Reason #479 why I love Eugene. . .

The 2008 Whiteaker Block Party. It’s like a miniature Oregon Country Fair, with a dash of Burning Man energy.

Check-out the Eugene Weekly article, and my Flickr media.

Going off-the-grid. . .

I’ll be off-the-grid for the next two weeks.  Don’t worry, I’m not dead. . . I’m just not responding to email.   (I’ll be here).

Summer 2007 R.I.P.

The Boothe family was trekking through Kings Canyon National Park, while I was climbing with friends in LeConte Canyon. I rendezvoused with the Boothes in Big Pete Meadow, and we spent two days returning to civilization via Bishop Pass. Click here for photographs. Highlights include:

Swimming at 11,388 feet:

A gnarly climb above LeConte Canyon:

A birthday celebration for Boothe Senior:

Hooray.

Notes on Round Top Peak 10,381′

Kari and I enjoyed Labor Day in the Mokelumne Wilderness. Click the image below for more photographs:

Obscure notes for the future:

• There are two trailheads: Woods Lake and Carson Pass. The trail from Woods Lake is slightly shorter, but the trail from Carson Pass requires less climbing.
• Winnemucca Lake has plenty of camping spots, but the sites look heavily used. I think Round Top Lake has better (and more secluded) camping.
• The best swimming spots are along Lake Winnemucca’s west shore.
• The final climb to the summit is class-3 rock scramble.  This climb can be scary, especially with strong wind.

Dreams End

Eleven days of climbing, swimming, writing, dancing, and laughing: one of the best vacations of my life.

TRAGEDY AVERTED: In Kings Canyon National Park, a recent rockslide transformed my easy class-2 route into a treacherous class-4 climb. Potluck Pass was particularly unsafe. On several occasions, I lowered my pack with rope and free-descended exposed granite faces.  I was most terrified when I tumbled off a ledge and broke my trekking pole. In hindsight, this trip was reckless! The route from Dusy Basin to Palisade Lakes is not advisable to people without helmets and training. (Pictured below: the price of bad decision-making).

WONDERFUL PEOPLE: After my dance with danger, I vacated to San Diego. Annie and Erik are generous hosts, and leaving was difficult. I wish I could remain in the fantasyland of beach trips, graduate student parties, and perfect weather. . . but dreams end.

• Annie never fails to make me smile. She has a talent for building empires.
• Erik and his friends are beyond superlatives, but here are a few: gregarious, provocative, and perspicacious.
• I’m not sure which is more awesome: Grant’s endless supply of positive energy, or his coiffed hair.

(Pictured below: Erik rocks the summit of Mount San Jacinto.)

(Pictured below: My MacBook sports a label for Grant and Erik’s homebrew: Government Standoff Ginger IPA. Photo credit to Erik Pukinskis).

Adventures with Beef

Hey its Memorial Day, and John found a DELICIOUS steak marinade: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Devils-Steak-Sauce/Detail.aspx