TheMarq

Construction Work Ahead–Part 4 of 4

2012-05-24T07:37:00.000-07:00

Guest

Editor’s Note: This is part 4 of a guest post series by a dear friend, A. Scot Tedisco. See Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 to get the full story.

Do you remember where we were? I’d just made the rounds with Randy to let him know I was applying to the Project Manager role at Harris. He understood and let me know the solar job wasn’t turning into anything.

Then there was Sam and his company. I’d sent the references over with a request to get back with me. That book is now closed though: he never got back with me.

So the interview with Chris and his Project Managers at Harris’s offices is at the LA City college campus. As is usual, I am a couple minute early.

Peggy shows me into the conference room. In less than a minute, Chris is there to greet me and let’s me know he is going to round up the other guys.

Though the interview is relaxed, they ask some difficult questions. Like, “would I go back to Bernards if Bernards asked?”. There are also moments of just talking and cracking a joke here and there for everyone’s laughter.

The interview reminded me of my first with Jeff Bernards, where Jeff was able to make it a very relaxed discussion just by his presence. The other Project Manager’s seemed like decent people and I knew I liked Chris from when I did the CDC project. Though the hour went by quick, it didn’t seem rushed. We talked about some of the other projects, various perks from Harris, and some of the general duties. At the end I mozied out with a hand shake to Chris and asked him to call me if he was interested in making me an offer.
The drive home was uneventful. I called [my significant other] a couple hours later. I tried to tell her ALL the detail of the interview. I think I even told her what the other guys were wearing. Do you want to know at this point?

So as I am telling her the story, I happen to check my email. I see there’s a message from Chris. It was time-stamped from ten minutes after I left the interview. I shared with Nina what Chris said in his message: he was hoping to catch me before I left because he wanted to make me an offer. This was 10 minutes after the interview!!!! OK, so he knew me from before, but STILL!. I hung up with Nina to call Chris.

I had to leave him a V-mail. He called me back pretty quickly: less than 15 minutes. So I note to him his message was 10 minutes after the interview and he comes back with an, “Of course it was quick, I already had my mind made up before the interview. I just wanted to see if the other guys had any concerns. They all gave the thumbs up. Even if they had hesitated, I still may have made the offer.”

I tell him I’m stunned … a couple times. So we start talking about the offer: the salary , vacation, and other perks. It all sounds pretty good. No gas card or car allowance like I had with Bernards, but a base salary increase that makes it about equal to what I was making. Considering the market, where most people are taking 10% to 20% less for a job, this was great!

I wanted to say yes right there, but I knew I should let it all sink in a bit. I let him know that I wanted to sleep on it. He agrees and lets me know that other things will have to happen if I accept: They will need to get me approved by the college (they never rejected anyone else, he says) and some paperwork from the Harris HQ.

After hanging up I called [my significant other] and told her all the details. She tells me she’s not surprised: they should be honored and are very lucky to have me; no amount of money can compensate for the care and dedication I give to my work.

I also called Arash, my chief counselor. After telling him the story, he says that it sounds like my mind is already made up. He also agrees with me about sleeping on it. As he said, he almost made a mistake of agreeing to an offer too quickly. I let him know how right he was about the flurry of interest just a couple weeks from when he’d said it. More on that later.

I also gave a call to Randy to check in with him. While I didn’t feel obliged to him, I wanted to make sure we weren’t missing opportunities with each other. He said he still had nothing and didn’t want to string me along with something that wasn’t there and didn’t know if it would ever be there. That night I talked with [my significant other] about the job some more and also how it would affect our time together. She got spoiled with me being home so much. We had to process such a change.

The next day, Chris and I fine-tuned some details about the offer. I made sure to get a formal offer letter with all of the details. He said it wouldn’t be a problem. Someone in HQ would be sending me something, via email and hard copy. He wanted me to start right away. We were talking on May 18th / 19th. Given that they needed to get approval and that I wanted some time to “cool off” from the excitement of it all, we agreed that I could start on June 1, 2011, about 8 months from getting the news from Jeff that I was being let go, downsized, put out on the street, encouraged to find work elsewhere,… given the boot. I thought I would treat the week and a half as a vacation. Not so lucky…I’ll get to that in a minute (or as fast as you can read).

Recall that Arash predicted I would be getting a plethora of interest: The day after I accepted the offer, I get a message through LinkedIn from a recruiter with Disney. As I read the message telling me how I look like I might fill the position they are trying to create, I am in wonder over 1) how Arash’s prediction is coming to pass, and 2) that they (Disney) thinks this of me just from my LinkedIn profile. And, they want to talk to me more about how I would fit in.

I gave it a weekend before I tried to contact them, to let them know I had just accepted an offer. During the conversation, I let them know that I didn’t want to seem like I wasn’t interested, but that I’d committed to Harris. I also told them the Harris offer was conditional. So if things didn’t work out, I would definitely like to hear more about the Disney opportunity. They were appreciative of that approach and I let them know that I would like to keep them as a connection and would “network” and let others know of their interests.

Once I posted my new position at Harris on LinkedIn, Disney sent me a message congratulating me on having the offer go through. I thanked them and let them know I would stay in touch. As things go, I may need to do that more than I would have expected.
As to this supposed “vacation” I was to take... It wasn’t but a couple of days into the week that I received a package from Harris HQ with all kinds of paperwork to fill out and a notice of being sent up to Concord, CA for my official orientation.

Paperwork! Who would have thought one could get used to not doing paperwork in only 8 months? There was so much info: Insurances; health, dental, vision, payroll deductions, 401k info… all too much to do in one sitting. It seemed like too much, I sent a message to Chris and one of the office girls telling them that I hadn’t even started yet and I was already buried in paperwork. Chris said I better get used to it. I’m not sure how much he intended that comment to be funny.

So, now, many pages and some time later, I’ve completed my story. The challenges I have are more and different than what I expected, but I will persevere.

I certainly learned a lot during this ordeal, including how important it is to keep that human connection, to care about and deliver the best results on every project and endeavor without a care whether it’ll ever come back, and knowing that it always will in some form or another. It’s been turbulent, exciting, and a life changing experience...with many more interesting days ahead.

Wish me luck.

What Do You Think?

Feel free to share your comments below.

Photo Credits

A. Scot Tedisco, Sean MacEntee, DigitalInative

Construction Work Ahead–Part 3 of 4

2012-05-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

Guest

Editor’s Note: This is part 3 of a guest post series by a dear friend, A. Scot Tedisco. See Part 1 and Part 2 to get the full story.

You recall, I was doing Randy a favor by walking a job site, where I’d met up with a previous contact from a project, Angela. She’d made it clear that she hoped I’d land the job, even after learning I was no longer with Bernards!

Angela and I had exchanged some final words and said our goodbyes. All that was left for me to do was to tell Randy of the meeting. I couldn’t help feeling a little odd over how Angela and the rest not only remembered me, but with such … fondness? Not something I am used to anyway.

Now I have to call Randy, AND tell him that I will be interviewing with Sam at Erik’s old Company! I give him a buzz later that day and tell him about the walk and my acquaintance with Angela. He’s not surprised about the project, nor how I am remembered. He tell me it was through my efforts that Bernards was able to get an invitation and was recommended to write proposals for design-build project (vs. design, bid, build) for the LA Community College District.

When I tell Randy of pending interview, he takes a long, deep breath. He tells me “know which questions to ask.” I ask him to elaborate and he lets me know that the company is very demanding and expect long hours. I let him know that I don’t want to cause any issues with him and using me in a proposal. He says it’s ok and that I should do what I think is right for me. His tone is clear: he doesn’t think that the other company will appeal to me. I take his view (as he suggests himself) with a grain of salt.

Sometime in that same time frame, Randy asked if I would be interested in a solar power project he was looking at. I can’t remember the details of when this happened vs. the other items. He must have mentioned it sometime before the interview with the other company. (In hindsight, this was important in that Randy was trying someway to get me on board with his company). More on this later...

Taking Randy’s suggestion about finding out more of this other company for the interview, I try to get a hold of Doran to get his perception, but I get no call back. C’est la vie.
So Friday comes. It’s 9 AM and I’m down in Irvine. I find the place without an issue and wait in the lobby. I’m a few Minutes early and the receptionist tells me she will let Sam know I am here.

Quite some time slips by. A few people walk through the lobby from the offices, but none appear to be looking for me. Finally, Sam comes out. He apologizes for being late, the reason being he didn’t check his email for the message from the receptionist letting him know I was waiting. (huh!)

We make it to his office, which is littered with drawings and boxes everywhere. He starts heading to his desk. I see my resume on his desk. He asks if I would like something to drink. I remember that I left a water bottle out in the lobby and I go fetch it.

While doing that, I realized he intended to conduct the interview across his desk. This doesn’t appeal to me. His office also had a small couch with a “lobby-type” chair and coffee table. He sees me come back to his door and he says he’s going to get some coffee. When I enter, I take the couch. He comes back in and pauses, then gets the resume off his desk and takes the chair across from me.

We start talking about some generalities of my experience and the questions keep coming from his side. I figure I can wait till the end to shoot off some of my own. About 15 min. into this, his cell phone rings and he answers it. When he gets off the phone, we go on for a while more, with two main points that indicate that the company expects results that I am not willing to put in the hours to achieve, basically 80 hour weeks.

He asks if he could get some references and I ask from which segment of the industry: Subcontractor’s, Owner’s, Architects? He says sure and maybe a Superintendent. Now I start thinking it’s close to 10 and I need to start getting some of my questions in. I get one or two minor ones in and he looks at the clock and tells me he has other appointments to get to, pretty much shutting down the interview. I let him know I will get the references to him on Monday.

When I get home, I start thinking about the list of references and if I really want to be with Sam’s company. Well, sending the refs is what I said I would do and doesn’t commit me. So… I contact a superintendent and a Project Manager (both with Bernards). “Sure,” they say. I can use them, I need not even ask. I like to ask anyway. So, next I need a reference from the owner’s side. Wasn’t Angela just giving me some positive vibes? So I call her up.

A couple of rings later and I am ready to do some minor chit chat and confirm to use her contact info. Right after our greetings, she asks, “ Are you still looking for a job?”

“Well, yes, that’s why I’m calling. I was…”

“Good,” she says. “I was talking with Chris Dunne [he’s the overall manager at the City college campus], he is looking for a Project Manager, and I told him I saw you and thought he should talk to you about the job.”

