Mercury Rising

Once again I was duped. Brian told me it would be a great idea to wake up at four in the morning (on a Saturday no less), get in the car, and drive three hours to fish in a shallow creek just outside Erie, Pennsylvania. The plan was to try and catch Steelhead trout that were running back up the creek to spawn. I decided to go because I thought it’d be worth the experience and after all, Brian only goes big.

Daylight was just starting to break when we got into the stream. There were people everywhere. It was elbow-to-elbow on the upper reaches of the creek but we weren’t discouraged since there was plenty of water to explore. The morning got off to a slow start but eventually we found some quality pockets that were willing to give up the fish. After that, the day (and the fishing) got better.

For all intents and purposes we got lucky. We got onto some fish; a lot of fish. The sweet symphony of fly line being ripped off the reel as a fish runs for deeper water (or safety) is something that resonates indelibly. Of course landing the fish that sends you on a twenty minute “tour of the creek” is also something to savor. We decided to keep a few fish but we threw most of them back. It turned out to be a great trip with fantastic fishing. It was a long day but when you're crushing the trout it's completely worth it.

The Great Vacation Sham

As my loyal readers know I was just recently on vacation. A vacation, by definition, is a break from work where you’re suppose to rest, relax, recreate, or do whatever you want. It’s a chance to leave your normal nine to fiver behind and spend time doing something of your choosing. That’s all well and good, but I’ve recently discovered a major flaw with this approach. Work doesn’t stop while you’re on vacation; you just stop doing work.

Every time I return from a vacation I inevitably say, “I could really use another vacation.” This is usually because the amount of work waiting for me when I return is double what it would have been had I not taken my vacation in the first place. It seems like a rather back-handed reward for spending time away trying to relax and leave your normal responsibilities behind.

I don’t know, maybe I’m over thinking this, maybe I’m being unrealistic, or maybe I’m finally coming to the conclusion that the world doesn’t revolve around me and everything continues even when I choose to take a break for a little while. Whatever the case may be, here are some additional pictures from the big trip to New Mexico. I’d like to write more, but I need to get back to work.

Changing Seasons

Now that the snowboarding season is all but over, it’s time to get back into the riding season. Sure I’ve already done a road ride (on a wicked cold day in the snow) but until recently it’s been tough to get into the trails because of the snow and ice on the forest roads. I recovered enough from my bout of illness last week to get out, but I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy day so I didn’t have big expectations.

Before saddling up on our bikes, we decided to help out and build some trail with the local mountain bike club. I spend plenty of time throughout the year riding trails but I often take for granted the hard work that goes into creating the sweet singletrack that gives me so much pleasure. Most of the trail work involved clearing the rocks that Mother Nature scattered along the proposed route and then putting them back in a less random order so they could be ridden. It wasn’t rocket science, but it was still hard work.

After about six hours of trail building it warmed up enough to actually start riding. Unfortunately I was sufficiently tired and didn’t have a lot of energy. Since this was the first mountain bike ride of the season for all of us (Cathy, Alison, and I) and no one was feeling in top form, we decided to do a short loop and that was okay by me. We were only out for about two hours but that was plenty. I was a little rusty in the rock gardens but at least my lungs held up. It was a good day all around and I’m looking forward to a solid season of riding in the woods.

Vacation & Health; Part II

I don’t consider myself a liar but in my last post I may have stretched the truth a bit. I said something about getting back out and getting into some fresh powder while enjoying the last few days of my New Mexico vacation. I was wrong.

The bottom line is I got my ass handed to me. I thought I’d be able to rally from my cocktail of illnesses and get some more riding in but that was not the case. Instead, I got to spend the last three days of my vacation in the town of Taos. Honestly, that’s not as exciting as it sounds. Taos is at a mild elevation (about 6,900 feet) compared to Taos Ski Valley (where the actual slopes are) at about 9,500 feet so while there was no place to use a snowboard, it was better on my lungs and elevation sickness. Even though I didn’t want to spend my days in Taos, I didn’t really have a choice.

Each morning was a struggle for me to get out of bed. After spending the better part of the night coughing and puking, I would wake up (from the minimal sleep I managed to get) with a ridiculously painful headache, nasty fever, and nauseated feeling in my stomach. It was difficult to stand up and I would get winded walking up or down stairs. I figured my only options were spending the days in Taos or in a hospital so I chose Taos. Besides, it was on the way to the Ski Valley so I could get dropped off while my friends went on to make fresh tracks.

