hotels and it features cheaper games and lower minimum bets. Needless to say my eye saw no difference in the average patron's attire. You see the whole city is casual. In the high end casinos you will find folks from Missouri walking around in tank tops and torn jeans, and down on Fremont Street you will find folks from Iowa walking around in pain splattered t-shirts and flip-flops.
We found the cheapest buffet and enjoyed all you can eat NY Strip Steak for $12.99. I especially enjoyed the all-you-can-eat complementary deserts.
Later, Par taught Rolando how to play Craps (I learned how to play back in 9th grade when my frustrated math teacher, at my inner-city high school, taught us the game in a desperate attempt to get anyone to pay attention in class).
I wandered about alone for a little while enjoying "the world's largest TV". The screen is suspended 120 feet above a three block stretch of Fremont Street. It is an LED grid very similar to the jumbo-trons at all (american) football stadiums. Every 35 minutes the lights on the street would go off and a music video (complete with advertising) would play on the huge screen featuring music from The Beatles, The Who, and Aerosmith.
I counted no less than 8 Elvis impersonators on my little walk.
We got back to C&C late and slept into double digits.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Vegas Blog - Day 2
Miles: 1286.4
Gallons Burned: 29.7
Elvis Sightings: 0.0 !!
Total Miles: 15922.6
Total Gallons Burned: 530.4
Total Caffeinated Drinks: 89
Total Gigabytes of Pictures: 33.615 - Apologies I can't upload my pics from my Camera phone without my card reader back in Seattle, so you'll have to wait.
Par and I made it to Las Vegas' Circus Circus Hotel/Casino with little trouble (there was that one little 60 mile 'detour' through the Nevada wilderness). We met up with Derek and Alejandro, Par's friends from LA, and got to know each other during the $12.99 all-you-can-eat Prime Rib eating contest. Alejandro was triumphant by finishing 4.25 12oz cuts of Prime Rib, Par finished about 4, but he only ate the interior of the fillet, and I finished 3. Following our great meal, we walked the Vegas Strip from C&C to Aria stopping at the Treasure Island Hotel/Casino. Playing the penny slot machines, Alejandro won $5, Derek won $5.67, Par won $7.25, and I won $10.37 (including a $7.50 semi-jackpot on my last pull). We didn't even have to put any of our own money at risk because the casino gives any first-time player a free $10 game credit to play with, each of us used that credit and nothing else to win with. Each of us used Par's Rule #2 - "casinos provide free alcoholic beverages to all active gamblers". We each scored free alcohol, I enjoyed my rum and coke.
We enjoyed the architecture of the Casinos, discussing various missiological approaches, that could work in a city like Vegas and what the Reformed view of biblical participation in the Lord's Table is.
I got to walk through Caesar's Palace, the Bellagio (Where i saw some guy win $7,000 playing Roulette), and Treasure Island. It is amazing how intentionally convoluted the designers have made these places; even a person like me who can almost always find the fastest route anywhere, had to pause and think before finding the exit.
Vegas is an amazing place, some what similar to my experiences in New Orleans last March, but on a MUCH grander scale. The biggest downside of Vegas is how much pornography is given away; the hucksters will hand out there "business cards" featuring working girls to anyone and by 2am the sidewalks are covered.
Tomorrow is karaoke, hopefully Par will pick a song or two I know.
Gallons Burned: 29.7
Elvis Sightings: 0.0 !!
Total Miles: 15922.6
Total Gallons Burned: 530.4
Total Caffeinated Drinks: 89
Total Gigabytes of Pictures: 33.615 - Apologies I can't upload my pics from my Camera phone without my card reader back in Seattle, so you'll have to wait.
Par and I made it to Las Vegas' Circus Circus Hotel/Casino with little trouble (there was that one little 60 mile 'detour' through the Nevada wilderness). We met up with Derek and Alejandro, Par's friends from LA, and got to know each other during the $12.99 all-you-can-eat Prime Rib eating contest. Alejandro was triumphant by finishing 4.25 12oz cuts of Prime Rib, Par finished about 4, but he only ate the interior of the fillet, and I finished 3. Following our great meal, we walked the Vegas Strip from C&C to Aria stopping at the Treasure Island Hotel/Casino. Playing the penny slot machines, Alejandro won $5, Derek won $5.67, Par won $7.25, and I won $10.37 (including a $7.50 semi-jackpot on my last pull). We didn't even have to put any of our own money at risk because the casino gives any first-time player a free $10 game credit to play with, each of us used that credit and nothing else to win with. Each of us used Par's Rule #2 - "casinos provide free alcoholic beverages to all active gamblers". We each scored free alcohol, I enjoyed my rum and coke.
We enjoyed the architecture of the Casinos, discussing various missiological approaches, that could work in a city like Vegas and what the Reformed view of biblical participation in the Lord's Table is.
I got to walk through Caesar's Palace, the Bellagio (Where i saw some guy win $7,000 playing Roulette), and Treasure Island. It is amazing how intentionally convoluted the designers have made these places; even a person like me who can almost always find the fastest route anywhere, had to pause and think before finding the exit.
Vegas is an amazing place, some what similar to my experiences in New Orleans last March, but on a MUCH grander scale. The biggest downside of Vegas is how much pornography is given away; the hucksters will hand out there "business cards" featuring working girls to anyone and by 2am the sidewalks are covered.
Tomorrow is karaoke, hopefully Par will pick a song or two I know.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Vegas Blog - Day 1
Miles: 776.2
Gallons Burned: 29.7
Elvis Sightings: 0.0
Total Miles: 15412.4
Total Gallons Burned: 511.1
Total Caffeinated Drinks: 86
Total Gigabytes of Pictures: 33.6
I'm in Wells Nevada in the northwestern portion of this great state. So far I have seen exactly 0 Elvis impersonators, disappointing.
My kind traveling companion Par has been a great co-pilot despite his lack of sleep. Using my latest piece of road trip tech, Par has managed to predict the exact location of a series of thunderstorms and flawlessly modify our lodging plans all without the need to halt our relentless forward progress toward that oasis in the desert. How did Par know the weather's location and exact arrival time in advance you ask? He used my new netbook computer featuring an Ericsson cellular modem. This enabled my co-pilot extraodinare to connect to any cell tower in our path and utilize the 3G network. Using Google Earth he verified local forcasts, checking often to ensure our safety.
How terrible of me, I almost forgot to thank Nick for his patient and excellent dirrection that allowed me to activate and integrate the GPS cabability of my netbook. Nick walked me through the proper hyperterminal commands to render the NMEA protocols active. This rapidly updating system provided Google Earth with our precise global location allowing us to acurately judge our pace and the best places to resupply.
As the driver for this road trip, I have enjoyed being at the wheel of Par's fine 1997 Mitsubishi Galant. The first leg from Seattle to Boise Idaho was uneventful yet beautiful.
The second leg of our trip was slightly more eventful as Par regaled me with stories and wisdom of the ins and outs of Las Vegas while the weather predictably darkened. We saw this as we approached our stopping point for the night:
Just as we entered Wells the rain began in ernest and lightening shown in the Sierra Nevadas.
Allow me to share Par's imPARted wisdom ;)
1 - In Las Vegas they try to attract people to gamble away their childrens', grandchildrens', and great grandchildrens' inheritances by offering very cheap food - so be prepared for $12.99 all you can eat Prime Rib!!
2 - In an attempt to destroy your judgement to facilitate the rapid transfer of said offsprings' future wealth from your pocket to theirs, the casinos provide free alcoholic beverages to all active gamblers - so even if you are playing the penny slots very slowly you can score a free drink (Par's personal record is a 19 cent Long Island Iced Tea)!!
3 - Smoking is allowed in all Casinos, to better promote all manner of vice - so if you have asthma and a gambling compulsion, you could very well die at the roulette table, hmm maybe they should call it 'Merican Roulette so we don't fall behind the Russians!!
Tomorrow we will arrive in Vegas, and maybe explode from our planned Prime Rib eating contest, tune in tomorrow to find out!
Gallons Burned: 29.7
Elvis Sightings: 0.0
Total Miles: 15412.4
Total Gallons Burned: 511.1
Total Caffeinated Drinks: 86
Total Gigabytes of Pictures: 33.6
I'm in Wells Nevada in the northwestern portion of this great state. So far I have seen exactly 0 Elvis impersonators, disappointing.
My kind traveling companion Par has been a great co-pilot despite his lack of sleep. Using my latest piece of road trip tech, Par has managed to predict the exact location of a series of thunderstorms and flawlessly modify our lodging plans all without the need to halt our relentless forward progress toward that oasis in the desert. How did Par know the weather's location and exact arrival time in advance you ask? He used my new netbook computer featuring an Ericsson cellular modem. This enabled my co-pilot extraodinare to connect to any cell tower in our path and utilize the 3G network. Using Google Earth he verified local forcasts, checking often to ensure our safety.
How terrible of me, I almost forgot to thank Nick for his patient and excellent dirrection that allowed me to activate and integrate the GPS cabability of my netbook. Nick walked me through the proper hyperterminal commands to render the NMEA protocols active. This rapidly updating system provided Google Earth with our precise global location allowing us to acurately judge our pace and the best places to resupply.
As the driver for this road trip, I have enjoyed being at the wheel of Par's fine 1997 Mitsubishi Galant. The first leg from Seattle to Boise Idaho was uneventful yet beautiful.
The second leg of our trip was slightly more eventful as Par regaled me with stories and wisdom of the ins and outs of Las Vegas while the weather predictably darkened. We saw this as we approached our stopping point for the night:
Just as we entered Wells the rain began in ernest and lightening shown in the Sierra Nevadas.
Allow me to share Par's imPARted wisdom ;)
1 - In Las Vegas they try to attract people to gamble away their childrens', grandchildrens', and great grandchildrens' inheritances by offering very cheap food - so be prepared for $12.99 all you can eat Prime Rib!!