“Wow, sure, I can definitely talk to him about what he has in mind.” I let her know I was surprised, because I was just calling to see about using her as a reference. She says that’s fine too just in case the other thing is more appealing than what I’ve seen so far. I thank her, let her know I will get with Chris, and hang up.

Now I may be working for a Construction Management group? I’ve spent the last 12 yrs. or so trying to target General Contractor positions. Recalling a little irony though, I also vowed not to work at fast food. What does 7-1/2 yrs. at In-N-Out mean? OK, so it’s not even an interview yet, let alone an offer. So let’s first see what’s the opportunity.

I leave a message for Chris and he calls me back a little while later. He lets me know he’s hiring a Project Manager and a Project Engineer. The Project Manager (me) would be working on a new Student Services (SS) building, which would include demolition of the old library building.

Under the same contract would be a renovation to the building next door to the new SS. This was somewhere in the realm of a $42 million contract, combined. It all sounds interesting to me (and I need a job), so I let him know I will shoot him a copy of my resume and we set up a date for a formal interview, where he wants me to meet the other Project Managers. Chris also mentions in the conversation about the good job I did at the CDC.

I still have this Solar Power thing hanging out there with Randy, so I let him know I will be interviewing with Harris & Assoc. He says he understands that I’m not just waiting for him and he doesn’t want to string me along. He let’s me know the solar job isn’t turning into anything... yet anyway.

Then there is Sam and his company. I shoot the references over to Sam with a request to get back with me. That book is now closed though: he never got back with me.

So the interview with Chris and his Project Managers at Harris’s offices is at the LA City college campus. As is usual, I am a couple minute early...

What Do You Think?

Feel free to share your comments below.

Photo Credits

A. Scot Tedisco

Construction Work Ahead–Part 2 of 4

2012-04-27T06:53:00.001-07:00

Guest

Editor’s Note: This is part 2 of a guest post series by a dear friend, A. Scot Tedisco. See Part I for a full introduction.

You recall where we left off? I’d shot a message to Erik thanking him for passing me on to Patrick. Not ten minutes later, an auto-email response tells me that Erik is no longer with that company.

What the...? Yep, that’s was I thought!

The auto-reply also gave a new contact person for that Company. I shot her a note explaining I was just in contact with Erik and if she would now like my info. Of course she does, who wouldn’t?

I also get to speak with Patrick and ask him some more info. We got to talking about Erik and Patrick said that Erik’s company had just merged with another out of San Diego and Erik’s position was a duplication of the new HR dept.

Patrick eventually gets around to asking if I was interested in yet another company. Sure I am, but I tell him to wait for a new resume, as I’d found a couple small problems with the one he had. As of this writing, he hasn’t gotten back with me, even after I shot him a follow up email!

In the same time frame, I get a message from Doran saying that Erik was no longer at his company. I knew, I told him, and he replies asking for a copy of my resume. Though I already shot a copy to their new HR dept., I shoot him one too.

Now, Randy calls me. He tells me more about his company and what he’s trying to do (getting their LA office off the ground). He wants to know if he can use my resume in some of his proposals and says, “if we get a job, you get one.” Sounded good to me, so I shot him a formal copy of my resume.

The next day he calls me up. “Scot, what are you doing? Are you busy? Can you do me a favor?” I’m not doing anything critical so I tell him to give me the low-down. What he needs isn’t all that hard. Just show up at a pre-bid job walk that conflicts with another that he needs to go to. It turns out that this “walk” is at the same campus where I managed the Child Development Center, turning a hostile project into a letter (email) of recommendation for Bernards. That project is the one I am most proud of, as it was an achievement of managerial skill not technical prowess. The walk was in a couple of days, so I get all the vital info from Randy.

Another day goes by and I get a call from Sam (from Erik’s old Company). Doran has given over my resume and Sam says Doran had a lot of good things to say about me. In our short phone call, something odd strikes me about Sam. At this point, you the reader, needs to know that my Resume is six pages long, four of which are a listing of all my projects with budget size, description and if they were General Contracts or Construction Management.

So, Sam asks me how many of my projects are Construction Management? I was a little confused, though gave him the answer, and asked if he had a complete copy of my resume. He says, “I don’t know.” I ask if he has all six pages. He says, “I don’t know.” Really? How can he not know this, the page numbers at the bottom say “x of 6”. Whatever, I let it go. We schedule a meeting for that Friday, a few days after Randy’s job walk.

Throughout all of this, [my significant other] is telling me all of these people really want me and I am worth more than what they could pay me. Okay, I am paraphrasing a little. She is very supportive and eager to give words of encouragement and confidence.

The day of the walk is a Tuesday, and I’m scheduled to be there at 9 AM. With traffic (going right through downtown Los Angeles) I figure 45 minutes to an hour, so I leave at 7:45’ish. So, me being me, I end up getting there at 8:30. Oh well, I always have music to listen to.

A few minutes before, I head over to the meeting room on the campus. On the way over, I notice an estimator from the Construction Management team overseeing all of the projects on the campus. He’d worked on some of their internal estimates to compare to my change order requests on the CDC project. I couldn’t remember his name, but he noticed me and said, “Hi, Scot” and put his hand out for a shake. The CDC project ended in January of 2009, and he still remembers me, more than two years later! Fortunately (or Unfortunately, depending), he sees that I can’t recall his name and says it’s John. Now, I remember. He says, it’s good to see me there to look at the job. I didn’t take the time to tell him I was out of work and just doing a favor.

The meeting room is packed to the walls, 20 General Contractors, at least, for a $13 million project. They go through the general, usual spiel. I won’t bore you with it. During all of this, I notice someone who should recognize me, but it isn’t until nearly the end that she does. It turns out Angela will be the Project Engineer for the new project. Technically, she works for another company as a subcontractor under Harris & Assoc. (the main Management firm at the campus). She’d come to the CDC project after me and after most of the hostility had abated.

We stayed back after the meeting and talked a bit. It was the typical pleasantries and “what are you doing now” questions. She also says, “I hope you get this job.” I let her know I’m not with Bernards and she says, “I still hope you get this job.” Meaning that she doesn’t care who’s my employer!

We also reminisce about the CDC and she tells me that Emilio, the Construction Manager for Harris, left and started his own company. She asks if I would like to talk to him. Sure! She calls him, tells him what’s up and hands me the phone. Emilio is doing well, paying the bills and is generally happy. We promise to trade contact info and stay in touch.

Angela and I say a few more words and then our goodbyes. All that was left for me to do was to tell Randy of the meeting. I couldn’t help feeling a little odd over how Angela and the rest not only remembered me, but with such … fondness? Not something I am used to anyway.

Now I have to call Randy, AND tell him that I will be interviewing with Sam at Erik’s old Company!!!

What Do You Think?

Feel free to share your comments below.

Photo Credits

A. Scot Tedisco

Construction Work Ahead–Part 1 of 4

2012-04-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

Guest

Editor’s Note: The following guest blog post is the first in a series from a dear friend, A. Scot Tedisco. Scot is one of those rare breeds of professional who believes in long-term commitment to a company, so long as it’s reciprocated. At one point or another, many of us have changed employers seeking a challenge. Scot always seeks those challenges internally.

His dedication has worked well for him. So much so that the economic meltdown of 2008 didn’t seem to affect him, even though he worked in the construction industry as a Senior Project Manager. He was gainfully employed through all the rough patches of our Great Recession.

...And then the day came when he was asked to come into the central office, instead of going to the work site. He was given a three-months notice to find new employment. The company recognized his dedication to the firm and extended him the courtesy of looking for work and remaining with the company through the holidays at the end of 2010. Nevertheless, he was out of work.

Given he’d spent the greater part of 15 years with one company, he’d not spent much time building relationships outside of it...or so he thought. In this and the posts that will follow, he shares his story and the lessons learned along the way.

I originally received a copy of this story in August of 2011. I asked to share it in this blog since there was so much that others could relate to and learn from. So, keep that date in mind as you read these posts. Also note that Scot’s former employer was Bernards.

Enjoy!

Well here it is… I’ve been unemployed for about 8 months. It doesn’t seem that long. Time has flown by in just a wink of an eye. Sure, some of the time has been spent helping [my significant other] set up her office, but that was not all. I spent time filling out the unemployment forms too, with the most time spent looking for work!

Thanks to advice from a best friend (who shall not go unnamed, Arash) I learned how to search the job boards for possible opportunities, [network] and to completely rework my resume. So, week after week, I searched and shot out ever-revised resumes to companies large and small, with prospects strong and weak.

Most leads quickly went nowhere, as would be expected in this market. Then, six plus months into bouncing off walls, Arash says, “this is when your initial contacts dry up and a new flurry spring up” [Editor’s note: From the onset of unemployment, Scot had begun attending industry events and making new connections, helping the people he met along the way. This was the main reason for the resurgence of leads].

How right he was!

On the same day he made this comment, I noticed one of the former Executives from Bernards, Randy, had moved to a new company. I quickly shot him a congratulations message through LinkedIn. Later that same day, I received a message through LinkedIn from Erik, an internal recruiter at another company. This third company is a General Contractor with which I was familiar in that a project manager from Bernards, Doran, had taken on duties there. Doran and I had collaborated on writing subcontracts for his last Project at Bernards, and I remembered we’d worked well together.

Eric’s message asked for a copy of my resume. So, I thought things were looking up. This took a couple of emails over a few days, during which, Randy (remember him formerly from Bernards?) shot me a message thanking me for congratulating him, and asking for my contact information.

I wondered. Would there also be an opportunity with Randy’s company? So, I shot Randy my info and waited to see.

Less than a week from Erik’s introduction, I get an odd voice mail on Google Voice from someone named Patrick. I listened to it a couple of times. It turned out that Patrick was a recruiter for the Construction industry. He was given my resume by Erik.

Odd, I know! Why would a recruiter from a GC give a resume to another? Patrick explained in a later phone call that he used to be Erik’s boss and they maintained a collaborative relationship. Patrick also mentioned that he was the one that introduced Randy to his new company. Are you lost in these circles, yet? Don’t feel bad, it was quite odd to me too, even being there first hand.

Over the next couple of days a lot happens: I shoot a message to Erik thanking him for passing me on to Patrick. Not ten minutes later, an auto-email response tells me that Erik is no longer with that company.

