Thursday, October 20, 2005
Sea People
Inspired by the Southpark episode where Cartman gets some sea-monkeys thinking that he can grow some friends, I picked up some sea-monkey's the other day. I hatched them before I left work yesterday, so by the time I get home from Austin I should have some fun new company in my cube.
Saturday, October 15, 2005
202
I went for a training ride this morning with a couple people I haven't ridden with before. These guys rode for other teams last year, but they may ride with us this year. I haven't been doing much riding lately, but I need to get my rump used to the saddle again because the Ride for the Roses is next weekend. I was planning on a pretty laid back ride speed, but these guys kept the pace up so I had to do some work today.
Part of the route we rode took us up to Horsetooth Mountain Park, and as we neared the top it looked like the two of them were preparing to sprint for the top. I didn't really feel like I had any chance with them straight up, so I launched an early attack off the back and blew by them. I ended up blowing up with about 50 feet to go and got passed, but it was still pretty fun. I hit a new heartrate high on that jump - 202 beats per minute. I'm pretty sure my heart was just about ready to explode.
Only one more ride before we have to give our bikes up to be shipped to Austin. I think we may ride Lookout Mountain tomorrow.
Part of the route we rode took us up to Horsetooth Mountain Park, and as we neared the top it looked like the two of them were preparing to sprint for the top. I didn't really feel like I had any chance with them straight up, so I launched an early attack off the back and blew by them. I ended up blowing up with about 50 feet to go and got passed, but it was still pretty fun. I hit a new heartrate high on that jump - 202 beats per minute. I'm pretty sure my heart was just about ready to explode.
Only one more ride before we have to give our bikes up to be shipped to Austin. I think we may ride Lookout Mountain tomorrow.
Monday, October 10, 2005
Weekend fun
The weekend started with us going to Denver to see one of my favorite comics - Dane Cook. Christine got us tickets as a gift a couple months ago. It was hilarious, but I was wishing we hadn't watched the Dave Atell special he was in on Comedy Central last week. A lot of the material was repeated, but it was still funny.
Saturday I went out to Devils Backbone to do some trail maintenance with the cycling team. I haven't hung with the rest of the team in a while, so it was a good chance to hang out and bullshit. It sounds like Barry's been working hard on getting some more sponsorships and equipment suppliers. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next year.
Sunday was pretty crappy, with rain pretty much all day. In the morning we did some closet cleaning and brought out the winter clothing. In between cleaning (and me watching football), we did some walking around in the rain and took a look at a few houses that are for sale in our neighborhood. For dinner we met up with a couple of Christine's friends and then went out to see Tim Burton's Corpse Bride.
Tonight I get to go see Son Volt, which is a band that I really really like. I didn't even know they were coming to town until I saw their name on the marquee when Christine and I were driving out of town last weekend. I'm pretty excited. I get to see an awesome band, and I don't even have to drive to Denver or Boulder!
Saturday I went out to Devils Backbone to do some trail maintenance with the cycling team. I haven't hung with the rest of the team in a while, so it was a good chance to hang out and bullshit. It sounds like Barry's been working hard on getting some more sponsorships and equipment suppliers. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next year.
Sunday was pretty crappy, with rain pretty much all day. In the morning we did some closet cleaning and brought out the winter clothing. In between cleaning (and me watching football), we did some walking around in the rain and took a look at a few houses that are for sale in our neighborhood. For dinner we met up with a couple of Christine's friends and then went out to see Tim Burton's Corpse Bride.
Tonight I get to go see Son Volt, which is a band that I really really like. I didn't even know they were coming to town until I saw their name on the marquee when Christine and I were driving out of town last weekend. I'm pretty excited. I get to see an awesome band, and I don't even have to drive to Denver or Boulder!
Monday, October 3, 2005
Backpacking to Browns Lake
Christine and I took Friday off and headed for the hills. Her, Kuzca and I drove up to the Comanche Peak Wilderness and hiked in to Browns Lake. Bucket had to stay home because we didn't think he'd be able to make it. :(
I first went to Browns lake a couple years ago and have wanted to go back for a while now. You're only allowed to camp in designated sites at this lake, and we had our choice of site since we were getting there on a Friday afternoon and nobody else was there yet. We, of course, chose the most choice site. It had a great tent spot that was hidden in some tres and a separate kitchen area complete with fire ring. We even had a perfect bear bagging tree close by.
We planned ahead and picked up a backcountry cookbook so we could try some new food. For our Friday dinner, we chose a sloppy joe type of thing that turned out great. Most of it was a mixture we made before leaving and stored in a zip lock. Then we made some biscuit dough at the campsite and cooked it with the rest of the food. Mmmm, warm biscuits. And another plus was that we made it with soy crumbles instead of hamburger, so it'd be acceptable to any vegetarians we camp with.
For Saturday we had two dinner plans: Fresh fish from the lake, or prepackaged dehydrated meal from REI. We had heard the prepackaged food was actually pretty good these days and we wanted to check it out. It turns out that we were able to use both dinner plans because I caught some fish, but we were still hungry for more food.
