for the record...: August 2007

I keep waiting to get better pictures, but I think I should just post the ones I have. My new favorite thing to do is whitewater kayaking. Here's my boat:

I joined a local kayak club, which, like Sequoia Mountain Rescue, has proven an invaluable resource for like-minded enthusiasts with the knowledge and experience to enjoy the outdoors as safely as possible. They have a website with some great video clips of local Sierra rivers. You can check it out at http://www.kayak559.com/. I've made a few friends already. I've been practicing my roll and other techniques in the swimming pool at home and I'm getting more comfortable in class II and III water. (If you've ever rafted, it's an entirely different proposition when you're sitting much lower in a six-and-a-half foot boat.) Here's a few pictures of a section of the Kings river I ran on Tuesday.

I'm still enjoying the opportunity to be involved with SMR. This month's training was at Buck Rock in Kings Canyon National Park. There's a fire tower there which is basically a one room cabin perched high upon a granite spire. The forest service and volunteers have manned it every season since the early 1900's, I believe. You can climb the stairs and check it out, which is pretty amazing. The volunteer fire spotter explained to us that the wooden stool with glass capacitor-type things attached to the four feet was to be sat on in the middle of the room during lightning storms. Now THAT would be an experience!

Anyway, for our one-day training we practiced low angle litter skills and rounded out the day with some rock climbing nearby. I climbed a section of rock more difficult than anything I had climbed before. It was a rush! At the crux, I hissed "watch me!" to my belayer, which is climber lingo for "I'm about to fall and you better be ready to catch me," but I managed to find a hand hold with my left hand just as my right was about to give out. I don't have climbing pictures yet, but here's a few of the low angle litter evac scenarios we reviewed that morning.

I got back today from a short mountaineering trip I took with two friends from SMR. Chuck and Ed are both in their fifties and are in incredible shape. As I sit here typing this, I'm dealing with some serious muscle soreness! Anyway, the objective of this trip was to climb Split Mountain, one of CA's fifteen mountains over 14,000'. Split is located on the East side of the Sierra, only about 70 air miles from Visalia, but to get there we had to drive through Walker Pass, about four hours and a couple hundred miles each way. Thursday we made it to the trail head (an experience in itself- 45 minutes of bone-rattling off-roading), and climbed 4,000 feet to our base camp at Red Lake. Friday we started early and climbed another 4,000 feet, making the summit by 11:30 am. The route we took is classified as class III, which basically means that we were doing a lot of scrambling over steep rock, talus, and loose scree, but it was possible to do without technical gear. That's not to say that you couldn't tumble for a long ways if you slipped, and one section in particular had what Ed described as a serious "pucker factor." =). We returned to base camp yesterday afternoon exhilarated but exhausted, and went to bed early, hiking out and driving home today. The legendary sierra weather was true to form, with clear skies and moderate temps the entire time. I walked on a glacier and drank untreated water from its runoff, which was a first! It was a great trip, and although I've been up a couple of fourteeners in Colorado, this was my first in CA. I certainly hope it's not my last!

East face of Split

closer

Ed topping off his water bladder from the glacial runoff.

The area in the valley that looks like gravel with ripples in it is a glacial moraine. Pretty amazing- I've never seen one before. (mo·raine, n. An accumulation of boulders, stones, or other debris carried and deposited by a glacier. )

Summit shot. I got really agressive with the sunblock, lip balm, and hydration, and I felt pretty good overall. Slight headache above 13,000', which is pretty normal. Camping at over 10,000' helped us to acclimate.