Sat - July 5, 2003

The Girls conquer? Half-Dome



Before After

Inge and four members of her soccer team, Sierra , hiked to the top of Half-Dome and back. They have documented the whole weekend for those of us who have an aversion to sweat and blisters.

Posted: 12:43 PM     Read More  

Fri - July 4, 2003

The Morning After


I felt it this morning. My legs were none to pleased with what I had done to them. We eased into the day by sleeping in and having breakfast. Inge called around 9. She was over at our condo and later we visited them. With 5 women in a one-bedroom condo, the place had a...well...lived-in look. They were off to do a warm-up hike and John and I took it easy (or at least that was the plan). We rode around the trails in town and eventually ended up pedaling up to the lakes above town. And I do mean up... I was in the lowest gear as John charged up to hill. I could definitely feel that the air is thinned up there. We got to the first lake and took a break. There we met this guy who offered to show us some trails. I explained that I was an inexperienced trail rider, at best. He said, "No problem, you'll like this". he was wrong on both points. Well, in his the defense, the first trail wasn't horrible. It was definitely challenging and a little out of my comfort zone. The second trail was in a word, terrifying. We cruised along this tiny track along the edge of the mountain. In some places it seemed barely big enough for my tires with nothing one the downhill side to catch me but sharp rocks. In some places I had to get off the bike, either to get over an obstacle or to get out the way of guys flying me humiliatingly fast. This proved two things: 1) That it could be done and 2) That it would be sometime before I could do it. Eventually we made it back to town, the condo, and the hot tub.

Our suicidal guide (a local) recommended that we watch the evening fireworks from an overlook in town instead of dealing with the traffic going to and from Lake Crowley down in the valley. After our strenuous day, that sounded like a great idea. At dusk we rode our bikes to the recommended spot, found a comfy rock to lean against, and waited...and waited...and waited. After about an hour and several nods, we saw glows and flashes from the valley, unfortunately everything was behind a hill (apparently, our guide had not tested this spot before). After several minutes of this, we saw a long, bright series of flashes and then nothing. Assuming this was the Grand Finale, we headed home, a little unfulfilled.

Posted: 03:28 PM     Read More  

Thu - July 3, 2003

The 4th of July in Mammoth! God Bless America (the the National Park System)


I've spent the 4th in Mammoth several times and it is always great. The Sierras in the Summer are fantastic because there is always so much more to do. In the Winter your activities are more limited. OF course this is my opinion but it is my blog. This year Inge went up and stayed in our place with some of her Soccer teammates. Their goal was to climb Half-Dome in Yosemite. That is an entire story unto itself. I went up with our friend, John Herzog, with less ambitious goals. Although we were light on ambition, we were heavy on gear. We drove his BMW with 2 mountain bikes on top, a dirt bike on the back, and the inside full of food, camera gear, and hiking gear. I'm sure we looked like an ad for some Cable TV Yuppie Adventure Reality Show.

Mammoth was beautiful as always. The first day we went to Yosemite and hiked up to Nevada Falls. This is the same trail that the girls would later be taking to Half-Dome. I was tired when I got to the top of the falls and it is 6 more hard miles to Half Dome. The Mist Trail was a beautiful (and refreshing) place with lush plant life and a multitude of rainbow caused by Vernal Falls. We had a snack at the top of the Falls and cooled our feet in the chilly water. The view from our destination, the top of Nevada was breathtaking. We could see the whole valley stretched out beneath us. After a nice rest and another cooling of the feet, we headed back down to the car and road out bikes around the valley floor until dark. During my ride, I learned a valuable lesson about clip-in pedals. This was my first real test of the new clip-in bike shoes and pedals. They are a great thing and make riding so much easier and efficient. However, it is imperative that you remember to unclip before you stop. I had been told this several times but apparently it was a lesson that I needed to learn first hand. As we were pedaling around, we came to Bridal Veil Falls. As we coasted up to the falls, I got distracted by the beauty and by the time I remembered to unclip, it was too late. In slow-motion I fell over (in front of people - of, course) and lay there on the path, securely attached to my bicycle.
Unfortunately, this was not to be my last reminder.

Once I was back in the saddle we cruised around some, taking in the fresh air and beauty. Finally, it getting too dark and we headed back to car and the the condo. Yosemite is truly a magical place.

Posted: 03:28 PM     Read More  

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