that said, we're running away from him - for the weekend. business in baltimore, and we're leaving the baby with his aunt in long island. poor kid. he has to spend the weekend in long island.
anyway, this being the first time my wife has been away from the baby, she's understandably freaked, and she gave me a thirty-page laundry list of things to do to prepare. so while i'm working on this thing, she gives me a call and asks me to add a few more pages to the list, i put her on hold for a second to do find something that she needed to pack. so while she's on hold, i decide to start - and finish - my packing. about 90 seconds later, i pick up the phone and inform her that while i had her on hold i just did all my packing, and everything else i'm doing today would be for her. she didn't get the joke, but felt like reminding me about something that i, sure enough, forgot. the joke's on me - it's going to take a full 2 minutes now for me to pack.
i'm not sure my car is big enough to handle all the crap thats in it..
california itinerary
8/5/2004 04:19:28 PM
well, we have about 20 people we want to see in the 7 days i'll have available in the beginning of my trip to california. i'm arriving in CA on august 23rd - and on the 30th i'm going to arizona to hike humphrey's peak. if you're a californian who is longing to see us, you should come with me on humphrey's - or if you don't have the guts to climb a 12,633' peak, then let me know and we'll at least get a beer at or near sea level. (:
so like i said, we're arriving on the 23rd, and on the 30th i'm going to arizona. on the 31st i'm going up humphrey's peak, and on the 1st i'm resting at the whitney portal for a summit attempt on the 2nd. on the 3rd-5th i'm going to be in las vegas on business. on the 6th i should be back in socal, and on the 7th i'm returning to NY on a flight that leaves at 7am..
shoot me an email if you want to chill.. literally at high elevations or figuratively in front of a beer.
so like i said, we're arriving on the 23rd, and on the 30th i'm going to arizona. on the 31st i'm going up humphrey's peak, and on the 1st i'm resting at the whitney portal for a summit attempt on the 2nd. on the 3rd-5th i'm going to be in las vegas on business. on the 6th i should be back in socal, and on the 7th i'm returning to NY on a flight that leaves at 7am..
shoot me an email if you want to chill.. literally at high elevations or figuratively in front of a beer.
scaring mom..
8/5/2004 12:47:35 PM
my mother doesn't like rock climbing - a kid in our neighborhood was killed rock climbing while i was growing up. it didn't faze me as much.. and apparently, joseph loves it! mountaineering, too. (:
The book he's reading is "Mountaineering, freedom of the hills" - which most people regard as the essential guide to all things mountain climbing.
The book he's reading is "Mountaineering, freedom of the hills" - which most people regard as the essential guide to all things mountain climbing.
50,000 reasons why i must hike whitney.
8/4/2004 09:56:29 PM
this evening i called to get my reservation to dayhike mount whitney, as all the camping spots had been taken. and it turns out that i am the 50,000th person to make a reservation to hike whitney. that just adds yet another reason why i must be successful on my whitney climb - 50,000 can't be a failure! there is also a geocache up there that i want to get because i have two travel bugs that i want to deposit in significant caches. there is the fact that i have to pay money to hike the mountain and i don't want to waste that money. there is the fact that the mountain is 3000 miles from home and it takes a good deal of time and expense to get there. there are my friends, coming from new york with me, who are also sacrificing a lot to be there and i would feel personally responsible if they didn't make it. and finally, there is the personal sense of satisfaction that i would lose if i didn't make it. now i'm self-aware enough to know that being turned back for whatever reason wouldn't make me a failure as a person - and i would get over it. but i would have a profound sense of dissapointment if i came back without summitting, regardless of how much i would have enjoyed the hike.
so when you have a high-altitude peak like whitney, there are basically two things you can do to prepare; and one is be in the best physical fitness possible when attempting it. my fitness is below average, but i am building endurance in the gym and on other hikes and the improvement is noticable. i will do everything i can to maximize the endurance before the hike - and losing a few pounds wouldn't hurt either. but the other thing that would really improve my chances is something called acclimization - getting used to the high altitude so your body will be prepared for the lack of oxygen, where the summit of whitney has only 60% the atmoshperic O2 that most of us get at sea level. Going straight from sea level to the summit of whitney borders on crazy because you're maximizing your exposure to a medical condition called AMS which can develop into life threatening conditions such as HACE and HAPE. (do a search if you're interested.) SO I'm doing what I can in the short amount of time available to me to acclimize - there's nothing i can do here in new york to prepare for a 14494 foot peak in california as the highest peak east of the mississippi river is mt. mitchell in north carolina which is only 6684 ft. additionally, my reservation is on september 2nd - the end of a two week trip out there. so to acclimize, i plan on hiking the arizona highpoint, humphrey's peak, which is 12,633'. I would go to flagstaff on the 30th, hike up on the 31st and then drive to whitney trailhead, where i would camp that night and rest on the 1st. my attempt on whitney will start before midnight on the 2nd, giving myself some extra time which will hopefully compensate for my fitness. it's not a perfect acclimization schedule, but probably better than average and it'll have to do. i might spend a day or two in idylwild and maybe check out san jacincto peak before humphreys, but with all the friends i want to see, i really don't see that happening.
