Friday, July 29, 2011

The Big One In One Day


(click on any photo to enlarge) At the end of last years backpacking trip, Funk had asked me if I'd like to hike Mt. Whitney with him and his Dad. I told him I was all in. Funk's Dad (Dave Funk Sr.) wanted a goal to get in shape for and at age 68 wanted to stand on top of the tallest mountain in the lower 48. So earlier in the year I applied for FIVE Whitney permits on different dates. To my dismay I was turned down for every one! Quite a popular mountain. Fast forward to Monday July 25. Some of Whitney's permits are available for day hikes (no overnight stay). If you arrive the day before your hike day, you can wait in line at the Ranger Station in the sprawling metropolis of Lone Pine. We were lucky enough to get three day hike permits for Tuesday, July 26. I had made a reservation online for a campsite at Whitney Portal Campground, where the 'Portal Trail' begins. We arrived at the Portal in the late afternoon, set up camp and went for a stroll to check out the area. After taking a few photos and enjoying the magnificent scenery, we stopped and ate dinner at the famous Portal Store. Their reputation with hikers is well known. Everyone says they have the best burgers ever. The burgers are just regular burgers, but after a spell on the trail, people are convinced they're eating the best thing ever! We fell asleep with full bellies and anticipation. The night before a climb is usually a restless one, and all three of us woke at 3am not having 'slept' all that much. After some coffee and oatmeal we set off with our headlamps showing the way. The first few miles are in the green, lush Lone Pine Creek drainage after which we popped out and got this view back to the Owens Valley. There was a fire burning southwest of Whitney and it added a surreal haze to the sky all day. As the sun rose, we put our headlamps away and enjoyed the first few hours of the hike. The Portal Trail starts from the east at 8500ft elevation and climbs to 14,470ft. in 10.7 miles (for a round trip day hike of almost 22 miles). No easy day for anyone, let alone a 68 year old! The trick is to drink a crapload of fluid in the first 5 hours to get you through the last 5 hours. This really minimizes the dizzying effect of high altitude. I started with 5 liters in two bladders and still had to fill a bottle three times from the creek on the way back. Funk Sr. was moving along steadily and before we knew it we were at Trail Camp, the area that most people depart from on overnight trips. From Trail Camp the trail starts to get serious and the views are expansive. The infamous '100 Switchbacks' start just above Trail Camp. Although the trail is fantastically well engineered, it really starts to gain altitude here. Unbeknownst to me, the middle section of the switchbacks has one of the highest concentration of Polemonium flowers in the Sierra.Usually you see so few together that you don't really get much fragrance from them. The patch on Whitney was so big that I was enveloped in a high sierra perfume factory. Above the purple carpet, we reached the snow and granite section where the 'Cables' section of the climb is. Steel cables have been installed in the granite, where the trail sees year around snow, for hiker safety. After navigating the cables there are a few more long switchbacks and one snow crossing that take you to Trail Crest. This is the spot that the eastern and western trails converge with the single out and back trail to the summit proper. From this spot there are about 2 miles of rock and scree that take to the top of the mountain. We arrived later than I would have liked as I had a turn around time of 1pm in my mind. We were on the summit at about 1:45pm. Funk Sr. was very ecstatic to reach the top. I could also tell he suffered a little from summit fever and was going to have a long slow hike down as he had used a lot of his reserves to get to the top. I was a bit worried but I shouldn't have been. Funk Sr. is an ex Marine and about as tough as they come. I went down a little quicker than Funk and Funk Sr. and waited at Trail Camp. I had time to dip my feet in the lake and eat a little something. As soon as they arrived I donated the rest of my food to Sr. and headed down the last 6 miles by myself. Sr. really wanted the special t-shirt you can get at the Portal Store that says " I Did The Big One In One Day ". The store closes at 8pm and we were worried that we wouldn't make it in time. So I boogied down at a brisk pace and managed to get Sr. his shirt. Funk and Funk Sr. arrived back at the trailhead at 8:40pm for a round trip time of 16 hours. A seriously long day. None of that matters. He did it. When he gets back to the office all they'll want to know is if he summited. He can proudly say "YES". Congratulations Senior. Cheers.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Actual 'Travel'!


