New York, Phase I and II

Where do I start? How about in Harlem, where I began my visit!

Someone must have slipped my friend Amal some drugs, because she somehow happily agreed to let me stay in her super-cute apartment for THREE weeks. Amal=Angel.
We spent lots of nights doing ‘friends things,’ including a visit to Harlem’s first (and only) Bier House (fantastic!), night runs along the river, Monday Night Football with Dinosaur BBQ, and many hours spent distracting each other from work with random discussions through the wall…you know, friend things.

It was really nice to open the door every day after work to this:



Just makes you happy.

Mom and Dad came for a visit, and we packed in a matinee Broadway show (Next to Normal), a Central Park walk, delicious Italian and Cuban dinners, and the New York City Marathon!



Thanks to Matt, we had a front row seat in Brooklyn for mile 6 of the marathon. We ate brunch while watching the elite runners finish on TV and the real-time runners go by out the window (If you’re not going to actually participate in a marathon you might as well eat delicious pastries and breakfast sandwiches while watching the runners, right?)



I also had the fantastic opportunity to attend NYC’s WhiskeyFest with my friend Dan who works for VA Distillery in Charlottesville.



I “worked” pouring whiskey at their booth, talking with people about whiskey and taking strolls around the room tasting whiskeys from around the world…amazing!

Next stop, Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn.



The next kind individual to offer up his couch was my friend Kevin, and his three roommates Ronnie (person), Tom (person) and Rita (kitty). Kevin’s neighborhood sits between historic Green-Wood Cemetery and beautiful Prospect Park. It is also home to the Double Windsor bar, which has delicious food, eclectic microbrews (even a VT brewery I’d never even HEARD of!!!) and a fantastic trivia night.

It’s clear I enjoyed my time in Brooklyn! Prospect park was a great place for running, and Kevin and I enjoyed a perfect late-fall afternoon walking around the cemetery, checking out old gravestones and listening to the parakeets chirp from the front gates (haven’t gotten the back story there yet…)



Over Thanksgiving weekend Amal and I fought the crowd at the Wednesday night inflation of the Macy's day parade balloons!



It was a little crazy fighting the crowd, but the balloons sure looked good!

So far so good in the city! Next up, stays in Chelsea and Midtown Manhattan!

8 Weeks in Bellingham

Well that went by quickly!
Early fall in the northwest was amazing.



At this point I clearly can’t revisit everything that happened, so I’m going David Letterman style on this with a top 10 list:

Top 10 favorite things about my 8 weeks in Washington (in no particular order):

1-My Job:
When you have a good job it really makes your life fun! From the moment I walked into work on the first day and discovered my CI (clinical instructor = boss) was both a Redskins fan and a Red Sox fan, I knew it was going to be a good 2 months. I was lucky enough to work with some super cool people in a relaxed environment, learn a ton and have a lot of fun! My co-workers rocked, my schedule rocked, my patients rocked.
Oh and we had a car crash into the side of the building one day, so that really pepped up the work-day! (don’t worry, everyone was OK)

2-Meagan’s Bike:
I didn’t have a car in Bellingham (except for when Malcolm, Michelle or Malcolm let me borrow theirs…) so my main mode of transportation was my bicycle. My mountain bike made the trip XC and would have been my ride to work everyday, until Meagan (Malcolm’s sister for those who don’t know her) lent me her totally sweet, super light-weight, nicest-bike-I’ve-ever-ridden, road bike! Needless to say, it obviously made my daily commute much more enjoyable. Thanks Meagan!

3-Mt Baker


Speaking of my bike ride to work, my commute was also enhanced by an amazing view of Mt Baker, one of Washington’s awesome snowy peaks. Malcolm and I also made it over to North Cascades National Park for an overnight hike. We had great weather and found a perfect spot for the tent with amazing views of Baker and Shuksan.



4-Vancouver
Since Vancouver is only a little over an hour from Bellingham, we took a quick trip up one weekend to check out the Olympic city. We were lucky enough to be there on a perfectly sunny, beautiful day!


