Chad Things

Shayna and I just got back from one of the best trips I’ve ever had - spending 10 days in the beautiful mountains of Glacier National Park, Montana, where we celebrated the one year anniversary of our wedding honeymoon.  The trip was awesome on so many levels, including the camping, hiking, and majestic views, but mostly it was great to spend quality time with the wife in the great outdoors. I highly recommend everyone to go, whether you stay in hotels or in tents, glaciers or not. I cover more on the trip below, but first here’s why it’s awesome:

Why I love Backpacking

• Being surrounded by nature
• Tons of exercise
• Tons of sleep
• Campfires (and s’mores)
• Spending quality time with fellow backpackers
• Getting away from it all (people, technology, normal life)
• Everything you need is on your back or found in nature
• Food tastes awesome when you’re burning 2-3 times the usual amount of calories
• Re-appreciating how great showers, beds, and other comforts are when finished

Why I love Glacier National Park

• The view - mountains, glaciers, lakes
• The smells - fresh pine, cedar, sweet flowers, smokey campfires
• The hikes - Favs are Highline Trail and hike to Ptarmigan Tunnel
• The temperature - Hot enough to go swimming, but cool at night

When we first arrived at the airport, we got our rental car and drove to the town of Kalispel, the largest of many small towns in Flathead valley, just west of the park.  We stopped by a famous house, the Conrad Mansion, barely catching the last tour of the day.  It  was an impressive house and an interesting tour - built over a hundred years ago and restored to its original condition (we took many pics of this).  From there we drove to the hills to our first Bed and Breakfast, The Garrison Inn.  Our hosts Gene and Anne Marie were very nice.  Gene is also a professional chef and made us a delicious dinner and an amazing breakfast - probably the best omelete I’ve ever had (insanely fluffy, almost a quiche).

After the B&B we drove about an hour before entering the park.  We debated white water rafting and horse back riding, but decided water was too cold and horses were not my favorite.  We got lucky and found a spot in the Apgar campground, had lunch, then went for our first real hike to the Apgar Lookout.  The next day we moved a bit further east, getting a spot at Sprague Creek campground.  That day we did one of our longest and most beautiful hikes - Highline trail from Logan Pass to Granite Park Chalet, then on down to our car at The Loop, about 12 miles total.   We saw our first big animals - mountain goats.  Did you know they have bacteria in their stomach that generates heat?  That helps them survive the mountain tops during 40 below winters.  That night we slept super solid - 7 hours of hiking will do that to ya.  The next day I gorged on the breakfeast buffet at the lodge (totally worth it), then we drove over the to east side on Going to the Sun road, which was supposed to be awesome but all the road construction made the experience a bit annoying.  That night we stayed at St. Mary campground and were lucky enough to catch a performance by the Blackfeet tribe, the native americans who live east of the park.  They explained their music, competition dances, and costumes in great detail.  Big props to traditional Native Americans.  Afterwards we had our first campfire.  I love fires.

The next day we got up super early (6:30am) to get to Many Glacier campground to ensure we get a spot.  It’s the most popular campground in the park, and, like all but 2 campgrounds, takes no reservations - first come, first serve.  All spots are snatched up by around 8am-8:30am every day.  After securing our spot, we took the day off from hiking and explored the Many Glacier Lodge and surrounding areas (the great lodges are amazing).  I also explored my book and the back of my eyelids in the afternoon (gotta have naps on vacation, right?).  We had a camping stove issue that was resolved the night before (oh, thats how you clean it) and this was the first day we had hot meals from the stove.  Previously we snacked on bars, PB, fruit, nuts, broccoli and hummus, bread, cheese, crackers, and pickles, which were all good. Now we had hot oatmeal and other warm dishes like rice and beans and indian food. We saved the freeze-dried for backpacking. Our second day at Many Glacier we hiked to Iceberg lake. We wanted to hit up  Grinnell glacier, but that was closed due to bears.  So guess what we saw about 150 yards off the trail to Iceberg lake?  A grizzly bear and her 3 cubs.  Awesome.  We also saw a mama moose and her baby - from only a few feet away as they were on the trail.  The last day at many glacier was more chilling out, shayna did a short hike and I did some picture/laptop stuff.  That evening we had our first rain storm and were lucky enough to be able to watch it from the lodge.  Later after that we had another campfire along with s’mores.  Mmm-mm.