(click on any photo to enlarge) I have been getting some shit from friends and family for slacking on the travel blog. Up to this time I haven't really had all that much fun stuff to post. Well I actually traveled to Italy for the Campagnolo sales meeting during the last week in June. Last Fall after selling the bike shop, I lucked into a job with Fischer and Swix that occupies my Winter. I really didn't want to work all that hard in the Summer as we live simply and I didn't have to work until September, when my winter gig starts again. Well I should have known better. Campagnolo came calling and I accepted a position with them selling their clothing, shoes and helmets. The Italians have had no representation in the US up until now so I'm basically pioneering the line. What that really means is a lot of work for no immediate reward. With that said the Italians flew the 7 US reps to their factory in Vincenza (30km inland from Venice) for our annual sales meeting. It sounds great but flying that far to sit in a conference room for four days is not all that glamorous. Luckily I had an extra day and a half after the meeting to explore a little. So on June 27th I boarded a red eye to Venice. I arrived with 'plane head' (similar to 'bed head' but only on one side) and went right to the hotel to check in. Prior to flying over I had asked if I could borrow one of the Campy Service Bikes for a ride and it was waiting at the hotel for me. Sweet. I screwed my pedals in and adjusted everything to my measurements and went for a ride to clear my head. Ahh - There is nothing like riding in Italy! I managed to run into a couple of the other US reps and we went to have dinner that evening. The Hotel had townie bikes so we all grabbed one and rode to dinner at the typical Euro dinner hour of 9pm. After a few bottles of wine and dinner the ride home was fun! The next morning is when work started, unfortunately. I managed to sneak out most mornings with the Colorado Rep at 6:30am before anyone else was awake. I find I am a much better listener when I've gotten a ride or run in prior. On the last day, after our meetings ended, our sales manager treated us to a tour of Trieste which was about 2 1/2 hours north of the factory. Wow! It was very beautiful. Right on the Adriatic, you can look across and see Croatia. Campy arranged a hotel for us to stay in Trieste for the night. Very Nice. There is no way in hell I would ever get to stay in a place like this on my own dime. So I enjoyed it! Late that afternoon we took a tour of a castle that was occupied by Austrian royalty in the 1400's. The history in Italy (and Western Europe) in unlike any other place I've visited. It makes you realize how young our country really is. We had a fantastic seafood dinner with local wines and forgot that we were actually in Italy for work. The next morning was just gorgeous. (Bellisima Giornata!) We had breakfast overlooking the sea. I felt very privileged. I walked down to the beach with Jeff and his wife Arianna (Colorado Reps). The story is the Austrians brought all the dirt and rock down from the mountains to actually build the beaches and the castle we visited the day before.Well beach is a bit of an embellishment - more like cement boardwalk. We laughed at the older Euro men walking around in their banana hammocks. After breakfast we all piled into the van and headed toward Venice. Our Sales Manager dropped everyone off at the airport hotel and said ciao. Some of the Reps were flying out the next morning, but five of us weren't flying out until Sunday so we had an extra day to explore Venice. All the things you hear about Venice are true - It doesn't smell that great, it is crazy expensive, and you really have to mind your shit as pickpockets and scammers are prevalent. With that said Venice is still very beautiful and must be visited. The old city is a little detached from mainland Italy so you must take a water taxi to get there. Jeff and Arianna were staying in the Old Town so we dropped their stuff off at their hotel and went into tourist mode for the rest of the day. We went to all the spots that are on the must see list. St Michaels Square, the Rialto Bridge, etc. To give you an example of just how expensive Venice is - a small bottle of water is $10 and a small beer is $15! Needless to say we weren't drinking much. After a full day of sightseeing we left Jeff and Arianna and James (NE Rep), Tom (Mid Atlantic Rep) and I jumped on the water taxi and headed back to our airport hotel on the mainland. I got back to my room at about 1am and had to be up at 4am to catch my shuttle to the airport. I then endured a 23 hour travel day from Venice to Amsterdam then Seattle and finally home. To say I was wasted was an understatement. As I write this 3 days later I still have a jet lag hangover and I haven't been drinking! It was great to get home and see my wife and dog. Its great to leave but its always better to come home. The security blanket of wife, dog, friends, and simple life is unmatched. I promise to update the blog more frequently as we have lots of great plans for the rest of the Summer and Fall. Until then - Ciao.

A quick shout out to some of our friends that we don't get to see much anymore.
K & D in NC
J & A in Chicago
B & K in Ventura
And of course our families that actually read this drivel!
We miss you guys!