After securing the car downtown for the day, we hopped on our bikes and took them for a spin around Stanley Park (yes, the same Stanley name behind that little ol’ hockey trophy!) Totem poles, beaches, cricket games, views of the city and lots of amusing tourists…. It was very entertaining! Next we rode over to Granville Island for some local beers and lunch at the market. While walking through a tiny park on the island, we stumbled upon an official beer pong tournament---which we tried to crash but it was unfortunately a private event (booo!) Back to downtown Vancouver, we walked through Chinatown and the historic Gaslight District where we checked out some local art before grabbing dinner and another round of local brews. Since we had a few Canadian dollars left, we HAD to get some gelato before we headed home, passing the night-lit olympic torch platform…a pretty good 12 hours in Canada!




5-Mom and Dad Visit:
Yah! Mom and Dad took a 10-day trip to the northwest in September. Our first weekend was spent in Seattle, walking the downtown piers, eating seafood on the waterfront and taking the shamelessly touristy Duck Tour (two thumbs up from the Gustin review).

Unfortunately I had to work during the week, but they had no trouble filling up the days with hikes, whale watching tours and other northwest fun with the McPhees. Our 2nd weekend consisted of more delicious food, hikes along the water, cycling around Anacortes and some good hang out-time.

6- Seattle Time

Since Malcolm was in Seattle for this rotation, we spent a fair amount of time in the city! The highlights included runs around Green Lake, trips to the REI flagships store and a Saturday night Huskies game complete with tailgating and an overtime victory!



7-McPhee Proximity:
Malcolm’s hometown of Anacortes is conveniently located between Seattle and Bellingham, so we frequently found ourselves spending weekend time at the McPhee household. Delicious meals, homebrews, forestland runs/bikes and quality hang out time were just what we needed to unwind over the weekend. We also made a trip out to the family cabin for a weekend ‘cabin party’ with Michelle’s extended family, complete with beach campfires and a pickleball tournament-goodtimes!



8-Bellingham Brews:
Ahhhh. The beers in Bellingham took the edge off my homesickness for Vermont beers. Among my favorites were Chuckanut’s British Brown Ale and Boundary Bay’s Imperial Oatmeal Stout and Scotch. The food scene in Bellingham also kept me coming back for more (mostly thanks to nights out with Mom and Dad and Michelle and Malcolm). Apparently “clam” chowder also includes salmon as a staple ingredient… I love it!

9-Cliffside Drive:
Talk about lucky. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I first saw my Bellingham neighborhood. I had beautiful views of the bay from the front yard, a huge fenced in backyard for the roommate’s pups
(2 German wire-haired pointers), and a 5 minute walk to a private beach with a view of Bellingham that was eerily similar to the view of Burlington from Oakledge!

My roommate Tracy is an awesome woman- a dog lover, earth conscious and PTA student – we obviously got along pretty well!



10-West-coast Football:
Let me tell you. Waking up at 10am, sitting up in bed and turning the TV on to the 1:00 NFL game is AWESOME. Sunday and Monday night football? Over by 9. NINE.
If only I’d stayed until the world series was over…


*Oh yeah, and Mt Rainer:


It's pretty cool too! :)


Next stop, New York City...

48 Hours in San Francisco

If I were judging cities based only on their dog population, San Francisco would be ranked number one. Mid-sized, mixed-breed dogs were spotted throughout the city parks and streets...my kinda town! Even without the dogs, I really enjoyed my time in San Francisco! Delicious food (more tacos of course), funky stores and great parks took up most of my time.

When I arrived on Sunday night we got right down to business and went to the Giradelli factory to sample their chocolate (it was a caramel free-sample day)! We went to a fantastic little Mexican restaurant for dinner where we ordered the largest bowl of guacamole I have ever seen!

Since Dan was working, I had two full days to explore on my own, connecting back up with Dan for dinner each night. American Idol was holding auditions in the city while I was there (information I learned from an AI hopeful on the bus/train ride from LA). I expected things to be a little crazy, since 20,000 to 30,000 people were expected to show up, but the city seemed to be big enough to hold us all.

Day one started with a great run along the panhandle and through golden gate park where I saw the following sign at the intersection of the park and the road:


Love it.

