Mt Whitney III

Day 3

We hit the trail at 3 AM, still black as the ace of spades.  I had a headlamp and led the way, taking it slow so nobody would stumble in the dark.  There was some moonlight after we left treeline so we picked up the pace a bit.  Patty stayed with us until full daylight, then dropped out and returned to camp.

L to R: Mary Kay, Patty, me, Pat; Steve took the picture.

About 10,000' altitude

We continued up the trail, taking short breaks every couple of hours, started really feeling the altitude above 12K, had mild headaches so kept it slow, took more breaks, drank more water.

Summit!

L to R: Mary Kay, Steve, me, Pat

We hit the summit around noon, took pix, ate our granola bars.  I found a flat spot, stretched out on the dirt and took a 20 minute nap.

The 'facility' at the summit was recently hit by lightning, was just a mess of sticks.

I thought it an excellent opportunity for me to parody The Thinker.

To be continued.

Mt Whitney II

Day 2

We called the RV owner at 9 AM, fridge still not fixed.  Called again an hour later; SOS.  We had to get rolling, couldn't wait any longer, so we called an RV rental place, checked out of the motel, drove to the rental place, did the paperwork, tossed our gear into the RV, returned the rental car, retrieved our groceries from the RV owner's home and, finally, hit the road.

En route we made a brief pit stop at Stovepipe Wells in Death Valley.  Pat wanted to buy a T-shirt like the one I'd bought in Death Valley several years prior, had Death Valley Yacht Club written on it, and a picture of a small boat mired in the sand.  They had numerous tourist T-shirts but no Yacht Clubs.  Eat your heart out, Bro.

We arrived at Whitney Portal Campground just before dusk, with barely enough time to locate the restrooms and trailhead before it became totally dark.  We settled in, stowed our gear and groceries and started preparing dinner.  We sacked out early, knowing we had a 2:30 AM wake up call.  And, also knowing that with only 8 hours of acclimation time vs the 36 hours we'd planned on, altitude sickness might be a problem.

Mt Whitney

Mt Whitney, at 14,505' altitude, is the highest peak in the continental USA.  Thus, it seemed a good candidate for the crowning achievement of my mountain climbing days.  I started investigating the particulars in early 1990, intending to do the climb the coming summer.  Knowing it was really just a long hike (if done in summer) instead of a climb - no technical expertise or special equipment required - I planned to invite family members to join me.

There were two small camping areas well above treeline that had a few spots cleared for backpack-sized tents.  Establishing a base camp and spending the first night in one of those areas was desirable because you could do the climb in 2 days instead of 1, and get well acclimated to the high altitude before going for the summit.   But: you had to reserve a campsite a year in advance.  Given the timing, no way was I gonna get one of those spots, much less 2 or 3 for my fellow climbers.

Whitney Portal Campground at 8100' elevation was the only other viable starting-point.   Portal/summit/Portal is 22 miles with an elevation gain/loss of 6405'.  Challenging but doable - with the fringe benefit of not having to schlep camping gear several miles uphill.  And back down again.

I sent out feelers to family members and got 3 takers: my brother Pat, and siblings Mary Kay and Steve, niece and nephew.  We set the dates, and I reserved 3 nights at Portal Campground: 2 nights to get altitude acclimated before the climb, plus the night of the climb.  I rented a sleeps-six motorhome from a private party in Las Vegas.  We'd all arrive in Vegas on the same day, Mary Kay flying in from Beijing, Pat and Steve from the Twin Cities, Patty (my ex) and I from Portland.  Patty was along for the ride, would not attempt to summit.

We arrived on schedule, took a taxi to the home of the RV owner, stowed our gear in the motorhome, and went grocery shopping before driving to Portal.  And then disaster struck: the motorhome fridge didn't work.  We returned the RV to the owner, who tried to get the fridge going but failed.  He said he'd get it fixed early the next day.  So, no choice really: spend the night in Vegas and lose a day of acclimation at Portal.  So be it.  We rented a car and a couple motel rooms, went out for dinner and, at Steve's insistence (first time in Vegas), sat through a lackluster topless girly show.

To be continued.

Poker Run

It's the 17th Annual Poker Run in LHC this week.  They had a boat parade Friday morning so I went down and took some pix.  London Bridge bridges The Channel, which was built so London Bridge had something to bridge.  The Channel converted a peninsula into an island, and now provides a perfect venue for boaters and spring-breakers to party hearty and to display their ink, muscles, boobs and butts - only a very few of which merit displaying.

Looking north at the boat slips near London Bridge.

It's tricky, maneuvering a 40' boat out of the slip.

The folks sitting on the bows of the boats are there to nudge 

the orange monster out of harm's way if need be

 Above and below, a select few of the larger racing boats.

These boats haul ass big time, have been clocked up to 170 MPH in this race.

Above: looking north, London Bridge in background.

Below: looking south, Cupcake Mountain in background, news chopper in air.

Above and below, boats jockey for position at the south entrance to the channel.