2 - In an attempt to destroy your judgement to facilitate the rapid transfer of said offsprings' future wealth from your pocket to theirs, the casinos provide free alcoholic beverages to all active gamblers - so even if you are playing the penny slots very slowly you can score a free drink (Par's personal record is a 19 cent Long Island Iced Tea)!!
3 - Smoking is allowed in all Casinos, to better promote all manner of vice - so if you have asthma and a gambling compulsion, you could very well die at the roulette table, hmm maybe they should call it 'Merican Roulette so we don't fall behind the Russians!!
Tomorrow we will arrive in Vegas, and maybe explode from our planned Prime Rib eating contest, tune in tomorrow to find out!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Goin' to Vegas
Miles: 0.0
Gallons Burned: 0.0
Elvis Sightings: 0.0
Total Miles: 14636.2
Total Gallons Burned: 481.4
Total Caffeinated Drinks: 86
Total Gigabytes of Pictures: 33.5
I'm going on another road trip! this time from Seattle to Las Vegas, then onto LA. I'll be flying back.
So last time I embarked on a long road trip I spent almost 3 whole weeks planning it, 2 days of silence and solitude to acquire a proper vision and purpose for it, 2 days just to optimize the cockpit's configuration, and over $1,000 just to prep it.
Well boy howdy!! I think I got this all figured out!
Sooo, for this admittedly shorter road trip I spent almost a whole night planning it, 30 minutes of silence and solitude to acquire a proper vision and purpose for it, 0.0002 days to optimize my duffel bag, and $2.50 just to prep it.
Now my favorite part, the statistics:
Epic Road Trip: 14,636.2 miles
Vegas Road Trip (or as my roommate calls it "Harold and Kumar go to Whitecastle"): 1,474.3 miles
Estimated unique Elvis sightings: 37.3
Details:
My friend Par Singh generously invited me to accompany him to Vegas and following a 3 day jaunt in the desert "oasis", we will finish up in LA.
Stay tuned for real time updates from my upgraded communications system allowing me to blog from ANYWHERE.
Gallons Burned: 0.0
Elvis Sightings: 0.0
Total Miles: 14636.2
Total Gallons Burned: 481.4
Total Caffeinated Drinks: 86
Total Gigabytes of Pictures: 33.5
I'm going on another road trip! this time from Seattle to Las Vegas, then onto LA. I'll be flying back.
So last time I embarked on a long road trip I spent almost 3 whole weeks planning it, 2 days of silence and solitude to acquire a proper vision and purpose for it, 2 days just to optimize the cockpit's configuration, and over $1,000 just to prep it.
Well boy howdy!! I think I got this all figured out!
Sooo, for this admittedly shorter road trip I spent almost a whole night planning it, 30 minutes of silence and solitude to acquire a proper vision and purpose for it, 0.0002 days to optimize my duffel bag, and $2.50 just to prep it.
Now my favorite part, the statistics:
Epic Road Trip: 14,636.2 miles
Vegas Road Trip (or as my roommate calls it "Harold and Kumar go to Whitecastle"): 1,474.3 miles
Estimated unique Elvis sightings: 37.3
Details:
My friend Par Singh generously invited me to accompany him to Vegas and following a 3 day jaunt in the desert "oasis", we will finish up in LA.
Stay tuned for real time updates from my upgraded communications system allowing me to blog from ANYWHERE.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Mount Adams in Review, well maybe not
As I sit in my living room looking out over the Puget Sound, I wonder why I get all theses chances to do amazing things. In the last 7 months I have driven 15,000 miles, seen 34 states, met 150 new and beautiful people, been run off a beach by alligators, spun out twice in snow almost falling off cliffs to my death, toured America's two most beautiful houses, trespassed on Stephen King's property, driven 21 hours straight from South Dakota to Seattle, tasted Scotch from every part of Scotland, volunteered 180 hours with faithful and dedicated folks, eaten Alligator, Caribou, and Camel, Shared my favorite place on earth with 7 people, crashed a tiny birthday party with 50 other people (in a good way, Happy B day Kristeen), ridden 350 miles on my cheap mountain bike, built a deck, painted a house, moved, read 12 new books (sad I know, I need to read more), led 5 hiking adventures, led 125 volunteers without one fatality, summited a stratovolcano twice in five days, canceled my car insurance to go bike-only, gained 10 pounds (the good kind), seen the worlds most beautiful sunset, eaten 4 MREs, held my first M4 rifle, fired my first 45cal, set off my first fireworks, and of course started blogging.
Ok sentence two, so what have I learned while doing all this cool stuff? The world's first philosopher (no not Anaximander or Thales of Miletus)was Solomon son of David born about 1000 BC. He concluded in his three books, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon that all the fun stuff we do here on earth is nothing more than warm breath on a cold morning, gone without a trace as soon as it is seen. I really don't want to agree with him, I drove, saw, tasted, touched, rode, and hiked. These things really happened. But did I change the world? Did my chasing after experiences really bring me deep and abiding joy? Am I a man who has beaten the odds and defeated the unquenchable forces of entropy? Is my kingdom really going to last from this millennium to the next?
You see why I don't want to agree with Solomon. If all my work counts for nothing in the grand scheme, if I am just one of my generation who has hopped on the stationary bicycle of history and ridden really really hard only to be replaced by the next generation, if you and I are stuck riding around the small cul-de-sac of existence waiting to live out our days, than I really am not all that I'm cracked up to be.
For those of you who have met me, have spent any amount of time with me, and are actually honest, then you know I am not all that awesome. I am vaguely interesting, but I am just like you, pursuing interesting experience, but all the while trying to deny that Solomon was right, "A vapor, a vapor, everything is a vapor."
I know that if I am really lucky, I'll have about 50 more years on this planet so while I still will run around chasing all the shiny things in life I rest in the fact that it's all a vapor and I don't need to worry about things too much, God's got it all under control and when the bad times in life hit I know He is good.
So today is a good day and the last 7 months have been really really good, but I know as Solomon said (not those stupid hippies who totally tried to ruin it):
To be clear I have had times of mourning, times of hatred, times of breaking down, times of losing, times of all sorts and kinds, but right now is a time of seeking, a time to learn, a time to grow, and a time to reflect on all that has happened.
So thank you all who have been part of my life and involved in these various seasons. I believe the next season is starting for me, I hope your next season will be challenging in a good way, because I know mine will be.
Peace
Ok sentence two, so what have I learned while doing all this cool stuff? The world's first philosopher (no not Anaximander or Thales of Miletus)was Solomon son of David born about 1000 BC. He concluded in his three books, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon that all the fun stuff we do here on earth is nothing more than warm breath on a cold morning, gone without a trace as soon as it is seen. I really don't want to agree with him, I drove, saw, tasted, touched, rode, and hiked. These things really happened. But did I change the world? Did my chasing after experiences really bring me deep and abiding joy? Am I a man who has beaten the odds and defeated the unquenchable forces of entropy? Is my kingdom really going to last from this millennium to the next?
You see why I don't want to agree with Solomon. If all my work counts for nothing in the grand scheme, if I am just one of my generation who has hopped on the stationary bicycle of history and ridden really really hard only to be replaced by the next generation, if you and I are stuck riding around the small cul-de-sac of existence waiting to live out our days, than I really am not all that I'm cracked up to be.
For those of you who have met me, have spent any amount of time with me, and are actually honest, then you know I am not all that awesome. I am vaguely interesting, but I am just like you, pursuing interesting experience, but all the while trying to deny that Solomon was right, "A vapor, a vapor, everything is a vapor."
I know that if I am really lucky, I'll have about 50 more years on this planet so while I still will run around chasing all the shiny things in life I rest in the fact that it's all a vapor and I don't need to worry about things too much, God's got it all under control and when the bad times in life hit I know He is good.
So today is a good day and the last 7 months have been really really good, but I know as Solomon said (not those stupid hippies who totally tried to ruin it):
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.
To be clear I have had times of mourning, times of hatred, times of breaking down, times of losing, times of all sorts and kinds, but right now is a time of seeking, a time to learn, a time to grow, and a time to reflect on all that has happened.
So thank you all who have been part of my life and involved in these various seasons. I believe the next season is starting for me, I hope your next season will be challenging in a good way, because I know mine will be.
Peace
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
July 26th-27th Mount Adams Summit!!!
For Jen Z. to see what Adams is like and for everyone else to share in our amazing summit of Mount Adams. Pictures courtesy of Jen Gagne, our official photo documentarian. I also added some of my pictures (they are the really bad ones).
The Drive up to Adams at 6am
Me, Brandon, Andy C., Pavel Nosov, Mr. Chchran, Marie, and Jen Gagne
The mountain
Mount Hood from Mount Adams
Looking up past the trees to the false summit
Mount Hood from the tree line
Me ascending, check out the angle of the mountain
Mount St Helens from Mount Adams
Jen's Refridgerator, to keep our chocolate and pizza preserved
Our Campsite
The view from camp to the false summit
Pavel plays his harmonica as we watch this beautiful sunset from 10,000ft
One Word: GLORY
Jen embracing the gift God gave
The mountain's Shadow in the morning sun
Breaking camp on a cold morning
Ascending to the false summit took 4 long hours and check out the 38 degree angle on the slope.
On top of the false summit (11,500ft) looking toward the true summit
Looking southeast down on the false summit from the summit at 12,276ft!!
Looking West from the summit
Mount Rainier from Mount Adams
Looking west from Adams
The toast at the top, "nothing better than Grand Marnier on a day like today"
Jen on top of the 2nd tallest peak in Washington State
Pavel the mountain conqueror
The obligatory "Top of the Peak shot"
Jen rocking it at 12,276ft!!!