The fishing was slow at first, but then I found the fly they wanted. After that I pulled in (I think) 5 really nice fish. One of them was full of eggs, so I decided to throw it back and hopefully help preserve the future of the lake. My good gesture was rewarded with several more fish. I'm generally a catch and release fisher so it felt a little strange to be keeping a couple. I don't think I've kept a fish since I was younger. Again, we had planned ahead and brought some spices to make blackend trout. I haven't cleaned a fish in a super long time, but I guess I did alright cleaning these two. The end result tasted soooo good. I wish we had taken some pictures. I should have maybe kept another one of the fish, but we filled our bellies with some prepackaged beef stew. It was quite good, so I think we'll try some more of those meals. They're great for cleanup because you cook them in the pouch so there's no pot to clean.
Here's the cute shot of the weekend:
I first went to Browns lake a couple years ago and have wanted to go back for a while now. You're only allowed to camp in designated sites at this lake, and we had our choice of site since we were getting there on a Friday afternoon and nobody else was there yet. We, of course, chose the most choice site. It had a great tent spot that was hidden in some tres and a separate kitchen area complete with fire ring. We even had a perfect bear bagging tree close by.
We planned ahead and picked up a backcountry cookbook so we could try some new food. For our Friday dinner, we chose a sloppy joe type of thing that turned out great. Most of it was a mixture we made before leaving and stored in a zip lock. Then we made some biscuit dough at the campsite and cooked it with the rest of the food. Mmmm, warm biscuits. And another plus was that we made it with soy crumbles instead of hamburger, so it'd be acceptable to any vegetarians we camp with.
For Saturday we had two dinner plans: Fresh fish from the lake, or prepackaged dehydrated meal from REI. We had heard the prepackaged food was actually pretty good these days and we wanted to check it out. It turns out that we were able to use both dinner plans because I caught some fish, but we were still hungry for more food.
The fishing was slow at first, but then I found the fly they wanted. After that I pulled in (I think) 5 really nice fish. One of them was full of eggs, so I decided to throw it back and hopefully help preserve the future of the lake. My good gesture was rewarded with several more fish. I'm generally a catch and release fisher so it felt a little strange to be keeping a couple. I don't think I've kept a fish since I was younger. Again, we had planned ahead and brought some spices to make blackend trout. I haven't cleaned a fish in a super long time, but I guess I did alright cleaning these two. The end result tasted soooo good. I wish we had taken some pictures. I should have maybe kept another one of the fish, but we filled our bellies with some prepackaged beef stew. It was quite good, so I think we'll try some more of those meals. They're great for cleanup because you cook them in the pouch so there's no pot to clean.
Here's the cute shot of the weekend:
Grand Canyon Journal - Monday September 12 2005 - Day 10 - The final day
River covered: Mile 212 to 225. Pulled out rafts at Diamond Creek
This is how I'd like to remember Rob: Sitting on the boat, sharing an interesting story about the Canyon or its geology. In this case, he's urging us to get involved in conserving the things we love.
The final day is bitter sweet for me. On one hand I can't wait to get home, but on the other hand I'm bummed that my awesome is over. I find it a little irritating to see how happy some people were that the trip was finally over. As if it was all some horrible experience of camping in the desert.
We landed the boat at Diamond Creek where there was a bus waiting to take us back to Flagstaff. In the way back we stopped at an ice cream place on Route 66. The whole route 66 thing is pretty cheesy, but it was amusing to see all the places that are still trying to hold on to this particular piece of nostalgia.
Now I'm back in civilization and ready to get home. It's a long drive and it's sure to be boring because we're taking 2 highways: I-40 and I-25. 800 miles of good 'ole interstate driving. Ugh! I need to take another Grand Canyon vacation. An oar trip next time though.
Diamond Peak - The elevation of Diamond Peak is about the same as Lee's Ferry, so it gives you a good visual of how far the river drops
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| The raft | Our dry bags |
This is how I'd like to remember Rob: Sitting on the boat, sharing an interesting story about the Canyon or its geology. In this case, he's urging us to get involved in conserving the things we love.
Sunday, October 2, 2005
Grand Canyon Journal - Sunday September 11 2005 - Day 9
River covered: Mile 173 to Mile 212. Camped at Pumpkin Springs
Not much of an exciting day. The main goal was to get down river and set ourselves up to be at Diamond Creek for a 10:30AM pickup tomorrow. The sun was a real scorcher all day and we were in a part of the canyon that doesn't get much shade. Jumping in the river at lunch felt soooo nice. We went through Lava Falls today, which is a category 10 rapid created by one of the Canyon's many lava flows. I hate to say it, but it paled in comparison to some of the other rapids we went through.
Rob scouts Lava Falls
One of the more exciting things today was finding a baby scorpion. It was crawling up my leg on the raft. It's pretty rare to see scorpion in the Canyon, and probably even more rare to see a baby one. Rob pulled the boat over to a beach so I could set it in the sand.