The rest of the day was spent walking around the Mission district, which was conveniently close to Dan’s place. I walked into a used bookstore on Market Street, emerging a quick 2 hours later with a handful of new additions to my library. Next I grabbed an ice cream cone from Bi Rite, salted caramel and coffee toffee, sooo delicious! I then stumbled into a combination children’s mentoring non-profit/pirate supply store, a pretty awesome combination! Next door was another creatively stocked business, selling various plants and gardening materials in the back and taxadermied animals and animal-inspired art in the front (think blown ostrich eggs, jewelry molded after animal bones and glass eyeballs)! After a few chapters of JD Salinger in Dolores Park, it was time to join Dan and our friend Ashley for dinner (fantastic seafood tacos) and a bottle of wine.


I borrowed Dan’s bike on day two and traveled downtown, thoroughly enjoying and appreciating the well marked bike lanes. I biked by the fisherman’s wharf and along the waterfront bike path to the golden gate bridge. The sidewalk was crowded but the skies were clear and it was a beautiful day to ride across the bridge and back. After backtracking through downtown I rode through Haight and Ashbury before joining Dan for dinner and hopping on my flight to Seattle!

The Promised Land

Since Los Angeles was our first real stop after leaving life on the trail, it had the chance to live up to the nickname “the promised land.” Ahh the luxuries that awaited us; running water, hot food of all kinds, soft beds with sheets and most importantly, Chris, Jack, Kim and Erin! How lucky am I that I can visit so many best friends in one city?! Malcolm navigated us with expertise through the 7-lane traffic of The 5 (a little different than the sparsely populated two lanes of I-89 in VT) and we arrived at our LA haven, Jack and Kim’s house in Echo Park.



The McLoughlin-Strobel family of four (including new kitten addition Abe the Babe) welcomed us back to society in style. We were eating things like fresh fruits, vegetables and non-freeze dried entrees, soaking up the sun on the beach and enjoying delicious margaritas- this city is amazing. Evening walks around Echo Park revealed funky architecture and amazing gardens (the things you can do when your garden survives 12 months of the year!)

Kim and Stella led me on a sunny hike of Mt Hollywood, and I gained a few pounds back by spending lunchtime at Local, Jack’s restaurant. A portabella and goat cheese burger accompanied by crispy spicy fries, curried chicken salad on a bed of fresh kale…perfection!

We celebrated Jack’s birthday with a backyard BBQ, complete with a piñata and ice-cold forties-an appropriate welcoming of year 27.




Erin showed me the lay of the land in Santa Monica, including a stroll down the 3rd Street Promenade and delicious tacos. I’ve come to the conclusion that I could happily eat every meal out of a flour tortilla or taco shell for the rest of my life!

Chris took a turn at hosting and we spent a little time in downtown LA where I checked off the “dancing to late 90’s music” and “drinking tall boys of PBR” items on my to-do list.

Of all the modern joys that Los Angeles offered, quality catch-up time with good friends tops the list.
(Though those margaritas WERE good…)

Trail Homes

Guest-blogger Malcolm has put together a blog about our campsites along the trail:


Our JMT campsites starting 7/19/2010 at Toulomne Meadows and ending 8/6/2010 at Whitney Portal:

7/19: Lyell Canyon 5.5 miles south from Toulomne Meadows, right off trail by nice river spot
7/20: Just above Donahue pass to the right on the ridgeline
7/21: Left before the bridge at Garnet Lake behind the large smooth rock, sandy campsite
7/22: Left of trail at the Becks Lake trail junction,
7/23: Madera/Fresno County line, right of trail in the woods
7/24: High point between lake Virginia and Purple lake, right off trail and up ridgeline
7/25: Lake Edison trail 1 mile above ferry landing right of trail
7/26: Vermillion Valley resort
7/27: Bluffs above Florence lake 1 mile from ferry landing, right from trail
7/28: San Joaquin River Valley, right after second bridge in Kings Canyon NP, in the trees by river
7/29: North Evolution lake, across creek at the north end of lake on the ridgeline
7/30: Le Conte Canyon 3 miles below Muir Pass left across the creek
7/31: Woods left of trail about a half mile before the golden staircase begins
8/1: Upper Basin on the south side of Mather Pass, left of trail between the 4 lakes
8/2: Ansel Adams pond, left of trail on small bluff in trees
8/3: Lower Rae Lake, right of trail at first penninsula
8/4: 3 miles below Forester Pass at 90 degree turn in trail on right across Bubb's Creek
8/5: Bighorn Plateau, right of trail in dried river bed
8/6: 1 mile above Guitar lake right of trail