Pavel higher than he has ever been
The Drive up to Adams at 6am
Me, Brandon, Andy C., Pavel Nosov, Mr. Chchran, Marie, and Jen Gagne
The mountain
Mount Hood from Mount Adams
Looking up past the trees to the false summit
Mount Hood from the tree line
Me ascending, check out the angle of the mountain
Mount St Helens from Mount Adams
Jen's Refridgerator, to keep our chocolate and pizza preserved
Our Campsite
The view from camp to the false summit
Pavel plays his harmonica as we watch this beautiful sunset from 10,000ft
One Word: GLORY
Jen embracing the gift God gave
The mountain's Shadow in the morning sun
Breaking camp on a cold morning
Ascending to the false summit took 4 long hours and check out the 38 degree angle on the slope.
On top of the false summit (11,500ft) looking toward the true summit
Looking southeast down on the false summit from the summit at 12,276ft!!
Looking West from the summit
Mount Rainier from Mount Adams
Looking west from Adams
The toast at the top, "nothing better than Grand Marnier on a day like today"
Jen on top of the 2nd tallest peak in Washington State
Pavel the mountain conqueror
The obligatory "Top of the Peak shot"
Jen rocking it at 12,276ft!!!
Pavel higher than he has ever been
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Two Mount Adams hikes....12,281ft
Oh, and by the way I'll be doing it for the first time on the 26th and again on the 31st, that's two summits in 5 days.
I simply must make TWO HUGE apologies to anyone who reads this blog...
1) I am sorry for interrupting my recounting of adventures on the road, don't fear I will return soonish with fresh stories.
2) I am sorry for failing to use the abbreviation "Mt." whenever I refer to the great mountain known as Adams (or Klickitat by the local native tribes). However I have known good friends who have lost brothers and buddies on the dangerous mountains here in the Cascades, so I respect this peak, its two brother peaks, and its sister peak. They kill. I don't worship these peaks or anything, but I respect them.
With all that taken care of, let me tell you about the mountain, then I'll tell you about the hike, then I'll tell you about the gear and accommodations for the trip.
Elevation: 12,281 ft
2nd Biggest Volcano in Washington State
194th tallest peak in North America
Passes: Required for hiking above the Lunch Counter
Cost:
Camp sites run ~$15 a night
Food you buy yourself for Friday breakfast, the hike, and for the night after the hike ($12 a person)
Hiking pass ($10)
The Hike:
All my info about this summit comes second hand off people's blogs or from Dan from Mars Ballard, so take it with a big grain of salt.
This 13 mile round trip features a 6,704ft elevation gain across snow fields, glaciers, and barren tundra. It can be done in one day, that is not to say that the first time I try I will succeed. This is a non-technical summit requiring power-slogging (I of course mean that you just keep going and persevering). As Elliott has said in the past, "A long slog? Sounds fun, I'll slog it out any day." So anyone who wants to come with me will be in for one brutal day...or two if you're as crazy as I am.
The first 2 miles are in the trees over dry ground. The next obstacle will be a boulder field with a large amount of rapidly melting snow and ice. Every blogger has recommended reaching this field early in the day before the temperature rises too much, reducing mobility. The snow fields start after this point with a gentle grade all the way up to the Lunch Counter where many people choose to camp in the numerous wind protected campsites. The next 1.5-2 hours are steep with soft snow up to the false summit; the view is supposed to be legendary along this stretch. The effects of altitude will be brutal from the Lunch Counter on. A prolonged rest (acclimatization break) is recommended at the false summit because there is extensive cover from the continuous wind. Also drop all excess weight and pick it up on the way down. The last 600 vertical feet are the hardest part because this air is the thinnest of the whole hike. At the top, you can see hundreds of miles and the fraternal peaks. The way down is EPIC, well not as epic as my road trip, but still pretty sweet. You can glissade more that 65% of the way down including one part where you lose 2,700 ft without stopping! Reading others' experiences has led me to make two recommendations:
1) Practice Rest Stepping:
After the Lunch Counter, conserving your leg muscles and reducing your body's demand for oxygen will go a long way. Read THIS article and learn. Rest Stepping is a great method for exactly this sort of hike.
2) Altitude Sickness:
This is due to the body's reaction to lower oxygen levels above 10,000ft. Anyone who has done Muir with me knows what this feels like. According to other bloggers the best ways to combat this are to:
a) Take antioxidants like vitamin A,C, and E
b) Take a substance called Acetazolamide (Diamox) which can help prevent the effects if taken preemptively, unfortunately this substance dehydrates the user, and is dangerous if taken with Alcohol (I am skeptical about this one)
c) Take the herbal supplement Ginko Biloba
The Two Day July 25-26th Hike
We will leave Seattle at 9:00pm on Sunday July 24th and spend the night at my college friend's house in Portland. On Monday morning we will leave for Mount Adams and start our hike up to the "Lunch Counter" at about 9400ft where we will sleep and acclimatize. On Tuesday, we will hike to the 12,281ft summit and descend rapidly using our thermo sheets using the amazing ice chutes. The Plan is to be back in Seattle on Tuesday night.(6 people confirmed so far: Pavel, Jen, Eric, Andy, Andy's dad, and Me)
The One Day July 31st Hike
We will leave Seattle at 6:15pm on Friday night and head directly to Cold Springs Campground at the foot of Mount Adams. After a good night's sleep, we will ascend as far as possible, however a summit is unlikely since we will be hiking all 6700ft in a single day. We will go as far as is reasonable and safe. When we descend, fatigue is certain, so we shall camp back in Cold Springs Campground. The Plan is to return to Seattle on Sunday by about 3pm. (Two people confirmed so far: Sean and Me)
Gear:
A brand new Army Emergency Medical Kit (I will provide)
3 changes of cloths (two for camping (one for the drive) one for the hike
Sleeping bag or comforter
Tent (if you have one)
Cook Stove (if you have one)
Food for Friday morning that will top up you energy
Food for Friday night that can be cooked over fire or a camp stove
A towel for after the hike in the car
Food for the Hike, snaking is very important (I prefer baked good, trail mix, sandwiches, slices of cold pizza, etc)
Water for the hike ~2 Liters
Sun Glasses or Ski goggles with UV protection
Sun Screen SPF 30+
Ice Axes (optional)
A day backpack to carry water and food in for the 1 day option
A back packing pack for the 2 day option
A stalking cap, tuque , baclava, or hat
Gloves (for snow ball fights)
Strong boots with some water-proofing (Cramp-ons optional)
2 Large Black Garbage bags (for enjoying the long ice chutes on the snow fields)
Thermal Gear Top and bottom (Under-Armor or "long johns")
Heavy tuque hat
Thick wool socks (Maybe bring a second pair)
A scarf
Medium weight jacket (with some sort of liner & some rain resistance)
Accommodations:
We will be staying at the Cold Springs Campground (no water available) in Gifford Pinchot National Forest. I will bring a 3 man tent, cook stove, wood + white gasoline to light it, food for breakfast on Sunday before we go home, and 1 extra sleeping bag. For the Two day option, we will camp at the "Lunch Counter" at 9400ft.
Quotes from other Blogs:
"We glissaded down 2700 vertical ft to Lunch Counter. Without stopping. It took us 10 to 15 minutes to descend the slope that took us an hour and a half to climb."
-Dave & Iva's Blog
"Gorgeous views of Rainier awaited us at the summit. Barely visible under the snow were remains from a fire tower / sulphur mine that once was located at the top of Mt Adams." -Naffziger's Summit
Here is a funny story about Mount Adams:
Hall Kelley was a man from the early 1800s who became fascinated by the exploits of Lewis and Clark. He repeatedly tried to reach the Pacific Northwest overland, but due to finances and circumstance failed. He ended up heading to New Orleans and from there south to Veracruz and eventually up to Monterey. He then finally made it to the mouth of the Columbia River where he recovered from Malaria. He shipped out to Hawaii and eventually returned to Boston. In the end he showed himself to be a great organizer and leader of men and a strong influence on others who eventually came from the east and settled Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. Now that isn't the funny story. Before he set out on his long, yet successful adventure he led an organization to rename the Cascade Mountain Range to the "Presidents Range." The idea was to name all the big mountains of this range after former U.S. Presidents. He failed in renaming the range, but succeeded in renaming one mountain after a president. He received approval to rename Mount Hood after President John Adams. But due to the inaccurate maps of the day and a careless cartographer the name "Mount Adams" was placed 30 miles east of Mount St. Helens and 40 miles north of Mount Hood on the official map of the area. Fortunately, or providentially if your are a Calvinist, there was a big mountain already at the exact location! Thus Mount Adams received its name.
I simply must make TWO HUGE apologies to anyone who reads this blog...
1) I am sorry for interrupting my recounting of adventures on the road, don't fear I will return soonish with fresh stories.
2) I am sorry for failing to use the abbreviation "Mt." whenever I refer to the great mountain known as Adams (or Klickitat by the local native tribes). However I have known good friends who have lost brothers and buddies on the dangerous mountains here in the Cascades, so I respect this peak, its two brother peaks, and its sister peak. They kill. I don't worship these peaks or anything, but I respect them.
With all that taken care of, let me tell you about the mountain, then I'll tell you about the hike, then I'll tell you about the gear and accommodations for the trip.
Elevation: 12,281 ft
2nd Biggest Volcano in Washington State
194th tallest peak in North America
Passes: Required for hiking above the Lunch Counter
Cost:
Camp sites run ~$15 a night
Food you buy yourself for Friday breakfast, the hike, and for the night after the hike ($12 a person)
Hiking pass ($10)
The Hike:
All my info about this summit comes second hand off people's blogs or from Dan from Mars Ballard, so take it with a big grain of salt.
This 13 mile round trip features a 6,704ft elevation gain across snow fields, glaciers, and barren tundra. It can be done in one day, that is not to say that the first time I try I will succeed. This is a non-technical summit requiring power-slogging (I of course mean that you just keep going and persevering). As Elliott has said in the past, "A long slog? Sounds fun, I'll slog it out any day." So anyone who wants to come with me will be in for one brutal day...or two if you're as crazy as I am.
