US Half Marathon – San Francisco

One month later, we were back in it; Greg and I tackled another half marathon. We clicked the intensity up a notch and ran the US Half Marathon in San Francisco, known for its out-and-back course that crosses the Golden Gate Bridge with a few unforgiving hills sprinkled in.

The course starts with a moderate hill that leads to a mellow run along the marina. From the beginning, the views do not disappoint and kept us distracted enough to miss the first new mile markers.

The fun really starts after the third mile with the first set of hills. San Francisco did not mess around; runners head up from just above sea level to the top of the Presidio before a final climb to the Golden Gate Bridge.

After crossing the bridge came, in my opinion, the easiest and hardest parts of the race. A fast and thrilling downhill peeled runners down and under the bridge with world-class views of San Francisco. It’s immediately followed with what felt like the toughest hill all race, bringing us back up to the bridge to start our run back.

Nothing about this race is easy, yet nothing stopped us from having a blast and loving every mile. We felt strong  through the last few miles and over the last hill, a long, steady climb just after mile 12. My legs went full-jello on the unexpectedly steep downhill that leads runners to the final straight; I slowed my pace to keep stable until the bottom and then gave it my all to cross the finish strong.

Considering how much tougher this course was compared to Urban Cow, I was more than pleased with my finish time: 2:00:09. We’ll be back next year and I plan on getting that time under two hours.

For anyone interested in this race next year, the start/finish is close to Ghirardelli Square and countless attractions to make a great weekend trip. The close proximity to food, famous sights and the race itself means once parked, most people have no need to drive again until heading home.

We headed down the night before to make race morning a breeze and check out the expo. Runners got a one-time discount at Sports Basement and we made sure to stock up on Nuun, Clif Bars and other goodies. Shuttles between the race hotel made transportation carefree.

Put this race on your calendar for next year and I’ll see you there. If you’ve never been to San Francisco, this is an amazing way to see a world-class city. And, P.S. – the race shirt is pretty awesome too.

A summer of memories

I’ve been known to get caught up in the moment.

Maybe it’s not just me, but I have a hard time seeing the vast importantness of life’s moments until they’re happening or shortly after. I get so caught up in the exact moment that, presto, the big shindig happens and then later on I realize big-picture awesomeness.

This summer has been action packed and it’s all starting to hit me. So far I’ve been part of five weddings, two bachelor parties, bought a house and celebrated my first wedding anniversary. Big summer, almost too big to see just how big it’s been.

For the most recent wedding, I was privileged to be the minister (yes, I registered online and yes, they’ll let nearly anyone sign up!). I helped my sister-in-law and her groom with the script, edited everything so it had a nice flow and found time to practice it in front of my wife a few times.

Never did I realize the power those words held and the emotion they would bring. I was in charge of the biggest day of two people’s lives, the day their parents dreamed of, the day their friends and family drove hundreds of miles to witness.

Just before I started the ceremony, I was introduced to the groom’s mother. She’s wonderful, thanking me for doing this for her son, who she’s so happy for. Then it hit me like a punch from Mike Tyson. Today means the world to her; she’s flown to Oregon from Nebraska and the guy responsible for pulling it off? Me.

The ceremony went great. I made some funny ad-lib jokes about the Oregon weather and everyone said I did a great job after. But it was the hug from the now-husband’s mom that took me back. She was teary, happy and so proud of the man her son became. Proud that she was able to be there and meet her new in-laws.

I felt out-of-body for a moment and realized whenever she thought of that day, her son and his new wife accepting their rings, she would also see me. She’ll remember me guiding them through their vows, three words at a time, and saying, “I now pronounce you husband and wife!”

I’ve been trying to spend this year in the moment and not being another cellphone-distracted live-life-through-a-digital-screen you-know-what. I’ve made memories to last a lifetime because of it and it turns out, I’m starting to realize how I’m helping make memories for everyone else.

Double win.

Pt. Reyes – 1 Year Anniversary

What do two outdoor junkies do for their first wedding anniversary? Backpacking, of course! We try to head to Point Reyes at some point each season and decided to book this trip long before our wedding-filled crazy summer. What a good idea!

The cool coastal air was a sigh of relief from the brutal heat of Sacramento this summer. We stopped to get our permits and plan our route. We were up for a challenge and decided to take the long way to Glen Camp, a 7.5 mile hike mostly along Sky Trail.

We made good time getting up the steep Meadow Trail to Sky Trail, hung a left and followed it down to Baldy Trail. If you’re reading this, don’t hike Baldy Trail! The name is misleading; the trail has not been maintained in a long time and the Poison Oak is rampant and waist to shoulder high in some areas.

