Garblog

The Fifth Five-Year Plan

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 31 Dec 2014 11:34:00 +0000

A relative who fell at the Battle of Okinawa? There are several who share our surname on this wall.

For those keeping track at home, I recently surpassed a career milestone: 20 years have passed since I joined the Marine Corps (the first time).

On this day, 1994: my *first* rendezvous with the famed "yellow footprints" #USMC #fb http://t.co/PhIr0xjA3V
— Gary Sampson (@gjsamps) December 27, 2014

Time to retire, right? Not so fast.

I'm actually not retirement-eligible, because of the 'broken time' that I spent outside of the military after my initial 5-year enlistment (aka, the First Five-Year Plan).

College was the Second Five-Year Plan.

The Third Five-Year Plan was the first five years that I served as a commissioned officer. I wrote about that time here. I even made some forecasts about the next 5-year period which has just come to a close. Let's do a re-cap of those predictions to see if I am ready to become certified in predicting things, like a meteorologist or Bruce Bueno de Mesquita.

1. Afghanistan: still have not been. 0% accurate.

2. Job in which I will use Chinese language / regional expertise / cultural knowledge. Hasn't officially happened yet, though I am currently in an assignment that comes close to that. 50% accurate.

3. DC. I visit there on occasion, but have not yet been assigned to that area, aside from my initial training as a Marine Corps officer. 0% accurate.

4. Training course. I did not take it after leaving Taiwan in 2011, but instead finally got it done in the summer of 2014 before moving to Japan. 50% accurate.

How did I do? Let's see...I got two completely wrong, and the other two half right. I'd say that gives me a 'batting average' of about .250, well above the Mendoza Line! I'm not ready for the Hall of Fame, but that's at least in the neighborhood of Jim Flowers or Bill Randby!

After Taiwan, we moved to Colorado, and from Colorado to Japan.

Since I got *some* of my predictions for the Fourth Five-Year Plan right, I am willing to offer some guesses on what might come during the fifth. And I will even resist the urge to put things in here that I do not want to happen, since with my 'batting average,' that may be a more realistic way to attain my goals.

First, I will become retirement-eligible during this period. What does this mean? It means I will go over 20 years of active-duty service. While it has been 20 years since I first joined the Marine Corps, with my 'broken time,' I currently have about 15.5 years of active-duty service. So in the summer of 2019, I will surpass this marker. In my view, this will be a game-changer. Will I retire from the military at that time? I'll not tip my hand here...let's just say that the urge to do so grows stronger as I get closer to the day.

Second, we'll move from Japan, probably in 2017. If I plan to retire in 2019, that means wherever we go at that time will be my so-called 'twilight tour.'

With the recently-announced news of my selection for promotion, by the time of our move in 2017 I should be wearing the gold oak leaves of a major, which will have a significant impact on where we might go. Different jobs are available for company-grade officers (which I currently am) as compared to field-grade (which I will become on the event of my promotion).

I'd like to get an assignment inside the continental United States that will put me in the classroom, but not as a student, which I have spent a considerable amount of time as while in uniform. I'd like to teach -- it's time to give back to the new generation of leaders. It could be in Annapolis or another university around the country that hosts a Naval ROTC unit.

If that's not possible, then I'll hope for something close to home -- U.S. Strategic Command, anyone?

Whatever ends up happening, the Fifth Five-Year Plan promises to be an exciting time. Check back here often for updates.

Happy New Year!

GJS

The November Post: Time for Taiwan

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 27 Dec 2014 22:30:00 +0000

"The Heart of Asia...Time for Taiwan"

As I feared it might, time has gotten away from me and I am only now getting around to *last month's* post. Ugh. Apologies and all that.

My 'ride' back to Okinawa.

The month started for me in Thailand and ended in Taiwan. What fun! Readers may recall I'd already had the pleasure of traveling to Taiwan earlier this fall for work, not long after returning to the region for my new assignment. It was really only a matter of time until our whole bunch (i.e., the Sampsons in Japan) made the short trip over.

I'm on a plane...

We took advantage of the 4-day Thanksgiving day weekend to make it happen. Yes, while you gorged on turkey and football and napped it off laying comatose on the couch, we re-acquainted ourselves with the many pleasures of Formosa.

