Monday, October 30, 2006

It's been 10 days since my last post. Not much new to report. I've been sick with a horrible cold and mostly staying around the Shack. I have managed to go on a few short, slow runs despite my constant hacking and coughing. The good news is my cold seems to finally be subsiding. Hopefully I will be completely recovered before this weekend when I'm suppose to be up on Mount Hood training with my Denali team...

Saturday, October 21, 2006

After 3 weeks at the Train Station I've decided I want to move back to the Shack. I'm finding I no longer like the downtown condo lifestyle. The trains wake me up at 3am every morning and the perpetual construction begins at 6am and goes until 4pm. About the only time it is quiet here is from 9pm until 3am which means very little sleep. In fact the lack of sleep over the past few weeks has resulted in me catching another cold and missing out on a fun weekend of ice climbing with friends on the Elliot Glacier up on Mount Hood.

My summer at the Shack was the first time I had lived in a house since I was in high school. Since then I've always lived in dorms, a frat house, apartments or condos. I forgot what it was like to have your own space, privacy and quiet. I am now finding it very difficult to give that up. In addition the Pearl is not what it was when I moved here in 2000. It has become extremely homogeneous with nothing but high-end, over-priced restaurants. The Bridgeport was the last holdout and they recently Pearlized it with a renovation. I miss the affordable, casual, laid back atmosphere of NE Portland. I find myself heading back over there more often than not to spend the day or to get take-out to bring back downtown.

Maintaining two residences is also a lot of work and something is always at the other place. I have too much gear to store it all at the Train Station so most of it is at the Shack. Living in a high rise condo is not conducive to outdoor activities either. It takes multiple trips to haul everything up and down the elevator and I have no place to clean my gear after a trip. Kerry and I have decided it is time to consolidate, so the plan is to move permanently into the Shack now and sell the Train Station probably sometime after January 1st. This works out perfectly since we have been engaged for about a month and are planning to get married early next year. Most of you already know this, but for those who don't I asked Kerry to marry me last month while we were in Washington DC having an "especially nice dinner".

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

After spending all day Monday recovering my laptop from a near disaster here are the photos from my Beacon Rock climb last week...

I spent the past weekend trail running and climbing at PRG. On Saturday Kerry and I tried out a new 7.7 mile loop in Forest park. It was the Mable-Wildwood loop describe in the "Red Sullivan Guide" on page 20. It is described as a hike but makes a great trail run with only 500 feet elevation gain. The loop is far enough north to avoid the weekend crowds on Leif Erikson. We ran it counter clockwise as described in the book, but next time I'll going to try it counter-clockwise. The descent is a little steep to run down. On Sunday we did the short loop around waterfront and then went climbing at PRG for a couple of hours.

The last couple of days I've been spending most of my non-adventure time working on various Mazamas related projects. I am trying to finish up an article I'm writing for the Mazamas Annual on my trip to climb Pico de Orizaba in Mexico. I've also been helping plan another Mazamas Expedition Committee slideshow (Beth Rodden & Tommy Caldwell) and putting together a presentation on what the Expedition Committee does for the upcoming Mazamas Discovery Night.

Tonight Kerry and I have tickets to see the West Side Story at Portland Center Stage. It's the first show of the season and I'm looking forward to checking out the new Gerding Theater...

Thursday, October 12, 2006

I just got back from Beacon Rock. I had another perfect day of weekday climbing. I seemed to be getting some of my climbing mojo back and was able to lead a couple of the easier pitches on the SE Face. Dragan, thank you for encouraging me to get back in the saddle. What a great day!!! Stay tuned for some pictures...

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

I had a perfect day out at French's Dome near Mount Hood. It was warm enough for t-shirts but shaded enough to not be too hot while climbing. Preston "Rope Gun" Corless put up all the routes. I cleanly top roped Tin Tangle (5.8), Do It Again (5.9), Alpha Centauri (5.8), and Straw Man (5.8) . I had to do some serious hang dogging but I completely enjoyed grunting my way through Silver Streak (5.10B). The routes are all very ledgey and worked well for my fingers. Tomorrow I'm heading back to Beacon Rock to do a variation of the SE Face.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Today I went to the doctor (actually a dentist) for the first time since I quit my job back in June. As part of the routine checkup they took my blood pressure and pulse. When I saw the results I thought for sure the machine was broken as they were significantly lower than the last time I had them checked. My pulse was a mere 53 beats per minute. Then I realized I've been on the LLC plan for the last 3 months. My physical fitness and activity levels haven't changed much in that time. What has changed is the lack of corporate BS to put up with. I guess the stresses of work really can be hazardous to your health. Something to consider when I decide to start looking for a job...
My first week back at the Train Station has been good. It took a couple of days to get everything moved over from the Shack, but we are all settled in for the winter season. Mornings typically begin with a 6am run around the waterfront - a short 4 mile loop that begins right from the front door. A few hours of puttering on the computer, drinking coffee and eating my breakfast then I'm ready to head outside...

