Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Our wedding photos from Holland Studios are now online. Eric and Roberta did an AMAZING job and were so much fun to work with! We're going to have a hard time picking the photos we want to print from so many excellent shots.
Monday, February 12, 2007
On Friday, February 9th Kerry and I got married at Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood. We had a short fireside ceremony followed by very delicious dinner with our immediate families. The lodge has a "keep it simple" fireside wedding package that includes everything for a single price. We did hire an amazing photographer from Holland Studios to take a bunch of fun photos of Kerry and I before the ceremony. We hiked around in the snow above the lodge with the mountain in the background and even donned our skis & boots. We're eagerly waiting to see Eric's photos and I'll be sure to let everyone know once they are on the studio's website. Until then here is our collection of photos.
After the ceremony and dinner we all spent the weekend at the lodge. We skied Saturday morning, relaxed in the heated outdoor pool in the middle of the snow, toured the lodge's extensive wine cellar and played card games with the family Saturday night by the fireplace. With the exception of a brief visit to the Blue Ox bar several years ago, it was my first time in this historic lodge What a beautiful place!!! There is plenty to do for everyone and the staff really knows what customer service is about. We enjoyed it so much we've already decided to go back next year for our anniversary.
After the ceremony and dinner we all spent the weekend at the lodge. We skied Saturday morning, relaxed in the heated outdoor pool in the middle of the snow, toured the lodge's extensive wine cellar and played card games with the family Saturday night by the fireplace. With the exception of a brief visit to the Blue Ox bar several years ago, it was my first time in this historic lodge What a beautiful place!!! There is plenty to do for everyone and the staff really knows what customer service is about. We enjoyed it so much we've already decided to go back next year for our anniversary.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
After 3 weeks of looking at cars I finally found one I liked. My previous car was a 2004 Honda Civic EX 2-door coupe which was totaled by a drunk on New Years Eve. For my next car I wanted to upgrade to a 4-door sedan and something "a little nicer" with less road noise.
At first I was thinking about the new Volkswagen Jetta. However the 2006/07 models are now as big as a Passat and look like a big boat - just sitting in one was enough to change my mind. So I took a look at the new, smaller Volkswagen GTI and the Audi A3 which are basically the same car. They're very sporty (200 hp) 4-door hatchbacks that are a lot of fun to drive. The Audi dealer was especially generous on my test drive, letting me try how sporty the A3 really is on some curvy backroads. However both cars require studded tires or those spider spike things since the tires are too wide for chains.
I did some more new car research on edmunds.com but couldn't find anything else that I wanted to look at. Everything was either too big, too ugly, too expensive or got horrible gas mileage. So I started looking at used cars and after a couple of days found a red 2002 Jetta GLS 1.8T.
It has 40K miles on it and is loaded with every option except the leather seats. The Turbo is great and kicks out 180 hp compared to the 127 hp my Civic had. It gets about 30 mpg on the highway, a little less than my Civic but not a bad trade-off for a car 50% heavier with a more powerful engine. The car was inspected by the same place I use to take my Civic and they provided me with a complete maintenance report. It also came with a 6 month/6,000 mile warranty. The salesman was pretty cool, feed me lunch and helped me return my rental car afterwards.
At first I had some reservations about buying a used car. I purchased my Civic new from autobytel.com and sat at home drinking coffee while the local Honda dealers kept calling back, lowering their prices. In the end I only spent 45 minutes at the dealership and that included a test drive and all the paperwork. This time I used autotrader.com to look for used cars in the area. When I found the one I liked I called the salesman and went for a test drive. The sticker price was almost 25% more than the price I was quoted online, but they immediately gave me the lower price. While I was there I overheard someone else trying to come to a fair price the old fashion way - haggling. It was the usual back and forth, I need to check with my manager stuff - not a lot of fun unless you like haggling for the sake of it. From now on I will only buy a car - used or new - from the Internet.