The first 2 miles are in the trees over dry ground. The next obstacle will be a boulder field with a large amount of rapidly melting snow and ice. Every blogger has recommended reaching this field early in the day before the temperature rises too much, reducing mobility. The snow fields start after this point with a gentle grade all the way up to the Lunch Counter where many people choose to camp in the numerous wind protected campsites. The next 1.5-2 hours are steep with soft snow up to the false summit; the view is supposed to be legendary along this stretch. The effects of altitude will be brutal from the Lunch Counter on. A prolonged rest (acclimatization break) is recommended at the false summit because there is extensive cover from the continuous wind. Also drop all excess weight and pick it up on the way down. The last 600 vertical feet are the hardest part because this air is the thinnest of the whole hike. At the top, you can see hundreds of miles and the fraternal peaks. The way down is EPIC, well not as epic as my road trip, but still pretty sweet. You can glissade more that 65% of the way down including one part where you lose 2,700 ft without stopping! Reading others' experiences has led me to make two recommendations:
1) Practice Rest Stepping:
After the Lunch Counter, conserving your leg muscles and reducing your body's demand for oxygen will go a long way. Read THIS article and learn. Rest Stepping is a great method for exactly this sort of hike.
2) Altitude Sickness:
This is due to the body's reaction to lower oxygen levels above 10,000ft. Anyone who has done Muir with me knows what this feels like. According to other bloggers the best ways to combat this are to:
a) Take antioxidants like vitamin A,C, and E
b) Take a substance called Acetazolamide (Diamox) which can help prevent the effects if taken preemptively, unfortunately this substance dehydrates the user, and is dangerous if taken with Alcohol (I am skeptical about this one)
c) Take the herbal supplement Ginko Biloba
The Two Day July 25-26th Hike
We will leave Seattle at 9:00pm on Sunday July 24th and spend the night at my college friend's house in Portland. On Monday morning we will leave for Mount Adams and start our hike up to the "Lunch Counter" at about 9400ft where we will sleep and acclimatize. On Tuesday, we will hike to the 12,281ft summit and descend rapidly using our thermo sheets using the amazing ice chutes. The Plan is to be back in Seattle on Tuesday night.(6 people confirmed so far: Pavel, Jen, Eric, Andy, Andy's dad, and Me)
The One Day July 31st Hike
We will leave Seattle at 6:15pm on Friday night and head directly to Cold Springs Campground at the foot of Mount Adams. After a good night's sleep, we will ascend as far as possible, however a summit is unlikely since we will be hiking all 6700ft in a single day. We will go as far as is reasonable and safe. When we descend, fatigue is certain, so we shall camp back in Cold Springs Campground. The Plan is to return to Seattle on Sunday by about 3pm. (Two people confirmed so far: Sean and Me)
Gear:
A brand new Army Emergency Medical Kit (I will provide)
3 changes of cloths (two for camping (one for the drive) one for the hike
Sleeping bag or comforter
Tent (if you have one)
Cook Stove (if you have one)
Food for Friday morning that will top up you energy
Food for Friday night that can be cooked over fire or a camp stove
A towel for after the hike in the car
Food for the Hike, snaking is very important (I prefer baked good, trail mix, sandwiches, slices of cold pizza, etc)
Water for the hike ~2 Liters
Sun Glasses or Ski goggles with UV protection
Sun Screen SPF 30+
Ice Axes (optional)
A day backpack to carry water and food in for the 1 day option
A back packing pack for the 2 day option
A stalking cap, tuque , baclava, or hat
Gloves (for snow ball fights)
Strong boots with some water-proofing (Cramp-ons optional)
2 Large Black Garbage bags (for enjoying the long ice chutes on the snow fields)
Thermal Gear Top and bottom (Under-Armor or "long johns")
Heavy tuque hat
Thick wool socks (Maybe bring a second pair)
A scarf
Medium weight jacket (with some sort of liner & some rain resistance)
Accommodations:
We will be staying at the Cold Springs Campground (no water available) in Gifford Pinchot National Forest. I will bring a 3 man tent, cook stove, wood + white gasoline to light it, food for breakfast on Sunday before we go home, and 1 extra sleeping bag. For the Two day option, we will camp at the "Lunch Counter" at 9400ft.
Quotes from other Blogs:
"We glissaded down 2700 vertical ft to Lunch Counter. Without stopping. It took us 10 to 15 minutes to descend the slope that took us an hour and a half to climb."
-Dave & Iva's Blog
"Gorgeous views of Rainier awaited us at the summit. Barely visible under the snow were remains from a fire tower / sulphur mine that once was located at the top of Mt Adams." -Naffziger's Summit
Here is a funny story about Mount Adams:
Hall Kelley was a man from the early 1800s who became fascinated by the exploits of Lewis and Clark. He repeatedly tried to reach the Pacific Northwest overland, but due to finances and circumstance failed. He ended up heading to New Orleans and from there south to Veracruz and eventually up to Monterey. He then finally made it to the mouth of the Columbia River where he recovered from Malaria. He shipped out to Hawaii and eventually returned to Boston. In the end he showed himself to be a great organizer and leader of men and a strong influence on others who eventually came from the east and settled Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. Now that isn't the funny story. Before he set out on his long, yet successful adventure he led an organization to rename the Cascade Mountain Range to the "Presidents Range." The idea was to name all the big mountains of this range after former U.S. Presidents. He failed in renaming the range, but succeeded in renaming one mountain after a president. He received approval to rename Mount Hood after President John Adams. But due to the inaccurate maps of the day and a careless cartographer the name "Mount Adams" was placed 30 miles east of Mount St. Helens and 40 miles north of Mount Hood on the official map of the area. Fortunately, or providentially if your are a Calvinist, there was a big mountain already at the exact location! Thus Mount Adams received its name.
Mount Rainier Hike to Camp Muir
July 16th, 17th, and 18th.
The Trip:
We will leave the Seattle area in carpools on Thursday night at about 6:15pm and arrive at Cougar Rock Campground at about 9:15pm. We will then drive up to Paradise at about 8:00am and start hiking up. We will be back at paradise at about 7:00pm and drive back to the campground. Then we will enjoy s'mores, food, and fun together. I will provide a breakfast/brunch on Saturday Morning for everyone (hash browns, bacon, breakfast sausage, maybe even pancakes...) before we finally get back to Seattle by about 1:00pm.
The Hike:
We will gain about 4200 vertical feet on the way to Camp Muir, the traditional base camp for summits of this fine Volcano. The round trip is 10 miles featuring amazing views and great company (don't worry, we won't be charging up the mountain so even if you aren't in the best shape you'll make it). For the hard core, I still plan to go if the weather is disagreeable (much like the June 19th Hike up to Camp Muir. I have 5 mats for sliding down the ice shoots after we reach Camp Muir at 9,950 feet. The more cultured mountaineering folk refer to such sliding as "Glissading". But feel free to bring a garbage bag to aid in the descent
Cost:
Camp sites run $12 a night, split that between 6 people for two nights ($4 a person)
Park entry is $15 per car, split 4 ways ($3.75)
Food you buy yourself for Friday breakfast, the hike, and for the night after the hike ($12 a person)
Gear:
3 changes of cloths (two for camping (one for the drive) one for the hike
Sleeping bag or comforter
Tent (if you have one)
Cook Stove (if you have one)
Food for Friday morning that will top up you energy
Food for Friday night that can be cooked over fire or a camp stove
A towel for after the hike in the car
Food for the Hike, snaking is very important (I prefer baked good, trail mix, sandwiches, slices of cold pizza, etc)
Water for the hike ~2 Liters
Sun Glasses or Ski goggles with UV protection
Sun Screen SPF 30+
Ice Axes (optional)
A day backpack to carry water and food in
A stalking cap, tuque , baclava, or hat
Gloves (for snow ball fights)
Strong boots with some water-proofing (Cramp-ons optional)
2 Large Black Garbage bags (for enjoying the long ice chutes on the snow fields)
Thermal Gear Top and bottom (Under-Armor or "long johns")
Heavy tuque hat
Thick wool socks (Maybe bring a second pair)
A scarf
Medium weight jacket (with some sort of liner & some rain resistance)
Accommodations:
We will be staying at the Cougar Rock Campground in Mount Rainier National Park. These sites are first come first serve, so we will do our best to claim 2 or 3 (for a total capacity of 12-18 people).
I will bring a 3 man tent, cook stove, wood + white gasoline to light it, food for breakfast on Saturday before we go home, and 1 extra sleeping bag.
I hope as many people as possible make it out to this beautiful mid-summer paradise and enjoy the alpine meadows, glistening snow fields, and heart-stopping vista. After all this is my favorite place on Earth.
Pictures/Videos of my past trips to Camp Muir:
Camping at Rainier
Up to Muir
At Camp Muir
Down from Muir
Please come with me up to Rainier. Come from anywhere, if your are in New Zealand and see this then book a plane ticket, if you are in the military and have some leave then take it, if you are about to prove Fermat's Last Theorem in a newer better way then stop and follow me, if you need to go to Stockholm and receive the Nobel Peace Prize then don't get on the plane come with me. Bottom line, you know you want, you know it'll be fun, you know you will stand above at all, so Come On!
The Trip:
We will leave the Seattle area in carpools on Thursday night at about 6:15pm and arrive at Cougar Rock Campground at about 9:15pm. We will then drive up to Paradise at about 8:00am and start hiking up. We will be back at paradise at about 7:00pm and drive back to the campground. Then we will enjoy s'mores, food, and fun together. I will provide a breakfast/brunch on Saturday Morning for everyone (hash browns, bacon, breakfast sausage, maybe even pancakes...) before we finally get back to Seattle by about 1:00pm.
