Mexico Volcanoes Itinerary
Dec. 22: Fly from Charlotte, NC, to Mexico City, Mexico; stay in Mexico City (2200m)
Dec. 23: Bus to Amecameca; stay at the base of Iztaccihuatl in the sleepy town of Amecameca to acclimatize (2300m)
Dec. 24: Collectivo (public transport in a tiny, crowded microbus--super cheap and always a memorable experience) to Paso de Cortes; spend the night between Paso de Cortes and La Joya (3600m)
Dec. 25: Hike to La Joya; stay at Izta base camp hut (4000m) or head up to high camp (4300m)
Dec. 26: Summit Iztaccihuatl - 5230 metres! Find our way back to Amecameca and take a bus to Puebla.
Dec. 27: Bus from Puebla to Tlachichuca. Hit up the markets for mountain food, and spend the night in Tlachichuca.
Dec. 28: 4x4 drive up to the base of Pico de Orizaba. Spend the night at Piedra Grande (4300m).
Dec. 29: Rest, recon, and crevasse rescue practice. Hike up to high camp (4900m) or opt to stay at Piedra Grande again.
Dec. 30: Summit Pico de Orizaba - 5636 metres! Roll back to Tlachichuca for the evening.
Dec. 31: Bus to Mexico City. Party up the city for the ano nuevo celebration.
Jan. 1: Check out cool historical/touristy stuff around Mexico City.
Jan. 2: Jaunt just outside Mexico City to Teochitlan, the ancient Aztec pyramid ruins.
Jan. 3: Fly to Charlotte, NC, EEUU.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Sunday, December 6, 2009
An obsession for the shoulder season
Black Mountain trailhead to the summit of Black Mountain (via - you guessed it- the Black Mountain trail) in under 48 minutes.
2500'ish elevation gain in 4.3 miles.
I did a variation of this run 2 weeks ago, going all the way up to the top of Black, back down to Maxwell, and then along Avery Creek road and 276/Exercise Trail back to the BM trailhead. In 1:56!
Black Mountain, you are mine.
2500'ish elevation gain in 4.3 miles.
I did a variation of this run 2 weeks ago, going all the way up to the top of Black, back down to Maxwell, and then along Avery Creek road and 276/Exercise Trail back to the BM trailhead. In 1:56!
Black Mountain, you are mine.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Ahhhhhh
It can be done. It will be done better next year.
All-you-can-eat-Pisgah weekend
Day #1: Shut-in Trail Race - 5500'+ of ascent with 2000'+ of descent and probably the coolest running race I have ever done. In what other race does the 4-time winner adorn tubes socks and rock a blond mullet? One can also find a high degree of novelty in the idea of running from Asheville to Mount Pisgah. Thank you to Thad for the phenomenal support, Bill for his dry humor, and Natalie for being awesome.
Day #2: Swank 65 - 5600'+ of ascent. Why should I race the trails that I could ride anytime in any way that I so choose?...Why not? The fabulous: clear blue skies, my beloved Pisgah in all its glory, surprisingly good strength in legs, watching a drunk Geoff haul ass and hydroplane a Prius through Cove Creek. The not so good: leg cramps for the first time ever followed by severe dehydration and then moderate hyponatremia. (I drank 178 oz of fluids on Sunday and still managed to lose 1.5 lbs of water weight. Insane!) The saving grace: people! I am much obliged to Denise for being incredibly great, enthusiastic, and encouraging. More thanks go out to Thad, Wes, the Gloucester and Daniel Ridge crews, Todd & Heather, and all of the cool, badass women - Jess, Shanna, Alison- who represented the 828 con fuerza. Let's go ride!
What is next?
Random acts of play (ongoing)
Assorted CX races (November)
Volcanoes of Mexico (December)
....?....
All-you-can-eat-Pisgah weekend
Day #1: Shut-in Trail Race - 5500'+ of ascent with 2000'+ of descent and probably the coolest running race I have ever done. In what other race does the 4-time winner adorn tubes socks and rock a blond mullet? One can also find a high degree of novelty in the idea of running from Asheville to Mount Pisgah. Thank you to Thad for the phenomenal support, Bill for his dry humor, and Natalie for being awesome.