At first I was thinking about the new Volkswagen Jetta. However the 2006/07 models are now as big as a Passat and look like a big boat - just sitting in one was enough to change my mind. So I took a look at the new, smaller Volkswagen GTI and the Audi A3 which are basically the same car. They're very sporty (200 hp) 4-door hatchbacks that are a lot of fun to drive. The Audi dealer was especially generous on my test drive, letting me try how sporty the A3 really is on some curvy backroads. However both cars require studded tires or those spider spike things since the tires are too wide for chains.
I did some more new car research on edmunds.com but couldn't find anything else that I wanted to look at. Everything was either too big, too ugly, too expensive or got horrible gas mileage. So I started looking at used cars and after a couple of days found a red 2002 Jetta GLS 1.8T.
It has 40K miles on it and is loaded with every option except the leather seats. The Turbo is great and kicks out 180 hp compared to the 127 hp my Civic had. It gets about 30 mpg on the highway, a little less than my Civic but not a bad trade-off for a car 50% heavier with a more powerful engine. The car was inspected by the same place I use to take my Civic and they provided me with a complete maintenance report. It also came with a 6 month/6,000 mile warranty. The salesman was pretty cool, feed me lunch and helped me return my rental car afterwards.At first I had some reservations about buying a used car. I purchased my Civic new from autobytel.com and sat at home drinking coffee while the local Honda dealers kept calling back, lowering their prices. In the end I only spent 45 minutes at the dealership and that included a test drive and all the paperwork. This time I used autotrader.com to look for used cars in the area. When I found the one I liked I called the salesman and went for a test drive. The sticker price was almost 25% more than the price I was quoted online, but they immediately gave me the lower price. While I was there I overheard someone else trying to come to a fair price the old fashion way - haggling. It was the usual back and forth, I need to check with my manager stuff - not a lot of fun unless you like haggling for the sake of it. From now on I will only buy a car - used or new - from the Internet.
Monday, January 22, 2007
I spent the weekend with my Denali team up on Mount Hood practicing our winter camping skills. The weather was "perfect" with temperatures around 20 and 35-40 mph winds with gusts to 50 mph. We each hauled about 80 lbs of gear half a mile uphill and directly into the wind then spent most of Saturday building our campsite. At one point the wind was so strong it knocked over our snow wall and partially crushed one of the tents. Lesson learned - don't build a long, high wall without bracing it properly. Around 6pm we finally got the 2 tents and megamid setup and tried out some new recipes we plan to use on Denali. After dinner the wind suddenly disappeared and all became clear and calm, so we decided to take the opportunity to rehydrate at the Timberline day lodge before going to sleep. Sunday morning we awoke to a beautiful sunrise, broke camp and stopped at the Huckleberry Inn in Government Camp on our way for a well deserved breakfast.
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Yesterday I hiked up Dog Mountain with my friend Ryan aka Microwave. When we started it was about 25F at the trailhead and chilled off to about 15F on the summit. We had a snow covered trail most of the way up. The wind at the top wasn't too bad but made the traverse a bit chilly. The snow was super dry and the trees caked in windblown snow and ice. While we were ascending the clouds cleared giving us a spectacular view of gorge. Click here for the complete photo album.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
I'm back from a fun week-long trip with the Slinkard clan (Kerry's family) to the Big Island of Hawaii. Here is a link to our photos.
Monday morning (stiff and sore with only 4 hours of sleep after our New Years Eve mishap) Kerry and I hopped on the plane and met everyone else at the Royal Kona Resort near the beach town of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. After checking into our room and changing out of our cold and rainy weather Portland clothes, we headed down to Don's Mai Tai Bar for an evening of oceanside food and drinks.
Tuesday morning we all piled into our Grand Marquee rental car and drove out to Volcanoes National Park on the other side of the island. It was an interesting drive and we crossed many older lava flows along the way. The main visitors center lies on the rim of a giant caldera with a rather large crater in the middle. After eating lunch at the visitor center we drove down the Chain of Craters Road toward the coast were the active lava flows are at dumping into the sea. The road itself is cutoff at around the 19 mile mark by a recent flow. We had hoped to drive close enough to the active flows to see the lava but it was too far across the new Hawaiian real estate to hike there and back before sunset. Interestingly the USGS has a eruption & lava flow report similar to the avalanche & snow pack reports we have from NOAA here in the PNW.