Lately I have been spending more time climbing at Portland Rock Gym - usually 3-4 times per week. About a year ago my rock climbing peaked at 5.10. After trying a couple of 5.11 routes I started having chronic finger pain. Originally I thought I had injured myself and took a break from climbing at PRG. After a few months I was still having problems and saw a couple of specialists. By then the problem was becoming more systemic (all my fingers) and I was told possibly related to arthritis. I tried a couple of finger exercises and taping techniques with little success. The jury is still out on what the problem really is and the pain is still there. However I have been able to adapt enough to resume climbing at PRG. I'm taking glucosamine daily and icing my hands after each visit to the gym. The good news is that after almost of year of off and on again climbing, I'm able to climb most 5.9 routes and even a couple of 5.10 routes. I'm not sure when or if I'll get back into lead climbing again, but we'll see.

Besides climbing, I have also been running more consistently - about 4-5 times per week. On Saturday Kerry and I did a 8.25 mile loop from the Train Station to the Pittock Mansion via the Rose Gardens and down through Macleay Park. The run took about 90 minutes and had some serious hills to tackle. Sunday I was so sore all I could do was limp my way around the waterfront loop and climb with Kerry for a couple of hours at PRG. Next year I hope to run the Mount Ashland Hillclimb Run which is a half marathon, all uphill with a total elevation gain of 5600 feet. I also plan to run Hood to Coast for the first time.

As I've mentioned before, the summer climbing season is pretty much over and ski season doesn't start for another couple of months. I keep thinking I should look for a job one of these days, but the weather in Portland is still very nice and there is so much to enjoy outside. I just don't seem to find the time to update my resume. My latest adventure idea and research project is to go to Ecuador for 2 weeks in January to climb Chimborazo. Right now I'm trying to convince Leisure Life Larry he needs to go with me...

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Tonight I was cleaning up some old files and found a copy of Dancing 2005 I had saved on my computer. It is a video of this guy who quit his job as a computer game programmer and went on a 6 month trip through 39 countries on all 7 continents. He filmed himself doing some silly dance in each location and created a video collage when he got home. When I first watched his video last year it helped inspire my own adventure. Originally called Freedom 35 (i.e. freedom from the man at 35) it is now called Leisure Life Chuck and has been underway for over 3 months. Out of curiosity I went back to Matt's website - Where the Hell is Matt? - to see what he was up to. It turns out he has a new video - Dancing 2006 - which he produced with sponsorship from a chewing gum company. Lucky guy!!! Maybe if I get more creative with my LLC Reports and website I can find myself a sponsor too...

Monday, October 02, 2006

I've been asked by several people what LLC is and what I do when I'm not off on one of my adventures. LLC stands for Leisure Life Chuck and here is a glimpse at a typical LLC day...

I wake up around 7am to the smell of freshly brewed coffee. After laying in bed until I completely wake up I wander upstairs to check the weather, read my email and scan the news headlines on my computer. After an hour of futzing around and drinking coffee I am ready to have my breakfast - two eggs and a bagel. While I eat my breakfast I flip through the latest issue of Time, the Willamette Weekly or some other magazine. After breakfast I go back to the computer to work on my photos, update my blog or do some mindless web surfing. Around 10am I'm ready to head outside. This is my favorite time of the day to go running and Hoyt Arboretum is my favorite place to run. Several times a week I drive up to the visitor center for a hour long hill run on one of the many loops I've created using the excellent trail system there. After my run and some stretching in the park I stop by the Train Station (my condo) to make sure it hasn't burnt down and pick up my mail. Sometimes I'll make a detour to REI or Powells to look around or go to Rocco's for a slice of pizza.

Around 1pm I head back to the Shack (Kerry's house) to fire up the BBQ for a burger and beer on the deck. After lunch I take a short siesta in the hammock watching the birds and squirrels that frequent the backyard. Afternoons are mostly spent lounging around the backyard, reading and working on my computer, listening to music on my iPod, doing various projects around the Shack, climbing at PRG with other happily unemployed friends or frequenting the numerous Portland outdoor shops in search of some more climbing gear to add to my collection. After a hard day of LLC I get take-out from one of the many restaurants in Beaumont Village then spend the evenings relaxing on the deck with the lady of the house, often reading a magazine, playing a game of Scrabble or talking the night away over a bottle of wine.

With the change in seasons comes a change of location and different activities for LLC. I've been living in NE Portland at the Shack aka the Summer Palace since May. This weekend will probably be the last nice weekend before we move downtown to the Train Station aka the Winter Palace. The Train Station derives its name from its proximity to Union Station and the freight trains which roll by at 3am most nights. Fortunately another building is under construction which when completed will help quiet things down. Winter time LLC activities will include plays at the new Portland Center Stage theater, checking out new restaurants in the Pearl, skiing at Mount Hood Meadows and Big Mountain (Montana), 2 weeks in Spain and training for my Denali climb next spring.