The view from inside the gorge

Our objective lay in the east - Taroko. We tried to visit the gorge a couple times while we lived in Taiwan a few years back, but it never worked out for one reason or another. The length of this weekend lent itself well toward spending a couple days there this time. It happened.

We weren't in Taiwan that long, but it was a planes, trains, and automobiles-type of affair, moving about the country.

Riding the bus

We did not find turkey and trimmings, but instead beef noodle soup.

These boys were excited to have their photo taken with the Eternal Spring Temple.

Still excited!

If you want to take a walk in the gorge, you need a helmet!

There was also a big election in Taiwan while we were there. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) had a hard time. Methinks it was probably not the outcome many observers in both Beijing and Washington were looking for.

Spending some time at the airport

Taiwan liked us so much it tried to keep us (flight delay). Alas, we eventually had to return to Japan. Never fear -- we'll be back!

I've enjoyed sampling the various unique KitKat flavors here in Japan. An article in MCCS Iwakuni's "Preview" magazine, which I saw during our layover on Patriot Express from Seattle to Okinawa, alerted me to the unique KitKat offerings available. I still haven't seen the ones pictured in the article (above).

This flavor, Beni-Imo (Purple Sweet Potato), is apparently Okinawa's contribution to the KitKat Japan repertoire. It was quite good.

What else happened in November? We made a trip to the aquarium.

I'm still not sure what that green soda is - melon something.

We went on a date.

The Marine Corps Ball.

A party with 500 of our closest friends.

I had a new publication released.

Read the whole thing here.

Science/space night at J's school.

We decided to move L. to a new school. Kids need to play outside every day.

Most of our boxes are finally unpacked.

Luckily, we remembered to unpack this little cutie. Sometimes boxes are more fun to play with than the stuff originally packed in them!

We're preparing for visitors in December.

Okinawa Travel Ideas, November 2014 edition

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 20 Dec 2014 22:13:00 +0000

In response to a previously mentioned reader request, here are the Top Eight ‘things to do in Okinawa’ for potential visitors in the Christmas timeframe.

Orion Brewery tour. Orion is Okinawa’s local beer. I’ve read that it accounts for something like 1% of Japan’s overall beer consumption, but that on Okinawa it is more like 50%. Fans of the Coors Brewery tour (Golden, CO) will probably like this. At the end, as long as your group has a designated driver, you get a free beer.
Visit Cape Hedo, Okinawa’s northernmost point. See the junction between the Pacific Ocean and the East China Sea. Get misted by sea spray.
Between Nago, where the Orion Brewery is located, and Cape Hedo lies Okuma. There is an armed forces recreational spot there – beach bungalows and such are available for rent.
Churaumi Aquarium at Ocean Expo Park. Also located in the northern reaches of Okinawa, the aquarium is Okinawa’s most popular attraction. Not sure how it compares with what I would consider the standard-bearer for aquariums worldwide, the famous Monterey Bay Aquarium, but if nothing else it does boast the world’s largest single pane of acrylic glass as the front of an enclosure featuring several whale sharks.
Tsuboya Pottery Museum. Shifting focus back to the southern part of the island, this museum and its nearby pottery street is an interesting cultural excursion. It’s a good place to find unique souvenirs.
Former Japanese Navy Underground Headquarters. Visitors can get a sense for the type of fortifications U.S. forces faced in the entrenched Japanese defenders during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945.
Peace Memorial Park. Dedicated to the over 200,000 Japanese and more than 12,500 Americans who fell during the Battle of Okinawa.
Okinawa Glass Factory Village. See glassblowers at work, have the opportunity to obtain cool Okinawan glass products.

Written with StackEdit.

Harvest-time in Okinawa and elsewhere

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 08 Nov 2014 07:13:00 +0000

Bangkok skyline

October is early enough for Christmas in Bangkok

We got a request! Thanks for submitting your interest. I may have to post early for November to respond with what there is to do in Okinawa at Christmastime.

This post is actually the October post -- re-cap, if you will. Another busy month. They all seem to be!

Update from last month: Chomp (the mealworm) has left the building. Or rather, he moved to another location. As he matured, he became rather a curious little mealworm, testing the boundaries of his enclosure. In fact, once we discovered that him on the kitchen floor, having escaped his pen and made a break for it!

Chomp, “exploring the studio space.” [Editor’s note: do we need more cowbell?]