Wednesday was a down day and we relaxed pool side reading, playing cards, drinking Mai Tai's and cooling off in the pool.
Thursday we grabbed an early morning inter-island shuttle and flew to Honolulu to visit the USS Arizona Memorial. The memorial itself was somber and well done, but the visitor center had a definite tourist trap feeling to it. It was overcrowded and the gift shop had the standard cheap trinkets you find at any of America's war related sites. After the memorial we headed to Waikiki Beach for lunch at Lulu's before flying back to Kona.
Friday Kerry's brother Bryan aka "the Ironman" and I aka "the Mountainman" decided to hike/climb up Mauna Kea, Hawaii's highest peak. Although there is a access road to the top for the astronomers we opted to take the Mauna Kea-Humu'ula Trail which parallels the access road most the way before joining the road for the last mile. The hike itself is on a relatively easy trail, however it starts at 9,200 feet and then goes 6.5 miles through a barren wasteland of scree to the summit at 13,796 feet. Considering our acclimation at sea level the challenge was in the rapid elevation gain, only 5.5 hours from sea level to 13,796 feet. The weather was mostly cloudy but we did get a view of the slightly lower Mauna Loa through the clouds to the south. We spent about 20 minutes on the summit taking photos, eating lunch and admiring the array of telescopes before descending back to the car.
Saturday was another down day for us and we spent it relaxing at Hapuna Beach about 30 miles north of Kona. I tried boogie boarding for the first time and completely enjoyed myself in the surf. That night we had an amazing sunset dinner overlooking the ocean at Huggo's.
Sunday morning everyone but Kerry and I took off to fly home. Our only flight option to Portland was a late night red eye so we spent Sunday morning wandering around Kona and then ate lunch at the Kona Inn Restaurant, a historic hotel turned restaurant and shops which looked like it would have been THE place to stay in its day. Sunday afternoon we spent playing cards and drinking more Mai Tai's by the pool. On our flight home we got bumped to first class because the plane was overbooked - the perfect ending to a great trip.
Monday morning (stiff and sore with only 4 hours of sleep after our New Years Eve mishap) Kerry and I hopped on the plane and met everyone else at the Royal Kona Resort near the beach town of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. After checking into our room and changing out of our cold and rainy weather Portland clothes, we headed down to Don's Mai Tai Bar for an evening of oceanside food and drinks.
Tuesday morning we all piled into our Grand Marquee rental car and drove out to Volcanoes National Park on the other side of the island. It was an interesting drive and we crossed many older lava flows along the way. The main visitors center lies on the rim of a giant caldera with a rather large crater in the middle. After eating lunch at the visitor center we drove down the Chain of Craters Road toward the coast were the active lava flows are at dumping into the sea. The road itself is cutoff at around the 19 mile mark by a recent flow. We had hoped to drive close enough to the active flows to see the lava but it was too far across the new Hawaiian real estate to hike there and back before sunset. Interestingly the USGS has a eruption & lava flow report similar to the avalanche & snow pack reports we have from NOAA here in the PNW.
Wednesday was a down day and we relaxed pool side reading, playing cards, drinking Mai Tai's and cooling off in the pool.
Thursday we grabbed an early morning inter-island shuttle and flew to Honolulu to visit the USS Arizona Memorial. The memorial itself was somber and well done, but the visitor center had a definite tourist trap feeling to it. It was overcrowded and the gift shop had the standard cheap trinkets you find at any of America's war related sites. After the memorial we headed to Waikiki Beach for lunch at Lulu's before flying back to Kona.
