Summer Books

• Endangered Species (Anna Pigeon Mysteries Book 5) by Nevada Barr - another mystery in the Ann Pigeon series; stranger than Firestorm but more mysterious
• Six Spices: A Simple Concept of Indian Cooking by Neeta Saluja - Indian cooking, mainly vegetarian
• Mons 1914 - 1918: The Beginning and the End by Don Farr - interesting book about the WWI history of the town I have been spending way too much time in.  A bit too much detail on the early action but very fascinating account of occupied Belgium.
• Track of the Cat (Anna Pigeon Mysteries Book 1) by Nevada Barr - the first of the Ann Pigeon series and my least favorite.  I liked the hiking aspects but hated the ending.
• The Wallstrip (TM) Edge: Using Trends to Make Money -- Find Them, Ride Them, and Get Off by Howard Lindzon - skimmed this IBD-like book
• Ill Wind (Anna Pigeon Mysteries Book 3) by Nevada Barr - my favorite Ann Pigeon book so far
• Queen of the Sciences: A History of Mathematices by Prof. David M. Bressoud - great series on the history of math; gets in depth at times
• Blind Descent (Anna Pigeon Mysteries Book 6) by Nevada Barr - yet another Ann Pigeon mystery; I actually paid for this one since the library didn't have it
• American Cocktail: 50 Recipes That Celebrate the Craft of Mixing Drinks from Coast to Coast by Imbibe Magazine - cocktails!
• The American Way: The Lost Secret to American Prosperity and How to Get it Back by John Robb - good concepts but short on actions

Memorial Day Weekend

• Lunch with parent at Cheesecake Factory (I haven't been there in a long time)
• Reunion with some of the Kenya trip folks
• Lunch with the Golds
• Great waves at Moonlight on Sunday evening
• New hikes in the Bonsall/Fallbrook area at Hellers Bend and Los Jilgueros Preserves
• Built Jaya's new IKEA bed - went surprising well for an IKEA projects

Weekend Activities

This was my first "normal" weekend in a long time.  By normal, I mean with the entire family in town.

• We visited San Diego Air and Space Museum and the Hall of Champions - I really like the sailing exhibit at the HoC.
• Some dog walks
• Beach time (St. A's had a their annual beach service)

Sierra Trek

Troop 774 headed up to the Sierras for a great backpacking trek.  The plan was to base camp in the Devil's Postpile are and do a pair of out-and-backs to some alpine lakes.
Day 1 started by driving up to Mammoth Lakes and checking into the Pine Glen group camp.  Tents were set up in a slight bit of rain, but the forecast was for clear weather.  Some of use went to Giovanni's for pizza.
Day 2 began by heading over to the nearby visitor center to pick up our permits.  Since we needed 2 more spots, we got a number (#1 - first in line) and waited until 11a and then go the next day permits.  We then drove down to our base camp at Pumice Flats group camp.  The camp and the host were very nice.  We ate lunch at the Mule House Cafe (best shakes ever) and then day-hiked Rainbow Falls and Devil's Postpile.  By the time we got back, everyone had arrived in camp.
We started the trek on day 3.  After breakfast and packing, we took the bus to the Agnew Meadows trailhead.  We walked the short distance to the parking lot and trailhead stopping along the way for some stretching.  The map showed a "shortcut" from the wind-damaged Agnew Meadows campground to our desired route, the River Trail.  After wandering around for over an hour, we figured that the shortcut was no longer maintained so we headed back to the parking lot.  There we saw the real entrance to the River Trail.  The trail headed down into the canyon and at the bottom, it was a slow and steady uphill hike.  The San Juaquin River was not visible for most of the trail despite its name.  We stopped for lunch at the junction with the Shadow Creek Trail.  The trail got a bit steeper but more scenic.  We hit a short steep section getting up to the outlet from 1000 Thousand Island Lake.  Everyone was very eager to find a spot and get camp setup.  There were quite a few groups there and it too us a while to find a great spot about halfway along the north edge of the lake.  After pitching tents we started on dinner.  Almost as soon as dinner was finished, the skies opened up and we got a short violent rain and hail thunderstorm.  Everyone put on their rain gear very quickly.  The rain lessened but kept up for some time during the night.  Thanks to the training we have done, everyone did great and there were no issues with things getting wet.
Day 4 was zero-day.  We explored the lake and hiked to the western end.  There was a meadow that backed up to imposing Banner Peak with its glaciers.  Roy gave a tutorial on fly fishing.  We didn't get any more rain but it was quite windy and cloud cover came and went so layering was mandatory.
We got up early on day 5, broke camp and hiked out along the same River trail back to base camp.  The hike was easier going since it was mainly downhill and we didn't waste time being lost.  We setup base camp and planned the rest of the trek.  The plan was to have another zero day at our next destination, Ediza Lake.  But we decided to drop the day completely.  Night at Pumice Flats was the coldest of the trip for some reason.
On day 6, we did not take the buses to Agnew Meadows but did a car juggle and left one car at the trailhead.  We started up the River trail but after a couple miles hit the junction to the Shadow Creek trail.  Some of the group was nervous about heading up the cliff (which had a great waterfall running down it).  But it turned out to be quick and easier than everyone expected.  We did have a significant injury.  One scout hurt his foot going up the trail.  After resting a bit, he and his family decided not to risk and headed back to base camp.  At the top of the cliff, the trail opened up to the picturesque Shadow Lake.  The group was waiting for those of us that were with the injured scout.  We ate lunch there and then headed up to the Ediza Lake.  The trail from the lake was a steady uphill but followed close to the creek which made for great hiking.  The hiking was well worth it once we saw Ediza Lake.  We walked over the western side to the legal camps and found a great space on a meadow with great views of the lake, the mountains and easy access to the streams for fishing.  Everyone loved Ediza Lake and we could have easily spent a zero day exploring the area and other lakes, such as Iceberg Lake.
On day 7, we got real early start and hiked the ~8 miles in less than 3 hours.  Since we got in so early, the drivers decided to head home.
We ended up doing over 32 miles, camped 6 nights including the acclimation days.