And now, the JMT campsite POWER RANKINGS:

All sites were rated out of 20 in the following 5 categories, scores are out of 100:

S= Scenery. How pretty was it?
C= Campsite. How nice were the tent site and cooking area?
W= Water. A combo of access to water for filtering and the quality of the water itself
M= Mosquitos. How bad were the bugs?
X= X factors. Anything else that contributed to the experience: wildlife, neighbors, weather, etc.

#18: Madera/Fresno County line: Easily our worst campsite. No view, very buggy, and I had to hike 10 minutes down to get water. Not a great night.

S=5, C=10, W=5, M=4 , X=2
Total = 26

#17: Becks Lake trail junction: Bugs were OK until dusk and a decent campsite with good water, but not much of a view.

S=6, C=15, W=10, M=7, X=7,
Total = 45

#16: Lake Edison Trail: We hiked all day and crashed right by the trail. Our only rainy night with a few thunderstorms.

S=8, C=8, W=16, M=8, X=8,
Total = 48


#15: Donahue Pass: Great view, but bad bugs and a good hike down to water.

S=18, C=10, W=4, M=6, X=14,
Total = 52





#14: Above Lake Virgina: Very beautiful...bugs so bad we ate dinner in the tent. Closest water down at Purple lake.

S=19, C=15, W=6, M=2 X=15,
Total = 57






#13: Base of the Golden Staircase: Nice site in woods by the creek, mosquitos controlled by campfire (below 10,000 feet!)

S=8, C=14, W=16, M=9, X=14
Total = 61

#12: Upper Basin below Mather Pass: Exceptional view and good water. Horrible mosquitos

S=18, C=18, W=15, M=3, X=12,
Total = 66





#11: Lyell Canyon: Mosquitos not bad and a lovely riverside spot.


S=14, C=12, W=17, M=12, X=12,
Total = 67


#10: San Joaquin River: Beautiful wooded spot on the rver, campfire helped with bugs


S=12, C=17, W=19, M=12, X=15,
Total = 75

#9: Bighorn Plateau: Majestic views with a nice breeze. Stagnant water and our coldest night...brrr

S=20, C=17, W=8, M=16, X=16,
Total = 77




#8: Garnet Lake: Awesome tentsite and rock for cooking. A little crowded but good water and bugs OK.

S=15, C=19, W=12, M=15, X=17,
Total = 78





#7: Florence Lake: Gorgeous and bug free. No water above the lake.

S=12, C=17, W=7, M=20, X=18,
Total = 79





#6: Le Conte Canyon: Excellent campsite above the creek. Great views, water, and not many bugs.

S=16, C=16, W=16, M=16, X=16,
Total = 80

#5: Ansel Adams Pond: Incredible views, 4-5 good tent sites above the pond on a ridge with a nice breeze to keep bugs away. We couldn't find the yellow legged frogs the ranger told us about...

S=19, C=19, W=8, M=16, X=19,
Total = 81





#4: Lower Rae Lake: Everyboby else camped at the upper lakes, we had this one to ourselves! Great swimming spot, not
many bugs, and excellent scenery. I wish I'd had a fishing pole for all the big trout we saw!

S=18, C=18, W=15, M=15 X=17,
Total = 83






#3: Above Guitar lake: Away from the crowds, and no bugs at 12,000 feet! We ate well and enjoyed a gorgeous sunset. Carried water up from the lake but crossed a few streams on the way. Tented on a sandy flat spot with a rock wall built around it.