Alas, one night we forgot to put the lid on his container, and the next morning he was gone. So he may still actually be somewhere in The Penthouse, or he may have moved to another villa. All we know is he is gone. Hopefully Chomp is in a better place now. No more apple slices for that little guy. *sniff*

I've begun a project to determine how many nights this year I have spent in hotels. The back-of-the-napkin calculation right now puts it at about 100 days, just for work.

Some of my favorite super heroes! You may recognize the two on the left.

I unfortunately was on travel during Halloween. That didn't stop a super-hero invasion of the local base housing! I am getting my fill of Halloween candy by taking a little bit in to eat with lunch each day at work -- don't tell J. and L.!

Naha Airport artwork

In September on the way to Taiwan I started a tradition of trying a new kind of KitKat bar each time I transit the Naha airport. Japan is known to have many unique varieties.

This Sakura Matcha KitKat was much better than the Red Bean version I tried last month (not that it was bad).

Read @KITKATJapan has interesting flavors not typically seen elsewhere...tried out the Hokkaido Red Bean today. #fb pic.twitter.com/Q3o7hH0okL
— Gary Sampson (@gjsamps) September 11, 2014

I went to a cool art museum in Bangkok. Many of the works made me feel like I was standing inside the album liner from a P.O.D. record.

P.O.D. album cover, The Fundamental Elements of Southtown (1999)

I also found a place in Bangkok that served multi-flavored (and colored!) versions of the Shanghainese soup dumplings, called xiaolongbao (小籠包), that I like to eat when I am in Taiwan.

I'm probably a little biased, but the ones in Taiwan were better.

On the way to Thailand, I transited South Korea. Incheon Airport had a cafe with the following window display:

I am not sure what those things on the middle shelf are that look like extra-thick French toast with a scoop of ice cream on top, but next time I am at that airport, I am trying one!

They also had a cute toilet set up for those with little buddies in tow.

I hadn't see a small commode like that since we lived in Taiwan!

Earlier in the month we went to the beach. The weather has started to cool off, and October was the last month this particular beach, Araha, was open, according to the signs. So now the pool is closed, the beach is closed - what good is it to live in the tropics when they are only marginally tropical? :)

This little buddy likes the waves, just like his older brother does.

Actually the cooler weather is nice. I can walk around at noontime and not feel like I am going to melt, which is what it was like when we got here in August.

We also went window-shopping for pottery and glassware. The Tsuboya Pottery District in Naha is fantastic for this! I think I could really spend a lot of money there if I am not careful.

Where will our travels take us this month? Find out in the November entry! (And stay tuned for information about Okinawa things-to-do in December.)

Ohayoo gozaimasu!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 30 Sep 2014 12:18:00 +0000

Cough, cough! Is this thing on?

Hi. Been a while. Few years, actually!

It's time to dust this thing off. People told me this year that they actually kept up with what we were doing on here. Since we are back overseas, there is no time like the present to fire it up again, I figure.

Hokkaido-style ramen

So, we live in Okinawa now. Moved out here in August. Will probably be here for three years or so.

Do you like foreign food? It is good for birthdays.

I am going to post about once a month, I figure. Maybe I will get really ambitious and post more often, but my baseline goal is monthly. I know that's not terribly prolific, but we're busy. I'll try to hit the wavetops for you. Sound good?

2013 is the only year since 2009 I have not been here.

We've barely been here a month and I've already been dispatched to Taiwan and back for work. I'll likely be doing a fair amount of regional travel in my new job. Look for me soon in your town. (Just kidding.)

This is not a mealworm - 'Chomp' is much better-looking.

J is in third grade. He has a mealworm as a pet -- brought it home from school. I understand that it will at some point it will transform into a beetle, at which time it must return to school.

The view from 'the Penthouse.'

L starts his pre-school soon.

This is quite an incline!

It is very green here. Lots of exotic bugs. L had a run-in with a stinging caterpillar the other day. The mark it left on him looked like he had touched his arm to a hot stove.

Huffy's Angels, Okinawa Chapter. Only the one with the flames on the gas tank was acceptable.

What do people want to know about our activities here? I can write more, but would like to write for the audience. I hope you enjoy these photos in the meantime.

1. Read the sign. 2. Laugh!

GJS

On the road again...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 19:20:00 +0000

Central NE headed west on I-80. Baled hay in the field. Cattle cleaning up scraps in the fields.