The Hike:
We will gain about 4200 vertical feet on the way to Camp Muir, the traditional base camp for summits of this fine Volcano. The round trip is 10 miles featuring amazing views and great company (don't worry, we won't be charging up the mountain so even if you aren't in the best shape you'll make it). For the hard core, I still plan to go if the weather is disagreeable (much like the June 19th Hike up to Camp Muir. I have 5 mats for sliding down the ice shoots after we reach Camp Muir at 9,950 feet. The more cultured mountaineering folk refer to such sliding as "Glissading". But feel free to bring a garbage bag to aid in the descent
Cost:
Camp sites run $12 a night, split that between 6 people for two nights ($4 a person)
Park entry is $15 per car, split 4 ways ($3.75)
Food you buy yourself for Friday breakfast, the hike, and for the night after the hike ($12 a person)
Gear:
3 changes of cloths (two for camping (one for the drive) one for the hike
Sleeping bag or comforter
Tent (if you have one)
Cook Stove (if you have one)
Food for Friday morning that will top up you energy
Food for Friday night that can be cooked over fire or a camp stove
A towel for after the hike in the car
Food for the Hike, snaking is very important (I prefer baked good, trail mix, sandwiches, slices of cold pizza, etc)
Water for the hike ~2 Liters
Sun Glasses or Ski goggles with UV protection
Sun Screen SPF 30+
Ice Axes (optional)
A day backpack to carry water and food in
A stalking cap, tuque , baclava, or hat
Gloves (for snow ball fights)
Strong boots with some water-proofing (Cramp-ons optional)
2 Large Black Garbage bags (for enjoying the long ice chutes on the snow fields)
Thermal Gear Top and bottom (Under-Armor or "long johns")
Heavy tuque hat
Thick wool socks (Maybe bring a second pair)
A scarf
Medium weight jacket (with some sort of liner & some rain resistance)
Accommodations:
We will be staying at the Cougar Rock Campground in Mount Rainier National Park. These sites are first come first serve, so we will do our best to claim 2 or 3 (for a total capacity of 12-18 people).
I will bring a 3 man tent, cook stove, wood + white gasoline to light it, food for breakfast on Saturday before we go home, and 1 extra sleeping bag.
I hope as many people as possible make it out to this beautiful mid-summer paradise and enjoy the alpine meadows, glistening snow fields, and heart-stopping vista. After all this is my favorite place on Earth.
Pictures/Videos of my past trips to Camp Muir:
Camping at Rainier
Up to Muir
At Camp Muir
Down from Muir
Please come with me up to Rainier. Come from anywhere, if your are in New Zealand and see this then book a plane ticket, if you are in the military and have some leave then take it, if you are about to prove Fermat's Last Theorem in a newer better way then stop and follow me, if you need to go to Stockholm and receive the Nobel Peace Prize then don't get on the plane come with me. Bottom line, you know you want, you know it'll be fun, you know you will stand above at all, so Come On!
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
New Developments and Old Recollections
I haven't posted here in a long time and I honestly can't give a reason why. I had many more adventures after my time at the Wolf Ski Resort yet I have not put the proverbial pen to paper.
Just to get myself going, I'll recount all the events since my triumphant return to Seattle.
1. I resumed serving at Mars Hill Church both on Sunday and during the week. As of right now I am responsible for leading a 16 member team that serves communion to about 900 people every Sunday during the 7:15pm service in Ballard. I am also responsible for running the Thursday night Campus Cleanup where I lead a variable size team (as few as 8 and occasionally as many as 20) in the task of cleaning a 50,000 sqft building, so that it is all ready for weekly events. These two tasks are immensely stretching for me. I am a quiet and self-absorbed anti-social guy who is totally at home in the corner of a coffee shop. Instead God has called me to lead people in a way that glorifies Christ. I feel like I don't do this very well (or as well as I should), but for whatever reason both those teams are doing rather well. I also serve on Security at the West Seattle Campus of Mars (I dig a church that has bouncers...so that all the little kids are safe and the body is protected).
2. I built a deck and now am finishing up by laying the decking material and railings. The project passed inspection so an underpaid overworked city of Seattle building inspector thinks I did a decent job (for whatever that's worth).
3. I house sat for my grand parents and enjoyed the resumption of my road trip's near constant isolation for a mere 7 days.
4. I have been training in earnest for an upcoming Mt. Rainier Hike and a Mt. Adams Summit. 20 mile sprints in the saddle out to Alki and back (420ft to 0ft and back up). Man I remember Dave's sweet bike and am filled with an envy as I chugg along with my 21 speed mountain bike. Calisthenics have help too and I'm in great shape as I look forward to summer.
5. I have geared up by buying an ice axe, new mountaineering boots, and gaiters.
6. I have played tour guide to some Mars Hillians from Albuquerque and my Buddy Andy from Portland.
7. I have read by the pound: Anathem by Neal Stephenson, Adventures with Charley by Steinbeck, Thinking Beyond Stage One by Thomas Sowell, Doctrine by Mark Driscoll, Luke (4 times) by Luke, On the Road by Kerouac, and the 9-part series by Orson Scott Card (Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow, Shadow of the Hegemon, Shadow Puppets, Shadow of the Giant, Ender in Exile, Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, Children of the Mind)
So I have been busy, but I feel idle. That makes me feel uneasy. I can't rest. Sabbath is not my normal state.
Ok now I've shaken off the hesitation in writing so now I'll write about what happened after the Wolf. Excuse me let me turn on Mogwai, so my mind is clear...
Just to get myself going, I'll recount all the events since my triumphant return to Seattle.
1. I resumed serving at Mars Hill Church both on Sunday and during the week. As of right now I am responsible for leading a 16 member team that serves communion to about 900 people every Sunday during the 7:15pm service in Ballard. I am also responsible for running the Thursday night Campus Cleanup where I lead a variable size team (as few as 8 and occasionally as many as 20) in the task of cleaning a 50,000 sqft building, so that it is all ready for weekly events. These two tasks are immensely stretching for me. I am a quiet and self-absorbed anti-social guy who is totally at home in the corner of a coffee shop. Instead God has called me to lead people in a way that glorifies Christ. I feel like I don't do this very well (or as well as I should), but for whatever reason both those teams are doing rather well. I also serve on Security at the West Seattle Campus of Mars (I dig a church that has bouncers...so that all the little kids are safe and the body is protected).
2. I built a deck and now am finishing up by laying the decking material and railings. The project passed inspection so an underpaid overworked city of Seattle building inspector thinks I did a decent job (for whatever that's worth).
3. I house sat for my grand parents and enjoyed the resumption of my road trip's near constant isolation for a mere 7 days.
4. I have been training in earnest for an upcoming Mt. Rainier Hike and a Mt. Adams Summit. 20 mile sprints in the saddle out to Alki and back (420ft to 0ft and back up). Man I remember Dave's sweet bike and am filled with an envy as I chugg along with my 21 speed mountain bike. Calisthenics have help too and I'm in great shape as I look forward to summer.
5. I have geared up by buying an ice axe, new mountaineering boots, and gaiters.
6. I have played tour guide to some Mars Hillians from Albuquerque and my Buddy Andy from Portland.
7. I have read by the pound: Anathem by Neal Stephenson, Adventures with Charley by Steinbeck, Thinking Beyond Stage One by Thomas Sowell, Doctrine by Mark Driscoll, Luke (4 times) by Luke, On the Road by Kerouac, and the 9-part series by Orson Scott Card (Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow, Shadow of the Hegemon, Shadow Puppets, Shadow of the Giant, Ender in Exile, Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, Children of the Mind)
So I have been busy, but I feel idle. That makes me feel uneasy. I can't rest. Sabbath is not my normal state.
Ok now I've shaken off the hesitation in writing so now I'll write about what happened after the Wolf. Excuse me let me turn on Mogwai, so my mind is clear...
Saturday, March 20, 2010
The Ending VLOG, Seattle
I should have posted this earlier. It is my VLOG immediately upon returning to Seattle with Joe. He accompanied me from Chicago to Seattle. I recorded this at the Hamilton Viewpoint in West Seattle; my little corner of the Emerald City (the name is not related to the Wizard of Oz, it is due to the perennial green beauty of the city it never gets depressingly dead-looking like all of the South, East, Southwest, and Midwest in Winter). We actually have evergreen trees and more rain than we know what to do with.
I love Seattle, the people and the place. Heck right now I'm sitting in the Bauhaus (the very best of Grunge Coffee shops, an old motorcycle repair shop) at the very core of Seattle in the Capitol Hill neighborhood.
Joe and I had this picture taken in downtown Seattle's Pioneer Square as soon as we finished the 3,000+ mile full conquest of I-90 (Boston to Seattle).
When I recorded this clip Seattle felt inclined to greet me with rain (of course my long lost city was so overcome with my valiant return that she needed to cry). Also in the VLOG I look pompous (I think I do), if I were you I'd chalk that up to me being punch-drunk with the joy of a distant goal reached, a goal that looked so far away and so uncertain, so as to not really be believed possible until actually seen, felt, and blogged about. One other note:
BEFORE WATCHING THIS TURN UP YOUR AUDIO SO YOU CAN HEAR ME!! (Sorry when I recorded it I thought it'd be louder)
Also this is not the last post about the road trip!! I still haven't told about DC, NYC, Boston, Harvard, Maine, Chicago, or the Northern Passage. Please stay tuned.
I love Seattle, the people and the place. Heck right now I'm sitting in the Bauhaus (the very best of Grunge Coffee shops, an old motorcycle repair shop) at the very core of Seattle in the Capitol Hill neighborhood.
Joe and I had this picture taken in downtown Seattle's Pioneer Square as soon as we finished the 3,000+ mile full conquest of I-90 (Boston to Seattle).
When I recorded this clip Seattle felt inclined to greet me with rain (of course my long lost city was so overcome with my valiant return that she needed to cry). Also in the VLOG I look pompous (I think I do), if I were you I'd chalk that up to me being punch-drunk with the joy of a distant goal reached, a goal that looked so far away and so uncertain, so as to not really be believed possible until actually seen, felt, and blogged about. One other note:
BEFORE WATCHING THIS TURN UP YOUR AUDIO SO YOU CAN HEAR ME!! (Sorry when I recorded it I thought it'd be louder)
Also this is not the last post about the road trip!! I still haven't told about DC, NYC, Boston, Harvard, Maine, Chicago, or the Northern Passage. Please stay tuned.