S=20, C=18, W=7, M=20 X=19,
Total = 84





#2: North Evolution Lake: Good swimming and water, great view and tentsite, breezy to keep away bugs, and a killer sunset. I though it couldn't be beat, but...

S=19, C=18, W=18, M=17, X=18,
Total = 90





#1: Bubbs Creek: Stunning views, a fast flowing water source, and a tent site bunkered behind rocks with a little meadow in the backyard. Very few bugs and one of the best nights of the trip! Our neighbor gave us some teriyaki chicken, so that didn't hurt either.

S=18, C=20, W=20, M=18, X=17,
Total = 93

The Final Climb: Mt Whitney

"In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks" -John Muir




The alarm went off at 2 am, and we sleepily made a quick breakfast and broke camp under the stars. Headlamps shining, we started our 4-mile ascent up Mt. Whitney around 3 am. Night hiking has the advantage of masking your progress, or lack-there-of. You really have no choice but to focus on the next step and nothing more, which was a nice change of pace. We would take a break every twenty minutes or so and turn our headlights off to enjoy the stars. The night was so clear we could see the swirling pattern within the Milky Way, an unbelievable sight. We could also see a few fellow hikers climbing below us, represented by tiny lights barely moving in the distance. They resembled lightning bugs as their lights blinked on and off while they turned switchbacks.
Around 4:30 we arrived at Whitney Junction, where the JMT merges with the Whitney Portal Trail and both trails climb a final two miles to the summit. We stashed most of our belongings to lighten the load for the last part of the climb and continued on our way. The trail hugged the north face of the mountain, winding through tall columns of rock, silhouetted by the rising crescent moon and the first inklings of dawn. The pitch was more moderate now, and a ridgeline path took the place of the previous switchbacks. Several times the trail passed over narrow ledges with steep drops to both sides. Through these brief openings in the mountain of rock to our right we could see the lights of Lone Pine below, as well as the colors forming on the horizon. At one point the trail made a sharp right turn revealing 3 jagged peaks, the Keeler Needle, the Day Needle and the Mt. Whitney summit.


Twenty minutes and a short serious of switchbacks later, we were standing on what felt like the top of the world. The sun rose over a thin line of clouds, turning the northern horizon orange and the southern horizon blue and purple. As we looked behind us, we saw a small, triangle shape on the clouds—Mt. Whitney’s shadow!




A tiny plane swooped towards us, buzzing the top of the mountain as we jumped and waved. The pilot took a wide turn and made a second, even closer pass. As we stood on the highest peak in the lower 48, the significance of the moment sunk in and I shed a few emotional tears. I couldn’t imagine a more perfect finale to the trail. We shared the summit with only one other hiker and we put him to good use taking our picture!




Mt. Whitney’s summit may be the terminus of the John Muir Trail, but there unfortunately is not a shuttle to the road to Lone Pine. Instead we had an 10-mile decent losing 6200 feet of elevation. So after about 45 minutes on the summit we began our final hike. Traveling back through the now sun-lit rock formations was like hiking down a new trail, and we passed several of our trail friends on their way to the top.


(view of the Needles from Mt. Whitney)

As we claimed our packs at Whitney Junction and began hiking down the southern face of the mountain we began passing dozens of people who were out for either the just day or the weekend. We had officially left the environmentally-conscious, quiet world of backcountry hikers and had entered what we deemed “struggle city.” My 3 favorite quotes from people we passed that day are as follows:

1-At the foot of approximately 100 steep switchbacks, a California bro with aviator sunglasses inquired: “Excuse me, but are these what they call ‘the switchbacks’?”
2- In response to my “enjoy your hike,” a slightly terrified man clinging to the side of the trail said “I DOUBT it!”
3-In response to my “well, it’s a beautiful day”, a woman with altitude sickness replied: “Yeah, it’s a beautiful day to throw up!”

A few hours later we stepped into the Whitney Portal parking lot, walked 50 feet to the right and consumed the best burger and fries I have ever eaten. By 6pm we were sitting in a BED drinking local California BEER and eating TACOS. A beautiful end to a beautiful trip!




(Stay tuned for a special guest-blogger!)