Friday Kerry's brother Bryan aka "the Ironman" and I aka "the Mountainman" decided to hike/climb up Mauna Kea, Hawaii's highest peak. Although there is a access road to the top for the astronomers we opted to take the Mauna Kea-Humu'ula Trail which parallels the access road most the way before joining the road for the last mile. The hike itself is on a relatively easy trail, however it starts at 9,200 feet and then goes 6.5 miles through a barren wasteland of scree to the summit at 13,796 feet. Considering our acclimation at sea level the challenge was in the rapid elevation gain, only 5.5 hours from sea level to 13,796 feet. The weather was mostly cloudy but we did get a view of the slightly lower Mauna Loa through the clouds to the south. We spent about 20 minutes on the summit taking photos, eating lunch and admiring the array of telescopes before descending back to the car.
Saturday was another down day for us and we spent it relaxing at Hapuna Beach about 30 miles north of Kona. I tried boogie boarding for the first time and completely enjoyed myself in the surf. That night we had an amazing sunset dinner overlooking the ocean at Huggo's.
Sunday morning everyone but Kerry and I took off to fly home. Our only flight option to Portland was a late night red eye so we spent Sunday morning wandering around Kona and then ate lunch at the Kona Inn Restaurant, a historic hotel turned restaurant and shops which looked like it would have been THE place to stay in its day. Sunday afternoon we spent playing cards and drinking more Mai Tai's by the pool. On our flight home we got bumped to first class because the plane was overbooked - the perfect ending to a great trip.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
It has been almost a month since my last entry so I figured I'd make this a Year in Review post.
2006 was an exciting year for me. It started with a trip to Mexico to climb Pico de Orizaba, the third highest mountain in North America. In March Kerry and I rode the train to Whitefish, Montana for a ski week at Big Mountain. In April I went trekking in Costa Rica for 10 days then met Kerry in New Orleans for Jazz Fest. In August I spent 3 weeks with the Mazamas visiting Moscow and Saint Petersburg in Russia, then climbed Mount Elbrus, the highest peak in Europe. In September I went to Washington DC for a week where I proposed to Kerry and she said yes. In November I accompanied Kerry to San Francisco and finally walked across the Golden Gate Bridge.
We've also had several weekend getaways to the Oregon coast and an overnight tour of the Willamette wine country. Of course I made many, many trips to the mountains climbing Mount Hood, Whitehorse Mountain, Diamond Peak, Mount Olympus, Sahale Peak, Three Fingered Jack, Mount Washington and attempted Mount Rainier for the first time. No to mention all the usual hiking in the Columbia Gorge, back country skiing around Mount Hood and rock climbing at local crags.
Halfway through the year I left my job at EMC and started Leisure Life Chuck and the LLC Report. Several years in the making it was one of the best decisions of my life. However I do miss my co-workers and having something to work on when the weather doesn't cooperate with my LLC plans.
For the holidays Kerry and I had my dad and brother over for Thanksgiving and another weekend in December. For Christmas we drove down to Alturas, California for a long weekend with Kerry's family. In between the two holidays I moved into the Shack and turned my condo aka the Train Station into a rental property.
2006 really was a perfect year for me - almost. You know the expression "in every life a little rain must fall". Well I guess "when it rains it pours". With only 90 minutes left in 2006 Kerry and I got hit by a drunk driver with a suspended license and an open container who fled the scene on foot. We were stopped on I-84 because of another accident when he plowed into the back of my car without even using his brakes. My car is crumpled all the way to the back seat. It is a miracle we weren't more seriously injured. Someone who witnessed the whole thing called 911 and the police arrested the guy stumbling around in a nearby neighborhood. After getting my car towed we went to the ER to get checked out. Fortunately it appears we both just have a case of whiplash. I'm just so happy it was nothing more serious.
Anyway, not to have LLC derailed by a low life loser, Kerry and I hopped on a plane Monday morning to start 2007 with a week on the Big Island of Hawaii. Lots of sun, warm weather and tropical drinks are making the last 90 minutes of 2006 a distant memory and a just a small glitch in an otherwise perfect year. I hope everyone else had a safe and happy New Year and I'll be sure to post my Hawaii LLC Report when I get home.
