New Army Pass

Was still snowed in as of June 27th! Dave and I had planned to hike to the top of New Army Pass. But after hearing reports of the last switchback being snowed in, Dave decided to stay at High Lake while I continued up. As I got almost to the top, I realized I just wasn't getting passed that snow. Everyone was climbing up rocks to get to the top. Now some people had to get over...since they were backpacking...but I was just out for a nice day hike, so I decided I didn't need to be that adventurous and turned around. The total hike for the day (according to my GPS) was 14.66 miles. Not bad. We will be backpacking in 2 weeks. I so can't wait to campout in the middle of nowhere!!! Dave did great with this hike, averaging over 2 miles an hour.

I really love the sierras...they are just so amazing. Now this is the part where I would normally share some photos since I hike with my XT...but guess what...I left all my memory cards sitting on the computer desk! So I have absolutely no photos. I was quite bummed. But there will be more hikes later in the year.

The campground was interesting...lots of mosquitos at around 6pm - 8pm..and we forgot the bug spray. We camped at 10,000 feet...so it was quite cold at night. We lived by the campfire once teh sun started to go down.

Miscellaneous Update

I haven't posted very much lately…not to much going on cause I've been doing lots of photography the last few weeks.

But this weekend we are heading up into the moutains for some camping and hiking. I can't wait to hit the trail! It's been since last October.

I did get my new road bike so I'm going to start training for duathalons and trathalons. I ran 7 miles on Saturday and did a short ride on Sunday. The bike is awesome!!!

Our garage is a ton better thanks to Dave…more stuff gets hauled away today then its time to morve onto organziation.

I've been very good at completing my Tuesday and Thursday morning runs.

On July 4th were going to go see the Orioles play the Angels in Anaheim..so we will be watching the firewords at the stadium.

I hung up some large photos updstairs from Thailand and they look great…so vibrant! Now I want to hang up some more larger photos.

An Extra Light

So tonight I was playing around making sure I know how I want to shoot things during the reception tomorrow. I plan on using some off camera flash again like I did at the last wedding. Hopefully it goes smoother this time. But here's an example.

Here is a photo with just my on camera flash going off.



Now here is the same scene with my flash going off on the camera and the one on the lightstand.

Loving our weather lately!

Apprently we're running about 20 degrees BELOW normal! Since we live in the desert we would normally have temps reaching into the 90s by now. But most days have been in the upper 60s to low 70s. We have even had overcast days typical of the LA Area. I'd be so incredibly happy if this was how summer really was for us. However, I know the heat is somewhere around the corner. The crazy thing is the cold weather in the mountains as well. They keep getting snow showeres. At this rate, we might be doing some hiking in snow real soon. I asked Dave the other day if we happened to have hibernated and woke up in the fall, cuase that is how it feels out there. Yesterday I had a long sleeve shirt on and was totally comforatable outside. Global Warming?

Tomorrow I go to get sized for my bike and will be ordering it. I can't wait. I test rode one in the parking lot on Tuesday. Soooooo different from my mountain bike.

Since Dave is now working from home twice a week - he has been grilling more. On Tuesday we had grilled chicken skewrs with a Thai Peanut Sauce…so good! Tonight is turkey burgers with gouda and aspargus and potatoes.

Duathalon!

I'm getting a ROAD BIKE!!! We're gonna go order it this week! I would go today but they are closed on Sundays! Then I'm gonna train for this duathalon! I'm so excited! It's on my birthday!!!!

View of the Sierras

This is what we would have been hiking in today had we gone! You can't even see the top of the mountains. I guess its good we didn't go, but I'm still pretty bummed.



This is today's forecast at 11,000 feet! We would have been hiking to over 12,000 feet.

Today: A 40 percent chance of snow showers. Some thunder is also possible. Cloudy, with a high near 30. Calm wind becoming west northwest between 7 and 10 mph. Total daytime snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.

Tonight: A 40 percent chance of snow showers. Some thunder is also possible. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 23. North northwest wind between 9 and 13 mph. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.

SNOW in June!

Yeah seriously can you believe this…I think we're getting snowed out of our hike this weekend! I've read anywhere from 3-8 inches or snow at elevation is expected!

Hello Mother Nature, did you not get the memo that it is now June! I'm so incredibley bummed. I was so looking froward to the cold weather and a nice hike up to the pass. Then a night by the campfire roasting marshmallows! Instead, we'll be at home cleaning our garage. ***SIGH***

We're going to try again in 3 weeks.

But the positive note is that I can go bike shopping! :)

Workin It Out

Totally lovin it…I'm really getting back into my more hard core exercise routine. Feelin good….but now its summer and I won't be racing until the fall.
Here's my accomplishments for the week:
Friday - ran 5.5 miles
Saturday - Shadow Boxing + Cardio at the gym (1.5 hour workout)
Sunday - 60 miles on my bike!
Monday - recovery day
Tuesday - Tennis
Wednesday - Shadow boxing + cardio
Thursday - Ran 4 miles + Tennis

Tomorrow I plan to run as well and then we're going to do a big hike over the weekend.

After my Tour De Cure experience I've decided I'm going to get a good road bike, so I need to start looking around! I want to start doing Tris and Duathalons…seriously, how long have I been saying this! Yup, many years! I have a new workout routine I've worked out for myself that includes some biking. I also plan on running on T and TH before I go to work to take advantage of the much cooler desert weather. It was 54 this morning!!! So nice…wish it would stay like this until fall. So anyawy I now get a dual workout on T and Th with playing tennis with Dave. Totally looking forward to everything. And I'd like to do a bike race in the future or something. There is a tri up at Mammoth in July, but I totally won't be ready for that. So I'll have to look around. But can imagine doing a tri in the sierras! Amazing! Although I'm sure that water is freezing cold.

Anyway - we're hoping to go camping for an evening this weekend. Do you know what the temp will be up there at night….34!!! And a slight chance of snow! Seriously…in June! Gotta love Cali. You can have 80 degrees and 30 degrees all in one day.