Yes it sucked. Yes I still feel terrible. Yes I missed out on the freshies at a world class ski location. Yes I was pissed off that I was sick. In the end however, the rest of my friends stayed healthy and didn’t have any issues. I guess if someone had to “take one for the team” I glad it was me. They all got to spend an amazing time on the slopes getting worked and I got to hear all about it.

Vacation & Health

So I finally managed to get out of town with the intent of enjoying a nice long week of snowboarding and relaxing in New Mexico. Myself and a few friends flew into Albuquerque and drove for three hours to the resort town of Angel Fire which is home base for the week (fortunately one of my travel companions has a friend with a house there). Our place of lodging is located about 9,500 feet above sea level which makes for a tricky time of acclimation.

Today is technically the fourth day of our trip and I started feeling a little “off” on the evening of day two. The morning of day two was spent slaying the groomers (no pow at this point). It was nice to be on real snow and lay down an edge that wasn’t going to let loose. We all had a great time getting warmed up but decided not to overdo things.

The next day conditions were poor and so was I. The group decided to go for a hike and spend the better part of the day in Taos with its reasonable elevation (comparatively speaking). The plan for day three was to ski Taos. When I woke up I wanted to die. My head felt like it was going to explode and I was a bit short of breath but didn’t want to miss the trip. When we got to the resort they only had one lift open because of the wind. We decided to grab some lunch and see if conditions improved. It was a great decision because they opened almost the entire mountain and there was plenty of terrain and fresh powder to go around. It turned into a bluebird day with spectacular conditions.

When I woke up this morning I knew things weren’t right. I had a wicked headache (for the third day in a row) but today my breathing was a bit labored. I figured I should go to the clinic and see what was wrong. As it turns out I managed to get myself a nice case of Altitude Sickness and bronchitis. That explained a lot of how I felt but also made me realize that I wouldn’t be hiking for many turns the rest of the week.

Tomorrow we plan to head back up to Taos because it’s completely worth the drive and they’re expecting to get dumped on tonight. I’d like to add some pictures in this post, but they’ll have to wait until later. Fortunately I have some good meds to get me back in check and plan to ride the hell out of my board the rest of the week, just a bit more subdued than I’d like.

Just Because You Can

This past weekend Brian convinced me it would be a good idea to load up the car and drive nine hours to Vermont. We were going to meet up with one of his friends from Philadelphia who was in Stowe to ski for the weekend as part of a bus trip. Our plan was to drive up to Stowe on Friday, ski the resort on Saturday, and hike for turns on Sunday before making the return trip to State College. I agree, this wasn’t the best plan in the land, but I didn’t have any other offers for the weekend so I figured a good ole fashioned road trip wouldn’t be a bad idea.

We departed about three o’clock on Friday afternoon in a pouring rain. The temperatures were in the mid forties so a healthy fog was setting in. The important thing to keep in mind is that it wasn’t just warm and rainy in State College; it was warm and rainy all the way through New England. You don’t need to be a meteorologist to know that warm and rain don’t mix well with snow. We decided to stick to our plan and rolled into Stowe about one in the morning.

Saturday morning we got up early. It was a bluebird day but wicked cold. We knew the rain made any back country options completely worthless so we decided to try our luck at the resort but weren’t too optimistic. As predicted, the warm air and rain made the snow virtually bulletproof. Heading home wasn’t an option so we made the best of it and did laps on the groomers with Brian’s friend and some of the others from the Philly contingent.

After several hours of losing my edges on sketchy conditions I decided to call it a day. Some very dear friends of mine (Lisa & Amos) live about an hour from Stowe and I haven’t seen them in about two years so I decided I would pay them a visit. We ate dinner, talked about all the changes in our lives (which aren’t many) and reminisced about all the “fun” we had back in the old days when we all lived in Georgia. Even though it was short, visiting with them made the forget about the deplorable snow conditions.

Sunday morning we decided to forgo any exploration for powder (knowing there wasn’t any) and get on the road early so we could make it back home at a reasonable time. Even though the conditions weren’t great and we spent most of the trip in a car, it was nice to get out of town, see some old friends, and at least try to get into some good snow. I had a really fun time, even if I didn’t get to slay any powder dragons.