2006 was an exciting year for me. It started with a trip to Mexico to climb Pico de Orizaba, the third highest mountain in North America. In March Kerry and I rode the train to Whitefish, Montana for a ski week at Big Mountain. In April I went trekking in Costa Rica for 10 days then met Kerry in New Orleans for Jazz Fest. In August I spent 3 weeks with the Mazamas visiting Moscow and Saint Petersburg in Russia, then climbed Mount Elbrus, the highest peak in Europe. In September I went to Washington DC for a week where I proposed to Kerry and she said yes. In November I accompanied Kerry to San Francisco and finally walked across the Golden Gate Bridge.
We've also had several weekend getaways to the Oregon coast and an overnight tour of the Willamette wine country. Of course I made many, many trips to the mountains climbing Mount Hood, Whitehorse Mountain, Diamond Peak, Mount Olympus, Sahale Peak, Three Fingered Jack, Mount Washington and attempted Mount Rainier for the first time. No to mention all the usual hiking in the Columbia Gorge, back country skiing around Mount Hood and rock climbing at local crags.
Halfway through the year I left my job at EMC and started Leisure Life Chuck and the LLC Report. Several years in the making it was one of the best decisions of my life. However I do miss my co-workers and having something to work on when the weather doesn't cooperate with my LLC plans.
For the holidays Kerry and I had my dad and brother over for Thanksgiving and another weekend in December. For Christmas we drove down to Alturas, California for a long weekend with Kerry's family. In between the two holidays I moved into the Shack and turned my condo aka the Train Station into a rental property.
2006 really was a perfect year for me - almost. You know the expression "in every life a little rain must fall". Well I guess "when it rains it pours". With only 90 minutes left in 2006 Kerry and I got hit by a drunk driver with a suspended license and an open container who fled the scene on foot. We were stopped on I-84 because of another accident when he plowed into the back of my car without even using his brakes. My car is crumpled all the way to the back seat. It is a miracle we weren't more seriously injured. Someone who witnessed the whole thing called 911 and the police arrested the guy stumbling around in a nearby neighborhood. After getting my car towed we went to the ER to get checked out. Fortunately it appears we both just have a case of whiplash. I'm just so happy it was nothing more serious.
Anyway, not to have LLC derailed by a low life loser, Kerry and I hopped on a plane Monday morning to start 2007 with a week on the Big Island of Hawaii. Lots of sun, warm weather and tropical drinks are making the last 90 minutes of 2006 a distant memory and a just a small glitch in an otherwise perfect year. I hope everyone else had a safe and happy New Year and I'll be sure to post my Hawaii LLC Report when I get home.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Kerry and I went to see I Am My Own Wife at Portland Center Stage last night. It was a excellent performance and Wade McCollum was simply amazing. I'd highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys theater...
Monday, December 04, 2006
I'm finally out of the Train Station and completely moved into the Shack! What a relief to have everything back in one place again - no more trips back and forth across town. This past weekend I rented a truck and moved the rest of my furniture over from the Train Station. Now I just have to unpack and find a place to put everything. I've decided I'm going to keep the Train Station as an investment property and rent it out.
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Had another awesome day up on Hood today! A couple friends and I skinned from Timberline up to the top of the Palmer then skied down to Government Camp. From the parking lot to Silcox was perfect - fresh powder with a single track up the hill. From Silcox to the top of the Palmer the snow was still good but the wind picked up and the clouds lowered to create whiteout conditions. Skiing down was a little difficult until I got use to the 46 pound pack I had on. From Timberline down to Government Camp was perfect foot deep powder that we just floated through. Amazing!
No photos to share. I took a bunch but evidently my camera froze as everything came out all black. I really need to get a reliable camera before Denali. I'm beginning to think digital is NOT the way to go - too many problems. Anyway, I'm off to a Denali planning meeting now...