Saturday morning we left Many Glacier to start our backpacking adventure.  We drove to the Chief Mountain Trailhead, which is right next to the Canadian border, to enter the Belly river area of the park.  It was about 10am when we began backpacking, a mostly level hike 13 miles to our first camp at Glenn’s Lake Head.  Let me reiterate how unbelievably beautiful this park is.  Gorgeous natural diversity, from moutains, glaciers, snow, streams and lakes, to fields of grass and flowers, to rocky and dusty mountain tops, to pine and aspen forests, and more .. sometimes all at once.  The highline trail gave us a taste but being surrounded by nothing but pure nature takes it to the next level.  The next 2 nights we spent at Elizabeth Lake head campground (i say head since the bigger lakes have 2 campgrounds, one at the head where water comes in, and one at the foot where water exits).  Each night we had to store all our food, toiletries, even water in bear bags and hang them high up in the trees.  We also had to prep food and eat in common areas. It was a nice way to meet people - we met boy scouts, families, and several couples .. but not the most romantic.  Except the first night, where we had a campfire and more s’mores, we crashed pretty early - often before dark.  Once shayna was down for almost 12 hours, after hiking probably the most scenic hike on the trip, up to Ptarmigan tunnel.  It was 12 miles roundtrip, over half a mile vertical, with the most diversity and impressive views of any of our hikes.  It was tough, but thats how we like it.  Gotta earn it.  Other adventures included discovering amazing waterfalls, fording rivers, and dealing with hail storm on the last day hiking out.  The last 2 nights of our trip were just us appreciating showers, beds, nice meals, and relaxing.  It went by much too quick.

This trip was definitely a backpacking and camping trip first, and honeymoon anniversary second. I say honeymoon anniversary since this trip, being a backpacking trip, was more similar to our honeymoon backpacking adventure on Isle Royale (more deets) than our wedding  That said, wife and I had an amazing time together.  I feel so lucky to have a girl who is into backpacking almost as much as I am, even though she’s only been on 3 real backpacking trips! We both hope to do at least one major trip a year from now on.  So stay tuned for more adventures.

Last weekend we spent a couple nights camping at the Indiana Dunes, about 90 minutes from Chicago.  It was awesome - the first time I’ve gone camping this year.  Despite it being Memorial Day weekend, it wasn’t too crowded - we snagged a walk-in camping spot friday morning at 10am, which is check-out time.  We chose Dunewood Campground in the National Park over the state park cuz Dunewood was surrounded by trees (and we like the yelp info). The state park is closer to the lake and has RV hookups .. but no trees and you’re basically right next to your neighbor.

The dunes themselves were pretty cool, but mostly it was just a big beach, unlike Pismo Beach in California which is more like a desert going back a mile from the water.  Friday we climbed to the top of Mt Baldy (second highest spot in the area) and watched the sunset, then ate dinner back at the campsite.  Saturday we walked around the Chellberg Farm and Bailly homestead - Joe Bailley was the first in the area in 1822 and traded furs with the native americans.  They had some restored homes and structures that were pretty interesting.  In the afternoon we went to the state park and had lunch, played frisbee, and hung out.  It was warm enough to enjoy the beach but not the water.  Apparently Lake Michigan can have very high bacterial counts - you don’t want to go in the water when that happens. Saturday night we played cards, played with the fire, and ate lots of smores.  Could not have been more relaxing.

Now that we’ve been to Starved Rock and Indiana Dunes -  I want to go camping at Devil’s Lake - do some swimming, hiking, and campfires.  My favorites.  See more on chicago camping.

Just a quick note saying … Done. I accomplished my goal, finishing the San Francisco Marathon on Sunday, August 3. Shayna surprised me at the finish with a bunch of my friends, snacks, and beer. What more can a boy want? We ended up hitting Zeitgeist for the rest of the afternoon.

I was sad that my body gave out on me - after running for 17 miles, my knees stopped working, to the point where when i run i would fall. So the last 9 miles or so i walked. My training was good - I never got tired, i guess i have to admit i’m not 18 and indestructible anymore. And since then, I haven’t been able to run more than 6 miles without my knees hurting again. Time to get back into biking …

Today I did my first big run in preparation for Aug 3. I ran 20 miles in 3.5 hours. I know, I can’t beleive it myself. I’ve been serious about the SF marathon ever since I’d signed up, but today was the first milestone proving I’m doing it. And right before my 10 day trip to Jamaica .. Ahhhh yeah …

