Alaska Kayak

Getting ready to head north to Anchorage this Saturday for a 10 day kayak trip in the Prince William Sound. The trip is sponsored by the Sierra Club. I am looking forward to trying out a relatively new activity, and also anxious to test drive the knee and see how the shoulder feels.The trip leaves from Whittier on June 9. For the first several days, we will learn cold water kayaking skills and also work on a forest service project -- building tent pads. For the remainder of our trip, we shuttle the kayaks into a more remote part of the sound and travel from campsite to campsite until June 19. Hopefully, we will see whales, bears, seals, birds, and other cool creatures. I'm also hopeful that it won't rain the entire time. So far, the extended forecast is for rain and showers. Oh well. It is Alaska and I have a waterproof camera.

Vegas

Back in the old days, when my knee was still intact, I was talked into going to Vegas for a soccer tournament in mid-May. It didn't take too much convincing -- I love Vegas, I hadn't been there for a couple of years, and I always had a great time playing in the tournament. After the knee injury, however, I began to rethink my plans. Up until a week before the tournament, I flip flopped on whether to go. In the end, I decided not to change my tickets. I found a cheap car rental and noticed that there was an interesting looking recreation area not far out of town, so I decided to check out Red Rock canyon the first day of the tournament.

What a great place. It's only 17 miles outside of Vegas, but it's a world apart. Great sandstone formations that used to be the floor of the ocean on one side of the park. On the other, treed canyons that almost reminded me of Zion. It was a pleasant alternative to watching soccer all day without being able to play.

In Red Rock, I took my first several hikes without an ACL. The first was flat, a three mile loop around the sagebrush flats. The next hike was more challenging, and more interesting. I climbed through the rock to a hidden oasis, with a total elevation gain (and loss) of 420 feet. I made it! The 105 temperatures were probably the worst thing about this hike, and it was only May. Can't imagine what this furnace would be like in August.

Miami Beach

On the last weekend in April, I headed south to Miami to meet up with four girlfriends from college. Barb, Elizabeth, Marcy, Kris and I spent a long weekend wandering the boardwalk and streets of South Beach. We ate some great food, swilled some beachside-priced drinks, and visited the spa.

It had been at least five years since I had seen any of them, but of course we all looked the same. We were amazed at how many years have passed since we met each other. We seemed to easily fall back into our old friendships. Looking forward to another reunion next year.

Knee Tragedy at Alpental

Twas a fine spring day in the Seattle area, and I decided that this was my last shot to use the two free passes I received for my fundraising efforts in last year's Climb. My friend Laura and I headed up to Alpental ski area to take advantage of the warm, sunny weather and get a few turns in. I also brought along my new, waterproof camera so I could take some pictures of the terrain.
I was feeling pretty lucky. I had minor shoulder surgery nine days earlier to repair some old damage, and the shoulder was feeling good enough to ski. I just wanted to make sure I didn't take any hard falls. I figured I would take it easy.
Laura and I skied on the lower slopes first, but the upper lift and bowls were so much more enticing. So, she and I decided to do a couple of runs on our own, then meet back up for lunch. I headed up. The first run was great! Snow wasn't so hot, but the weather sure was. I didn't even need a hat or gloves.
The second run started off well. As I stood at the top of Upper International, I watched a small avalanche come down near me. I saw people eating lunch on the flat section way below. The mountains looked beautiful. I was happy to be alive. I got about halfway down, then disaster struck. As I went into a turn, my left leg got stuck in the snow. I couldn't get it to release, though the rest of me was leaning downhill. It really didn't hurt too much when I fell, but the pop was bad, as was the immediate nausea and cold sweat. At least I was smart and didn't try to ski down.
Needless to say, I was late to my lunch date. Poor Laura finally gave up waiting for me and had a beer. I highly recommend avoiding the ski sled for getting off the mountain. Going down headfirst on your back with no shocks is not fun for either you or the ski patrol. But, we made it eventually.
As luck would have it, I had an appointment with the orthopedic surgeon the next day to get my stitches out. Despite the good case of denial I had going on, I was able to get the ACL tear diagnosis thrown in as a bonus. Certainly not the news I was hoping for, but not unexpected. A subsequent MRI showed I partially tore my MCL and did some meniscus damage in addition to the ruptured ACL. Hopefully, the doctors' predictions that I can do my kayaking, hiking, backpacking, and climbing this summer and fall will prove correct!