No photos to share. I took a bunch but evidently my camera froze as everything came out all black. I really need to get a reliable camera before Denali. I'm beginning to think digital is NOT the way to go - too many problems. Anyway, I'm off to a Denali planning meeting now...
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
I had an AWESOME start to my ski season last night. A couple friends and I made fresh tracks in knee deep, dry powder at Mount Hood Skibowl. We were on the 5th or 6th chair to reach the top of the upper bowl when the lifts opened at 3pm and we skied almost non-stop until 8:30pm. The conditions are AMAZING! Some of the best snow I've ever seen on Hood. This could easily be February skiing and it's only November.
We are having some unusually cold weather in the Portland area which has resulted in dry snow up on Hood and the resorts are getting dumped on. It even snowed in Portland this morning. Again it's only November. I was really beginning to worry about the ski season since this is suppose to be another warm, wet El Niño year. Hopefully this snow will stick around and we'll have a great snow year. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Right now I can't wait for the road to Mount Hood Meadows to open. The latest word is ODOT will have it repaired by December 15th.
Tomorrow we're thinking about skinning up the south side of Hood if the conditions are stable enough. Maybe even tag the summit if we can...
We are having some unusually cold weather in the Portland area which has resulted in dry snow up on Hood and the resorts are getting dumped on. It even snowed in Portland this morning. Again it's only November. I was really beginning to worry about the ski season since this is suppose to be another warm, wet El Niño year. Hopefully this snow will stick around and we'll have a great snow year. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Right now I can't wait for the road to Mount Hood Meadows to open. The latest word is ODOT will have it repaired by December 15th.
Tomorrow we're thinking about skinning up the south side of Hood if the conditions are stable enough. Maybe even tag the summit if we can...
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
This afternoon I went climbing with a couple of friends at PRG. I started off by leading a 5.8 route with no warm ups. It was a very easy 5.8 but my first real lead in about 10 months. I was definitely nervous but it felt great to get past the psychological barrier I had developed about lead climbing. After the single lead I went on to top rope a 5.9, a 5.10-, and tried a 5.11-. I didn't complete the 5.11- but spent enough time at the crux that I'm pretty sure I can get past it the next time. This is very exciting since it was about 14 months ago that my climbing peaked when I tried (unsuccessfully) another 5.11- route and then started having finger problems. My finger problems still persist but the fact that I can almost climb what I did before means I'm adapting to the whole situation.
Anyway, I'm definitely looking forward to going back to PRG after the holiday weekend to lead some 5.9's and try to complete my first 5.11- route. I hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving!
Anyway, I'm definitely looking forward to going back to PRG after the holiday weekend to lead some 5.9's and try to complete my first 5.11- route. I hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving!
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
It's been a week since my last post. Not much going on adventure wise but I've been keeping myself busy going to the rock gym and trial running. Last Friday Kerry and I went to the 113th Annual Mazama Banquet. The new "cocktail hour" format was good, the guest speaker very interesting and I really enjoyed catching up with friends I hadn't seen in a while. Over the weekend we ran the Maple-Wildwood loop in Forest Park again. We've averaged 1 hour 17 minutes the four times we have run it so far. It's a tough run and going to the New Old Lompoc afterwards pretty much finishes the day off.
The other thing I've been doing is working with the Mazamas to determine their IT needs in their new building. I've spent a couple of afternoons in the office inventorying the existing equipment and coming up with an upgrade plan. So far it is an interesting project and gives me some ideas for a future business.
That's about it. We're still in between summer and winter seasons and I'm eagerly waiting for the snow. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the road to Mount Hood Meadows opens up soon. It was completely washed out by floods earlier this month and I have a season pass to ski there.
Oh yeah, I finally uploaded the photos from my stroll across the Golden Gate a few weeks ago in San Francisco.