For the running geeks out there, I ran this like I do all my runs - with my GPS Forerunner 305 watch and heart rate monitor. I love uploading my runs to motionbased.com as well as looking at them on google maps. I also wear headphones and listen to my iPhone (like my iPod, only i can take pics and view google maps if need be). I must confess my GPS watch said 19.2 miles when i stopped it, but Garmin software on the ol’ computer says 20miles. Breaks down like this - I ran solid the first 7.5 miles to the Beach Chalet, where Golden Gate Park hits the Ocean, and went inside for a drink of water. Then I ran solid up to and through the Presidio to Sports Basement, where i took my second break at 13.4 miles (135 mins), drinking more water and having my only snack, a Cliff Shot of goo. Then I ran through the marina and down Van Ness, at which point traffic, people, and stop lights disrupted my flow. I never realized how much work it takes to run, stop, run, stop, etc. Also had to buy a bottle of water cuz i was so thirsty. I got home and was not tired, but my legs ached, and had a blister on my foot. Not bad.  I also give props to eating pasta the night before and no runs for 3 days.  Mr. Marathon, I am READY.

I’ve been wanting to do a Backpacking trip by myself for some time. And after Otto’s Passing, I really needed it. I wanted to do 3-5 days, enough time to get out there, let the dust settle in my brain so i had time to think, reflect, or just relax. I also needed some good exercise, different than my constant running. So off I went …

On Tuesday, June 3, I packed up, voted, then left San Francisco for the Sierra Nevada Mountains. At first I wasn’t sure where to go .. I considered Yosemite, Tahoe, .. but went for Kings Canyon. I did a day hike there in 2006, as well as a Backpacking trip near there at Jennie Wilderness with Juan and Damian in 200x, so i knew what to expect. I got there a few hours before sunset, enough time to eat, setup camp, and walk around a bit before bed.

Wednesday I got early and went to the Lodge to find trail info from some backpacking books. I took a few pics of some good hikes, then went to Roads End to get my wilderness permit. The rangers warned that there was still lots of snow .. mostly above 9,000 feet. I considered doing Paradise Valley (start of Rae Lakes Loop), but ended up picking Bubbs Creek to Junction Meadow, with a day hike option to East Lake or Charlotte Lake.

I started hiking around 10:30am Wednesday at Roads End (Elevation 5085 ft). It was 2 miles through the valley floor to my first Junction, then I crossed Bailey Bridge up Bubbs Creek, hitting switchbacks out of the valley to Sphinx Creek Campsite (6280 ft), my first rest, about 4 miles in. As soon as I took my backpack off, I brilliantly twisted my ankle. I hurt like hell at first, but turned out mostly OK .. wasn’t able to use it fully for over a week. After water refill and a snack, i continued on to Charlotte Creek. It was 4pm when I stopped, and my GPS watch said i hiked over 7 miles. I wasn’t sure if i had 3 or 5 miles more till Junction meadow (depending on if you trust books, maps, or trail signs), so I decided to camp, since 5 miles more would be too much. I setup tent, got water, cooked dinner - delicious spicy chicken with rice and vegies, and appreciated clean air and sunset. I was wiped out, and was in bed asleep around 9pm.

Thursday I woke up 6ish, got out of the tent at 7am, packed and hit the trail by 8. Charlotte Creek (7280 ft) was overflowing, and I had to crawl over wet slippery logs to cross .. my first semi-dangerous adventure. I made it to Junction meadow (8190 ft) around 10am .. so it wasn’t that far after all (about 3 miles according to GPS watch). I decided to setup camp, have brunch, and do a day hike. After some tasty oatmeal, orange and banana, I hit the trail by noon. The rangers warned that bubbs creek would be too high to cross to east lake, but i ran into another hiker (first person I met on the trail) who just came from there - he spent the night on top of snow at Lake Reflection, a few miles past east lake. On his suggestion, i went to east lake instead of Charlotte Lake - mainly cuz it was closer and I’d like to spend some time swimming and exploring the lake. Bubbs creek was super high and I ended up crossing water 4 times, mostly over fallen trees, but the last crossing involved some jumping and getting my feet wet. I ringed out my socks, put my boots back on and kept on. I climbed out of the junction valley up east creek to the most beautiful views (video). I made it to East lake (9475 ft) around 2:30, swam, ate, and sunbathed till 4pm. Happy and fully rested, I hiked back down, getting back to camp by 5:30 (crossing the rivers again without falling in this time). I could feel the elevation but felt great after the afternoon at the lake. My stove wasn’t working, so i got a fire going and boiled water for my beef stronganoff (not as good as the spicy chicken). After eating I basically played with fire till after dark, and was asleep by 10pm. There were 3 other groups at junction meadow, from 2-4 peeps each.