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Jelly face

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 04:43:00 +0000

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Playing at Grandma and Grandpa's house

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 16:17:00 +0000

Not "new" toys, but different toys!

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Light dusting of snow overnight in Nebraska

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 16:15:00 +0000

Nothing compared to the 8+ inches they got out in Denver overnight.

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Snowy Day in Colorado

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 02:33:00 +0000

See the full gallery on Posterous

This is really Lance's first experience with snow. He liked it!

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2011 Ironman Louisville Race Report

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 01:50:00 +0000

How to pronounce this city's name?

I've been wanting to get this posted for about a week now, but have been to busy to get it done. It's finally time! I'd like to apologize in advance for the lack of race photos - I haven't been able to download any from the race photographer website yet. When I am able to, I will add some. In the meantime, please enjoy the photos I took in Louisville both before and after the race. The race photos can be viewed here:

http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_event_video.asp?EVENTID=75726&BIB=2863&S=230&PWD=

What follows are my thoughts about my very first full Ironman race. On August 28, 2011, I successfully completed the Ironman Louisville triathlon. My overall time was 14:11:17. The full breakout of my times is below.

This was a well-run race on many levels. The race management spared no detail. There were an abundance of aid stations on both the bike and run courses, and they were well-staffed with helpful folks. There were a number of port-a-johns available on the course (a lack of which I have taken issue with in previous races, such as the 2010 Ironman 70.3 Taiwan).

The mighty Ohio, as seen from the official race hotel (transition area is at center, in the green grass field, and if you look very closely out in the river, you can see some of the buoys marking the swim course)

The race course

Swim

There was certainly an “uphill” and a ”downhill” portion of the swim. The uphill was going upriver against the current. Once we made the turn past Towson Island and headed downstream, things got decidedly easier. Nonetheless, this 2.4 mile swim was the longest I had ever done. Note to self: train better for the swim next time.

Bike

IM Louisville bike course went northeast out of Louisville and made two laps before heading back into the city

The 112 mile bike course consisted mostly of rolling hills and flats. There was a variety of scenery, including horse pastures, suburban-type dwellings, small towns, and rural highways.

Run

The marathon was on a very flat course running through downtown Louisville, past the University of Louisville, Churchill Downs, and almost out to the airport before heading back from whence it came. The course passed through one area near downtown filled with historic homes and another ethnic area nearby. We had to make two loops of the course to make the total mileage of 26.2 miles.

Transition area, the day before the race

Weather and Race Day Conditions

We were fully blessed this year with conditions far milder than years past. People on the course were saying that last year it was 98 degrees with high humidity on race day. This year it got up into the mid-80’s and the humidity seemed pretty comfortable to me, someone who lives in the dry climate of Denver. We were lucky this year! There was a little bit of wind on the bike course, but not enough to significantly degrade riding performance. We may have Hurricane Irene to thank for the milder weather this year.

Race execution

I ran what I would consider to be an almost perfect race in terms of my execution. I stayed within my abilities, remained patient, and kept the long view necessary to complete the race. Before the race, I sketched out what I thought my times would be:

0740 swim start (actual 0743)*

0940 swim complete (actual ~0922)

1000 begin bike (actual ~0930)

1800 bike complete (actual ~1650)

1815 begin run (actual ~1700)

~2315 race complete (actual ~2200)

Obviously, in making my estimates and having never run this distance a race before, I consciously tried to err on the side of allowing a little bit more time than I though each piece would actually take. I was almost dead-on with my estimate for the marathon (5 hours predicted vs. 4 hrs 58 min actual).

Issues:

My GPS only lasted about 5 hours into the bike ride. I guess if I were a faster cyclist, this wouldn’t have been a problem – just complete the ride before the battery dies! But I knew that if I went faster than about 15 mph average on the bike, my chances of not blowing up on the run would be significantly decreased. So, keeping within my abilities, I went slower than I figured I really could. I have a hard time doing this unless I can located another rider to pace off of. Note – this does not mean draft off of, I keep my interval in keeping with the rules of the sport. I found a few “pacers” out there – athlete 2620 during the first couple hours, a different chap toward the end of the race. The only time I ran into an issue with keeping my pace conservative was when I was on the part of the course where riders have to do two laps of the same section. Here, there were faster riders already on their second lap mixed in with folks like me who were taking it a bit easier on their first lap. When I am surrounded by riders going faster, I just want to push myself harder, too. It was hard to resist that urge, but thankfully once I started my second lap, the faster riders were on their way to the finish and the riders left on the course were by and large not as aggressive. This helped me keep my pace. But back to the GPS: I made the mistake of staging it at the transition area the day before the race. I should have known better than to do this, for having used it quite a lot since acquiring it in 2007, I know that best results are obtained when taking it directly off its charger immediately before use. As it was, the device started to give me low battery warnings only 2.5 hours into the ride, though I was able to coax it on for another couple hours before it gave up the goat.