The other thing I've been doing is working with the Mazamas to determine their IT needs in their new building. I've spent a couple of afternoons in the office inventorying the existing equipment and coming up with an upgrade plan. So far it is an interesting project and gives me some ideas for a future business.
That's about it. We're still in between summer and winter seasons and I'm eagerly waiting for the snow. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the road to Mount Hood Meadows opens up soon. It was completely washed out by floods earlier this month and I have a season pass to ski there.
Oh yeah, I finally uploaded the photos from my stroll across the Golden Gate a few weeks ago in San Francisco.
Monday, November 13, 2006
I spent the afternoon at PRG with Leisure Life Larry today. Even though I haven't climbed in about 3 weeks I was able to get right back on the wall and crank out 8 routes including a couple of 5.9's and a 5.10-. The new ratings at PRG are definitely stiffer than they were last year. That is good because now they seem to be more in line with what Smith ratings are. I've decided it's time to invest in a new pair of climbing shoes. I'm sure that will please those of you I've been climbing with after listening to me whine all summer about my toes sticking out of the end of my shoe.
This past weekend Kerry and I did a couple of long trail runs in the rain. On Saturday we ran my new favorite loop in Forest Park - the 7.7 mile Maple-Wildwood loop. On Sunday we did the shorter 3 mile "hill fest" loop in Hoyt Arboretum. Even though it's only 3 miles and takes about 30 minutes, you end up working for every inch of it.
This week I'm continuing on the consolidation plan of moving everything from the Train Station to the Shack and getting rid of a bunch of duplicate stuff. This weekend is the annual Mazama banquet at the Oregon Zoo. I'm keeping my fingers crossed it's not a snooze fest like last year. They changed the format so it should be more interesting.
That's all for now. Not much exciting going on with LLC until ski season starts...
This past weekend Kerry and I did a couple of long trail runs in the rain. On Saturday we ran my new favorite loop in Forest Park - the 7.7 mile Maple-Wildwood loop. On Sunday we did the shorter 3 mile "hill fest" loop in Hoyt Arboretum. Even though it's only 3 miles and takes about 30 minutes, you end up working for every inch of it.
This week I'm continuing on the consolidation plan of moving everything from the Train Station to the Shack and getting rid of a bunch of duplicate stuff. This weekend is the annual Mazama banquet at the Oregon Zoo. I'm keeping my fingers crossed it's not a snooze fest like last year. They changed the format so it should be more interesting.
That's all for now. Not much exciting going on with LLC until ski season starts...
Thursday, November 09, 2006
I've been in San Francisco with Kerry this week and heading home later this afternoon. While Kerry has been at her conference I've been wandering around my old stomping grounds. On Tuesday I rode CalTrain down to Palo Alto to meet with my old group at EMC for lunch at the Peking Duck. It was the usual 2.5 hour team lunch I had when I traveled here for work. It was good to see everyone again and catch up on all the EMC gossip. They were a great group of people to work with and made corporate life at EMC tolerable. I miss them but know we'll all stay in contact.
Wednesday I decided I'd take a walk across the Golden Gate Bridge since it was something I never did while I lived here. I added my own twist by starting from our hotel on 5th and Market near Union Square. The weather forecast was for sunny skies so at 9:30am I headed down Market Street to the Embarcadero going by Noah's Bagel to grab a bagel and coffee. I walked along the Embarcadero stopping to eat my bagel and drink my coffee on one of the piers open to the public. I passed the uber touristy Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf area and continued on to the Maritime Museum and Fort Mason which I didn't even know existed. It sits bluff overlooking the bay between the Fisherman's Wharf and the Marina. It looks like it would be an interesting place to explore further.
After Fort Mason I continued along the waterfront through the Marina District and to the Presidio. The Presidio is a huge place and was always one of my favorite destinations in San Francisco. I discovered a new trail I didn't know about and followed it along the waterfront. The trail ends at Fort Point under the Golden Gate where I turned uphill to reach the sidewalk that goes across the bridge. The bridge itself is a mile and half long and 220 feet above the water in the middle. The views of the bay were incredible! Having forgot my camera (again) I bought a disposable camera and will post my photos once I get it developed.