i'm still looking for hiking partners, particularly for humphries. let me know if you're interested. if you want to hike whitney with us then go ahead and secure a permit for yourself - there are a bunch left at $15 per person. for information on how to do this go here: http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/inyo/recreation/wild/permits_res/how_to.html. Be sure to ask for a dayhike permit for whitney on September 2nd. The more the merrier!!!
so when you have a high-altitude peak like whitney, there are basically two things you can do to prepare; and one is be in the best physical fitness possible when attempting it. my fitness is below average, but i am building endurance in the gym and on other hikes and the improvement is noticable. i will do everything i can to maximize the endurance before the hike - and losing a few pounds wouldn't hurt either. but the other thing that would really improve my chances is something called acclimization - getting used to the high altitude so your body will be prepared for the lack of oxygen, where the summit of whitney has only 60% the atmoshperic O2 that most of us get at sea level. Going straight from sea level to the summit of whitney borders on crazy because you're maximizing your exposure to a medical condition called AMS which can develop into life threatening conditions such as HACE and HAPE. (do a search if you're interested.) SO I'm doing what I can in the short amount of time available to me to acclimize - there's nothing i can do here in new york to prepare for a 14494 foot peak in california as the highest peak east of the mississippi river is mt. mitchell in north carolina which is only 6684 ft. additionally, my reservation is on september 2nd - the end of a two week trip out there. so to acclimize, i plan on hiking the arizona highpoint, humphrey's peak, which is 12,633'. I would go to flagstaff on the 30th, hike up on the 31st and then drive to whitney trailhead, where i would camp that night and rest on the 1st. my attempt on whitney will start before midnight on the 2nd, giving myself some extra time which will hopefully compensate for my fitness. it's not a perfect acclimization schedule, but probably better than average and it'll have to do. i might spend a day or two in idylwild and maybe check out san jacincto peak before humphreys, but with all the friends i want to see, i really don't see that happening.
i'm still looking for hiking partners, particularly for humphries. let me know if you're interested. if you want to hike whitney with us then go ahead and secure a permit for yourself - there are a bunch left at $15 per person. for information on how to do this go here: http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/inyo/recreation/wild/permits_res/how_to.html. Be sure to ask for a dayhike permit for whitney on September 2nd. The more the merrier!!!
7-11 syndrome..
8/4/2004 01:42:07 PM
i like double gulps. 64 ounces - thats half a gallon - of a tasty carbonated beverage, usually diet pepsi. i like coke better than pepsi, but diet pepsi better than diet coke. and boy, do i have it down to a science. i have about ten double gulp cups that i keep either in the car (in queue to be used) or in the house (in queue to be washed). I keep the cups because you can get a refill of any sized drink for about a buck. at the 7-11 closest to my house its 96ยข for a refill, and i always give them a buck, usually on the way in, not the way out - if i gave them the buck on the way out, i would be obligated to stand in line. and since i'm a regular and always get the same thing - they know that when they see me to put out their hand for the dollar.
so i have this great system set up - and there's only one problem with my great system. it's going to kill me. think about it - how long can a guy live drinking a half gallon of who-knows-what chemicals every day for years? as a result, i am trying to cut back and become healthy. now life loves its petty ironies, and in this case the irony stems from the fact that on the way to the gym, which is three miles, i pass two 7-11s. each time i drive by it i feel like an addict being drawn to his drug - which actually isn't that far from the truth. the irony, of course, is that i get drawn to this drug while on the way to the gym - a place where i go to become healthy. and at the gym i put my body under certain stresses that make it crave even more the nice cold flavored water filled with toxins it doesn't recognize. today i've even gone to the point of filling a double gulp cup, complete with lid and straw, with cold water to suck on while 7-11 is drawing me towards its evil gates into a bastion of stuff that is not good for you.
i am, however, making progress. today i resisted the temptation. yesterday i was not in a temptation resisting mode, and i had two double gulps - that's a gallon of crap, kids. in fact, this week, in three days, i've had three double gulps - which is actually kind of a relapse from two weeks ago when i only had one in five days. it's still better than a couple of months ago when i was having ten a week - that's two a day, every day.. for a couple of months.
the gym is actually helping. despite the cravings induced by body stress, the healthy mindset that i get while working out, which includes visualization of me climbing big mountains, actually detracts from the urge to do harmful things to my body. indeed, yesterday in the midst of a gallon of tasty beverages i did not work out. so victory over my urges is imminent - if i can be persistent with the workouts - and perserverence, completion, and long-term goals are not exactly some of my strong points. but the great thing about working out is that the harder you work the body, the more mentally tough you get. and every day i'm getting a little better.