What the...?

Continue to Construction Work Ahead, Part Two…

What do You Think?

Please feel free to share your thoughts and comments below.

Photo Credits

A. Scot Tedisco, The U.S. National Archives

Who Cares What You Do for a Living

2012-03-01T11:32:00.001-08:00

Business Startup

Do you care about what you do for a living? Do you pursue it passionately enough to want to spend every living moment thinking and doing something about it? Are you doing something that at your death bed, as you review your life in those last moments, you can honestly be proud of?

Here’s why you should pursue in business what you passionately do outside of it.

My wife, one of our close friends and I launched CanvasPet.com last year. Below’s an excerpt of the organization’s mission:

[To provide] a one-stop-shop for conscientious pet owners to purchase organic, environmentally safe products to treat common family pet health issues, while donating 100% of our annual profits to local and national dog rescues.

Our intent has always been, and continues to be, to help pets live a happier life, whether through the pet products their people purchase from us to live healthier lives, or through the donations we give to pet rescues, to insure pets find good homes where they’re loved by their people. This mission was inspired by issues we had with our own dogs and Gandhi's quote:

The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.

Whenever we tell the CanvasPet.com story, we get one of two reactions: disbelief or complete support, the latter possibly accompanied with a bit of envy. Your reaction too may fall in one of these buckets after reading our mission statement.

The disbelief has cynical roots: that nobody cares enough for our fellow companions to devote a whole business to it. In other words, some may think this is just a “clever” marketing scheme to get people to spend money with us, and that we will hide our profits as salaries, bonuses, or expenses. Once we explain that our goal for 2012 is to take no salaries and donate all of our profits, and that we’re filing our 501 non-profit status with the federal government this year, the disbelief melts away. This is especially true if the people are aware that by becoming a non-profit our finances will be available for public review and scrutiny, thus preventing us from giving ourselves high salaries or bonuses.

The point here is not to defend CanvasPet.com and its practices, but to illustrate a point: genuine interest to do good for those who can’t help themselves, often demonstrates an organization’s mission for even the most cynical among us. In fact, preponderance of facts supporting this, in conjunction with heart-felt curiosity about people’s needs and wants, wipes away any last doubts.

The second reaction conjoined with envy is quite interesting as well. The words we’ve heard used in these situations often are statements like, “that’s the kind of work I’ve always wanted to do,” or, “I wish I could leave my job and do what you’re doing,” and even, “how can you possibly do that and make a living.”

As a society, we tend to think we can either do good or work for a living, where our work involves exploiting people in some way. Somehow, somewhere in our lives, we incorrectly learned that business can’t possibly do good, since a business is purely about forcing people to purchase what they don’t need nor want. We’ve divorced a business from doing good for society.

That’s simply untrue. Business can do good. I’m not just referring to how businesses create jobs. Of course they do. Heck, they must, but that isn’t the only good they can deliver. To claim that’s the best a business can deliver is similar to claiming that the best a pen can do is require paper to write on! Just as a pen becomes an instrument for a person to inspire, free our minds, and ameliorate understanding among us, so too can a business do good by the people it serves.

A business does well for the society when it fulfills a need to make it healthier, better and its members happier. The employment, the cash it produces, the profits it generates then become byproducts of this effort. They should not be the end-goal of any business.

Does this mean a business shouldn’t care about cash flow and profits? Of course not. In a capitalistic system, cash is the means to exchange goods. Unless the system changes this means, no one can ignore cash and profitability, especially when we want to insure our continued future support for the causes we believe in.

Cash is simply the means to deliver goods and through which a company can do good. It’s cash that’s used in exchange for food and shelter for those in need, to help those that can’t help themselves, to provide comfort and long-term happiness for the masses that makes any endeavor worth pursuing. So, yes, cash flow and profits matter, only to insure we can do good for our fellow man, the animals that keep us company, all living things, including our ecosystem and, thereby, the world at large.

So, if you feel envy for any business that aims to better society in some way, get in the game and become a part of it. Shed the idea that helping society is something we do part time, when we have time away from our daily work. Do it now, whether that means joining a non-profit, starting your own, or finding a for-profit company that aims to improve society as opposed to just make money.

Get in the game NOW and help those who can’t help themselves and need you to protect them, or find a means to make people’s lives more meaningful, moving them up the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

What Do You Think?

Please feel free to share your thoughts below.

Photo Credits

www.BackgroundNow.com, 401k, dgoomany

How to Prepare a Pumpkin Mix for Your Pets

2012-03-01T10:47:00.001-08:00

Recommendations

As many of you know, my partners and I started CanvasPet.com in the last year, where we provide products that are aimed at improving your pet’s health, while donating our profits to national and local no-kill shelters and rescues.

As a part of that effort, we’re producing Quick Tip videos and placing them on the CanvasPet YouTube channel. Our first one focuses on how to prepare Nummy Tum Tum Canned Pumpkin mixed with home made yams to help your dog’s digestion. This video can be used in conjunction with two of the packages we provide on our site: Jiggy Get Solid and Jiggy Get Solid Supreme.

Enjoy!

What Do You Think?

Feel free to share your thoughts below and suggest Quick Tip topics.

Hike to Santiago Peak

2012-02-28T08:00:00.000-08:00

Climbing Mt. Whitney

Below’s a guest blog post from René Rosendahl to whom I referred in the previous post on Santiago Peak Calling...Our Readers! as the source of the questions that lead to that post. After completing his journey, he was kind enough to write and tell me about it. So, I asked him to submit a post, given how different and interesting his trip turned out.

In his “regular life”, René Rosendahl is a project management professional and Agilist working for Kelley Blue Book. In his spare time his athletic and outdoor adventures range from hiking and scuba diving to Tae Kwon Do and tennis. When not out and about, he enjoys movies and expanding his ecosystem of Apple gadgets.

René can be reached at R_Rosendahl@cox.net, on Twitter @rrosendahl, and on LinkedIn.

Enjoy the read!

On February 18, 2012 – By René Rosendahl

Inspired by Arash’s recent blog about his experience hiking up to Santiago Peak, my friends Jason, Tony and I made plans in December of last year to follow suit and attempt the same hike. After all, I have to stare at that mountain every day on my way to work and I had been wondering what’s it’s like to make the trek to the peak.

Our planning, apart from selecting a date that would work for all of us, revolved around what to pack and wear, navigation and how much water we should bring. After bugging Arash with some additional questions and utilizing his day hike pack list, we had most of the information we needed. I used an Osprey Stratos day pack with 34 l capacity which had enough room to store food, water, clothing and various supplies and emergency equipment. Water was probably the most important factor. Based on the 0.75 quarts per hour formula, I concluded that we had to bring close to 6 l of water each. The pack was able to hold a 3 l bladder and so I added 2 plastic bottles with water separately, with the total being 5.5 l. Quite a weight to carry!

Tony found a web site with current weather conditions at the peak, which was very helpful in planning what to be prepared for. When we started watching the site a few days before the hike, it had just snowed at the peak and temperatures were in the 30s with plenty of wind. So we knew we had to be ready for cold temperatures and hence brought several layers that could be shed in case it wasn’t as cold. Fortunately, as our target date approached, we saw that the temperature started to go up during the day as things warmed up.

Being concerned about navigation, I opted to buy a Garmin eTrex (Vista HCx) GPS as well as 24k topographical maps for the unit. I didn’t want to rely on my iPhone and its MotionX GPS app because I had seen the GPS drain a full iPhone battery in about 7 hrs before and the phone was not going to do well in potentially low temperatures and/or moisture/rain. Not a cheap addition to my equipment, but the peace of mind of having a reliable GPS (and a sale at REI) helped.

On the day of the hike (February 18), we left Irvine around 5:40 AM since we wanted to start early and get going while it’s still cool. The weather forecast fortunately promised clear, sunny conditions and little wind. As advised, we took a high-clearance SUV and were able to get to the parking lot by 6:30, despite the “road” being quite bumpy and full of challenges a sedan would’ve found tough to maneuver.

We were the second car in the parking lot and started our hike around 6:40 AM. It was lousy cold with temperatures in the 30s and I was happy I had gloves and an ear band to wear. After crossing a creek a few times, we worked our way up to higher elevations and as we got out of the shady areas, it quickly warmed up and we dressed down to shorts and t-shirt within an hour of starting.

Since the water added quite a bit of weight to our packs, we – as planned – dropped 1l bottles after about 1.5 hours into the hike in the bushes next to the trail and marked the position on the GPS.

Once we transitioned from the Holy Jim trail to the Main Divide Road, we soon started encountering patches of snow and slush. As we got higher up, those patches become more frequent and the temperature dropped, especially in areas where the sun didn’t reach the ground. So towards the end we found ourselves wading though half a foot of snow or slush, which made walking difficult and sometimes slippery and wet.

The least two miles of our ascent were probably the most strenuous. All the while we could see the huge antennas and they seemed so close and within reach, but the road kept twisting and turning and it took much longer than expected to make it all the way to the top. When we reached the peak, we had excellent conditions with lots of sun, little wind, and a great view all around. So we spent about an hour up there and refueled with plenty of water, energy bars, cheese and salami.

As we descended the Main Divide road back down, we didn’t take it all the way back, but decided to use a smaller side trail instead, which we thought we had seen marked as Upper Holy Jim earlier. This trail was narrow and much steeper as it quickly serpentined down the hill. It definitely seemed to be a shortcut going back down. Due the steeper angle, it would definitely not have been a good idea to take this trail up, but going down was quite feasible. When this side trail finally connected back to the main road, we used the GPS to determine which way to go to return to the Holy Jim trail.

The rest of the descent was uneventful and for the most part seemed easier than going up the mountain. We definitely had enough of going uphill and our legs started feeling fatigued at this point. More than ever, I appreciated having hiking poles. Not only were they useful during the ascent and in the snow, they now took a lot of stress off my knees as we came back down.

With the help of the GPS, we located the spot where we had dropped off the water earlier (fortunately, it was still there!) and put the bottles back in our packs.

As we reached the point towards the end of the trail where we could’ve taken a little detour to Holy Jim Falls, we decided that we were too tired and continued back down to where we had left the car. As we reached the parking lot, we saw that it was now completely packed and had filled up with cars throughout the day. When we started off, the location had felt quite remote and desolate, but now it was more like the parking lot of Disneyland with plenty of people making it up the lower part of the trail (few of which – I surmise – would make it very far up the mountain).