Day #2: Swank 65 - 5600'+ of ascent. Why should I race the trails that I could ride anytime in any way that I so choose?...Why not? The fabulous: clear blue skies, my beloved Pisgah in all its glory, surprisingly good strength in legs, watching a drunk Geoff haul ass and hydroplane a Prius through Cove Creek. The not so good: leg cramps for the first time ever followed by severe dehydration and then moderate hyponatremia. (I drank 178 oz of fluids on Sunday and still managed to lose 1.5 lbs of water weight. Insane!) The saving grace: people! I am much obliged to Denise for being incredibly great, enthusiastic, and encouraging. More thanks go out to Thad, Wes, the Gloucester and Daniel Ridge crews, Todd & Heather, and all of the cool, badass women - Jess, Shanna, Alison- who represented the 828 con fuerza. Let's go ride!
What is next?
Random acts of play (ongoing)
Assorted CX races (November)
Volcanoes of Mexico (December)
....?....
Monday, November 2, 2009
Report o' Ventures
Rivers
For the last 2 months, part of my job entailed reconnoitering rivers around Spartanburg County. We discovered a surprising amount of whitewater, most of it in the class I+ to class II+/III- range. A group of folks and I paddled section 3 of the Chattooga at 2.6 ft -- what a blast! I also managed to get in a very minute amount of paddling on Translyvania streams including the Upper Upper Davidson, East Fork of the French Broad, and a short section of Looking Glass Creek (the latter being frighteningly wood-choked). Next on the list: North Fork of the French Broad. If only one could time torrential rains with days off work...
Trails
Running: Numerous 1.25-2.5 hours runs were had, mostly with a combination of North Slope and the glorious Exercise Trail. I tried running laps on the Art Loeb-North Slope loop but found nirvana after eschewing the North Slope connector. The trail delivers fabulous terrain from the NS connector to Cat Gap. It makes me really want to run the whole Art Loeb again. Running for hours through breathtaking scenery and complete solitude clears the mind and tests the soul.
Bike: Running has taken over my life! I did head out on a cool 30-mile ride with some Asheville folks a few weeks ago. Starting at North Mills: 1206->Laurel-> unmarked Sassafras connector-> Big Creek-> neverending road-> FS 5000-> Spencer Ridge-> Trace Ridge->back out to FS5000 and to cars. Other than double-flatting for the second time ever, the ride was great. Otherwise, I have been enjoying the simple things of life that are often taken for granted...like Daniel Ridge, Caney Bottom (only ride up), and Sycamore Cove.
Grass
There is only one time of the year I can tolerate riding on turf and that is....CYCLOCROSS SEASON! The CX season opened in the first weekend of October. I blew up and crashed hard during the first race, thus leading to a 6th place finish (which should have been a 4th). With a throbbing shoulder, I raced much smarter the second day only to finish in the exact same place. The field, however, was much stronger the second day with Carla and Beth finishing a predictable 1-2. The 45-minute Pro/1/2/3 race is definitely tougher than the 30-minute CX4 event! Whew! Cyclocross is so freaking awesome.
For the last 2 months, part of my job entailed reconnoitering rivers around Spartanburg County. We discovered a surprising amount of whitewater, most of it in the class I+ to class II+/III- range. A group of folks and I paddled section 3 of the Chattooga at 2.6 ft -- what a blast! I also managed to get in a very minute amount of paddling on Translyvania streams including the Upper Upper Davidson, East Fork of the French Broad, and a short section of Looking Glass Creek (the latter being frighteningly wood-choked). Next on the list: North Fork of the French Broad. If only one could time torrential rains with days off work...
Trails
Running: Numerous 1.25-2.5 hours runs were had, mostly with a combination of North Slope and the glorious Exercise Trail. I tried running laps on the Art Loeb-North Slope loop but found nirvana after eschewing the North Slope connector. The trail delivers fabulous terrain from the NS connector to Cat Gap. It makes me really want to run the whole Art Loeb again. Running for hours through breathtaking scenery and complete solitude clears the mind and tests the soul.