Wolves, small children, and insanity
I guess I'll post the trip stats even though this road trip is concluded.
Miles: 14704.8
Gallons Burned: 484.1
Caffeinated Drinks: 88
Gigabytes of Pictures: 33.5
I also feel compelled to admit one thing before I continue, I have been reading "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac for the first time so I may exhibit a certain violence/exuberance in my writing; you all have my apologies.
After catching up with my aunt and uncle and eating an amazing squash dish that kept getting better as I had it for leftovers, I slept poorly waking often to odd and unpleasant dreams.
I was determined to catch a little skiing on my road trip as it had been 20 months since my last alpine adventure involving rapid descent (rather different from my long and grueling hikes up Mt. Rainier to Camp Muir at 9,550 ft).
Zoom out to see just how awesome it really is:
View Larger Map
Anyhow I set out back up I-26 toward the Appalachian "Mountains" (Honestly these hills are often given far too much credit. They are nice for a Sunday drive but surely do not bear the one critical element that makes a mountain a mountain, namely the tendency to create widows). I await Jen or Alicia's rebutal, you see they have done something like 1,500 miles of the long Appalachian trail and they can tell of the extreme exertion required to defeat such terrain. Check out their cool story, it's the last link in my "Websites!" section.
Oh right! So I drove north but due to my lack of intel, I didn't know exactly where to go, so despite "the" stereotype I stopped and asked for directions to Sugarloaf Mountain. The oldtimer at the gas station looked at me confused. He asked if I wanted directions to skiing. I answered in the affermative, he relaxed as said why not go up to the Wolf? "It's only 15 minutes away."
Excited to be so close to powder I thanked the man and left with after purchasing a sandwich for later.
Much later I realized that Sugarloaf is actually the best skiing in Maine, not North Carolina.
So I valiantly drove north up to the Wolf. I drove a slow road into the mountains that dead ended in a resort community, back tracking I found my error and returned to the correct path. I skidded into the parking lot of a ski rental shop my parking was as follows (Notice the precision of my diagram):
The whole lot was covered in about 6 inches of snow, so I just rammed the car into the lot and let her be where she stopped. I grabbed some shorter skis (its been a little while so cut me some slack).
I managed to push my Jolly Green out of the lot with only 15 minutes work.
Once at the lifts, I paid for the really cheap lift tickets and hopped up the mountain on their one working chair lift. On my second lift ride I met a middle aged man on the lift who was an executive for some southeastern grocery store; then I met a pair of giggling stoners. The next ride was taken alone as were the next three rides.
After getting my snow legs back, I felt like a break was called for. I pulled over here and unpacked the back pack that Uncle Steve let me borrow:
I ate a fine roast beef sandwich, two Hershey bars, two wheat and cheese cracker packs, a quart of water, and some raisins all while enjoying the view.
After the next run, I joined a solo skier who was in line for the lift. His name was Tristan. He came out to ski with his mom, but she didn't want to ski so this 10 year old kid was braving the slopes alone even though this was only his second time skiing. I felt a kinship with this kid; we in our own unique ways were loners experiencing the purest form of solitude: being alone in a crowd (okay second purest form of solitude, the purest being locked away in your car for 12,404 miles to wrestle with your true self, equivalent to two weeks of solitary confinement in prison). So I hung out with Tristan. He was a great kid. I would be proud of my son if he was half the young man Tristan is at the same age. He held himself well and was fearless, he took on the steepest slopes with a thirst for speed paralleled only by my own. He wanted to push the envelope on his ability on skis and he visibly improved with each run. I never had a little brother (that I grew up with), but Tristan would be awesome as a little bro. With his mother's permission here is Tristan:
After I had sharpened my ski skills, I filmed a long clip of me skiing down from the top of Wolf Mountain to the bottom. It is the last clip in this little video project I made from my time on Wolf Mountain. Feel free to leave feedback(much love to the Go! Team who provided the music):
Next time I'll share more from Asheville...
Miles: 14704.8
Gallons Burned: 484.1
Caffeinated Drinks: 88
Gigabytes of Pictures: 33.5
I also feel compelled to admit one thing before I continue, I have been reading "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac for the first time so I may exhibit a certain violence/exuberance in my writing; you all have my apologies.
After catching up with my aunt and uncle and eating an amazing squash dish that kept getting better as I had it for leftovers, I slept poorly waking often to odd and unpleasant dreams.
I was determined to catch a little skiing on my road trip as it had been 20 months since my last alpine adventure involving rapid descent (rather different from my long and grueling hikes up Mt. Rainier to Camp Muir at 9,550 ft).
Zoom out to see just how awesome it really is:
View Larger Map
Anyhow I set out back up I-26 toward the Appalachian "Mountains" (Honestly these hills are often given far too much credit. They are nice for a Sunday drive but surely do not bear the one critical element that makes a mountain a mountain, namely the tendency to create widows). I await Jen or Alicia's rebutal, you see they have done something like 1,500 miles of the long Appalachian trail and they can tell of the extreme exertion required to defeat such terrain. Check out their cool story, it's the last link in my "Websites!" section.
Oh right! So I drove north but due to my lack of intel, I didn't know exactly where to go, so despite "the" stereotype I stopped and asked for directions to Sugarloaf Mountain. The oldtimer at the gas station looked at me confused. He asked if I wanted directions to skiing. I answered in the affermative, he relaxed as said why not go up to the Wolf? "It's only 15 minutes away."
Excited to be so close to powder I thanked the man and left with after purchasing a sandwich for later.
Much later I realized that Sugarloaf is actually the best skiing in Maine, not North Carolina.
So I valiantly drove north up to the Wolf. I drove a slow road into the mountains that dead ended in a resort community, back tracking I found my error and returned to the correct path. I skidded into the parking lot of a ski rental shop my parking was as follows (Notice the precision of my diagram):
The whole lot was covered in about 6 inches of snow, so I just rammed the car into the lot and let her be where she stopped. I grabbed some shorter skis (its been a little while so cut me some slack).
I managed to push my Jolly Green out of the lot with only 15 minutes work.
Once at the lifts, I paid for the really cheap lift tickets and hopped up the mountain on their one working chair lift. On my second lift ride I met a middle aged man on the lift who was an executive for some southeastern grocery store; then I met a pair of giggling stoners. The next ride was taken alone as were the next three rides.
After getting my snow legs back, I felt like a break was called for. I pulled over here and unpacked the back pack that Uncle Steve let me borrow:
I ate a fine roast beef sandwich, two Hershey bars, two wheat and cheese cracker packs, a quart of water, and some raisins all while enjoying the view.
After the next run, I joined a solo skier who was in line for the lift. His name was Tristan. He came out to ski with his mom, but she didn't want to ski so this 10 year old kid was braving the slopes alone even though this was only his second time skiing. I felt a kinship with this kid; we in our own unique ways were loners experiencing the purest form of solitude: being alone in a crowd (okay second purest form of solitude, the purest being locked away in your car for 12,404 miles to wrestle with your true self, equivalent to two weeks of solitary confinement in prison). So I hung out with Tristan. He was a great kid. I would be proud of my son if he was half the young man Tristan is at the same age. He held himself well and was fearless, he took on the steepest slopes with a thirst for speed paralleled only by my own. He wanted to push the envelope on his ability on skis and he visibly improved with each run. I never had a little brother (that I grew up with), but Tristan would be awesome as a little bro. With his mother's permission here is Tristan:
After I had sharpened my ski skills, I filmed a long clip of me skiing down from the top of Wolf Mountain to the bottom. It is the last clip in this little video project I made from my time on Wolf Mountain. Feel free to leave feedback(much love to the Go! Team who provided the music):
Next time I'll share more from Asheville...
Monday, March 15, 2010
Miles: 14636.2
Gallons Burned: 481.4
Caffeinated Drinks: 86
Gigabytes of Pictures: 33.5
Well folks I made it back safe and mildly sound. How about I tell you all some more about my time in Tennessee and North Carolina.
I drove back to Knoxville with Josh during which we tried to sing along to Muse (impossible for anyone who is not an Italian trained Castrato). Apparently Tennessee boasts the best highways in the US, but after seeing a dozen towns ending in "ville" I decided that Tennesseans are not very creative folk.
Once back we joined Josh's friends and watched some pairs figure skating in the Olympics. Josh's roommates and I discussed an Ayn Rand book called the Fountainhead (a great read for those who love a good story and architecture). The whole experience of Tenn. was great made greater by the neat folks I spent time with. Josh I look forward to seeing you whenever you get back to Seattle.
I headed East on February 17th hoping to get an early start in case the weather became an issue. Turns out the weather was great, but my intelligence was lacking (NO!! My mental acumen was not lacking...rather my information about interstate 40...okay my decisions on the 17th do provide ample evidence for my lack of intelligence :) ).
As I headed East I noticed the lack of traffic on I-40, I didn't notice the big orange sign warning about a "DETOUR". I was too pleased to drive on such an open road to think that maybe it was empty for a reason...
I came to a road block about 25 miles into the Appalachians I misread a sign and started down a dirt track. It was lightly covered in snow with only a few sparse tire tracks. The snow became more pronounced as the road's grade increased. I passed a few shacks and some free ranging chickens. Only when I lost traction on a modest uphill and started to drift backwards and rightwards into a steep ditch did the thought "hey the highway construction crews usually don't detour an interstate's traffic onto dirt roads..."
I quickly flipped the wheel left and shifted into reverse, while giving the engine gas. I got traction and swung the car violently around while shifting into drive and straightening the wheel. I headed down back down the road without "ditching" the car. I want to try that trick again in less hazardous conditions (it sounds fun), so my sudden maneuver saved me a tow truck ride and another trip to the junk yard.