IM Louisville bike graph

The early demise of the GPS had implications for my ride and for my run. Essentially, thereafter I had little means to determine how fast I was going and the time of day. This is why it was doubly important for me to find a “pacer” who I could use to keep my from going too fast towards the end of the bike portion.

I think the lack of a GPS worked out well for me on the run. This allowed me to just go by feel and not worry about what kind of pace I was keeping mile by mile. Instead, from very early on in the run, I adopted a run-walk strategy that entailed running several blocks (usually between 3-5, but sometimes more), then walking a block or two, and repeating this over the entire 26.2 mile course. As much as practical, I incorporated walking through the aid stations into this regimen. I figure this ended up having me take between two and three walk breaks per mile.

This run-walk strategy was also conducive towards favorable gut conditions. In past long-course triathlons, I think I have tried to consume too much on the run, and the sloshing effect made me have issues with cramping, sideaches, and general gastrointestinal (GI) tract distress that is not conducive towards timely event completion or an enjoyable race experience. This time, I decided to only consume liquids and to sip them slowly while walking through the aid stations. This would ensure that the nutrients made it into my stomach and by not eating solids, I would avoid the associated delays in gastric emptying that I think have caused me problems in the past on the run segments of half Ironman races.

For those who made it to the end

My go-to drinks were cola and chicken broth (the latter of which I began to think of as a “liquid pretzel” from the yummy saltiness it provided) alternated at aid stations along with a cup of water. I completely avoided the sports drink offering on the run and ate no gels throughout the entire race. In fact, the only solid foods I ate during the entire race were one (1) powerbar (split into two halves), several bananas, and a few pretzels. I drank a lot of sports drink on the bike portion (hence why I did not want to drink any more of it once I got to the run, plus I think that the non-diluted strength of the drink slows gastric emptying as well, which is not as much of a problem on the bike as it is on the run), along with quite a bit of water. I also dumped quite a few bottles of water over my head and on my jersey and shorts to help keep cool on the bike.

To combat heat on the run, sponges soaked in ice water and ice cubes were available. A few times I dumped some ice into my hat and put it back on my head, but most of the time that ended up being too cold for my scalp. I liked better to grab 2-3 sponges and put one in my hat and use the others to squeeze cold water onto my shirt.

Public art in Louisville

The bike ride twice passed through the town of LaGrange. Riding down the main road lined with spectators yelling and cheering was cool – it felt like I was in the Tour de France! Naturally, I was hammering through this portion of the ride both times.

On the swim, I had a hard time sighting the buoys used to mark the swim course. This was due to two problems: fogged up goggles and scratched up lenses on said goggles. (Not to mention that I am nearsighted.) I had to stop numerous times to get my bearings, slowing my time.

What would I change about the race? I would have prepared better. The race program from the Ironman lists various stats associated with the “average” Ironman athlete. Age-wise, I am pretty much dead on (average age: 37), but with respect to the average training distances claimed, I am lacking. For instance, according to the race program, the average Ironman athlete swims 7 miles each week, bikes 225, and runs 48. My averages are way, way below all of those. So certainly I could benefit from greater training volume.

I would also like to have at least one “support human” at the race. It would have been nice to have someone I knew at the finish line (though I was well-taken care of by the volunteers there). It was also a bit of a hassle to have to go get my bike and gear from the transition area after finishing the race (a support human could have done that for me).

What’s next? I know that I certainly want to continue to run triathlons, though it is possible that I may stick to the half Ironman and below level. I’ll have to wait a couple weeks to see what I think for sure. I definitely want to take advantage of the various events offered out in Colorado.

These are made in Louisville

All in all, Ironman Louisville 2011 was a fantastic experience and I commend the race organizers and all the volunteers who made it happen! I am also happy that my first Ironman experience ended up taking place in the U.S. – while the novelty of running Ironman China would be great (as I had planned to do in May of this year before the race was cancelled), I have a feeling that the race organization would have been lacking and it would have been a much less fulfilling experience. Ironman Louisville was the culmination of 10 years of racing and training for me and I look forward to seeing where I go in the future.