In total, the hike took us around 7:45 hours, around 6 of which for hiking the 16.3 miles. So apart from the break on the peak, we must’ve taken around 45 mins of short breaks here and there. I consumed only a total of 3.75 l of water despite my load of 5.5 l. On a hot day though, I would’ve drunk more, if not all, for sure. I didn’t use all layers of clothing I had brought either, but as with water, you’ll want to be prepared for the less favorable scenarios and you never know exactly what conditions you’ll encounter.

Did it pay off to have a “real” GPS instead of just using the iPhone? I think the answer is yes. With its resistance to tougher conditions (temperatures and moisture), battery life of over 20 hours and independence of 3G/data connectivity, it’s definitely a better “fit” for outdoor adventures. Its GPS chip set is also providing more precise location tracking, so it came in handy when locating the water bottles we had dropped.

Driving back from the trail towards Irvine, we stopped at the renowned Cook’s Corner for a beer. I’m sure us three slightly limping, sweaty, and exhausted-looking guys in dusty hiking clothes fit right in with all the hardcore bikers and their leather jackets.

Looking back, hiking to Santiago Peak was definitely a worthwhile and rewarding experience and accomplishment. While I’m personally not inclined to strive for even more challenging hikes like Mt. Whitney, I’m hoping to explore more of the OC mountain trails in the future.

What Do You Think?

What did I tell you? That’s an interesting read. Feel free to share your comments below. Also, if you’re inspired to write, feel free to reach out with your story. I’ll be happy to review and post it here, with your permission, of course!

Lastly, in case you’re interested, Christopher T. and I are heading up to San Jacinto Peak on March 10th. Here are the stats of that peak:

Elevation: 10,834 ft.
Roundtrip Distance: 11 miles
Trail: San Jacinto Peak Trail via Palm Springs Tram
Elevation Gain: 2,300 ft.
Info site: http://www.localhikes.com/Hikes/SanJacintoPeak_4472.asp

Photo Credits

René Rosendahl

Santiago Peak Calling…Our Readers!

2012-02-09T08:04:00.001-08:00

Climbing Mount Whitney

You may recall from the First Long Hike Complete post that a friend and I hiked up to the highest point in Orange County, Santiago Peak, in November of 2011 . The post created quite a number of comments via email, a few on the post’s Comments section, and a number on Facebook.

One particular reader was inspired to hike up to the peak and asked some clarifying questions. I figured there may be others who may be considering the hike and have similar questions. So, here they are with the answers:

Q: How much water did you need (not counting water for the dog)? Just a 3L bladder?

A: I took two 3L bladders. A common recommendation I've seen is .7L per hour. We figured we would be gone for 7.5 hours, equating to about 5.5L. That's why I took what I did. However, the weather was very cool that day (at warmest, it was 57°F). So, I ended up using only 2L of water! I initially drank more, but as the first hour ended, I realized I didn't need it.
Q: What was the temperature drop from the trail head to the top? Somebody said to expect about 10-15 degrees. Is this correct?

A: We had a very cool day when we went, with cloud cover. In fact, the clouds started at about 3,500 ft. So, we were in the clouds (insert your joke here), literally, for more than half of the trail. The temperature ranged from 57°F at the base to 38°F at the top. We also encountered rain part of the way down. So, you'll want to check the weather before going up to insure you have the right equipment. I started out with a T-Shirt, but half way up switched to a light wind-proof jacket, and later added a thermal layer below the jacket when we reached the top. Of course, I also wore a hat to insure against sun and rain.
Q: I’m considering using my iPhone as GPS (MotionX GPS). which GPS did you use? Can you recommend it? Do you think the phone will do it?

A: I didn't use my GPS. My friend had the GPS Tracker app on his iPhone. I now use AllSport GPS on my Android phone that works very well also. Neither of the apps on the phone require wireless signal, only that you have GPS capabilities on the phone and turn on the receiver. Of course, your signal strength will determine the quality of recordings and GPS response you get.
Q: Did you find a good map to help find the trail head and then the trail itself?

A: Absolutely. I used three maps. I'm big on having a paper map, in case the GPS fails. I bought the "Franko's Map of the Santa Ana Mountains and Chino Hills State Park" from REI. This has trail maps from various locations. I also used Google Maps to find our trailhead and map the walk to the peak. Google Maps has a 3D play mode that lets you visually see how your trail will wind up and down. When at the trail head, I also took a picture of the trail map (here for your reference) available on a post there.
Speaking of the trail, make sure you take a truck or a crossover car with high clearance. The road to the Holy Jim Trail is very rocky and bumpy. It also crosses the same stream multiple times. I didn't know this and I have a sedan. We braved the road anyway. For the last 2.5 miles of the drive though, my car bottomed out numerous times, and that was with me driving in first gear at about 5 miles per hour. We couldn't drive the last mile and walked it instead, since the road was too rough for our sedans.
Q: Did you need any kind of permit or parking pass for your cars?

A: Yes. You’ll need an adventure pass that you can purchase from REI for $15. Don’t forget to get this and, most importantly, don’t forget to place this on your dashboard before leaving for the trail. We DID forget to place it and had to walk back the first quarter mile to put it on and avoid a fine.

Happy trails!

What Do You Think?

Feel free to ask any other questions and post your comments below.

Photo Credits

Yours truly.

Enjoy Bootstrapping

2012-01-25T08:02:00.000-08:00

Business Startup

You’ve started a new business, job search, project, and you put all of your effort to insure its success.

For various reasons, you close the business doors, stop searching for a job, close out the project without completing it. Then you wonder: what’s next? Is this the end, the sunset of the grand plan? Will you give in to the pressures of those enthusiastic to label you as a “failure,” a “has been,” a “loser?”

I suggest you welcome all of these comments and accept the label as a proud badge of honor. All of them are signs of someone who tried where others hesitated, who believed when others didn’t, who took on an adventure while others watched.

An Entrepreneurship axiom comes to mind from my readings of late:

Failing gracefully is much more important than succeeding!

In other words, how you close out failed attempts, what you learn from them and, most importantly, how you determine to return with more vigor is much more important than not fully achieving all that you set out to gain.

Last year, in early January of 2011 I closed shop on iEngineer.net, the software and project management consultancy with the slogan, “Making the World a Better Place, One Company at a Time.” We were ready to close shop by September of 2010, but we knew the best approach was to properly close out all of our projects, deliver what we’d promised to the remaining customers, and refer them to other service providers who would be able to continue to help them.

That wasn’t an end though. What I learned through my misadventures under iEngineer laid the groundwork for future projects. I learned how I got energized daily from working with non-profits, of the importance of having a cause, of focusing on sales and revenue as a means of solving people’s problems, not just making the numbers, and of the complexity of knowing how to communicate to customers how much I care about solving their problems and making their lives better.

So what?

So, the lessons learned lead to another startup, but this time more focused than before. I, along with my two partners, started a non-profit with the goal of “Sniffing Out the Good Stuff” for pets with maladies and their owners who were overwhelmed with the plethora of online information about them. We started CanvasPet.com. The company focuses purely on providing free information and sell products that help people improve their family pet’s lives, and thereby their own. Most importantly, we donate all of our annual profits to other national and local non-profit pet rescue shelters.

The point is you should never give up, especially in the face of failed attempts. Failed companies, job searches, projects are only the fertile grounds for your next success and adventure. Your goal after such events shouldn’t be to stop trying, but to keep trying and refining your approach, using the scientific method, to help you get ever closer to that nirvana, that perfect state where you know exactly what you were meant to do in life and you do it.

So go on. Get out there. Stop reading and start doing, learning and redoing. Enjoy bootstrapping your next business, ideal job, excellent project and spread the word for all else to join you in the ranks.

What Do You Think?

You know what to do. Share your comments below. Don’t be shy. I love hearing and learning from you.

First Long Hike Complete

2011-12-03T12:07:00.001-08:00

Climbing Mount Whitney

That’s right! Christopher T. and I hiked to the top of Santiago Peak, the highest mountain in Orange County at 5,687 ft. on November 19, 2011.

This was the first of three big hikes before Mount Whitney in the Summer of 2012. What follows is a retelling of our day, some of our challenges, and some very intriguing discoveries and folks we met on the trail.

Packing
Knowing that we’d have an early start in the morning, I packed the car with all of the equipment and necessities the night before. That wasn’t a small task.

I had the usual material based on the Equipment Check we’d already created. I excluded a few items though. I knew I didn’t have to worry about carrying a Wag Bag (toilet bag), given I already had the similar bags for Jiggy, my American Bull Dog hiker accompanying me on all of the hikes. I was very thankful later in the day that I had all that I did. More on that later.

Aside from the day pack I had to carry, I also had to get Jiggy’s pack ready. He carries part of his own water, about 1 Liter, and all of his food, 2 cups of no-filler, high-protein kibble. I also had to get the rest of his equipment. Don’t worry, he has no boots or hat, but I needed his leash and the car seat-belt (yeah, you read that right) and seat cover. Jiggy has a sensitive stomach. Even after a year of living and driving with us, he still gets nervous and motion sickness in the car. I didn’t want a big mess in the car in case that happened.

With both Jiggy’s and my pack and equipment in the car, we were set. We just needed to check on the following day’s conditions and revise the meeting time, if need be.

The weather report was a bit surprising. Unlike what we’d originally expected, it was going to be a cool day, with temperatures ranging from upper 50’s to the lower 60’s. So, We revised our start time. Our original plan was to start early, at 6 AM, to beat the heat. But given the revised temperatures, and the expected cloud cover, we delayed our start by an hour. That meant an extra hour of sleep. I was thankful for that extra rest, knowing what we had ahead of us.

Wake Early
The morning started early enough, even with the extra hour of sleep. I knew I had to meet up Christopher at about 6:30 AM and I had a half hour drive to our meeting point at Cook’s Corner. Given my want to load up on protein in the mornings and get my usual two cups of coffee, I woke at 5 AM. I made my five egg-white omelet with avocadoes and salsa. Even if you’re not a breakfast person, you don’t want to skip out on breakfast on a long walk day.