Bike: Running has taken over my life! I did head out on a cool 30-mile ride with some Asheville folks a few weeks ago. Starting at North Mills: 1206->Laurel-> unmarked Sassafras connector-> Big Creek-> neverending road-> FS 5000-> Spencer Ridge-> Trace Ridge->back out to FS5000 and to cars. Other than double-flatting for the second time ever, the ride was great. Otherwise, I have been enjoying the simple things of life that are often taken for granted...like Daniel Ridge, Caney Bottom (only ride up), and Sycamore Cove.
Grass
There is only one time of the year I can tolerate riding on turf and that is....CYCLOCROSS SEASON! The CX season opened in the first weekend of October. I blew up and crashed hard during the first race, thus leading to a 6th place finish (which should have been a 4th). With a throbbing shoulder, I raced much smarter the second day only to finish in the exact same place. The field, however, was much stronger the second day with Carla and Beth finishing a predictable 1-2. The 45-minute Pro/1/2/3 race is definitely tougher than the 30-minute CX4 event! Whew! Cyclocross is so freaking awesome.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Blah
I'm pretty sure that God has no interest in me whining via this blog.
My laptop died a month ago. Then, Thad hijacked the laptop for a weeklong trip to Cali.
The Verizon aircard ceased to function last week. Now, Thad's blackberry is on the fritz.
Fine.
We are going to Mexico for winter vacation. Sweet! A multi-peak venture next summer to the Washington Cascades could come into focus, too. I have been dying to go to Nepal for roughly 11 years now, and plane tickets are cheaper than ever. A slight problem: I really like my job (minus the commute and other issues not discussed in the public forum). Local government does NOT do sabbatical leave. Heck, I was told last week that sick leave is a "priv-il-edge". The Himalayan obsession, therefore, continues from afar.
My laptop died a month ago. Then, Thad hijacked the laptop for a weeklong trip to Cali.
The Verizon aircard ceased to function last week. Now, Thad's blackberry is on the fritz.
Fine.
We are going to Mexico for winter vacation. Sweet! A multi-peak venture next summer to the Washington Cascades could come into focus, too. I have been dying to go to Nepal for roughly 11 years now, and plane tickets are cheaper than ever. A slight problem: I really like my job (minus the commute and other issues not discussed in the public forum). Local government does NOT do sabbatical leave. Heck, I was told last week that sick leave is a "priv-il-edge". The Himalayan obsession, therefore, continues from afar.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Sometimes it rains...
and sometimes it pours.
>>Flood warning for Transylvania County until 8:00PM Monday.
* PROLONGED MODERATE TO HEAVY RAIN WILL CONTINUE TO PUSH STREAMS AND SMALLER RIVERS OUT OF THEIR BANKS IN THE FLOOD WATCH AREA. SOME MAIN STEM RIVERS WILL ALSO EXPERIENCE FLOODING. WHILE FLASH FLOODING IS NOT EXPECTED TO BE WIDESPREAD... HEAVIER SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS COULD STILL RESULT IN A FEW AREAS OF RAPID ONSET FLOODING.
Bring it.
>>Flood warning for Transylvania County until 8:00PM Monday.
* PROLONGED MODERATE TO HEAVY RAIN WILL CONTINUE TO PUSH STREAMS AND SMALLER RIVERS OUT OF THEIR BANKS IN THE FLOOD WATCH AREA. SOME MAIN STEM RIVERS WILL ALSO EXPERIENCE FLOODING. WHILE FLASH FLOODING IS NOT EXPECTED TO BE WIDESPREAD... HEAVIER SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS COULD STILL RESULT IN A FEW AREAS OF RAPID ONSET FLOODING.
Bring it.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
I will never give up again. Ever.
Saturday: Sprint triathlon - 500m lake swim (awesome!), 17 mile road bike (very rolling, very fun ride through the beautiful valley below Rumbling Bald), 5k run (hilly=ouch. I blew up, gave up, and dropped from 7th overall to 17th. Lack of perseverance led to anger and a rather painful decision that shall be discussed at a later time.)
