I have just added Jame's pictures from our trip here.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Rocket Attacks in Haifa
I just got some pictures of one of the Intel buildings in Haifa, Isreal today. I was thinking of going over there this month before this chaos all went down. Luckily nobody was around or injured in the explosions.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Mount Rainier Backpacking
This past weekend, I took a four day weekend trip up to Mount Rainier to go backpacking with Allen, Todd, and Jame. We did the Northern Loop trail, half of which follows the Rainier Wonderland Trail. This is only a 35 mile loop, but has a substantial amount of elevation. We had a good time, but not without problems.
Day 1 - Lake James Camp
We started our hike at Ipsut Creek on the North West side of the park. The first day started out with an easy 2 mile relatively flat warm-up. At about the 2 mile mark, we crossed a rickety bridge over a glacial-melt stream (picture below):
After crossing the stream, we hit our first substantial elevation with steep 2000 foot climb followed by another less-steap 1000 feet. This was pretty tough, but not terrible. Once on top, we did not have great views of Rainier, but there were some nice meadows and smaller mountains.
After getting to the top, we dropped down about 1500 feet to our campsite at James Lake. On the way down, Jame hurt his knee, which turned into a problem as we proceeded. The camp was okay ... but nothing to write home about. There was a decent lake nearby, but the camp itself was frankly boring. We played some cards and had a nice meal. Mmmm beef stroganoff.
Day 2 - Berkeley Camp
Day 2 started out with another 1000 feet elevation drop. Jame's knee was really bothering him and he had some problems getting down into the valley. At the bottom there was a waterfall and some hicks. They were quite amusing. Apparently giardia does not exist, and as long as water is moving and you don't see any dead animal near the water, you can just drink away.
After this we immediately had another climb up another few thousand feet. Luckily climbing was not as problematic for Jame's knee, and we were able to make some decent time. At the top were some spectacular views of Rainier -- our first real views of the trip.
This view is accessible by day hike out of Sunrise. If you head towards Grant Park from sunrise, and walk another 1/4 mile or so (past the camp) you will get to this view. It makes a long day hike, but something to consider :).
After getting to the top we had a nice lunch (I was a jerk and would not let us stop until we got to the top) and then walked a couple more miles to Berkeley Camp. This campsite was better than the first. It is situated next to a stream, which is always good for sleeping. Jame's knee was still bothering him a lot, and at this point we decided that him and Allen would head out the following day to Sunrise (a point of entry on the North East side of the park).
Day 3 - Mystic Lake
We got an early start on day 3 and headed about a mile to the split between Sunrise and Mystic Lake campground where Todd and I headed towards Mystic and Jame and Allen towards Sunrise (where we would pick them up after getting the car on day 4).
After splitting up, Todd and I headed up a ridge to a great view of the mountain. This is also a possible day hike (head towards Mystic from Sunrise) ... but the view is probably not that much better than the view from Sunrise. After this, we headed down a ways towards the Winthrop Glacier valley. We crossed the glacial melt stream just below the bottom of the rock-covered glacier (see below):
After crossing the glacier valley, we had some more elevation gain on our longest day of hiking. Todd and I finished the 10 miles before lunch ... we were hauling :). After lunch we had a nice nap and then went up to Mystic Lake and sat in the relatively warm lake water for an hour before heading back to camp for a second nap. Below is a picture of the lake.
Todd had acquired some nasty blisters on the first day, and we retreated them after the lake. They were looking quite nasty. We then had another nap, some dinner, and hit the sack for the nite.
Day 4 - Heading Out
On Day 4 we got an early start so that we could get back to the car as quickly as possible. Todd and I hauled down the mostly-downhill trail and finished the 8 miles in by 11am. One thing I would like to point out is that there is a trail split about .8 miles to the west of Mystic Lake. There is a sign at this point that points towards the lake. Instead of heading towards the lake, you can head towards the mountain for about 2 miles to what is supposed to be a ridiculous view of both the mountain and the glaciers (where the ice is exposed instead of being covered in rock). We did not get a chance to try this out, but will sometime in the future.
After getting out we had some Quiznos, picked up Allen and Jame from Sunrise, and headed home.
Good times with the guys :).
You can see all the pictues here.
Related Link
Day 1 - Lake James Camp
We started our hike at Ipsut Creek on the North West side of the park. The first day started out with an easy 2 mile relatively flat warm-up. At about the 2 mile mark, we crossed a rickety bridge over a glacial-melt stream (picture below):
After crossing the stream, we hit our first substantial elevation with steep 2000 foot climb followed by another less-steap 1000 feet. This was pretty tough, but not terrible. Once on top, we did not have great views of Rainier, but there were some nice meadows and smaller mountains.