After breakfast, I loaded up Jiggy and headed out to Cook’s Corner. We got there a bit early. I took the chance to step out of the car and get a feel for the weather. No doubt. It was going to be a crisp day. The temperature was at 57 degrees. The air was misty. one might even say, it was sprinkling. Given the time of day, there was hardly anyone on the road. There was another group in a car getting ready for a hike or something. They were waiting at Cook’s as well.

It didn’t take long before Christopher showed up though, just at 6:30 AM. Perfect. We only had another half hour of drive…or so we thought.

Trabuco Creek Road, up until the Holy Jim Canyon Road turn off ,was paved, but from there on it was a dirt road. I thought, “No problem. This should be a short 5 mile drive to the trailhead.” Huh!!! It turned out, you really needed a high-clearance car or truck to get to this place. A four-wheel drive would have been ideal, but at least a truck. The road was not just dirt, but rocky, with potholes large and small. What’s more, a stream crossed the path a number of times. By “crossed” I mean we literally drove through the water. There was no bridge. I could see how you could get stuck out here if it rained heavily. Knowing this, I looked up from time to time, considering the clouds and likelihood of any rain. I was beginning to have doubts whether our cars would make it back if we had heavy rainfall. Here’s to hoping!

My car’s front bottomed out a number of times over the ups and downs of the road. Christopher was in no better shape, with both of us driving at about 2 to 5 miles per hour, carefully negotiating the rocky road. Eventually, at about 1/2 a mile to the Holy Jim trailhead, we decided our cars had enough punishment. We found a wide section on the road with a turnout and parked.

Trailhead
With about half a mile to go, we figured we weren’t extending our walk by much. The trail was supposed to be 16 miles roundtrip. What’s another half a mile each way, one mile roundtrip, added on?

Aside from the flying rocks and bottoming out the cars, the rough road had another interesting effect: it triggered Jiggy’s motion sickness. The poor guy vomited part of his dinner. I was definitely thankful for the seat cover, but, more importantly, concerned for my buddy. No doubt he wasn’t feeling too hot now, right before starting out on a long walk. That’s the funny thing about dogs and, especially, Jiggy: They live in the moment. It took just a whiff of the outdoors for him to cheer up. He jumped out of the car, wagging his tail, ready to take on the trail, without a care for what had just happened. No doubt, he was just enjoying the moment, the feeling of the crisp air, and the notion of exploring something new. There’s a lesson there to be learned, but that’s for another post.

After checking all our equipment and locking doors, we headed off at 7:16 AM. Just a quarter mile out, we realized we didn’t place our Adventure Pass (parking permits) on the cars. Yeah! They were still sitting, nice and cozy, in my backpack. Oof! So, we turned around and realized we were adding another half a mile roundtrip to our day. More exercise, right?

After placing the passes and running a final check, we headed out again. Eventually we arrived at the trailhead. There were others taking on the hike as well. Knowing we weren’t alone in this, was reassuring, though I was a bit concerned about having too many people on the trail. We didn’t know how true that would be given the events that would follow.

Hike Up
Oh yeah. We were on the trail now. We initially saw a number of old cabins on the trail. They were all in various degrees of disrepair, with one that looked just abandoned. Its windows broken, door ajar, and some debris by the steps. I wondered what had happened to the owners. Why did they abandon the cabin? The cabins weren’t that great, but I loved the location. This was our last bit of civilization before heading into the woods.

Initially our path crossed a stream, the same one from the dirt road. This was Jiggy’s first experience with a stream. He looked at it quizzically each time we tried to pass it. On the first attempt, he slowly moved from rock to rock, trying not to get wet, while smelling all around him, getting a feel for what was going on. By the third time, he was outright scared of it. He didn’t want to cross.

Thankfully, his backpack is designed just for such a scenario. The pack has a handle so that he can be carried. So, for the remainder of our crossings, I carried him like a briefcase across each stream. This was actually a bit funny since he still tried to walk in mid-air. It looked like he was doggy paddling, swimming through the air. Christopher and I got a few chuckles watching him figure out what was going on.

Though the trail started out wide enough for two or three people to walk side-by-side, it eventually narrowed to a single track, just wide enough for one person. At some sections it was even narrower than that, with each of us brushing against the native plants. So, we were forced to walk single-file, with Christopher leading the group, Jiggy trying to catch up with him, and me bringing up the rear.

Occasionally, we’d negotiate the path with other hikers coming down. At one point, Christopher heard noise from up above. Given the tall bushes around us, we didn’t know what was making the sound. This was at a part of the trail when we were going through switchbacks. So, what he heard made him think of falling rocks, coming down toward us. We stopped to make sure we weren’t in any danger. When the sound seemed to move away, we started up again. Suddenly, we saw a group of bikers ahead of us, speeding toward us. All of us jumped out of the way to avoid a collision, but these guys seemed to know what they were doing. They slowed down and passed us without incident.

We picked up again and continued our trek. Along the way, we had some amazing views and changing scenery, from tunnels made of overhanging trees, to views of the gorge in between the mountain peaks. This was all the more interesting and mysterious given we climbed from 1,700 ft to 5,600 ft, seeing the overcast clouds to eventually walking among them. At some parts, our view was completely obstructed, but the winds were blowing well enough to open windows in the rolling fog and expose scenes of amazing natural beauty, while cooling us on our laborious trek.

Half way up the mountain, I could no longer bear walking with just my t-shirt, even as warmed up as I was. In fact, I was sweating up a storm, but the temperature was dropping quickly. The winds didn’t help either. I eventually put on my jacket to prevent the wind from cutting right through me.

The Holy Jim Trail ended at 4 Miles into the walk. The rest of the path to the peak was on a fire road, the Main Divide Road. This was a rocky road, with many turns and, as it turned out, may travelers. Later I learned the path starts much further down and is another way to get to the peak. The first person we saw, gave us pause though. He was partially jogging and walking up the trail. What was curious about the scene was that he was wearing a number.

We let it go, but just a few minutes later, we saw another walker/jogger, also with numbers on his clothes. We asked if there was a race gong on.

“Yeah,” said the second jogger. “100k or 100 miles run.”

WHAT?!?!?

One hundred kilometers is about 67 miles. So, 67 mile or 100 mile race? Sure enough, there were two groups in the race. Some were running the 100km and others the 100 miles. Talk about extreme! We had nothing on these super-marathoners. I was certainly impressed, though also concerned for them. As we thought about the pace we were keeping, an average marathon pace, as well as the 10 to 15% grade we were on, we realized these folks must have started at about 4 AM and would continue running until 10 or 11 PM. That’s nuts!

At the Peak
We reached the peak at 11:45 AM. It took us four and a half hour to complete those first 8.5 miles, but it was worth it. By the time we reached the peak, the mountain was completely covered in the clouds. The wind was blowing hard and the temperature had dropped to 37 degrees. We had very little visibility at the top. We certainly couldn’t see any of Orange County, let alone the surrounding mountains. All we saw were the communication towers at the peak, where we were standing. There were others there too, basking in the glory of reaching the peak. Many of them were bikers, but some were hikers like us that had taken the Holy Jim Trail.

We were all thankful for the small building there. All of us took refuge behind it, away from the winds, as we spent our half hour resting, eating and quenching our thirst. I tended to Jiggy first, knowing he would be starving by now. He vacuumed up his two cups of kibble, then downed a quarter liter of his water. On the way up, at our various stops, I’d offered him water he’d refused. Knowing the cool air helped him reduce his need for water, and in an attempt to lighten his load, I emptied half a liter of his water. He now only had a quarter liter of water in his pack. I still carried another half a liter for him, as well as an additional two and a half liters backup, aside from my three liter main water bladder. So, I had no concerns we would have enough.

I’d originally thought we’d spend an hour at the top, but the cold air and the wind prevented us from staying there long. In fact, I had to put on a fleece vest and my gloves, as well as the jacket and hat just to stay there for as long as did.

At about 12:15 PM, just a half hour after arriving at the peak, we started our way back down.

Hike Down
By the time we started our hike down, I was cold to the bones and glad we’d started. I knew the walk would warm me up. I was also interested to see how much time it would take to walk back down. With four and a half hour hike up, we figured we’d need three and a half hours to get back.

Interestingly enough, just as we came down the first 30 ft, we saw a break in the clouds to our left and caught a glimpse of what appeared to be Palm Springs or Lake Elsinore area. It didn’t take long for the winds to blow in the clouds and obscure our view again.

As an added bonus, light rain started. Even with the cold, this was somewhat welcome as it dampened the road and assured we’d have less dust picking up. Jiggy was very good with it too. He just kept walking…at least at first. He eventually stopped and looked up at me. We waited a few seconds before encouraging him to start walking again.

“Let’s go, boy. Let’s go Jiggy boy,” I said. He picked up, but was wobbling a bit. I realized the loose rocks and added pack weight, even with most of his water drained, may be tiring his paws. So, I unpacked his backpack and strapped it on mine. Sure enough, after just a few minutes, he was as happy as can be, even with the rain. He pulled ahead and started scouting the road, with his floppy ears bouncing left to right.

Surprisingly, the walk back down wasn’t as long nor as tiring. We certainly didn’t stop as often to rest, which is partially why it took only three hours to get down. Once we got close to the end of the Holy Jim Trail though, I had to put Jiggy’s backpack on. I wanted to make sure I could carry him across the stream at the various crossings. This proved unnecessary since by then Jiggy was a pro. He was eagerly lunging his muscle-bound physique forward, hopping from rock to rock.

End of Day
The end of day came at about 3:10 PM, almost eight hours after our early morning start. Christopher and I were exhausted, though Jiggy looked like he could walk another half a day, given how he gleefully kept trudging forward. We’d walked a total of 17.5 miles, up from the original planned and expected 16 miles.

I certainly learned that no matter what goals you set and achieve, you’ll always be challenged to do more by those around you. The super marathoners certainly demonstrated that. I also heard and shared many good stories with my friend Christopher T. Once again realizing the importance of the right companionships in trying journeys.

I was certainly glad that my buddy, Jiggy, was with us. I was very happy he’s graduated to a long-distance hiker, rock hopper, and all around outdoor dog, as his lineage dictates, no doubt. It was a pleasure seeing his athletic physique in action.

What’s Next
With so much learned and achieved from this hike, I realized I was perfectly capable of completing and looking forward to our future hikes. I knew I’d have to rest a couple of weeks before starting training for the next hike though.