Can you see the trail? Me neither.

The trail continues downhill to Glen Trail and Glen Camp Loop. We wound in and out of thick canopy until we found camp. Point Reyes is great for having steel boxes and benches at each site, but the camp was very exposed to the mid-day sun and fairly warm. Still, better than not backpacking, so we took the time to relax and nap.

Being our anniversary, Kari hiked in a very nice bottle of wine from our wedding venue in a lightweight Platypus wine bag. Classy! We enjoyed some dinner, put the tent fly on in preparation for the morning fog and called it a night.

The hike out was a little different and longer. We decided to avoid Baldy Trail and the Poison Oak and hike from Glen Trail to Coast Trail. Not only did we avoid a bad trail, but we got more ocean views, cool breezes and wildlife.

 

 

We continued up Coast Trail until we met the end of Sky Trail, heading back uphill a for the majority of our hike. We turned off a bit earlier than before to explore a new trail for us; Old Pine Trail. We hiked under the cool canopy through the last few hours of the morning fog and until we found ourselves back at Bear Valley Trail, the main connector and our way to the parking lot. 

Glen Camp is nice, but not our favorite at this park. We still need to explore Sky Camp, but the hike is too short to get us really interested. Next time, we’ll plan a hike here during winter to make the sun exposure to our advantage. Pack weight was 26 lbs for me, carrying the tent on my own, and 23 lbs for Kari.

Get out there and have fun!

Missing canadian found, I’m back!

Where oh where have I been, you ask? Or maybe you didn’t and I’ll tell you anyway. It’s been a long time since my last post and I have some explaining to do. This summer has been a little more than cramped. Busy doesn’t do it justice. I’ll spare the details and bring you up to speed real quick.

Ready? Let’s go.

First, we traveled to Coos Bay for my sister-in-law’s wedding. Welcome to the family, J! We stayed in yurts at Sunset Bay State Park. Swank camping.

The area is beautiful and yurt camping rocks if you haven’t done it.

Flying stand-by to Las Vegas earned me a day in Portland roaming the town and Deschutes Brewery. Bottoms up!

Kevin, in the middle, didn’t let dialysis tame the bachelor’s party. Vegas, baby!

We headed to McMinnville, Oregon to visit wineries around our wedding venue last year with my parents.

Who says Oregon is rainy all the time?

Next, I headed to Tahoe for Greg’s bachelor’s party. Seeing the wedding theme yet? More to come on this hike later, I promise.

We celebrated Joe’s 45th birthday with bash and some kickin’ cake.

We got keys to our house and Kari started painting, and painting, and painting. And yes, we were closing escrow this whole time…

Then time for wedding #2, groomsman duty with some classy dudes.

It was an honor to dance and party all too hard in celebration of this amazing couple.

Greg and I took some youngsters out backpacking at Penner Lake the night of the super moon. Trail review to come soon.

To celebrate our first year of marriage, Kari and I headed out with the new tent to Point Reyes. Another trail review to come soon.

Any lastly, wedding #3 for the year. Best friend got married and yours truly was the best man. Best-ish, I guess. I invented a dance move for all you Crossfitters. It’s called the WOD.

Things are slowing down and life is returning to a more normal speed. Thanks for staying with me. There is plenty of fun ahead. Let’s make memories and enjoy every step of the way.

Keep your stick on the ice!

2012 – Life’s next phase

The phone rang around 5 a.m. on New Year’s Eve. Kari knew what the call meant; Sarah was going into labor. I fell back asleep, Kari’s mind took to racing. Once the morning started again, she made a list of 2012’s most important events.

It wasn’t the length of the list nor the people involved that surprised me. It was the events that were tallied. Life has changed over the past two years. Somewhere along the line, we moved from one phase of life and into the next.

We were at Squaw Valley to round out the year. It was a sunny 17 degrees outside. Kari’s list was sprawled over two pages of hotel notepad. Four weddings (including ours!), three engagements, four babies born, six job changes, job promotions, the sadness of dogs lost and the joy of the dog we gained.

Until a few years ago, looking back on each year meant remembering the exams taken and classes past, summer breaks, part-time jobs, great skateparks and epic snowstorms. I knew nothing of life’s next phase and cared little to consider it. But now, here we are. The transition was smooth, nearly unnoticeable. Better yet, it’s exciting.

We find ourselves trying harder and harder to live in the moment, taking it all in instead of recording it for later. I leave my phone in the other room so I can’t hear it chirp and chime every two minutes. I call friends for conversations, no more long text message exchanges. I deleted almost every social media app from my phone.