Family Hawaii Trip

2014 Family Hawaii Trip

• Kids got their own room
• Kalalau Trail
• Plenty of Lappert's
• Plenty of Mai Tai's and wine (love Koloa Rum)
• Guided eco-snorkeling trip
• Kayaking Hanalei Bay
• Hilarious sessions of "Cards Against Humanity"
• Bike rides along the bike path to Lydgate and back
• Small Japanese boat washed ashore
• Luau at the plantation

Kalalau Trail

On our recent family trip to Kauai, my brother and I decided to do the Kalalau Trail.  On previous trips, we always did the first 2 miles to Hanakapi'ai Beach.  Now we wanted to go all the way to the legendary Kalalau Beach. I got a permit for one night at the beach.  The plan was to go very light.  I would have my regular pack but with sparse gear.  I bought a new REI Quarter Dome 2 tent due to the high probability of bugs and rain.  I took just the clothes for the trail, my ditty bag of stuff (FAK, headlamp, etc.) but no sleeping gear except for my pillow.  Kevin took a towel that he used like blanket but I had nothing!  For food, we took just some bars, jerky and nuts.
We got started around noon on departure day.  We went very fast to start and had to dodge the traffic to Hanakapi'ai.  We continued fast as the trail go into a pattern of climbing a ridge and then descending into a valley for the next 6 miles.  We then got to the section called "Climber's Ledge."  This section is carved out of a sheer cliff hundreds of feet above the waves crashing on the rocks below.  Good thing it is short.  Hiking in the afternoon was very hot and humid and made the constant up and downs very tedious.  We stopped for water at the halfway camp and two other spots to keep hydrated.
After 11 miles we got to the beach!  We walked all the way to waterfall at the end just to walk the entire trail.  Our camp was about a mile from the end and half mile from the Kalalau River.  Part of the allure of this trail is the scene at the beach.  We got a taste of that when we passed a completely nude hiker on the way in.  There were further nudists on the beach itself.  There were a few families as well; very odd group of people.  We swam, ate our meager rations, then tried to sleep in the stiffling heat.  In the middle of the night we heard some rustling in the leaves around our tent. I figured it was a bird but it kept up for a long time.  At one point it got very close to the tent.  I jumped outside with the headlamp and discovered a bullfrog.  It must jump around all night looking for food.
We got up pretty early, broke camp and headed out.  In the morning coolness and shade, we made good time to Hanakpai'ai.  There, we waited for my dad and the boys to meet up with us.  They showed up about 20 minutes after us and the kids played around on the beach.  We all then headed out to the car and a well-deserved Lappert's.