This brings us to the present week. This Monday was the start of training for our next big hike: either Mt. San Gorgonio at 11,499 ft., 5,419 ft. elevation gain and 15.6 miles roundtrip, or Mt. San Jacinto at 10,834 ft., 2,300 ft. elevation gain and 11 miles roundtrip. Assuming all goes well with the next 14 weeks of training, this next big hike will be on March 10, 2012.

Anybody else want to join us?

What Do You Think?

Feel free to share your thoughts and comments below.

Photo Credits

Yours truly

Weeks 10-14: One Hundred and Ten Miles Later

2011-10-11T08:46:00.001-07:00

Climbing Mount Whitney

It’s been five weeks since my last post about training for the hike to Mount Whitney, what I lovingly refer to as the Big Mother Hike (BMH). I’ve learned quite a lot in these past five weeks, and certainly had a ball getting closer to completing the BMH.

During this time I’ve walked or hiked 110.5 miles around my neighborhood (see above picture), in parks and over some larger hills. I’ve learned the importance of continuous hydration as well as taking snacks of high protein value that are about 100 to 150 calories each and can be consumed at about once per hour; how resting for just 7 to 10 minutes every hour can extend your day and walk, as well as other important tidbits.

What I’m writing about today is the importance of being a total geek about your pursuits and feeding off comments from the naysayers. Here’s the breakdown of what I mean:

Geek Out and Become the Humble Pro
If you’re serious about something, be it hiking, your relationship, work, whatever the case, you have to completely immerse yourself in it. Love and own it by reading about it at every opportunity, speaking with people in the know as well as your friend, family and acquaintances that don’t know, then think through how you wish to apply what you learn to your life and finally apply the lessons.

This actually requires a certain amount of humility. You must accept that you don’t know everything about the subject and seek it out. As with anything, when you learn more, you also realize how much more there’s to learn. You’ll find that lessons from other practices are applicable to your current focus. As I’ve started reading a biography about Gandhi, I realize how his many life lessons can be applied to the hikes.

You’ll invest money in more books and tools to help you succeed, and time to acquire the knowledge and use them. That’s a good thing. You’re investing in yourself and insuring your success.

As your journey becomes longer, you’ll not only apply these lessons, but also find people that want to ask you questions about what you’re doing. Don’t shun them. Share what you’ve learned freely, openly and often. You’ll be surprised to find good advice through these many conversations, as well as learn how your actions inspire others to strive for something greater.

The point is you should geek out, learn as much as you can about your new goals and apply what you learn daily. Be humble about what you’re doing and share everything you learn at every opportunity, even as you’re stepping through and getting closer to your goals. Be proud of what you accomplish at every step of the way and humble, knowing where you came from.
Slow Down to Speed Up Your Progress
I mentioned above that I’ve learned to take breaks. I used to walk straight through to six or seven miles, even when it took more than an hour. That was fine for those distances. However, as I graduated to longer walks, I began to realize the importance of taking breaks.

I tried walking past 7 miles with no breaks. It was exhausting and I slowed down. Then I remembered advice from a book I’d read: take 7 to 10 minute breaks every hour. I tried this with the 7 mile walks and all distances thereafter. I found I had a burst of energy after the breaks and I could quicken my pace to make up some of the time spent for them. I couldn’t fully make it up. However, my overall pace speed, including the breaks, became better. What’s more, I could travel longer distances without totally exhausting my body.

The lesson was clear. I had to slow down and take breaks in order to speed up my overall progress to walk longer distances as well as my pace during each walk.
Keep a Singular Focus and Feed Off the Noise
As you begin to interact with people on and off trails, what you’ll realize is that many who don’t understand what you’re doing and why you’re doing it will begin to question it. They may even ridicule the idea or your approach to it. Love this when you see or hear it.

Why?

Because it’s a sign you’re going against the norm and everyone’s comfort zone. It means you’re doing something you should…heck, you MUST do, to make your mark in the world. In short, it means you’re doing the right thing.

Use this validation to feed the fire that’s your desire to accomplish your goals. Let it confirm that what you’re accomplishing is more than just a hike, or a project, but the definition of your character and who you are.

What Do You Think?

Feel free to share your comments below.

Photo Credits

Yours truly

Business Lessons from Hiking

2011-09-27T08:50:00.001-07:00

Business Strategies

As you may know from the posts about Climbing Mount Whitney, I’m preparing for a single day, 21 mile round trip hike to summit Mount Whitney next year. I’m now 10 weeks into a 16 week training cycle. The training has already reminded me of lessons that universally apply to our personal and professional lives.

Here are three recurring themes and their associated lessons:

Think One Thought at a Time
No kidding, right? This should be obvious for everything we do, but demanding schedules, the want to complete six things at once, and peer pressure guide the best of us into filling every moment with noise and perceptual input.

Hiking has reminded me how easy it can be to find calmness, to clear your thoughts and find direction. Walking any distance, even if it’s just for an hours, forces you to clear your mind. Of course, I assume you avoid taking your phone or mp3 player and just let the nature sink in. Almost at the beginning of every walk, I find myself thinking about all the things I have to do AFTER I finish the walk. I used to tell myself to stop thinking about those things, but that only made me think of them more. So, instead I let the list roll through to the end. I may even linger on a few items to think through how to get them done.

My thoughts eventually come back to the walk. This usually takes about 5 to 10 minutes. I begin to think about what I want to accomplish that day, the goal of hiking Mount Whitney, what challenges I may have, whether our team should consider doing it in two days instead of just one, how much food will I need, how can we save on total carried weight of equipment by sharing the list of navigational tools and some of the burden, and what new challenges would we take on after hiking Mount Whitney.

The point is that giving yourself freedom to think and focus on one item at a time has two important benefits. First, you don’t have to work as hard in AVOIDING other thoughts. Second, you gain in-depth insight about the idea at hand. In essence, you’re giving yourself the freedom to deeply think through your task at hand, whether it’s how to successfully break into the pet food market, or to hike Mount Whitney.
Avoid Never-Ending Marathons
When I first started planning the Mount Whitney hike, I chose to train for 52 months without any breaks. In other words, I looked at it as a year-long marathon that ended with…a marathon, namely the Mt. Whitney hike. A friend reminded me that even marathon training is completed in cycles. The cycles can be intense and with intermittent goals. Otherwise, the body’s too exhausted to actually complete the marathon. In fact, when training for a marathon, you’re even supposed to take time off before the race so that you’re fully rested.

The same holds true for hiking and work. Intense preparations or projects certainly bring focus and clarity. However, a project that never ends will demoralize you and your team, as well as deliver mediocre results at best. This is especially true when the team gets closer to the end of the project when you may need a big push or effort from the team members. They may need to put in longer hours or avoid all other distractions. This can’t be possible when the team has continuously pushed hard for one to two years. So, give yourself and the team a break between each big endeavor or project to enjoy the rewards of your accomplishments and prepare for the next big adventure.

You may want to consider short project cycles that deliver intermittent results. These can be four to six week cycles with an extra day or two off in between, giving team members time to recuperate before coming in to tackle a new part of the project and pushing harder for the challenges ahead.

In our case of hiking preparation, I created three cycles of 16-week training with two week breaks in between. What’s more, each cycle becomes gradually more challenging, with a finale for each cycle that consists of a 12-16 mile hike in the local mountains ranging from 5,600 ft. to 12,000 ft. in altitude. After the finale for each cycle there’s a two week rest period with very little to no physical activity. This means that before the Mount Whitney hike, there’ll also be a two-week rest.
Consider Your Team Mix as Dynamic
We started out preparing for Mount Whitney with two people, increased to six, then dropping back down to two, and not the same two we started out with. The current team consists of two people with a third that may join us. Nevertheless, we keep moving forward.

Often times people join a company, team, or adventure with the shared group goal, such as to introduce a new product to the market, provide better home elderly care, or assess needs and recommend products and services to people with special needs. Team members may join in, then realize life circumstances prevent them from continuing with the rigor necessary to accomplish those goals. You have to not only account for it, but accept this outcome as part of the process.

The team will go on so long as they remain focused on the mission and vision. There should be no blame, nor hurt feelings for those that can’t accompany you. Often times, life circumstances that prevent someone from continuing now only mean they’ll join you again later with more focus and vigor. So, you not only want to avoid alienating the individuals, but understanding their specific wants and needs, then supporting them at least through words and, if possible, through deeds.

What Do You Think?

I never ask you to agree with me, but just to share your ideas and opinion. Feel free to comment on this or any other post.

Weeks 8 and 9: Equipment Check

2011-09-14T08:15:00.000-07:00

Climbing Mount Whitney

You recall I’d originally written in the first of these posts that I would write about Mount Whitney daily. Clearly that hasn’t happened. I’m back to the original method of postings on this blog: as new ideas come up, I’ll write about them. Christopher T had warned me about that with some skepticism. You were right bub!

First, I’d like to update who will be in our group. We’re now a group of three people: Christopher T, Ron T, and me. The dates of the intermediate climbs, as well as the rigor of the preparation have meant some folks can’t make one or more of the climbs before the big mother hike (BMH), or the BMH itself.

Second, as to the preparation, I’ve been busy with the program from the last post, Getting With the (New) Program. Having finished Weeks 7 and 8, I’ve now completed a 6-mile hike locally. Week 9, this week, I’ll be walking 8 miles at Chapparosa Park in Laguna Niguel on Sunday. The hike is 7 miles round trip. I’ll add a mile by walking the street leading to the park as well. This should be a fun walk since it takes me from Laguna Niguel and end on the beach by the Ritz Carlton, Laguna Niguel which is really in the city of Dana Point. You get the chance to walk in the meadows between homes, as well as past a couple of great golf courses. If you’re interested, let me know and we’ll coordinate.

I’ve taken to tagging along one or both of our pit bulls on the thrice weekly walks. Jiggy, our male dog, loves the walks. He doesn’t seem to tire much from them. Given his muscular build, I’m not really surprised. I think he may just make it to the longer trips as well. who knows, may be he’ll be our new fourth team member. I’ll just have to look into whether dogs are allows up to Mount Whitney. If not, he can at least keep me company on the local hikes. The latter hikes on the circuits get up to 12 to 14 miles round-trip. That’ll be good exercise for him. I certainly love the company and his happy nature to keep trotting along. He’s definitely my happy lug nut that keeps me motivated to keep walking!