Friday i didn’t get out of the tent till 8ish, had a leisure breakfast and wrote in my journal till 11. I then busted out of there, thinking i had to return my bear cannister before the ranger station closed at 3pm. It took me about 3.5 hours to hike out, arrived at 3:10pm - rangers were gone but they had a drop-off for the bear cannister. I was beat. I took off my boots and it was awesome - they were still pretty new and rubbing me raw in weird places. I grabbed a beer at the lodge and hit the road back to SF around 4pm. I stopped at In-N-Out and had the most delicious burger and fries ever. I made it home by 9, and went out to Amnesia for some brasstax action. Yay.

In Summary, I hiked about 30 miles over 3 days with

about 4,400 feet elevation gain. You can check out my hike info from GPS Watch (it shows just the going up part, batteries ran out at east lake). Also view the Google map of the hike. At some point I want to do Rae Lakes Loop Hike, a 4-7 day trip. It is supposed to be so Amazing, one of the best in the Sierras. Here’s a sample itinerary.

Did you know 1 out of 3 Americans is obese? 2 out of 3 are overweight? Yep, according to a 2007 CDC study. And according to a 2007 worldwide study, 40% of adults are overweight, with 25% being obese. Holy crap. More people are obese than underweight worldwide (WHO 2000). And don’t forget the childrens - 15% of those ages 6-19 are overweight according to 2000 CDC data, triple what it was in 1980 (more stats).

But how much do you have to weigh to be considered obese? Well, you are considered obese if you have a BMI greater than 30, and overweight if its greater than 25.

What is BMI? Body Mass Index. It’s the most popular, accurate way (heh, way, pun) to measure obesity (sort of). It’s a simple formula based on your weight (lbs or kg) and height (inches or meters). According to CDC, the BMI formula is 703 x (lbs) / (inches^2), or if you are from metric land, its just weight (kg) / [height (m)]². For me, I have a 23.7 BMI, thats 703 x 175 lbs / (72 inches)^2 = 23.7, or 79.4 kg / (1.83 meters)^2 = 23.7 in metric talk. Heres my BMI results from this BMI Calculator, which gives you a nice chart like this:

If you’re 20 years or older, its the same for men and women. Here’s a BMI Calculator for those under 20. If you ain’t feeling this math or the BMI thing, don’t worry - I crunched the numbers and made this reference chart.

Weight Chart, Over 20 years old

Notes:

I’m not sure I trust CDC entirely. This 2006 CDC study said no change in American obesity since 2003-2004. But by their own numbers, obesity went up 2% overall, almost a 7% increase (males up 7.1% from 31.1% to 33.3%, females up 6.3% from 33.2% to 35.3%). At that rate the number of obese people will more than double in 11 years. Yes, no-increase means double in 11 years. Hello? Is this the new Bush-Era Science?

I just signed up for my first marathon - the San Francisco Marathon on Sunday, August 3, 2008. It seems only appropriate to run my first in my favorite city ever. I’m not sure how much real training I’ll do - I ran a half-marathon over thanksgiving, and that went well. So i figure i’ll stick to my hour runs 3 times a week, using my gps watch and heart monitor, with the occasional long run every now and then. If anybody else out there is running it, lemme know !!

Last weekend Shayna and I joined Terry and Dana on a backpacking and camping trip to Sykes Hot Springs. It was awesome. I’ve done many day hikes and overnight backpacking trips and this was one of my favorites. Not too far a drive from SF, the trail was part dusty, part lush forests, had views of the ocean and beautiful mountains. The first day ended with us arriving at a clear, refreshing river winding through camp (altho it was cold) and nice warm campfire after dark. The next day we slept in, had breakfast, soaked in the hot springs for an hour, and hit the trail back home. It was totally fun to do all this with another couple, especially Dana and Terry.

We decided to go last minute - Dana mentioned they were going on friday night, and saturday we thought about it, wondering if it was going to be too cold (it is February), and if we were allowed to have campfires (California is sensitive to them fires). After an hour of research, Shayna just said - if we’re thinking about it so much, lets just go!! And we did. After playing a little bit in Golden Gate park we went home, packed, and drove down to Monterey. All the cheap hotels were booked, we ended up staying in Seaside, just north of Monterey, for $100. Not so cheap .. but it was President’s day weekend. The next morning we got up, got some coffee, breakfast and sandwiches and hit the roads. We got to the ranger station about 9:15am. We were trying to hike with Terry and Dana, but they weren’t sure when they’d be able to make it. As it turned out, they showed up at the ranger station right after we did. Hurray.

