Back into the mountains

Aside from a couple of days in Tuolumne, it had been a while since I had done anything in the Sierra. Luckily I had a chance to get back into the mountains due to a last minute change of plans. As I left Tatum's gymnastics competition in Burbank at about 9 o'clock Saturday night, I got a message from my climbing partner that she had to cancel our plans to climb at Tahquitz the next day. No problem. After thinking through several options, I decided to head north to get into something. As I drove home to pack up the car, I had pretty much decided on Mt Langley. After being weathered out by a snow storm on Mt Langley during a winter attempt on the North Face a couple of years ago, I had been wanting to get back to do a route on that side of the mountain. But having seen photos that a friend shared from his trip up the standard hiking route I decided that it might not be a bad way to enjoy a day in the mountains.

Usually I'm pretty good about getting things packed and hitting the road. I know where everything is, and it just works. That is until the phone rings...and I decide to jump online to help out a friend who needs some info and can't get to a computer. 11:30 PM hits and I'm finally out the door. A Java Monster and Mountain Dew later, I'm at the trailhead, daypack ready for an early departure, and I'm finally ready to get some sleep in the back of the Pathfinder at 2:30 in the morning.

5 AM. Is that really my alarm? I hit the snooze and hope it doesn't work. Five minutes later and I'm hearing that annoying alarm again. I tell myself that this just isn't going to happen but convince myself to set the alarm for 6 and see how I'm feeling then. Something wakes me up a little before 6 and as I'm trying to go back to sleep I tell myself that I'm much better off sleeping in, taking it easy, and maybe going for a short dayhike whenever I decided to get out of bed. After all, afternoon thunderstorms are in the forecast, so it was a pretty easy argument! That is until I realize its another hiker in the car next to me throwing on his pack and hitting the trail. OK, so maybe I should just get up and go. As I roll out of the sleeping bag I realize I'm still not totally convinced. After a quick breakfast of Pop Tarts and another Java Monster I hit the trail at 6:30 AM.

The hike really was spectacular. Fall colors were everywhere as I approached Cottonwood Lakes on my way to Old Army Pass. The lack of summer crowds was entirely welcome! The slog up Old Army Pass followed a trail the entire way and from there the way to the summit was obvious from all of the traffic along this route. At 11:30 I was on top of Mt Langley, just over 14,ooo ft high. After taking the obligatory photos from the summit, it was back to the car for me. A casual pace got me back at right about 2:30 PM as the afternoon thunderstorms moved in. I had passed a few people along the way, but for the most part had the entire place to myself. Not a bad way to spend a day in the mountains!

The Last Season

"There are times occasionally in life when great changes occur and then nothing is ever the same again. Things never stay just the same, any time. Change seems to be one of the few certainties in life. Just as well. But while we look forward eagerly to what is to come, we can thoughtfully appreciate the good that has been and what we have at the moment." - Esther Morgenson

Just finished a book that a good friend gave to me - The Last Season, the story of Randy Morgenson. Randy was a backcountry ranger who disappeared while on patrol in SEKI National Park back in 1996. No more info on the book, but it was excellent! The reviews I had read about it ahead of time were right on. I highly recommend it.

So if you've actually been following the "day in the life" blog from its beginning, you probably noticed that "change" has been on my mind a bit. The quote above is from The Last Season and it definitely struck a nerve when I read it...I've been so anxious for change in my life that now that it has finally happened, I've wondered if at any point I'd regret making the decisions I've made. Well at this point, I can certainly say that there are no regrets at this point. I've been able to witness several situations already that have improved greatly since I committed to the way things currently are, and I couldn't be more pleased. While things certainly won't be perfect for a bit, the improvement just over the past two months has been pretty awesome. But enough about that for now...

I've been in the new apartment for almost two weeks now. It has taken a bit of getting used to after living in a house for the past ten years or so. Not bad, though. Just need to remember I have neighbors on the other side of the wall and below me! I believe the moving is done. Some things are left in the garage at the house, but I think most of them will be sold off at an upcoming yard sale. We'll see how that goes, because the other option is to get a storage unit. Not something I'm exactly eager to do right now. I've also met each of my attached neighbors in my apartment building over the past week and a half, and they've all been quite friendly. This may not seem odd to some, but after almost five years in the house, I still hadn't met more than a handful of our neighbors! Its actually kind of nice to know who is living beside you!

I also finally got out climbing again last night....well kind of...went to the climbing gym in LA. Not the type of climbing I truly enjoy, but at least I got a good workout in. I'm meeting a friend there again tonight, so two nights of climbing this week! Woo hoo! Or something like that...hopefully I'll make it to Tahquitz this weekend for some real fun! And maybe then I'll have some new photos to post!

The move

It was a very busy weekend. Change in my life continued this past weekend as I moved into a new apartment. The boys got their first look at the place on Saturday and said "wow this place is small." Funny how 6 year olds can catch onto things! But small is good. It's my own place, and that more than makes up for its lack of space, a garage, and a yard. After two full days of moving, almost all of my stuff was out of the house and into the apartment by Sunday evening. Of course I didn't sleep much this weekend, but its not like that's a new phenomenon! A few bigger items got moved last night and I finally cleaned the refrigerator that a good friend hooked me up with. Pretty awesome to get to use a fridge for awhile, since I definitely don't want to make a big purchase like that right now. There is enough that I need to get.

Sunday night I took a break from arranging things in the apartment and headed to the store to pick up a few things that I needed around the house. A full shopping cart later, I was heading back to the apartment. I did manage to find some good deals, like the $35 vacuum cleaner and the futon that was on sale. I've been looking for either a sleeper sofa or a futon, and the price was right on the futon, so that's the route I took.

All in all, the place is coming along nicely. Hopefully by this weekend I'll actually have the place presentable, but we'll see what the next few nights have in store for me!

One of these days I'll get some photos posted, but that is kind of on the backburner for now...

Change is here

For those that have been closely involved in my life for the past several years, it has been pretty obvious that change in my life has been pretty much inevitable. Well change has begun. A new job is one step forward. Last Thursday was my final day at the old job and Monday I began a new adventure with a new company. While not the same type of adventures that Justin and Ira are enjoying right now, I'm actually looking forward to getting to work in the new job and hopefully enjoying the challenge of being the new guy again!