Last, I’ve researched what equipment we need for the hike. It’s lead to a purchase of a new pair of hiking shows and the creation of an equipment list. First, I have a few words about the new shoes. I’m especially fond of them, the Tiva Riva eVent. These shoes are comfortable and light. What I love about them is that they’re stylish enough to wear as semi-casual dress shoes. This way I can stick with taking a single pair of shoes when I fly out of town for work and still get my hiking training in without a worry about ruining my dress shoes. They’re also very light and easy to stow away in a carry-on luggage, if I need to take them as an extra pair on my business trips.

I’ll likely wear my Columbia Dillon Ridge boots and the new Tiva Rivas interchangeably. They’re both water-proof and have fantastic gripping soles. I like the Columbia boots since they provide ankle support. This’ll likely be important on the walks in the hills, around rocks and loose ground. Time will tell as I continue to use both.

Now, back to the list. You’ll find it below. It includes the (in)famous 10 Essentials:

Shoes	Lip Balm (SPF 15+)
Gaiters	Sport Tape
Socks	Advil
Thermal Top	Moleskin
Thermal Bottom	Band-Aid
Pants (Hiking pants - convertibles)	Bandage
Jacket (Wind Resistant)	Sterile Gauze
Hiking Hat	Tweezers
Wool Hat	Antibiotic Ointment
Fleece Top	Antiseptic Wipes
Gloves	Antihistamine
Sunglasses	Safety Pin
Sunscreen (SPF 30+)	Latex Gloves
Headlamp (LED)	First-Aid Book
Extra AAA Batteries	Space Blanket
Two-Way Radio	Map
Extra AA Batteries	Compass
Whistle	Altimeter
Bell	GPS
Day Pack	Extra Batteries for GPS
Wag Bag	Food: 400 Calories / 2 hours + 500 Calories / meal
Toilet Paper	Water: 0.75 Quart / Hour for 13-17 hours
Trekking Poles	Electrolyte powder
Camera	Water-Filter System
Inspect Repellent	Small Cup for Water + Electrolyte

If you want the full list in a spreadsheet with my notes, email me. I’ll be happy to share it via Google Docs or email you a copy. You can use this as both a packing and day-of-hike final check list.

P.S. All of this preparation and research has only provided further lessons to use at work. Stay tuned. The business-lessons post is coming.

What Do You Think?

Feel free to share your thoughts and comments below about the equipment or your experience with similar preparation.

Photo Credit

Flickr Commons, Teva, Sports Authority

A Bully Breed Outrage

2011-09-10T14:16:00.000-07:00

Random Thoughts

Recently I read a blog post on the Bad Rap site about a pit bull, Dusty, caught in the clutches of our legal system and slated for destruction.

Given our family lives with a tabby cat and two fantastic bully breeds, I was interested to read more. Even if you don’t own a bully breed, you should read the blog post, Dangerous Testimony in Monroe County Michigan, and judge for yourself how objective are the guidelines for destruction. For that matter, ask yourself if the dog is any different than practically every puppy you’ve owned or ever met.

Below is the comment I posted on their site, with revisions only seen here:

This is CRAZY AND OUTRAGEOUS.

Dusty is much better behaved than the majority of dogs I see EVERY DAY in my neighborhood. By these "standards", if you can call them that, there should be no dog left alive, regardless of breed.

Dusty just looks like a happy puppy that wants to play.

I'm upset, angry, and in tears.

Dr. Houpt is a disgrace to her profession. She should have her license revoked. Her actions are similar to a medical doctor attending to her patients in a hospital, poking and prodding them, searching for ways to give them a lethal injection, instead of focusing for a [means and signs that prompt her action] to save lives.

The fact that the court is not allowing another group to train Dusty is upsetting and unsettling. We give more opportunities to rapists, serial killers, and daily criminals than this poor dog. Shouldn't we use AT LEAST the same standards for rescued dogs that we do for criminals, giving them second chances at rehabilitation?

I write AT LEAST since with dogs there's substantially better odds of being successful, given the right focus on training and socialization. This is especially true for dogs since they tend to move on much easier than humans. Perfect examples of this scenario are the Michael Vick’s dogs as told in the book, The Lost Dogs.

In Dusty's case, he just needs a loving home and human companions that'll give him standard, proper training. He needs nothing extreme and certainly should NOT be euthanized!

What Do You Think?

I hope you get a chance to read the original post Dangerous Testimony in Monroe County Michigan and comment there. In fact, I encourage you to do so, instead of making any comments here.

Photo Credit

Yours truly (with a picture of our older Pit Bull mix, Lola)

Week 7: Getting with the (New) Program

2011-08-29T23:59:00.000-07:00

Climbing Mount Whitney

So, we’re at the top of Week 7, but there’s already a need to change the program. I’m not terribly surprised. The beauty of sharing ideas is that friends, fellow bloggers and readers often suggest better ideas or, at a minimum, means to improve.

Chris T., one of our climbing crew members, made an excellent comment in the previous post. He compared our preparation to that of a marathon and suggested breaking up the regimen into smaller blocks, including rest periods in-between. He also added a note about working with weights.

With that, the change plan was to create a new schedule that follow these general guidelines:

Create a regular cycle that gets us to three practice hikes over the next year
The fourth hike, the Coup De Grâs, will be Mount Whitney
Add short periods of rest right before each Big Mother Hike (BMH - my made-up TLA) so that we’re not overworked when the BMH for each cycle begins
Add longer periods of rest right after each BMH to prepare for the next cycle
Add periods of altitude acclimation when climbing over 8,000 ft. to reduce the chance of altitude sickness
Choose local mountains within an hour or two driving distance from Orange county and Los Angeles for the BMHs

The schedule is a work-in-progress, as are all things in life. The above resulted in 14-week cycles followed by two weeks of rest. During the last week of each training session, we’ll cut out most activities except weight-training / calisthenics which make up two days of the week. This should give our muscles enough rest before the BMH of the cycle on the 7th day.

For reference, here’s the current cycle’s schedule (excluding the two-week rest period after the BMH):

Week	Date	Day	Activity	Distance (miles)	Description
7	8/29/2011	M	Gym	N/A	Calisthenics & Weights
		T	Walk	3
		W	Walk	4
		Th	Gym	N/A	Calisthenics & Weights
		F	Off
		S	Racquetball	N/A
		S	Climb	5	Local

8	9/5/2011	M	Gym	N/A	Calisthenics & Weights
		T	Walk	4
		W	Walk	5
		Th	Gym	N/A	Calisthenics & Weights
		F	Off
		S	Racquetball	N/A
		S	Climb	6	Peters Canyon Trail

9	9/12/2011	M	Gym	N/A	Calisthenics & Weights
		T	Walk	4
		W	Walk	6
		Th	Gym	N/A	Calisthenics & Weights
		F	Off
		S	Racquetball	N/A
		S	Climb	8	Chapparosa Park in Laguna Niguel

10	9/19/2011	M	Gym	N/A	Calisthenics & Weights
		T	Walk	4
		W	Walk	6
		Th	Gym	N/A	Calisthenics & Weights
		F	Off
		S	Racquetball	N/A
		S	Climb	8	Chapparosa Park in Laguna Niguel

11	9/26/2011	M	Gym	N/A	Calisthenics & Weights
		T	Walk	5
		W	Walk	7
		Th	Gym	N/A	Calisthenics & Weights
		F	Off
		S	Racquetball	N/A
		S	Climb	9	Aliso Canyon Park

12	10/3/2011	M	Gym	N/A	Calisthenics & Weights
		T	Walk	6
		W	Walk	8
		Th	Gym	N/A	Calisthenics & Weights
		F	Off
		S	Racquetball	N/A
		S	Climb	10	Aliso Canyon Park

13	10/10/2011	M	Gym	N/A	Calisthenics & Weights
		T	Walk	6
		W	Walk	8
		Th	Gym	N/A	Calisthenics & Weights
		F	Off
		S	Racquetball	N/A
		S	Climb	10	Aliso Canyon Park

14	10/17/2011	M	Gym	N/A	Calisthenics & Weights
		T	Walk	7
		W	Walk	9
		Th	Gym	N/A	Calisthenics & Weights
		F	Off
		S	Racquetball	N/A
		S	Climb	11	Aliso Canyon Park

15	10/24/2011	M	Gym	N/A	Calisthenics & Weights
		T	Walk	7
		W	Walk	9
		Th	Gym	N/A	Calisthenics & Weights
		F	Off
		S	Racquetball	N/A
		S	Climb	11	Aliso Canyon Park

16	10/31/2011	M	Gym	N/A	Calisthenics & Weights
		T	Walk	8
		W	Walk	10
		Th	Gym	N/A	Calisthenics & Weights
		F	Off
		S	Racquetball	N/A
		S	Climb	12	Aliso Canyon Park

17	11/7/2011	M	Gym	N/A	Calisthenics & Weights
		T	Walk	8
		W	Walk	10
		Th	Gym	N/A	Calisthenics & Weights
		F	Off
		S	Racquetball	N/A
		S	Climb	12	Aliso Canyon Park

18	11/14/2011	M	Gym	N/A	Calisthenics & Weights
		T	Off
		W	Off
		Th	Gym	N/A	Calisthenics & Weights
		F	Off
		S	Off
		S	Climb	16	Santiago Peak (Saddleback Mountain) - Elevation at Peak: 5,687 ft. - Roundtrip Distance: 16 miles - Trail: Holy Jim - Elevation Gain: 3,947 ft. - Info site: http://www.summitpost.org/holy-jim-trail/160764

What Do You Think?

How does this new schedule look? What do you think can be done better? Feel free to comment below.

PHOTO CREDITS

Alan Vernon

Week 5: Official Kickoff After Time Off

2011-08-15T20:00:00.000-07:00

Climbing Mount Whitney

Having spent the last couple of weeks on the road, I didn't walk much. However, I had plenty of opportunity to think, espcially while vacationing on a cruise to Alaska. Though the family and I were active walking at the Mendenhall Glacier area, kayaking in Hines, I spent much time reading the book The Lost Dogs and One Best Hike, Mt. Whitney. I'll write about both of these in later posts, though The Lost Dogs has nothing to do with the hike. It's the story of how Michael Vick's dogs were found and saved.

In the process of reading the Mt. Whitney book, I learned of additional hiking locations in the local mountains to prepare for the Mount Whitney climb. I'll spend the next three weeks researching and scheduling each hike. By the beginning of September, I'll post the full training regimen here.