We started the hike at the Big Sur Station, about 30 miles south of Monterey or 2.5 hours south of SF. We hiked the 10 miles in with our camping gear and food to Sykes campground, the fourth camping area along Pine Ridge Trail. Along the hike we stopped for beautiful views, pack adjustments, snacks, and pictures. By the time we got to camp we only had an hour of sunlight left and it was pretty crowded - we had to run around to find a decent camping spot. We setup our tents and it was getting too dark so we waited till the next morning to do the hot springs. Terry got the fire going and we basically hung out by the fire eating, drinking, and puffin’ till bed. We slept in, had some breakfast, another fire, packed up, and hit the hot springs on the way out. Our campsite was on the right bank of the river, and the trail and hot springs were on the left bank, so just like the previous day we had to wade across the freezing Big Sur River - it was as deep as a couple feet in some spots. And if you’re barefoot, you can’t run across the riverbed rocks like I did. Heh.

The Sykes Hot Springs were nice, but not that nice. I’ve read several reviews of them online (mark verber’s excellent details, 2004 NY Times , brian’s blog, yelp) but let me set the record straight as of February 2008, when we went. There were 3 hot tubs - each had man-made walls and varying sizes. There were 2 by the river, and a third one uphill from the one that was more downstream. That third one uphill was the biggest and the one we soaked in. It could hold 6 strangers or 10-12 close friends. The one downhill from that could hold 4-7 people, and the one upstream from that could hold about 2-5 people. You can smell sulfur in the air and there is a little bit of algae/dirt in the tubs. When we arrived at camp on Sunday they were all full, and the clothing optional rule was in effect. But as I said it was getting dark so we didn’t go in. On Monday morning we jumped in the only one that had room - the one uphill - it had just 2 UCSC girls in it at the time. The temperature was nice, the reported 100-degrees seemed about right. That’s not as hot as most hot tubs which are more like 104, but hot enough to ease them sore muscles. The downhill one was about the same temperature, but people said the upstream one was a little bit colder.

Let me list some quick details if you’ve never been and want to go.

• Where - Start at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park, off Hwy 1, about 26 miles south of Carmel, 2.5 hours south of San Francisco. The trailhead is in the parking lot of Big Sur Station (not Big Sur Lodge, but just south of it).
• When - Its open year-round, but best in spring and summer. If you don’t mind crowds, weekends are fine, but start hiking as early as you can. The ranger station by the trailhead opens at 8am - you’ll definitely want a campfire and thats where you get the permit.
• Hike 10 miles along Pine Ridge Trail through the Ventana Wilderness, part of Los Padros National Forest (map)
• Camp at Sykes - leave plenty of time to find a camping spot - it’s hilly and can get crowded during the summer and on weekends. You could camp at Barlow if short on time or the ranger implies its too crowded, which is about 3 miles before Sykes.
• Bring extra shoes or sandals to wade across the river. It sux to hike out with wet shoes.
• Recommend: water filter, moleskin, GPS watch, fire permit

As I said, this trip was awesome. But it wasn’t the hot springs that made the trip - Big Sur region is just beautiful. The hike, campsite and river, and friends were all above average. The hot springs were just icing on the cake. Plus, it was shayna’s first backpacking trip and my first with my GPS watch. You can check out our hike to Sykes Hot Springs on Google Maps or see hiking stats on motionbased.

Today I finally got to use my new gps watch (give it up for no rain). Check out my run from 116 San Jose (home) to Mt. Davidson and back (or all my runs online). Chart details is especially cool - When you click on it, opens a chart with elevation, pace, and heart rate info. Mt. Davidson is the tallest natural point in SF at 925 feet. GPS elevation is close, but the elevation gain on the summary data seems way off.

Today I got a new toy!!!! A brand new GPS-enabled heart-rate-monitor super watch, the Garmin Forerunner 305. It’s the ideal gadget for serious runners and triathletes. Not that I’m a serious runner, but I do love to geek out. The GPS is pretty robust, allowing the device to record your route as you run (GPS accuracy within 10 meters, typical). The heart rate monitor keeps track of your pulse (of course), so you can see how hard you’re working. And its got all sorts of timers and alerts and other stuff.

The main reason I got it is because I *do* run and wanted to track my routes. After some looking, I was sold by this one picture - it shows a map of SF with the route highlighted, and some stats on the left. Exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for the pic, Bijan Sabet.