I took a short break at the viewpoint on the north side of the bridge before turning around. I stopped for lunch at a cafe in the Fort Point Visitors Center where I had an interesting sandwich of sliced apples, a bri-like cheese and honey on whole wheat bread with nuts. It was very tasty and I might try it as a climbing lunch. After lunch I walked back through the Presidio, the Marina, Fort Mason, Fisherman's Wharf to Pier 39. There I braved the crowds of tourists to get a caramel apple from a shop that was a frequent weekend destination when I use to live here. After eating my snack surrounded by a flock of hungry pigeons I turned down Stockton street and headed back to the hotel arriving around 4:30pm. All told it ended up being a 7 hour day hike on a beautiful day in San Francisco.
Wednesday I decided I'd take a walk across the Golden Gate Bridge since it was something I never did while I lived here. I added my own twist by starting from our hotel on 5th and Market near Union Square. The weather forecast was for sunny skies so at 9:30am I headed down Market Street to the Embarcadero going by Noah's Bagel to grab a bagel and coffee. I walked along the Embarcadero stopping to eat my bagel and drink my coffee on one of the piers open to the public. I passed the uber touristy Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf area and continued on to the Maritime Museum and Fort Mason which I didn't even know existed. It sits bluff overlooking the bay between the Fisherman's Wharf and the Marina. It looks like it would be an interesting place to explore further.
After Fort Mason I continued along the waterfront through the Marina District and to the Presidio. The Presidio is a huge place and was always one of my favorite destinations in San Francisco. I discovered a new trail I didn't know about and followed it along the waterfront. The trail ends at Fort Point under the Golden Gate where I turned uphill to reach the sidewalk that goes across the bridge. The bridge itself is a mile and half long and 220 feet above the water in the middle. The views of the bay were incredible! Having forgot my camera (again) I bought a disposable camera and will post my photos once I get it developed.
I took a short break at the viewpoint on the north side of the bridge before turning around. I stopped for lunch at a cafe in the Fort Point Visitors Center where I had an interesting sandwich of sliced apples, a bri-like cheese and honey on whole wheat bread with nuts. It was very tasty and I might try it as a climbing lunch. After lunch I walked back through the Presidio, the Marina, Fort Mason, Fisherman's Wharf to Pier 39. There I braved the crowds of tourists to get a caramel apple from a shop that was a frequent weekend destination when I use to live here. After eating my snack surrounded by a flock of hungry pigeons I turned down Stockton street and headed back to the hotel arriving around 4:30pm. All told it ended up being a 7 hour day hike on a beautiful day in San Francisco.
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Since I'm feeling a little better after being sick for nearly 2 weeks I decided it was time to head back to "work" today. So I picked up my buddy Ryan D McCoy aka Microwave and drove out to the Columbia Gorge to do a hike up to Indian Point. It was a short 4 hour, 8 mile hike with about 2600 feet elevation gain - nothing too strenuous for my first day back "on the job". What made it interesting was the cold weather and rain. Fall has definitely arrived full force in Portland. We even had the hiking trail equivalent of black ice for the last 1000 feet of elevation gain. The ice covered trees were cool to see and the forest was alive with ice laden branches crashing down all around us. I even missed getting hit by a huge limb by about 20 feet. On the way down from Indian Point we came to a clearing along that gave us a good view of the Gorge all socked in with gray rain clouds and few hillsides poking out. Unfortunately I didn't bring my camera thinking there would be nothing but rain to take a picture of. Lesson learned - never leave home without it.
Anyway, cold and wet we made our way back to the trailhead and stopped by the Salmon Row Pub in Cascade Locks for a late lunch before heading home. All in all a good first day back at the "office".
Anyway, cold and wet we made our way back to the trailhead and stopped by the Salmon Row Pub in Cascade Locks for a late lunch before heading home. All in all a good first day back at the "office".
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".
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".
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