While walking around the village at Squaw, I realized that years are measured not only by the events and accomplishments, but the memories and feelings made along the way. That’s what happens when you’re present in the now. Years in this phase are remembered by the weddings and births, the deaths and the uneasy excitement of what may happen next.

Life is for living. It’s important to remember how each event felt, who was there and what it looked like. Not what it looked like through your camera phone or the Tweets/Facebook updates you posted.

We have five weddings on the calendar for 2013. I can’t wait for each of them. Memories will be made and fun will be had. I’ll be there physically and emotionally. My phone will be in the car.

Be there in 2013, live and in person. Make memories that can be told by a campfire or a frosty beer. Memories that turn into the stories that make your gut hurt from laughing or your face sore from smiling. Facebook can wait.

He came, he ran, he ran farther…

Last weekend, my good friend Joe became a marathoner. One website shows that half of one percent of people have run a marathon. Joe is one of those people.

I watched Joe train for a full year to run the California International Marathon. He ran 835 miles training for the big day.

I get bored driving 26.2 miles, so we knew Joe would need to see friendly faces between the start and finish lines. Kari, Greg and I prepped for our duties with funny signs, nearly each piece of waterproof clothing we owned, trash bag ponchos and an understanding that we’d get soaked.

Our first stop was around the 10 mile mark. My shoes took five minutes to be soaked through. Despite our best attempt calculating Joe’s pace, to limit our time in the rain, we still had to wait for him. Better be early than miss him.

After a coffee break, we headed to the 20 mile mark to wait in the rain, again. One thing we didn’t know: Joe was involved in a “Tour de France style pile-up,” somewhere near the 13 mile mark. His knee got trampled but he was moving still. We knew one thing; Joe didn’t put in a year to take a DNF. He went on. That’s our Joe!

We saw him run across the finish line, bashed knee and all. I could not have been more proud. Joe’s name is now included in the definition of perseverance. I’m also pretty sure that he needs to put “Marathoner” on his business cards.

Joe: you’re a star in my book. You helped inspire me to start running in the first place. I can’t wait to see what time you get next year. I’ll be screaming on the side, waving another obnoxious sign.

My long run next weekend is six miles. I’ll let you know how adding 20 might feel.

Turkey Day on the Oregon Trail

Not really the Oregon Trail, but after driving all day it sure felt like it.

I’ve always traveled for Thanksgiving, but this year was a first for me. It was the first time Kari and I made the choice of which city in the Northwest we spend Turkey Day. So, last Thursday, I took a big step in the life of a married guy: I spent my first Thanksgiving away from my immediate family.

We took off for Toledo, Oregon to enjoy a Northwestern Thanksgiving with Kari’s sister Mandi and her fiance, Todd (plus doxies Scooter and Brody). Oregon is a great place year-round, but the  joy of the holiday, some time away from home, Rogue beers and many laughs made the weekend light and the conversation easy.

 

Thanksgiving 2012 was amazing and gave gave me many things to be thankful for, mainly having awesome in-laws. I was worried I’d be sad and missing my parents over the weekend (don’t worry, I was. It’s been two months since I’ve seen my folks), but my in-laws made it a trip to remember. Here’s to the many years ahead of splitting holiday’s between Oregon and Washington.

She said “I do”

We did it. It’s official.

Thank you to everyone who was apart of our big day, all the way from celebrating our engagement, our party in Sacramento for all the friends that couldn’t make it to Oregon, and the friends and family that did make it. For those, it was one amazing day.

A special thanks to our wedding party, the A-Team, that made sure everything went perfectly. We felt honored that each of you gave your time and energy to help us start our lives together. After the rehearsal, the A-Team and Kari and I enjoyed an amazing dinner at Orchards Bistro in downtown McMinnville. No better way to spend the last night before our wedding.

There are so many amazing details from the day, so many stories we’ll tell for years to come that it would be near impossible to share them all here. Instead, I’d rather share some photos of the smiles and good memories.

It was a breathtaking day. Not only were we surrounded by some amazing people, but our venue was incredible. The view was something we’ve only seen in backpacking pictures and needed no decorations.

After a great evening at the venue’s inn, the wedding party and us newlyweds met up with friends for a tour of parts of Oregon’s wine country.

We can’t say it enough to everyone, but thank you for helping us start this crazy adventure in the most amazing of ways. Here’s to years of fun ahead!

Backpacking Bachelors Day 3: Trails? Where we’re going, we don’t need trails!

Our curse of wrong-turns would come back to haunt us on the way out. This time, the curse tried a little harder.

Can you find me? Better yet, what about the trail?

