And we're Off!

Our backpacks are packed and we are ready to go! Dan's dad is driving us up to Mammoth tomorrow and we hit the trail on Tuesday!!!!!

Follow our progress with the Spot Messenger at http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=09HgqZ1IC3uIRXGKhThMI1EQJEm1Z6Oq3

We got a SPOT!!

Well my dad has bought us a SPOT Messenger. If you don't know what that is, it is a GPS device that will allow us to transmit or GPS coordinates to a website continually throughout the trip. This way people in the outside world can view our progress and confirm that we have not yet been eaten by bears. There is even a "911" feature on the SPOT that would transmit our location to emergency services so we can be rescued in case we needed it.

Link for the tracking page will be up soon.

Mission Trails... after dark

We've seen a lot of Mission Trails this past week... but because of our work schedules, much of it has been at night. The four of us (and Harlan!) hiked 6-7 miles up Mt. Fortuna. We couldn't have asked for a better night... the sky was even clear enough to see the stars. We encountered some wildlife on the trail including a "meadow" (Bryan's term for a mouse) and earthworm-like snake that appeared to not have a head. Upon further investigation we determined that it did indeed have a head. Bryan made a special request for Dan not to kick headless snakes at him in the future. Dan agreed to this request.

Last night Dan and I left the car at about 7 PM and hiked up to the Kwaay Paay summit and rappelled down the rocks on the other side. The adventure took a little longer than we had planned (possibly due to my inability to put on a climbing harness) and the second rappel and hike back were completed sans daylight. The hike up was pretty steep, and I was definitely feeling the previous weekend in my legs. Which brings me to my next point...

Kind of a spur of the moment decision... but Dan and I participated in an adventure race last weekend up in the Lagunas with Tony (one of Dan's buddies from work). We were given maps and plotted all the checkpoints then took off on our mountain bikes. We could immediately feel the 6000 ft elevation and wicked hot temperatures and knew we were in for a long day. Our team (Team Que Bueno!) made it to the transition area and started the 11 mile trekking section first. Thanks to the navigation skills of two Eagle Scouts... we found the first few checkpoints easily. After a long and quite bloody bushwhacking section we were passed by another team of three who seemed to have found an easier way across the mountain. We were close behind the team until Tony's IT band started acting up, making it extremely painful to run up or down hills (quite a disadvantage when you are in the mountains). We walked for a while but Tony eventually told us to leave him because his knee problems were not getting any better. Dan and I took off, finishing the run and starting out on the bikes, still behind the other team. It was a tough and HOT 20 or so miles but thanks to our sweet mountain biking skillz we managed to pass the other team (without seeing them... yeah weird) and finished in first place with a time of 7 hours 11 minutes. After the race many people were impressed to hear that this was Dan's first adventure race and only my second and the team we had passed was made up of some very seasoned racers (one of them even had ADVNTR RCR or something on his license plate). Any way, Tony's knee is okay, just needs some rest and rehab. Out legs are pretty beat up and bloody, resembling what would happen if you stuck your leg into a bucket of angry cats. But....

"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming...Wow! What a ride!" ~Melvin Trotter

one of my favs.


Oh yeah... T-minus 10 days until we leave for the JMT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hard Days

I was looking over the itinerary the other day and I found the two hardest days of the trip.

The first is day 16: Deer Meadow to Kings river. We travel 13 miles and cross over Mather Pass (12,100 ft). The climb to Mather Pass will require gaining over 3200 ft in 7.5 miles.

Most of the hike is fairly steep with an ascent up "the golden staircase".

I also found this awesome site that has panoramas of many places along the JMT and throughout the Sierras. Here's Mather Pass.

The second hard day is 20: This will be fun. 14.5 miles with a gain of around 3500 ft over the highest pass of the trip, Forester Pass (13,200 ft). The good news is that the day before we have a rest day at Cottonwood Lakes. We should be well rested and in good shape for this one.

Here's the panorama on top of Forester Pass.

New Rule

There has been a new rule created for the trip.

Rule 1.2.64: Silly Hats Only

Please follow the rules.