Sunday: Run 1 hour. North Slope + Art Loeb flats along the Davidson.
Monday: Road 1 hour. Mellow.
Tuesday: Run 5k @23:34. Not my best by any means but much, much better than Sunday's tri fiasco.
Wednesday: Swim 2100 yards. Pumped out a 750 yd swim at 11:32 and beat up on the old man who always tries desperately -yet, admirably, with great persistance- to keep up with me. Sorry, dude. "Ain't no one gon' stop me now."
Thursday: Run 3:57. As in almost 4 hours. This [extremely off-the-couch] initial foray on the shut-in ridge progressed incredibly well until the final 1.25-1.5 miles where Little Pisgah Mountain promptly destroyed my soul. Actually, it wasn't that bad. Well, it was but my soul remains intact.
Friday: Mountain bike 2.25 hours. UP Cove Creek-> 225-> DR Connector-> Daniel Ridge-> 475-> 471-> 471D-> Butter Gap-> Long Branch-> back up 475 to Gloucester and back down to Cove Creek. My legs felt up to the challenge of Farlow and the final Caney Bottom loop. Farlow Gap is just such a stupid trail, though, and it's much more interesting to ride it when conditions are leafy, wet, and heinous.
Saturday: Road 3 hrs with Thad. Jell-o thighs here. As in not jiggly but having zero strength and being uncontrollable with movement. Thad tolerated me, though. He is wonderful.
Sunday: Mountain bike 1 hour, with about 20 minutes of looking up mushrooms in my mycology book. Daniel Ridge spawns great fungi!
Monday: Mountain bike 3.75 hours. Shop-> 276-> 475-> 229-> no name-> Farlow Gap-> Daniel Ridge-> 475-> Cove Creek Rd-> Daniel Ridge Connector-> Joe Jackson Falls-> back out to 475-> Davidson River-> 475-> 276. Maybe 36-38 miles? Many thanks go out to whomever has been working on Farlow--it was in phenomenal shape (minus the very top section which is extremely eroded--this seems to be the case in other area trails like Butter Gap). AMAZING ride!
Sunday: Run 1 hour. North Slope + Art Loeb flats along the Davidson.
Monday: Road 1 hour. Mellow.
Tuesday: Run 5k @23:34. Not my best by any means but much, much better than Sunday's tri fiasco.
Wednesday: Swim 2100 yards. Pumped out a 750 yd swim at 11:32 and beat up on the old man who always tries desperately -yet, admirably, with great persistance- to keep up with me. Sorry, dude. "Ain't no one gon' stop me now."
Thursday: Run 3:57. As in almost 4 hours. This [extremely off-the-couch] initial foray on the shut-in ridge progressed incredibly well until the final 1.25-1.5 miles where Little Pisgah Mountain promptly destroyed my soul. Actually, it wasn't that bad. Well, it was but my soul remains intact.
Friday: Mountain bike 2.25 hours. UP Cove Creek-> 225-> DR Connector-> Daniel Ridge-> 475-> 471-> 471D-> Butter Gap-> Long Branch-> back up 475 to Gloucester and back down to Cove Creek. My legs felt up to the challenge of Farlow and the final Caney Bottom loop. Farlow Gap is just such a stupid trail, though, and it's much more interesting to ride it when conditions are leafy, wet, and heinous.
Saturday: Road 3 hrs with Thad. Jell-o thighs here. As in not jiggly but having zero strength and being uncontrollable with movement. Thad tolerated me, though. He is wonderful.
Sunday: Mountain bike 1 hour, with about 20 minutes of looking up mushrooms in my mycology book. Daniel Ridge spawns great fungi!
Monday: Mountain bike 3.75 hours. Shop-> 276-> 475-> 229-> no name-> Farlow Gap-> Daniel Ridge-> 475-> Cove Creek Rd-> Daniel Ridge Connector-> Joe Jackson Falls-> back out to 475-> Davidson River-> 475-> 276. Maybe 36-38 miles? Many thanks go out to whomever has been working on Farlow--it was in phenomenal shape (minus the very top section which is extremely eroded--this seems to be the case in other area trails like Butter Gap). AMAZING ride!
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