The day started out great. Another peaceful morning, breakfast, filtering water and getting ready for adventure. We took down camp and packed everything up. We made quick time getting around the bottom of Susie Lake and over to Heather Lake.

After a short break for air, we kept hoofing it west, uphill this time, to Lake Aloha. I’m telling you, that lake is a sight you’ll never get sick of.

After passing our lunch spot from the hike in, we were excited to see where we went off trail and discover the section of the PCT we missed. One of the best parts of hiking an out-and-back is the small sense of familiarity on the way back. Yet without warning, we lost that familiarity.

Not too long after hiking the “skipped” PCT section, we cruised along Aloha’s shore enjoying the views again. The snow melt was in full tilt and I swear Pyramid Peak looked more bare than the trip in. We sailed along the base of Cracked Crag and back into the meadows.

This is where we came across a snow drift that we didn’t recognize from the hike in. We went up it, looking for signs of a trail then kept on going thinking we’d find it soon. This was the big mistake; we should’ve hiked backwards until we found the trail again and taken a better look around.

Lesson learned, trust us.

To this day, two weeks later, I still can’t pinpoint on the map where we went wrong. I have a good idea, but it isn’t until half way through our adventure can I tell you for certain where we were and where we went. We eventually located ourselves and changed headings to get back on track.

Miracle iPhone service and GPS? Only if you have Verizon. Thanks, Kevin.

A little longer and we found our exact location. We came too far southwest, ending up at Desolation Lake, headed towards Frata Lake. Most likely, we’d also hiked past Channel Lake and another unnamed water hole.We made our way to the northern shore of Frata and crossed the small gap over to Lake of the Woods, meeting up with the bottom of the trail around the lake’s eastern side. We were ready for cold water and lunch, to say the least.

Looking across Lake of the Woods at Pyramid Peak

After the break, we hiked one hell of an inclined trail up to the PCT, the lovely trail we should’ve never left. It was a tough climb, only made tougher by our extra four or five miles of “extra credit” hiking. We hopped back on the PCT right at Haypress Meadow and quickly started down the trail to Tamarack Lake. The views were amazing and lasted a little longer this time around with out extended breaks, letting overworked feet rest for a minute.

Greg leading the charge uphill. I’m wheezing behind the photo.

The boat dock at Upper Echo Lake was a sight for sore eyes and sore muscles. We hung around for the taxi and headed back across, cool wind blowing the entire way.

To say it was an interesting trip doesn’t do it justice. It was a true test of navigation and a reminder to never hike alone. We had three sets of eyes that missed the trail, twice. Groups keep you in check and need consensus on a heading before going anywhere.

All that aside, we had a blast. A great trip and a great way to kick off the last few weeks before marriage begins. Could we have lived through a metaphor for life? Just when you think you’ve got the trail figured out, it takes you for a wild ride. Just go with what you know and try to keep heading in the right direction, the rest will all unfold as you go.

Lights, camera, air horn

Air horn canisters get cold fast. So cold, it becomes hard to keep the button depressed. Let me explain.

Two years ago, Kari decided that dealing with me wasn’t enough. She wanted to become a teacher and handle K-3 students on the daily. I said more power to ya! With her dream, she enrolled in a combined bachelor’s and teaching credential program at National University.

After late nights, endless papers, teaching observations and draft lesson plans, we’ve reached the turning point. I say we because as Kari’s Chief Cheerleader during college, I feel like I’ve graduated too. But I digress. Kari battled through her last classes in supreme form and is getting ready for student teaching this summer. With that, she walked the big stage wearing the goofy, time honored, cap and gown.

Hitting the books while camping. That’s dedication.

On April 22, Kari took in the rite of passage that comes with a bachelor’s degree: sitting through an endless ceremony with speeches from people you’ve never heard of. Two hours in and we had our moment, Kari’s name was called and she walked the stage. We yelled, screamed, clapped, and yes, sounded the air horn. The air horn typically stays in my backpacking gear to fend off the ill-timed bear sighting. But today, it rang loud and clear inside the convention center. It embarrassed all around and froze my hand in ten seconds flat.

After closing speeches and the procession out, we started the mad dash to find our graduate through the sea of people on cell phones, waving, hollering, looking for their graduate. We found ours and went outside for photos.

We found her, but lost others in the hunt. Madness, I tell you.

I speak for everyone when I say, we couldn’t be more proud of Kari! It’s been tough, but well worth it. She’s  the first in her family to obtain a bachelor’s degree (she snagged two associate degrees along the way). Accomplishments like this make stories to tell your kids. We smiled from ear the ear all day long. Congrats babe, you did it!!