Our camp was just downstream from a place Rob called "Tapeats Museum" for the really cool "sculptures" of Tapeats Sandstone carved by the water. I was fishing when Rob took a few people over there, so I ended up checking it out myself a little while later. It was worth the short trip.
In the evening we had a "no-talent" show where people told stories, (bad) jokes, performed skits, whatever. I wrote a haiku about dinner blowing over in the wind. It sucks to think that tonight is my last night in the Canyon.
Rob explains to us the various theories on how the Canyon was formed
Not much of an exciting day. The main goal was to get down river and set ourselves up to be at Diamond Creek for a 10:30AM pickup tomorrow. The sun was a real scorcher all day and we were in a part of the canyon that doesn't get much shade. Jumping in the river at lunch felt soooo nice. We went through Lava Falls today, which is a category 10 rapid created by one of the Canyon's many lava flows. I hate to say it, but it paled in comparison to some of the other rapids we went through.
Rob scouts Lava Falls
One of the more exciting things today was finding a baby scorpion. It was crawling up my leg on the raft. It's pretty rare to see scorpion in the Canyon, and probably even more rare to see a baby one. Rob pulled the boat over to a beach so I could set it in the sand.
Our camp was just downstream from a place Rob called "Tapeats Museum" for the really cool "sculptures" of Tapeats Sandstone carved by the water. I was fishing when Rob took a few people over there, so I ended up checking it out myself a little while later. It was worth the short trip.
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In the evening we had a "no-talent" show where people told stories, (bad) jokes, performed skits, whatever. I wrote a haiku about dinner blowing over in the wind. It sucks to think that tonight is my last night in the Canyon.
Rob explains to us the various theories on how the Canyon was formed
Saturday, October 1, 2005
Grand Canyon Journal - Saturday September 10 2005 - Day 8 - Havasu
River covered: Mile 152 to Mile 173.
The wind last night died down into a comfortable breeze. It cooled me off nice and I was able to sleep well before our early start. I had prepared my gear in advance so I was ready to go quickly. Gee, do you think anyone could tell I was excited? We rolled out early and were the first raft to arrive Havasu. It was a treacherous parking job in the swift current, but we eventually got it all set up right. The hike was pretty easy as far as elevation gain, but we were traveling up a stream bed and had to walk over a lot of boulders. The route also took us through wild grapes and thorny bushes, and the end result was worth it. Hopefully the photographs will do it some justice.
We played around in the pools for a while then we went on the AZRa “safari” portion of the hike. We started by traversing a couple logs until we reached a rock face with an underwater ledge, which we then traversed. It was only a 5.5-5.6 type of route but the excitement was high. After crossing the ledge we were able to toss our packs up to Rob, who had climbed across a gap and onto another ledge. From there, the non climbers hopped into the awesome pool we had reached, and a few of us climbed up to the ledge with Rob. Then it was a sweet 15’ plunge into the cool blue water below. A highlight of the trip for sure. I look forward to hiking down from the rim someday.
After we left Havasu, it was time to make some serious miles. We forged on as long as we could and it turned out that the campsite we were shooting for was pretty sucky at the low water levels we were having, so we pushed on a little farther. We soon found a new campsite a couple miles down the river. It was one that Rob hadn’t ever used before, and by the looks of it, not many (if any) other people had either.
The wind last night died down into a comfortable breeze. It cooled me off nice and I was able to sleep well before our early start. I had prepared my gear in advance so I was ready to go quickly. Gee, do you think anyone could tell I was excited? We rolled out early and were the first raft to arrive Havasu. It was a treacherous parking job in the swift current, but we eventually got it all set up right. The hike was pretty easy as far as elevation gain, but we were traveling up a stream bed and had to walk over a lot of boulders. The route also took us through wild grapes and thorny bushes, and the end result was worth it. Hopefully the photographs will do it some justice.
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| Havasu Creek | Beaver Falls |
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| Beaver Falls | Dad in pool at Beaver Falls |
We played around in the pools for a while then we went on the AZRa “safari” portion of the hike. We started by traversing a couple logs until we reached a rock face with an underwater ledge, which we then traversed. It was only a 5.5-5.6 type of route but the excitement was high. After crossing the ledge we were able to toss our packs up to Rob, who had climbed across a gap and onto another ledge. From there, the non climbers hopped into the awesome pool we had reached, and a few of us climbed up to the ledge with Rob. Then it was a sweet 15’ plunge into the cool blue water below. A highlight of the trip for sure. I look forward to hiking down from the rim someday.
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| The wall we traversed | More traversing to get to the pool |
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| View of pool from high above | Jacque jumping into pool |
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| Brent jumping into pool | |
After we left Havasu, it was time to make some serious miles. We forged on as long as we could and it turned out that the campsite we were shooting for was pretty sucky at the low water levels we were having, so we pushed on a little farther. We soon found a new campsite a couple miles down the river. It was one that Rob hadn’t ever used before, and by the looks of it, not many (if any) other people had either.
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