San Gorgonio Wilderness Backpack

With the family gone, I decided to make up for some canceled trips and head up to San Gorgonio.  I decided on a one-nighter along the Vivian Creek trail and was able to secure a permit for Friday night camping at High Creek.  I got to the trailhead around 2:00p and was hiking at 2:30p.  After a bit of a crummy road walk and crossing Mill Creek, I hit one of the steepest trails I have ever hiked.  The next mile was tough going up to Vivian Creek camp.  After that, the trail leveled out somewhat for a 4 mile steady climb past Halfway Camp to High Trail Camp which I made in 2.5 hours.  At High Creek, I stopped for a snack and chatted with volunteer Ranger Dan who was very helpful.  Since I was ahead of schedule, I decided to head up to the summit to camp for the night.  About halfway up the hike to the ridge crest, I started getting nauseous.  I know I suffer from altitude sickness but hoped this would just be a mild case and hiked on.  After making the ridge and seeing the Choachella Valley below, I knew I couldn't continue; the nausea, headache and fatigue were too much.  After a short break, I headed back down to High Creek.  I wanted to tell Ranger Dan my change of plans since he signed off on my permit change.  I quickly set up camp, washed up and lied down to recover.  The night was restless and had a few sprinkles to make me get a bit nervous about cowboy camping.  In the morning, I decided not to tempt fate again and quickly descended down the mountain.  I got the trailhead in 1.5 hours, put on some fresh clothes and headed home with a quick stop at the Elkhorn General Store for a much needed cup of coffee.  Overall, the hike was great, weather was great, altitude sickness not so much.  I intend to go again but will not try to go above 10,000 feet on the first day.

Camp Osten 2014

My nephew Gabe was in town for the 2014 installment of Camp Osten.

• Encinitas Junior Lifeguards
• July 4th at Grandma's and altered fireworks
• Hike San Juan loop trail in OC (loved the Candy Store!)

Books

With some good book reading time due to recent long plane rides, I got through a good batch of books.

• Elements of Jazz: From Cakewalk to Fusion by Bill Messenger  - I have found myself listening to jazz more and more but didn't know anything about; this course helped by decipher the different styles of jazz
• Lawrence in Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly and the Making of the Modern Middle East by Scott Anderson- a great book on one of the most influential periods of history that has left a profound impact on us to this day; less a biography of T. E. Lawrence and more blow-by-blow narrative of the all different threads weaving their way in WWI middle east - fascinating
• Ultralight Survival Kit by Jason Lichter - wonderful little encyclopaedia of knowledge for ultralight backpacking, although not for beginners
• Firestorm (Anna Pigeon) by Nevada Barr- A nice adventure mystery set in Lassen NP
• Okinawa: The Last Battle of World War II by Robert Leckie- interesting narrative of the Okinawa campaign in Leckie's unique style
• Code To Zero by Ken Follett - I liked the 50's space race setting for this thriller
• Hornet Flight by Ken Follett - based on a true story, some parts were very predictable
• The Paleo Slow Cooker: Healthy, Gluten-free Meals the Easy Way by Arsy Vartanian - yet another book on paleo recipes
• Basic Training for Dummies by Rod Powers - not sure why I got this, just seemed interesting
• Long 19th Century: European History from 1789 to 1917 by Robert I. Weiner - great topic and material but the lectures are hard to follow; the library didn't have part 3 so I only got through 2/3'rds of it

Inaugural Family Backpack

In order to get the family more involved in my current passion, backpacking, I arranged a short intro trip to Arroyo Seco in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park.  We drove up on Friday afternoon stopping at Diego's Taco Shop in Alpine for a quick dinner (good food, by the way).  We got to Green Valley around 6:30p, registered at the entry station and parked at the picnic area.  It was a quick but vigorous hike uphill for the 1.5 miles to camp.  The pump is broken at Arroyo Seco so we all carried extra water.  After getting to camp, we setup tents, tarps and bedrolls (for us cowboy campers).  We talked and laughed for a while as dusk settled in.  It is amazing how kids react in the wild!  The night started out very pleasant with millions of starts.  It ended up getting very windy however.  The morning started warn so we quickly packed up and headed back down to the car.  It was a short trip but a very good harbinger of things to come.

Mt. Laguna Camping

With only a week off, T774 had its last event of the season, a car camp in the Laguna Mountains.  We had a group camp and it was very nice, with tables and a fire ring.  In the morning, we did a fabulous 5.5 mile hike on the Big Laguna Trail.  This trip was our pioneering campout so after lunch we all built a tower from all the staves we had brought up.  It was bit shaky at first but some redone lashings made it solid enough for the scouts to climb it.  The day was pretty warm but tolerable.  Coming back Sunday, it was my first time hauling the trailer.  It was a bit low and bumped the ground a couple times; I will have to get a higher ball for next time.

Bengt's Bakery

Bengt has been fascinated by the legalization of recreational marijuana in Colorado.  Last night he was contemplating possible names for a hypothetical shop.  My favorites were "Bengt's Bakery" and "Gabe's Grass".

