Phutu...if conditioning permits...

8/1/2005 I am planning to take off next week to go hiking either in the Sierras or somewhere else remote. Dory has the week off and her mother is coming to town to visit so there will be plenty of help to take care of Bryce. In preparation, I have been hiking for the last couple weeks during the day while Dory is at work and I am taking care of Bryce. Hiking with him strapped to my chest is a bit challenging; it becomes really hard to bend over, I have to stop occasionally to feed him and I have to be constantly vigilant about keeping the sun off his face and hands. But the hardest part is that he now weighs 15 pounds; so in terms of going up steep hills I am carrying a lot of weight. Fifteen pounds for him, another couple for the carrier, a pound for the backpack that I carry, water, lunch, a couple bottles, diapers, extra clothes for him; it all adds up to more than 25 pounds I am sure. It wouldn't even be that bad except that the carrier doesn't have any padding in the straps.

The hikes that we have been doing have been on the long side for day hikes...6-10 miles each. But that really isn't that much when you are out backpacking. 25 pounds is more than I will be carrying on my trip; I have almost a full set of ultralight equipment, all the gear in the pack weighs in at right about 10 pounds; add food and water and I'll probably carry about 20 pounds leaving the trailhead for a five day hike...dwindling down to around ten by the time I return as I eat up the food.

I sent an order form and check to the US Forest Service Map center with a request for a bunch of different maps that I hoped would help me decide ultimately where I will go. But, they were out of stock on one of the maps, so they just mailed back the check without sending any maps. I found this annoying since I had provided them with my phone number in case there was a problem. I the mean time I had gone to a store and found a bunch of maps to peruse; I'll have to go back and buy a few of them now to help me make my decision.

Bryce really seems to like hiking with me. I sometimes have him facing me in the carrier; he stares at me, turns his head to the side to watch the trees pass by; but mostly he sleeps. Sometimes I take him out of the carrier, fold down the top of it and sit him on top facing out. I can't see his face so well when I do this, but I watch as his little head rotates side to side and up and down as he takes in all the scenery. Our best hike so far was definitely last week when we hiked up the side of Mt. Tam from Stinson Beach and then back down "Steep Ravine" which wasn't as steep as one might have thought.

Bryce and I also went over to Oakland on Thursday for a short visit to the Golden State Bonsai Federation Collection North. That's a long name, but it's just a collection of bonsai that is open to the public in a garden setting. The tree that I took a photo of sits outside the entrance; one of the great things about good bonsai is that it can be difficult to tell their size from a photo. This one happens to be the largest that I have ever seen; I think that it is about 5 feet high in a pot that is about 4 feet wide. The size of it is the "security system," they had to use a forklift to get it in position, so they figure that it wont walk off with the first person that decides they like it...which I did.

7/20/2005
7/5/2005
6/17/2005
5/27/2005
5/1/2005
4/15/2005
4/5/2005
3/24/2005
3/13/2005
2/5/2005
12/28/2004
11/29/2004
11/3/2004
10/2/2004
9/10/2004
8/23/2004
8/8/2004
7/21/2004
7/2/2004
6/8/2004
5/4/2004
4/20/2004
3/28/2004
3/10/2004
2/10/2004
1/15/2004

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