These hats are preferred

Silly trucker hats are also allowed

If you are low on cash from spending so much money on new gear and trip food, this is acceptable, but frowned upon.

Reconnaissance, gear test and food prep week

A lot happened this week.

I (Dan) spent a few days in Yosemite last week with my family. I did a couple hikes to the high country with my cousin and brother. It looks like the snow level is patchy around 7000' and full snow around 8000'+. We day hiked to the top of El Capitan with about 21 miles round trip. We also hiked to the base of Half Dome which was around 16 miles round trip. The cables are not set up yet so we couldn't climb it. Good thing climbing Half Dome is on our JMT itinerary!

Sara and I spent Saturday and Sunday in the San Gorgonio wilderness. Saturday we did the hike up to Vivian Creek so we could do some canyoneering before we drove over to the South Fork trailhead to backpack in for the night.

Canyoneering was umm....interesting. The water was cold but wasn't as bad as I expected. The first waterfall required a 180ft rappel. Once we made it to the bottom, we had some problems getting the rope down. It got stuck about 3/4ths of the way up the waterfall. About 2 hours later, after much sketchy climbing on both sides of the falls, we got the rope down. At this point, continuing down the canyon and negotiating the remaining 6 waterfalls did not sound like fun. So we somehow found a way back to the trail, and got back to the car.

Backpacking went well though. We hiked in from the South Fork trailhead about 7 miles to Dry Lake where we spent the night. We only hit patchy snow at about 9000' and we were able to camp on a dry patch. Sara and I had a lot of new gear to play with including a tent, sleeping bag, air mattress, etc. We also tested out some new food items we have planned for the JMT. We learned a few things about what we need for the trip.

More pictures here

We finished up memorial day weekend by packing up our food to send to the re-supplies. It took forever and we still aren't finished. I think we are going to be well fed and happy with the variety. Well...I say that now....

Notice the 2 huge bags of Swedish Fish and the 2 30 count candy bar variety packs underneath. We also found out that Easy Mac doesn't work without a microwave...

The Station. By Robert J. Hastings

TUCKED AWAY in our subconscious minds is an idyllic vision in which we see ourselves
on a long journey that spans an entire continent. We're traveling by train and, from the windows, we drink in the passing scenes of cars on nearby highways, of children waving at crossings, of cattle grazing in distant pastures, of smoke pouring from power plants, of row upon row upon row of cotton and corn and wheat, of flatlands and valleys, of city skylines and village halls.


But uppermost in our conscious minds is our final destination--for at a certain hour and on a given day, our train will finally pull into the Station with bells ringing, flags waving, and bands playing. And once that day comes, so many wonderful dreams will come true. So restlessly, we pace the aisles and count the miles, peering ahead, waiting, waiting, waiting for the Station.

"Yes, when we reach the Station, that will be it!" we promise ourselves. "When we're eighteen. . . win that promotion. . . put the last kid through college. . . buy that 450SL Mercedes-Benz. . . have a nest egg for retirement!"

From that day on we will all live happily ever after.

Sooner or later, however, we must realize there is no Station in this life, no one earthly place to arrive at once and for all. The journey is the joy. The Station is an illusion--it constantly outdistances us. Yesterday's a memory, tomorrow's a dream. Yesterday belongs to a history, tomorrow belongs to God. Yesterday's a fading sunset, tomorrow's a faint sunrise. Only today is there light enough to love and live.

So, gently close the door on yesterday and throw the key away. It isn't the burdens of today that drive men mad, but rather regret over yesterday and the fear of tomorrow. Regret and fear are twin thieves who would rob us of today.

"Relish the moment" is a good motto, especially when coupled with Psalm 118:24, "This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it."


So stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles. Instead, swim more rivers, climb more mountains, kiss more babies, count more stars. Laugh more and cry less. Go barefoot oftener. Eat more ice cream. Ride more merry-go-rounds. Watch more sunsets. Life must be lived as we go along. The Station will come soon enough.

T-minus 27 days!

Less than a month until we leave for the trail!