After getting to the top, we dropped down about 1500 feet to our campsite at James Lake. On the way down, Jame hurt his knee, which turned into a problem as we proceeded. The camp was okay ... but nothing to write home about. There was a decent lake nearby, but the camp itself was frankly boring. We played some cards and had a nice meal. Mmmm beef stroganoff.
Day 2 - Berkeley Camp
Day 2 started out with another 1000 feet elevation drop. Jame's knee was really bothering him and he had some problems getting down into the valley. At the bottom there was a waterfall and some hicks. They were quite amusing. Apparently giardia does not exist, and as long as water is moving and you don't see any dead animal near the water, you can just drink away.
After this we immediately had another climb up another few thousand feet. Luckily climbing was not as problematic for Jame's knee, and we were able to make some decent time. At the top were some spectacular views of Rainier -- our first real views of the trip.
This view is accessible by day hike out of Sunrise. If you head towards Grant Park from sunrise, and walk another 1/4 mile or so (past the camp) you will get to this view. It makes a long day hike, but something to consider :).
After getting to the top we had a nice lunch (I was a jerk and would not let us stop until we got to the top) and then walked a couple more miles to Berkeley Camp. This campsite was better than the first. It is situated next to a stream, which is always good for sleeping. Jame's knee was still bothering him a lot, and at this point we decided that him and Allen would head out the following day to Sunrise (a point of entry on the North East side of the park).
Day 3 - Mystic Lake
We got an early start on day 3 and headed about a mile to the split between Sunrise and Mystic Lake campground where Todd and I headed towards Mystic and Jame and Allen towards Sunrise (where we would pick them up after getting the car on day 4).
After splitting up, Todd and I headed up a ridge to a great view of the mountain. This is also a possible day hike (head towards Mystic from Sunrise) ... but the view is probably not that much better than the view from Sunrise. After this, we headed down a ways towards the Winthrop Glacier valley. We crossed the glacial melt stream just below the bottom of the rock-covered glacier (see below):
After crossing the glacier valley, we had some more elevation gain on our longest day of hiking. Todd and I finished the 10 miles before lunch ... we were hauling :). After lunch we had a nice nap and then went up to Mystic Lake and sat in the relatively warm lake water for an hour before heading back to camp for a second nap. Below is a picture of the lake.
Todd had acquired some nasty blisters on the first day, and we retreated them after the lake. They were looking quite nasty. We then had another nap, some dinner, and hit the sack for the nite.
Day 4 - Heading Out
On Day 4 we got an early start so that we could get back to the car as quickly as possible. Todd and I hauled down the mostly-downhill trail and finished the 8 miles in by 11am. One thing I would like to point out is that there is a trail split about .8 miles to the west of Mystic Lake. There is a sign at this point that points towards the lake. Instead of heading towards the lake, you can head towards the mountain for about 2 miles to what is supposed to be a ridiculous view of both the mountain and the glaciers (where the ice is exposed instead of being covered in rock). We did not get a chance to try this out, but will sometime in the future.
After getting out we had some Quiznos, picked up Allen and Jame from Sunrise, and headed home.
Good times with the guys :).
You can see all the pictues here.
Related Link
Monday, August 14, 2006
New Fish! -> Neon Tetra's
We added three Neon Tetras to our fish tank Sunday. So far they are holding up pretty well, although they don't seem very interested in leaving the bottom of the tank yet (they are supposed to be middle-tank dwellers). Next we are going to pick up a couple more to round out our school of Neons @ 5, and probably a bottom feader -- maybe a catfish -- to clean up some of the food that falls all the way to the bottom.
High School English
Tonight Janel and I had dinner w/ Mrs. Cargill (Debbie) -- our High School Sophomore English Teacher. Her daughter moved out here a few years back, and she recently purchased a Condo that is literally only a few hundred yards from our apartment. Small world! It was good catching up with her, and interesting to interact with an old high school teacher in a social environment rather than the student-teacher one.