Jo's Birthday Activities

• Dinner at Thai Society, our favorite restaurant.
• Family exercised our new Balboa Park Explorer passes and saw exhibits at the Fleet Science Museum, Museum of Man and MOPA.  Had a great lunch at the SDMA cafe.
• Hiked Rancho Penasquitos Canyon to the waterfall and back.  It was a bit warm but still a very nice hike.  No rattlesnakes this time and Sophie didn't fall into the creek.

• Dog took naps

Afghanistan in the rear-view mirror (looking forward)

Interesting take on the legacy of the international mission in Afghanistan.

T774 Backpacking Trek

T774 headed on our spring backpack as a tune-up for our summer Sierra trek.  The original idea was to do San Jacinto but that fell through due to lack of permits.  We chose to return to the Mt. Laguna to Cuyamaca route we did last year.  Starting from Penny Pines trailhead, we heading east on the Noble Canyon trail.  With some shade, the trail was quite pleasant.  However, as we went a bit lower and left the pines, it got quite hot and sunny.  Indian Creek was damp but had no surface water near the trail.  The last uphill section into Cuyamaca Rancho State Park was tough as we were beat from the heat.  It was great getting into camp at Granite Springs as we were low on water and needed dinner!
The next morning, Raymond, the unofficial troop dog, had sore paws and wasn't up for walking much.  He made the first mile along the East Mesa Fire Road.  We then fashioned a stretcher from two pairs of trekking poles and our dining tarp.  The dog was luxurious carried the next 4 miles to Hwy 79.  After Ray was taking home and some shuttling to get the cars back from Penny Pines, we had a long break at the picnic area.  In late afternoon, we headed up the trail to Arroyo Seco camp.  The camp was dry so we carried some extra water; good thing it was only 1.5 miles.  After making camp among the meadow and having another tasty dinner, we had an early night.  Arroyo Seco was a bit buggy and I had a few bites; lots of ants as well.
Early the next morning, we broke camp and heading back to the Green Valley parking lot and home.  Can't wait for the next trip!

Weekend Activities

• Long walks around Encinitas

 

• Awesome dinner party with scouting friends

Dixon Lake Camping

T774 went up to Dixon Lake for a great weekend camping.  It was a perfect venue to get teach some skills to the new scouts.  There was fishing, wood tools, knots, lashings, first aid, cooking and all sorts of stuff.  The weather was a bit hot, but tolerable due some shady spots in the site.  Nights were perfectly cool with awesome views overlooking Escondido.

Books, Videos and Audios

Some more books, etc...

• Understanding Greek and Roman Technology: From Catapult to the Pantheon by Stephen Ressler- a fabulous lecture series on engineering; a must see if you are interesting in architecture, design or construction
• Understanding the World's Great Structures by Stephen Ressler - a deep dive into structural engineering; learn how buildings work
• The Skeptics Guide to US History by Mark A. Stoler - very interesting contrast to "Lessons of History"
• Skepticism 101: How to Think like a Scientist by Michael Shermer  - great course on critical thinking, I especially enjoyed the lectures on UFO's
• The Trail Life: How I Loved It, Hated It, and Learned From It by Julie Urbanski - one of many good books on the PCT
• Three Victories and a Defeat: The Rise and Fall of the First British Empire by Brendan Simms - too big and too British - a good history but it was just too much for me now
• Cardiff-by-the-Sea by Wehtahnah Tucker and Guy Bujkovsky- great pictures of Cardiff
• Lighthouses of San Diego by Kim Fahlen and Karen Scanlon- covers the 3 lighthouses in SD county; I like the Ballast Point one best
• The Myth of the Great War by John Mosier- a very different take on the Western Front; essentially states that the Germans were in near total control of the west until the AEF arrived.
• Europe's Last Summer by David Fromkin- a blow-by-blow account of the days leading up to the start of WWI.  Somewhat monotonous at times but squarely puts the blame on the Germans and Austrians, specifically their respective foreign ministers.
• The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown- re-read
• Let Me Off at the Top: My Life and Other Musings by Ron Burgundy- a book just like the movies, pretty funny at times
• Creme Brulee by Lou Seibert Pappas- tasty recipes
• The Men who United the States: America's Explorers, Inventors, Eccentrics and Mavericks, and the Creation of One Nation, Indivisible by Simon Winchestor- only got through the first few chapters but will finish this interesting book soon
  

Mt. Woodson Dayhike

T774 hit Mt. Woodson for a nice day hike.  Great day and great pix of Potato Chip Rock.

DOS source code

The Computer History Museum has the DOS source code.  I wonder how fast that would run on a new computer.  Probably has very few vulnerabilities.