Swimming area in background, no boats allowed.

Above and below, back in the channel, two more biggies.

Boat above gets my vote for most original paint job.

I'm clueless as to prizes or other incentives in the Poker Run and Shootout competitions but they must be substantial.  These big mothers require custom trailers for transport, large diesel trucks to tow them and high-priced racing fuel.  Add maintenance, storage, insurance, and so on and you got yourself a hobby that requires deep pockets - or big name sponsors.

If you're interested in details about the event, here's a link: 

https://www.google.com/search?q=lake+havasu+poker+run+2015&oq=La&aqs=chrome.0.69i59j69i60j69i61j69i60j69i59j69i57.2787j0j7&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=93&ie=UTF-8

Clown

It seems I'm quite fond of the color orange.  Admittedly, I strayed off the (semi-abstract) path with this painting.  Saw a picture of a clownfish, liked it a lot, so what the hell.  We should not be shackled to a single style or genre, now should we?  Especially shackles of our own making.  I didn't completely lose it though: the background is abstracted.

Clown

Acrylic on Canvas

11" x 14"

Yeah, it's a clownfish, one of the most colorful fishes often seen while snorkeling in tropical waters.  They come in lots of different color combinations.  The dominant color is usually orange but the bands can be blue, green, purple or red.  One type has a paint job similar to a Holstein cow.  

This is a rare type.  Absolutely beautiful!

Xanthan Gum II

Here it is, a cream colored powder, the consistency of flour.

Trish said to get the smallest amount possible.  No choice, only one size on the shelf.

The small print on the front reads: Xanthan Gum is made from the outer layer of a tiny, inactive, bacterium called Xanthomonas Campestris (you already knew that, right?).  It is an excellent all-purpose thickener for dressings, gravies and sauces.  Its unique ability to hold small particles of food together makes it the ideal substitute for gluten in gluten-free baking.

Outer layer, it said.  In other words, epidermis.  Skin.  How the hell do you skin a tiny, inactive, bacterium?  Yeah, yeah, I know: very carefully!  But - ever so much easier than skinning active bacterium.  Those little buggers skitter around like a drop of water on a hot griddle.  Catching them is a real bitch.  Then you have to hog-tie 'em, get 'em under the microscope, skin 'em out, and release 'em back into the wild so they can grow a new outer layer. 

XG has numerous uses and we've all used it numerous times.  It's in cosmetics, shampoo, toothpaste, salad dressing, sauces, ice cream and, get this: it's a critical component of (oil) drilling mud. There you have it: everything you never knew (and couldn't care less that you didn't know) about XG.  Now, go forth and amaze your friends with your new found knowledge. 

Xanthan Gum

The grocery list
poppy seeds
xanthan gum
3-pack of yeast
Blue Bunny vanilla bean froyo
deodorant

Hmmm, xanthan gum.  That's a new one.  Sure, I'd heard of it, vaguely recalled seeing it included in the ingredients of several common food items.  Never bought any, though.  Trish is gonna bake gluten-free bread for an upcoming potluck and XG is one of the ingredients.  Ever the smart ass, I asked Trish if I'd find it beside the Juicy Fruit.  Got a chuckle out of her.

Went to Smith's, figured XG would be in the spices/bakery aisle.  Found the poppy seeds and yeast, no problem, but no XG.  A pleasant looking woman (hereinafter known as HL, Helpful Lady) was perusing the spices, asked her if she knew where it might be, "No.  Never heard of it.  What is it?"  I told HL what little I knew about it.  She must have been intrigued because she promptly abandoned the spices, and accompanied me down the aisle to the baking section (I'd already looked there twice).  We struck out.

I thanked HL for her time, left the area, went and found a young woman (YW) who worked in the bakery department.  She'd never heard of it, either.  YW and I returned to the bakery section, and there was HL, still doggedly searching the shelves.  HL grabbed another employee, a young guy (YG), who was just wandering by.  YG said, "It's in the nutrition section."  Off we paraded, YG in the lead, me closely behind, HL and YW bringing up the rear.  Sure enough, there it was.  "You da man!" said I to YG.  I thanked HL and YW for their efforts, and continued my shopping.

Later: where the hell did they hide the men's deodorant?  It wasn't in the pharmacy or cosmetics areas.  In desperation, I turned down the aisle marked HER'S.  And, there was HL, all smiles, either delighted to see me again or still pumped from our successful quest for the elusive XG.  She asked another woman (AW), who was standing nearby, if she'd ever heard of XG.  AW had heard of it but didn't know much about it, either.  I explained for the 4th time (or 5th or 6th, lost track) what it was used for and why I needed it.

I continued down the HER'S aisle and, wouldn't you know it, found men's deodorant at the very end.  Grabbed what I wanted, reversed course, walked by AW (HL had disappeared).  AW said, "Good luck with your baking!".  I replied, "I'm not baking.  She is."  And I'm soooo outta here!

To be continued.