I read the sign before entering the interstate and understood it to mean that an 80 mile detour to the North was recommended due to construction/rebuilding of I-40 (following an avalanche/landslide).
I, not wanting to waste an opportunity, pulled onto the shoulder of the interstate and retrieved some of my fireworks to have some fun with the many icicles along the road. Using my tire iron and some M-200s from Alabama I blew up and shattered dozens of stalactites along the deserted interstate.
After all that fun, I headed back out to I-81 and then onto I-26. Little did I know that would soon be heading back that way for some more raucous winter-tainment.
I got into Asheville North Carolina at about 3:30pm and hit up Izzy's Coffee Den:
They were a typical Seattle style indie coffee shop with loud music and a fascinating clientele. I blogged a little and after dark drove South out of town to my aunt and uncle's house in the surrounding country side.
Next time I'll tell you all of water falls, smoky nights, and apologetics...
Gallons Burned: 481.4
Caffeinated Drinks: 86
Gigabytes of Pictures: 33.5
Well folks I made it back safe and mildly sound. How about I tell you all some more about my time in Tennessee and North Carolina.
I drove back to Knoxville with Josh during which we tried to sing along to Muse (impossible for anyone who is not an Italian trained Castrato). Apparently Tennessee boasts the best highways in the US, but after seeing a dozen towns ending in "ville" I decided that Tennesseans are not very creative folk.
Once back we joined Josh's friends and watched some pairs figure skating in the Olympics. Josh's roommates and I discussed an Ayn Rand book called the Fountainhead (a great read for those who love a good story and architecture). The whole experience of Tenn. was great made greater by the neat folks I spent time with. Josh I look forward to seeing you whenever you get back to Seattle.
I headed East on February 17th hoping to get an early start in case the weather became an issue. Turns out the weather was great, but my intelligence was lacking (NO!! My mental acumen was not lacking...rather my information about interstate 40...okay my decisions on the 17th do provide ample evidence for my lack of intelligence :) ).
As I headed East I noticed the lack of traffic on I-40, I didn't notice the big orange sign warning about a "DETOUR". I was too pleased to drive on such an open road to think that maybe it was empty for a reason...
I came to a road block about 25 miles into the Appalachians I misread a sign and started down a dirt track. It was lightly covered in snow with only a few sparse tire tracks. The snow became more pronounced as the road's grade increased. I passed a few shacks and some free ranging chickens. Only when I lost traction on a modest uphill and started to drift backwards and rightwards into a steep ditch did the thought "hey the highway construction crews usually don't detour an interstate's traffic onto dirt roads..."
I quickly flipped the wheel left and shifted into reverse, while giving the engine gas. I got traction and swung the car violently around while shifting into drive and straightening the wheel. I headed down back down the road without "ditching" the car. I want to try that trick again in less hazardous conditions (it sounds fun), so my sudden maneuver saved me a tow truck ride and another trip to the junk yard.
I read the sign before entering the interstate and understood it to mean that an 80 mile detour to the North was recommended due to construction/rebuilding of I-40 (following an avalanche/landslide).
I, not wanting to waste an opportunity, pulled onto the shoulder of the interstate and retrieved some of my fireworks to have some fun with the many icicles along the road. Using my tire iron and some M-200s from Alabama I blew up and shattered dozens of stalactites along the deserted interstate.
After all that fun, I headed back out to I-81 and then onto I-26. Little did I know that would soon be heading back that way for some more raucous winter-tainment.
I got into Asheville North Carolina at about 3:30pm and hit up Izzy's Coffee Den:
They were a typical Seattle style indie coffee shop with loud music and a fascinating clientele. I blogged a little and after dark drove South out of town to my aunt and uncle's house in the surrounding country side.
Next time I'll tell you all of water falls, smoky nights, and apologetics...
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Back Home
Miles: 14636.2
Gallons Burned: 481.4
Caffeinated Drinks: 86
Gigabytes of Pictures: 32.1
Just a quick note I'm back here in Seattle!!
Gallons Burned: 481.4
Caffeinated Drinks: 86
Gigabytes of Pictures: 32.1
Just a quick note I'm back here in Seattle!!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
The Longest Interstate
Miles: 12321.2
Gallons Burned: 405.6
Caffeinated Drinks: 73
Gigabytes of Pictures: 31.4 (2,355 stills and 290 Video Clips)
Hi guys. Here in Hillsdale Michigan, I am nearing the end of my journey. Soon I'll be meeting up with Joe and heading out West back to the beginning. March 13th is the tentative return date (weather permitting). For me, this trip shares much in common with some of the best stories ever told: the Matrix, Fight Club, Memento (to name some movies), the Dark Tower Cycle, and the Bible itself. What is it exactly that the trip shares with these? Think of the movies and books; they all end where they began (the mode of story being Beginning Middle Beginning). They, as well as my road trip, end where they start.
The last link in my road trip's story will be Interstate 90. It is 3,086 miles long (Google maps disagrees with Wikipedia's claim of 3,099.07 miles). Here is a Video Blog from Boston regarding my thoughts just before I embarked on the first mile of I-90:
As a note to my obsession, I added an extra 3 hours onto my drive time just to divert from Jefferson Maine to East Boston, so I could start from the true beginning of this masterful road.
Gallons Burned: 405.6
Caffeinated Drinks: 73
Gigabytes of Pictures: 31.4 (2,355 stills and 290 Video Clips)
Hi guys. Here in Hillsdale Michigan, I am nearing the end of my journey. Soon I'll be meeting up with Joe and heading out West back to the beginning. March 13th is the tentative return date (weather permitting). For me, this trip shares much in common with some of the best stories ever told: the Matrix, Fight Club, Memento (to name some movies), the Dark Tower Cycle, and the Bible itself. What is it exactly that the trip shares with these? Think of the movies and books; they all end where they began (the mode of story being Beginning Middle Beginning). They, as well as my road trip, end where they start.
The last link in my road trip's story will be Interstate 90. It is 3,086 miles long (Google maps disagrees with Wikipedia's claim of 3,099.07 miles). Here is a Video Blog from Boston regarding my thoughts just before I embarked on the first mile of I-90:
As a note to my obsession, I added an extra 3 hours onto my drive time just to divert from Jefferson Maine to East Boston, so I could start from the true beginning of this masterful road.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Tennessee: the Athens of the South?
Miles: 11057.3
Gallons Burned: 364.1
Caffeinated Drinks: 69
Gigabytes of Pictures: 30.6
I'm in Damariscotta Maine, sitting in the town bookstore/cafe. Unfortunately, the Espresso machine is down, so no Latte... I went with an iced Latte even though it is about 39 degrees outside (about 20 degrees warmer than Maine's average for this time of year). The sun is out and hopefully my appointment for an oil change will work out. The coffee shop is different from the average Seattle coffee shop. They are playing Franz Ferdinand and there are laptops so that matches, but the colors are all happy, and the people are here to be social and enjoy each others' company. Weird! No people gathering together in public so they can collectively ignore each other...yep Seattle is really like that.
Another place like unlike Seattle is Tennessee. I headed north out of Georgia toward the Volunteer State (called that because they sent the most volunteers to Texas to fight the Mexicans in the 1840s), and crossed over at about 3:30pm. I went to Josh's apartment. Josh is a neat cat. He is the mycologist I mentioned earlier who relocated to Knoxville to go to grad school. He is a child genius who finished undergrad at 20 and will soon turn 21 while in grad school! Dang I'm such a slacker. I graduated from undergrad at 20 also, but I didn't start grad school until after I turned 21!! ARGH! Josh beat me...LOL he's awesome like that. So he and his two room mates were kind enough to let me sleep on their couch for 3 nights while I watched the Olympics with them and experienced the Tennessee way of life. Here is Josh...and Josh:
Yep, I'm short.
We took a little road trip to Nashville to see the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center. So...I don't like country music (Except for the song about the Devil and Georgia with fiddling and the song where the Lady smashes and scrapes her cheating boyfriend's truck, thanks Sam Bo for forcing me to listen to a lot of country just to show me that there are only 2 good songs). So why would I have liked the "Opryland Hotel"? Well why don't you just look and see:
And some videos:
Josh kept up the suspense all the way there forcing me to imagine 20ft tall cheese sculptures of Dolly Parton and Elvis Presley. I was so wrong. They had 3 indoor tropical/subtropical forests. Outside it was 20 degrees, but inside of the glass domes were it was 75. Just seeing this wonder was worth the drive. But that's not all we saw.
Next stop was the Parthenon. Ok I'm a nerd, so now you all get an aside:
The Greeks were clever folks back in 800-400BC relative to other folks in North Africa, Mesop, and Southern Europe (would say world but I don't know much about what American natives/Chinese folks were up to at this time). The Acropolis (a stony hill) was the place of prominence and pre-eminence in Athens. Since the city was named after the goddess who lent her shield and spear to defend it, they built the best building in the best place to honor her. Inside sat a tall gold statue of Athena. But there is a little trick the architect used to make the temple look balanced. He set the eight front and back pillars in such a way so that to the human eye they would appear evenly spaced...only one thing they are not evenly spaced. The outer pillars are farther apart than the inner pillars (by several feet!).
End Aside.
In Nashville in 1897 some eccentric folks built this:
It was the centerpiece of the city's centennial celebration. The temporary building was an instant favorite of the city and has remained there ever since.
To end the post how about a quiz? Can you name the Greek gods and goddesses on the Parthenon's Front Frieze?
Answer (front left to right): Poseidon, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Zeus, ????, Ares, ????, ????, Hera, and Hermes. Thank you Hillsdale for a fine Greco-Roman Education.