One of Louisville's sister cities is Jiujiang, People's Republic of China

*IM Louisville's swim is unique as that it is a time-trial start, as opposed to mass or wave starts at virtually all other races. What this means is that instead of having all members of an age group (for instance, males aged 35-39 yrs) start the swim together (a wave start), as is fairly standard at many triathlons worldwide, at IM Louisville each athlete jumped into the river singly in succession (OK, actually there were two lines to make it go a bit faster), which explains why even though the race actually began at 7:00 AM, I did not enter the water until nearly 45 minutes later. Luckily, the 2 hour 20 minute swim cut-off did not start until the last athlete entered the muddy waters of the Ohio River (which was much more pleasant to swim in than I had feared it might be. It was a comfortable temperature and it did not smell of sewage, unlike the previous triathlon which I swam in a river for.).

Colorado Hike #1: Stanley Mountain

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 04:25:00 +0000

I have been in Colorado two weeks now; time to climb a mountain!

Inspiration hit me yesterday when I saw a post on Facebook by Visit Denver, the official travel and visitor bureau for the city (the Facebook post is at http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150243642020777.321503.178754795776, or you can swing by their website at http://www.denver.org/) talking about Stanley Peak being an easy hike only a little over an hour away from the city. I didn't have to go into work today - I was going for a hike!

After stopping off for a power breakfast at my favorite place for donuts, I was off. The directions posted on Facebook were right on and I was happy to see the overcast skies over Denver melt away to scattered puffy white clouds by the time I was heading up into the Rockies on Interstate 70.

See the full gallery on Posterous

The trailhead was located adjacent to the Henderson Mine, which is the world's largest primary producer of molybdenum. Molybdenum is essential for the production of high-strength steel alloys.

According to internet resources, there is a 15-mile elevated conveyor belt that carries the molybdenum ore from the Henderson mine to the ore processing site. The conveyor is both underground (passing beneath the Continental Divide through an old train tunnel) and above ground, though I did not see it today.

Just above is a view of the mine from near the summit of Stanley Peak. The mining operation's noise was audible during virtually the entirety of the hike I did today.

The trailhead was at an elevation of about 10,500 feet. I knew that the summit of Stanley Mountain was in excess of 12,000 feet, so a fair amount of climbing lay ahead of me.

The area still has a fair amount of snow in it for mid-July. Snowmelt runoff creeks were a common feature that I had to traverse from time to time as I made my way up the easily-followed trail. There were several points below the timber line where I had to make my way across snow drifts that covered the trail. (below)

The sounds of wildlife were all around, but I saw only a few animals - a squirrel and several birds. And bugs. I saw deer hoof prints and also what I thought appeared to be a pawprint of a dog or perhaps a mountain lion. (I didn't get a photo of this latter item, since I saw it soon after I started up the trail and didn't want to stop so soon to snap a pic. I figured I would be able to find it again when I was on the way down to take a picture of it - fat chance!)

Memo1.m4a Listen on Posterous

About 1.25 miles into the hike there was a fork in the trail. (Pictured above - also note the audio clip I recorded at this point.) Luckily I was pre-briefed on which way I needed to go. I have to take issue with the "1 mile" distance to the peak from this point. My GPS begs to differ - it was probably at least double that. Perhaps 1 mile is as the crow flies, not counting the switchbacks and so forth that are part of the trail. I took a short break here. There were rushing streams of cold snowmelt not far away that provided a nice backdrop.

See the full gallery on Posterous

After that, I only made brief stops for photos or to make gear changes (add/remove clothing as the temperature dropped or climbed)

See the full gallery on Posterous

Memo2.m4a Listen on Posterous

While termed "easy" by the Denver tourism folks, I was working quite hard at points to make the ascent. I don't think I would bring my kids out here to go up this trail - too steep and too long for them. It's not a technical climb at any point, but it does require a decent amount of conditioning to make it up (altitude acclimatization also helps - still a work in progress for me).

I was really happy with the hike. I wasn't sure how long it was when I started, and the approximately 7 mile round-trip was enough for me today. Look for more hikes in the near future.

Memo3.m4a Listen on Posterous

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