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Camping @ Toll Gate
This weekend we went camping at Toll Gate, a campground at the foot of Mt. Hood near Zigzag, OR with Jason, Lynn, William, and Apurva. It is a small campground with about 14 sites, most of which are just feet from a small river. Our site was across the road from the river, which was a good thing since we had a mobile 1.5 year old William to keep watch over. After a good dinner of brats and dogs, we went through a couple of bundles of wood at the fire. At around 11:30 Janel and Apurva and I headed up to Mt. Hood and Timberline Lodge to try to catch the Perseid Meteor Shower (a yearly shower that I like to watch). Sadly, the shower was not all that great. The moon was pretty bright, but I am not sure why we did not see more shooting stars. The next day we planned to do a hike, but I forgot my boots and did not want to risk hurting my toe, as I will be heading out to Mt. Rainier on Thursday nite. So ... we just headed home. Our next trip will be to Crater Lake ... and probably the Coast after that.
Wednesday, August 9, 2006
New Fish Tank
We decided to buy a fish tank while Janel's parents were in town. They have a fish tank at home that Frank has been working on for the past year or so, and we thought it would be fun and useful to pick one up while they were here. It really looks nice in our living room :).
We originally were planning on getting something small ... maybe 18 or 20 gallons. Then we read that it is a lot easier to have a larger tank if you don't know what you are doing -- the large amount of water makes it more difficult to screw things up. We can also get more fish that way. We decided to get a setup like what Janel's dad has, which is the Eclipse System. Of all the places that we went to, only one PetSmart had one of them in stock (not including little 12g or less tanks) ... and that was a 37g tank. So, we decided to go for it.
Here is a picture of the tank in the living room:
We currently have two platies -- one "Micky-Mouse" Red Platy and a Sunburst Platy. We will be adding maybe 15 more fresh-water tropical fish at about 2-3 fish per week, so it will take a while until the tank fills up. We are also using a mixture of fake and live plants.
Here is a zoomed in picture of the tank where you can see the two fish swimming with each other. Platies are not always schooling fish, but these two seem to have taken a liking to each other.
Related Link
We originally were planning on getting something small ... maybe 18 or 20 gallons. Then we read that it is a lot easier to have a larger tank if you don't know what you are doing -- the large amount of water makes it more difficult to screw things up. We can also get more fish that way. We decided to get a setup like what Janel's dad has, which is the Eclipse System. Of all the places that we went to, only one PetSmart had one of them in stock (not including little 12g or less tanks) ... and that was a 37g tank. So, we decided to go for it.
Here is a picture of the tank in the living room:
We currently have two platies -- one "Micky-Mouse" Red Platy and a Sunburst Platy. We will be adding maybe 15 more fresh-water tropical fish at about 2-3 fish per week, so it will take a while until the tank fills up. We are also using a mixture of fake and live plants.
Here is a zoomed in picture of the tank where you can see the two fish swimming with each other. Platies are not always schooling fish, but these two seem to have taken a liking to each other.
Related Link
Sunday, August 6, 2006
Janel's Parents Visit
Janel's parents were out here for about the past week visitting. It was a good visit, and I think that they really liked it out here. We spent a lot of time just hanging out, but also did a bit of site-seeing.
They arrived on Tuesday afternoon. Wednesday we took it easy and Janel's dad went and watched her soccer game.
Thursday I took the day off and we made a trip out to the Gorge. The weather was perfect -- clear and cool. We first hit up Vista House, then went up to Larch Point (where you can see most of the major mounts up here), and then had lunch at Multnomah Falls. Below is a picture of Janel with her parents at Vista House.
Janel went to the zoo with her parents on Friday.
We were planning on going out to the Coast on Saturday, but decided to keep things simple and just hang out instead. We ended up buying and setting up a Fish Tank :). That was a lot of fun (although now I feel poor).
Sunday I made breakfast, and then we went and saw Taladega Nights. I was not that impressed with the movie, but it was not too bad :). We had a nice dinner downtown at Jake's in celebration of Frank's (Janel's dad's) birthday.
It was good seeing the in-laws :). See all the pictures here.
They arrived on Tuesday afternoon. Wednesday we took it easy and Janel's dad went and watched her soccer game.
Thursday I took the day off and we made a trip out to the Gorge. The weather was perfect -- clear and cool. We first hit up Vista House, then went up to Larch Point (where you can see most of the major mounts up here), and then had lunch at Multnomah Falls. Below is a picture of Janel with her parents at Vista House.
Janel went to the zoo with her parents on Friday.
We were planning on going out to the Coast on Saturday, but decided to keep things simple and just hang out instead. We ended up buying and setting up a Fish Tank :). That was a lot of fun (although now I feel poor).
Sunday I made breakfast, and then we went and saw Taladega Nights. I was not that impressed with the movie, but it was not too bad :). We had a nice dinner downtown at Jake's in celebration of Frank's (Janel's dad's) birthday.
It was good seeing the in-laws :). See all the pictures here.
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