Gallons Burned: 364.1
Caffeinated Drinks: 69
Gigabytes of Pictures: 30.6
I'm in Damariscotta Maine, sitting in the town bookstore/cafe. Unfortunately, the Espresso machine is down, so no Latte... I went with an iced Latte even though it is about 39 degrees outside (about 20 degrees warmer than Maine's average for this time of year). The sun is out and hopefully my appointment for an oil change will work out. The coffee shop is different from the average Seattle coffee shop. They are playing Franz Ferdinand and there are laptops so that matches, but the colors are all happy, and the people are here to be social and enjoy each others' company. Weird! No people gathering together in public so they can collectively ignore each other...yep Seattle is really like that.
Another place like unlike Seattle is Tennessee. I headed north out of Georgia toward the Volunteer State (called that because they sent the most volunteers to Texas to fight the Mexicans in the 1840s), and crossed over at about 3:30pm. I went to Josh's apartment. Josh is a neat cat. He is the mycologist I mentioned earlier who relocated to Knoxville to go to grad school. He is a child genius who finished undergrad at 20 and will soon turn 21 while in grad school! Dang I'm such a slacker. I graduated from undergrad at 20 also, but I didn't start grad school until after I turned 21!! ARGH! Josh beat me...LOL he's awesome like that. So he and his two room mates were kind enough to let me sleep on their couch for 3 nights while I watched the Olympics with them and experienced the Tennessee way of life. Here is Josh...and Josh:
Yep, I'm short.
We took a little road trip to Nashville to see the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center. So...I don't like country music (Except for the song about the Devil and Georgia with fiddling and the song where the Lady smashes and scrapes her cheating boyfriend's truck, thanks Sam Bo for forcing me to listen to a lot of country just to show me that there are only 2 good songs). So why would I have liked the "Opryland Hotel"? Well why don't you just look and see:
And some videos:
Josh kept up the suspense all the way there forcing me to imagine 20ft tall cheese sculptures of Dolly Parton and Elvis Presley. I was so wrong. They had 3 indoor tropical/subtropical forests. Outside it was 20 degrees, but inside of the glass domes were it was 75. Just seeing this wonder was worth the drive. But that's not all we saw.
Next stop was the Parthenon. Ok I'm a nerd, so now you all get an aside:
The Greeks were clever folks back in 800-400BC relative to other folks in North Africa, Mesop, and Southern Europe (would say world but I don't know much about what American natives/Chinese folks were up to at this time). The Acropolis (a stony hill) was the place of prominence and pre-eminence in Athens. Since the city was named after the goddess who lent her shield and spear to defend it, they built the best building in the best place to honor her. Inside sat a tall gold statue of Athena. But there is a little trick the architect used to make the temple look balanced. He set the eight front and back pillars in such a way so that to the human eye they would appear evenly spaced...only one thing they are not evenly spaced. The outer pillars are farther apart than the inner pillars (by several feet!).
End Aside.
In Nashville in 1897 some eccentric folks built this:
It was the centerpiece of the city's centennial celebration. The temporary building was an instant favorite of the city and has remained there ever since.
To end the post how about a quiz? Can you name the Greek gods and goddesses on the Parthenon's Front Frieze?
Answer (front left to right): Poseidon, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Zeus, ????, Ares, ????, ????, Hera, and Hermes. Thank you Hillsdale for a fine Greco-Roman Education.
Buckhead Church
Miles: 11057.3
Gallons Burned: 364.1
Caffeinated Drinks: 69
Gigabytes of Pictures: 30.6
Ok let me explain how I ended the last post. I didn't mean to demean Mars Hill Church. I love Mars. First of all the unofficial motto/statement of purpose "It's all about Jesus", obviously the amazing people, the individually missional character of the church, the "from the gut" declaration of the Word, the indie feel, the black (I love black), the...You get the point. Despite the "cultish" name (Mars Hill sounds a little creepy) it is a great example of biblical church (please know that I respect your at home approach Dave). So when I said:
"a church that made Mars Hill look like a preschool"
what I was trying to get across was the size, not the composition/organization/maturity/etc. Buck Head Church is crazy big. One of their 3 campuses (the baby campus) does Mars Hill in 3 services (10,000 people).
Oh yeah, you might need context for the last 6 sentences. I stayed the night after St. Augustine south of Jacksonville at a rest stop off Interstate 10. And crossed into Georgia early on February 14th (yeah I'm more than 2 weeks behind on my blogging). After a little PT, I spoke to Tony (a big gangsta-looking dude at that rest stop) who told me that he and his girlfriend left San Antonio in search of a little fun on a road trip. They were low and cash, and he said they would head up to Detroit to find a job. This little event stands out to me because all I could think to do was sympathize with him. I didn't know what to say. He was in a tight spot, and I couldn't really help him.
Anyway, I drove north toward Atlanta and made it into town just in time to be late to meet Eric at a Starbucks. After saying "hi" and shaking hands I followed him all the way through a huge parking garage and into an overflow lot. I didn't even know the name of the church. I just knew from Yuskie, a solid guy who recently moved to Seattle from Atlanta and volunteers at Mars, to meet up with Eric. So I'm in a foreign city following a guy I've never met to a place I've never heard of...great plan? Yes, it was. I was led by Eric to this building:
It looks like a nondescript office building but it actually is a custom built church. We quickly passed through a lobby reminding me of a dozen convention centers. And I walked down to the second row stage right. Thanks to both of you Yuskie and Eric. After a great message about Jesus, I called Eric and got directions to the "Fusion". Again I was in the dark with respect to the nature of where and to what I was going. Apparently they are church-wide alcohol-free safe-zones where professional singles from all life stages come to mingle and meet each other. So I of course bring a bottle of Washington wine. Yep. The south is a little different, especially about alcohol. I chatted and ate Oreos until the Fusion ended. Then Eric, a fusion coach, kindly let me stay at his place. We chatted and enjoyed each others company. He told me about the World of Coca-Cola, so the next day I went.
I expected a corporate center similar to Microsoft's lame little visitor center (never go, it really is terrible, they put no effort into it). I was totally wrong. The experience was closer to a specially visit to Willy-Wonka's Chocolate Factory. Here are some videos and stills of the magic at Coke.
The first Coke dispenser for the space shuttle:
All the recent Olympic Torches:
The Atrium:
The Tasting Room:
The best part was the tasting room where you can taste all the Coke products. Each stand serves products from Asia, North and South America, Europe, and Africa. You go around with a tasting cup and can try all of it. I discovered Europe has the Worst drinks. The absolute worst! South America had the best and the other continents were about the same.
Of course being in an urban center I had to eat Pho (pronounced "Fa").
I enjoyed my time in Georgia and I'd love to go back and visit or even live.
Next time I'll tell you about Tennessee...and the other Josh B.
Gallons Burned: 364.1
Caffeinated Drinks: 69
Gigabytes of Pictures: 30.6
Ok let me explain how I ended the last post. I didn't mean to demean Mars Hill Church. I love Mars. First of all the unofficial motto/statement of purpose "It's all about Jesus", obviously the amazing people, the individually missional character of the church, the "from the gut" declaration of the Word, the indie feel, the black (I love black), the...You get the point. Despite the "cultish" name (Mars Hill sounds a little creepy) it is a great example of biblical church (please know that I respect your at home approach Dave). So when I said:
"a church that made Mars Hill look like a preschool"
what I was trying to get across was the size, not the composition/organization/maturity/etc. Buck Head Church is crazy big. One of their 3 campuses (the baby campus) does Mars Hill in 3 services (10,000 people).
Oh yeah, you might need context for the last 6 sentences. I stayed the night after St. Augustine south of Jacksonville at a rest stop off Interstate 10. And crossed into Georgia early on February 14th (yeah I'm more than 2 weeks behind on my blogging). After a little PT, I spoke to Tony (a big gangsta-looking dude at that rest stop) who told me that he and his girlfriend left San Antonio in search of a little fun on a road trip. They were low and cash, and he said they would head up to Detroit to find a job. This little event stands out to me because all I could think to do was sympathize with him. I didn't know what to say. He was in a tight spot, and I couldn't really help him.
Anyway, I drove north toward Atlanta and made it into town just in time to be late to meet Eric at a Starbucks. After saying "hi" and shaking hands I followed him all the way through a huge parking garage and into an overflow lot. I didn't even know the name of the church. I just knew from Yuskie, a solid guy who recently moved to Seattle from Atlanta and volunteers at Mars, to meet up with Eric. So I'm in a foreign city following a guy I've never met to a place I've never heard of...great plan? Yes, it was. I was led by Eric to this building:
It looks like a nondescript office building but it actually is a custom built church. We quickly passed through a lobby reminding me of a dozen convention centers. And I walked down to the second row stage right. Thanks to both of you Yuskie and Eric. After a great message about Jesus, I called Eric and got directions to the "Fusion". Again I was in the dark with respect to the nature of where and to what I was going. Apparently they are church-wide alcohol-free safe-zones where professional singles from all life stages come to mingle and meet each other. So I of course bring a bottle of Washington wine. Yep. The south is a little different, especially about alcohol. I chatted and ate Oreos until the Fusion ended. Then Eric, a fusion coach, kindly let me stay at his place. We chatted and enjoyed each others company. He told me about the World of Coca-Cola, so the next day I went.
I expected a corporate center similar to Microsoft's lame little visitor center (never go, it really is terrible, they put no effort into it). I was totally wrong. The experience was closer to a specially visit to Willy-Wonka's Chocolate Factory. Here are some videos and stills of the magic at Coke.
The first Coke dispenser for the space shuttle:
All the recent Olympic Torches:
The Atrium:
The Tasting Room:
The best part was the tasting room where you can taste all the Coke products. Each stand serves products from Asia, North and South America, Europe, and Africa. You go around with a tasting cup and can try all of it. I discovered Europe has the Worst drinks. The absolute worst! South America had the best and the other continents were about the same.
Of course being in an urban center I had to eat Pho (pronounced "Fa").
I enjoyed my time in Georgia and I'd love to go back and visit or even live.
Next time I'll tell you about Tennessee...and the other Josh B.
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