so i have this great system set up - and there's only one problem with my great system. it's going to kill me. think about it - how long can a guy live drinking a half gallon of who-knows-what chemicals every day for years? as a result, i am trying to cut back and become healthy. now life loves its petty ironies, and in this case the irony stems from the fact that on the way to the gym, which is three miles, i pass two 7-11s. each time i drive by it i feel like an addict being drawn to his drug - which actually isn't that far from the truth. the irony, of course, is that i get drawn to this drug while on the way to the gym - a place where i go to become healthy. and at the gym i put my body under certain stresses that make it crave even more the nice cold flavored water filled with toxins it doesn't recognize. today i've even gone to the point of filling a double gulp cup, complete with lid and straw, with cold water to suck on while 7-11 is drawing me towards its evil gates into a bastion of stuff that is not good for you.
i am, however, making progress. today i resisted the temptation. yesterday i was not in a temptation resisting mode, and i had two double gulps - that's a gallon of crap, kids. in fact, this week, in three days, i've had three double gulps - which is actually kind of a relapse from two weeks ago when i only had one in five days. it's still better than a couple of months ago when i was having ten a week - that's two a day, every day.. for a couple of months.
the gym is actually helping. despite the cravings induced by body stress, the healthy mindset that i get while working out, which includes visualization of me climbing big mountains, actually detracts from the urge to do harmful things to my body. indeed, yesterday in the midst of a gallon of tasty beverages i did not work out. so victory over my urges is imminent - if i can be persistent with the workouts - and perserverence, completion, and long-term goals are not exactly some of my strong points. but the great thing about working out is that the harder you work the body, the more mentally tough you get. and every day i'm getting a little better.
nothing like a little highpointing to cheer you up!
8/3/2004 02:39:44 PM
Be sure to check out the new trip reports on my highpointing page! Riz and I picked up three highpoints in one day: PA, MD, and
WV! Plus there are some typically wacky pictures there, too.
Hey all you CA people - I'm coming to visit ya! We're leaving on 8-23 and am effectively leaving on 9-3. For a few days before 9-3 I plan to do some hiking - Mt. Humphries in AZ, probably on the 31st, and then Mt. Whitney. Both are highpoints of their states, and if I'm successful, I'll be up to 15! Humphries is relatively easy at about 9 miles with 3500 feet of gain - going up to just over 12,000 feet. If I don't do well on it I won't even try Whitney which is almost 21 miles with 6750 ft. of gain. But if I do well on it, it'll work as an acclimization hike for Whitney, which at 14,494 feet is the highest point in the continental United States.
I am looking for hiking partners for both of these peaks. If you're interested, let me know as soon as possible because I have to secure permits for Whitney.
WV! Plus there are some typically wacky pictures there, too.
Hey all you CA people - I'm coming to visit ya! We're leaving on 8-23 and am effectively leaving on 9-3. For a few days before 9-3 I plan to do some hiking - Mt. Humphries in AZ, probably on the 31st, and then Mt. Whitney. Both are highpoints of their states, and if I'm successful, I'll be up to 15! Humphries is relatively easy at about 9 miles with 3500 feet of gain - going up to just over 12,000 feet. If I don't do well on it I won't even try Whitney which is almost 21 miles with 6750 ft. of gain. But if I do well on it, it'll work as an acclimization hike for Whitney, which at 14,494 feet is the highest point in the continental United States.
I am looking for hiking partners for both of these peaks. If you're interested, let me know as soon as possible because I have to secure permits for Whitney.
A test - of the emergency blogcast system
8/3/2004 02:11:52 PM
this may be a test, but why not write something anyway?
sometimes i just need to vent. yesterday i spent the entire day preparing with a meeting with my accountant. bookkeeping is not my idea of a good time, and it really wore me out, particularly since i didn't get it all done before the meeting. gee, i only had 7 months to do this. so here i am feeling shot, and a rival of mine decides to start stirring up shit with me on a message board. now i know better than to respond to these things. i know that it never works out quite the way you hope, even if you win. i know this. yet today i was not in the mood to just read crap like that and move on. and when the guy persisted after a simple innocent 'leave me alone' response, i did what i swore i would never do and did a two-paragraph response typical of your average flamewar. i feel a little better, but not really. i've still got accounting worries, business worries, and income worries. meanwhile, its the middle of summer and winter still seems ages off, so i'm just not in a great mood.
does billy joel still say "don't take any shit from anybody" at the end of his concerts?
sometimes i just need to vent. yesterday i spent the entire day preparing with a meeting with my accountant. bookkeeping is not my idea of a good time, and it really wore me out, particularly since i didn't get it all done before the meeting. gee, i only had 7 months to do this. so here i am feeling shot, and a rival of mine decides to start stirring up shit with me on a message board. now i know better than to respond to these things. i know that it never works out quite the way you hope, even if you win. i know this. yet today i was not in the mood to just read crap like that and move on. and when the guy persisted after a simple innocent 'leave me alone' response, i did what i swore i would never do and did a two-paragraph response typical of your average flamewar. i feel a little better, but not really. i've still got accounting worries, business worries, and income worries. meanwhile, its the middle of summer and winter still seems ages off, so i'm just not in a great mood.
does billy joel still say "don't take any shit from anybody" at the end of his concerts?
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