Though I've not yet finished the Mt. Whitney book, I've already covered the chapters on the planning, dangers and conditioning for the hike. Some of the notes on the dangers of the climb were alarming, especially the sections about evacuation in case of severe high altitude sickness. Nevertheless, I'm more excited than ever to start the process.

Also, since the last post we now have five members in our team of climbers: Yours truly, Chris T., Scot T., Ard R., and Ferchie C. Ferchie is our lone woman representative. One other item I learned reading the Mt. Whitney book is that our party will need five leads (in case one of us can't make it), but it can have 15 total members.

So, I'm casting the net for any additional people interested in the climb. Given we only have one woman in the group, and since I've been accused of sexism for the eschewed ratio, I want to insure we give equal opportunity for the women interested in the climb. First and foremost then, we're looking for three more women to join. Keep in mind, we need people that can at least commit to the training (more on that later). Befor the permit application deadline, we'll ask everyone willing to take the hike to commit to completing it in our agreed-upon length. This'll be one to two days, depending on the group's assessment during our training and before the February 1 deadline. Any takers?

Last, though I spent a few weeks walking and testing the backpack with varying weight in the past four weeks, our training starts this week. This means our team will need to each complete two hikes each week for the next three weeks, with each hike no shorter than 4 miles and, preferably, in terrain with some hills. Each subsequent three-week period means an increase of one-mile and difficulty level in the hikes. Once we reach 10 miles, we'll start hiking the nearby mountains for our second day on the weekends to better acclimate to elevation and rocky terrain. Here's a grid summary of the regimen:

Weeks	Miles / Day	Location	Terrain	Elevation / Gain
5-7	4	Local	Hilly streets	N/A
8-10	5	Local	Hilly streets	N/A
11-13	6	Local	Hilly streets	N/A
14-16	7	Local	Hilly streets	N/A
17-19	8	Local	Hilly streets	N/A
20-22	9	Local	Hilly streets	N/A
23-24	10	TBD	Local Mountains	2-4k ft / 1k ft
25-27	11	TBD	Local Mountains	3-5k ft / 1k ft
28-30	12	TBD	Local Mountains	4-6k ft / 1k ft
31-33	13	TBD	Local Mountains	5-7k ft / 1k ft
34-36	14	TBD	Local Mountains	6-8k ft / 1-2k ft
37-39	15	TBD	Local Mountains	7-9k ft / 1-2k ft
40-42	16	TBD	Local Mountains	8-10k ft / 1-2k ft
43-45	17	TBD	Local Mountains	9-11k ft / 1-2k ft
46-48	18	TBD	Local Mountains	9-12k ft / 2-3k ft
49-51	19	TBD	Local Mountains	9-12k ft / 2-3k ft
52	20	TBD	Local Mountains	9-12k ft / 3-5k ft
53-54	Rest

Ready? Set? Go!

What Do You Think?

Do you have any suggestions on how to improve this routine? Feel free to share your thoughts below.

Day 17: Where Does the Time Go

2011-08-03T21:42:00.001-07:00

Climbing Mount Whitney

Whoa! Where does the time go?

It's been over two weeks since I decided to hike Mount Whitney in 2012 and climb it in 2013. I've already started a routine to walk two to three times per week, each time trekking 4.5 to 5.5 miles. I've also increased the difficulty from no day-pack to one that weighs 13 lbs. to my last week high of 23 lbs. It's been challenging, but also exciting.

I've also convinced a friend, Scot T., to at least workout with me for the next five months before the February deadline for submitting permit applications. I think he'll do fine and join me for the 2012 hike. He's not sure he can make it, but I believe with just walking twice a week and working out on weights and cardio on other days, he'll not only make it, he may even beat me to the summit and back.

Christopher T. has also agreed to hike and climb with us. He's already a super athlete. He'll challenge us on the walk. That's exactly what we need. What's more he's a total gear-hear. I love having him join us. Way to go to take the first plunge.

My father-in-law said he'd give it a try once we start climbing the local hills and mountains. He already swims an hour a day. I have no doubt he'll not only keep up with us, he may even teach us a few tricks. After all, he used to climb mountains to ski down them!!!

That means we have four in our party. We're only missing one...and the routine hasn't even started yet!

Any takers for the last position in the 2012 My Rash, Your Rash...no...Our-Rash Mount Whitney Hike Challenge?

What Do You Think?

Do you want to join us? Or do you have some lessons about climbing that you want to share. Feel free to comment below.

Day 17: Where Does the Time Go

2011-08-03T21:42:00.000-07:00

Climbing Mount Whitney

Whoa! Where does the time go?

That means we have four in our party. We're only missing one...and the routine hasn't even started yet!

Any takers for the last position in the 2012 My Rash, Your Rash...no...Our-Rash Mount Whitney Hike Challenge?

What Do You Think?

Do you want to join us? Or do you have some lessons about climbing that you want to share. Feel free to comment below.

Day 8: Rocky Starts are Good

2011-07-24T22:57:00.001-07:00

Climbing Mount Whitney

Today was a fantastic day! My food intake was right on target, eating every 2 to 3 hours and taking in just the right stuff, with no simple carbs. Loved it.

Day 8 also means Day 1 on the P90X Lean routine: Core Synergistics. It was all about the band of muscles between the pecks and upper thighs. There was ab work, push ups, lunges, and some minor shoulder work. I was very happy with the results. The first time I tried this routine, on the current cycle, I could only do 35 minutes of the 57 minute routine. Today, I completed 53 minutes. Woohoo!

All of this made me realize how the initial steps for climbing Mount Whitney are no different than starting a new job search or business:

Set Goals
Every journey has an impetus and a start. It may be the want to challenge yourself (my case for climbing Mount Whitney), a bad boos or layoff leading to the need to look for new work, or realizing that to best way to serve society is for you to just run your own business. No matter how you come to the realization, you need to set a goal of what you want to accomplish, even if you end up changing the goal later. More on that later.
Do Your Research
Once you set a goal, you’ll need to figure out how to get there. Start out by first thinking that you’ve already reached your goal. You’ve found that perfect new company to work for, or established your business and are overflowing with customers clamoring to buy your products or services. What does that picture look like? How does the end result affect every aspect of your life? What characteristics does the successful you have? Write these down.

Now, think about what it took to get there. What does a successful business owner do, or what attributes does he have that you need? He needs to understand the market well, know how to negotiate contract terms with customers and vendors, have a clear understanding of accounting and cash flow, be intimate with his industry, be really good at creating and maintaining relationships for himself and amongst others, among many other characteristics. Do you have all of these traits? If not, gaining them are some of the steps in your plan to reaching your goal.

If you don’t know what success looks like, think of and talk to your mentors. Use their example to determine which of their traits you’d like to have. Don’t have a mentor? Think of people you admire, may be people you’re read about. This may be your brother, sister, mom, dad, coworker, or neighbor. Imagine you’re having a conversation with them. What would they tell you?
Adjust Goals
Likely you’ll find that you have to adjust your goal at this stage. I did when I was thinking of climbing Mount Whitney. I originally thought I could do two things right away. First, I thought I could just show up and climb. Wrong! Research told me I need to apply for a permit and then only between February 1 and 15 of the year when I want to climb. Second, I originally wanted to climb, not hike, Mount Whitney. As I learned what type of physical stamina the climb requires, and that it’s recommended to do the hike first, I adjusted the goal so that I would graduate to the climb. You’ll find similar obstacles while researching the steps to achieve your plan.

The key is not to give up if you hit obstacles. The most interesting and rewarding achievements in life require you to forego your initial plans and come up with a more creative solution. That means starting out knowing full well that your goals and plans WILL need to be changed or adjusted.

But again, that’s most of the fun: the exploration and the problem solving you do while you work towards you goals.
Develop a Plan
So, you’ve adjusted your goal and have quite a lot of research. It’s time to plan. The plan is your roadmap. Just like a street map, filled with roads, highways and biways, you can have many options. In fact, you want to have many options to achieve your goal. Likely, you’ll hit a snag like I did last week. When on the road, I didn’t stick with my workout routine. Instead, I filled in with other hikes around Seattle or calisthenics to help me stay active.

The point is that you should definitely write down what you need to do to get to your goal and know that you’ll need alternate paths and steps to get to your destination. Each of the skills you need to learn are milestones along the way. The plan’s intent is to help you detail out what it takes to reach each milestone. I recommend breaking it down to monthly and weekly mini-goals. Then at the end of each week assess your progress and adjust your plan for the following week. More on that later.
Execute Plan
This is an enormously important step. It’s what separates the day-dreamers from the doers. You’ve developed a plan, even if your plan has only five steps, it’s still a plan that needs to be executed to get you to the finish line. It has no value by itself.

You may take the first step and realize you missed a whole lot of steps that come before or after it. That’s GREAT. This means you actually worked the plan and found what else you need to do to take you over the finish line. That takes us to the next point.
Review Results and Adjust Plan
It’s time to rethink the plan after your initial execution. You’ll want to do this frequently. On your daily tasks, do this at the end of each day. For your full plan, review your plan and results for the week. Are you on-target? If not, why not? What additional steps do you need to take that you hadn’t thought about? How else do you need to adjust your goal? This is all good. Any changes you make to the plan means you’re making progress. Good job. You’re on your way.

Adjust your plan based on the findings. These lessons help you better plan the following weeks and months ahead, and better achieve your milestones leading to your final goal.

As you can imagine, items five and six just get repeated until you reach the goal. As a friend once told me, “just rinse and reuse.”

On that note, I’m going to hit the sack and get some rest since a part of the adjustment to my plan is to get 8 to 9 hours of sleep each night so that I don’t run out of energy each day.

What Do You Think?

It’s your turn. Feel free to share your comments below.

Photo Credits

Alan Vernon

Days 5-7: Back Home and Walking

2011-07-23T23:19:00.001-07:00

Climbing Mount Whitney

I made it back home on Thursday. On the plane, I finished reading the appendices to the Tribal Leadership book I reviewed earlier this week. I didn’t get a chance to read my next book, One Best Hike: Mt. Whitney. I’d picked this up earlier in the week and, based on the table of contents, it certainly seem like it’ll give me a better idea of what to expect. There are segments dedicated to Precautions and Considerations, to Preparations and Planning, to the actual day of hike and how to set team expectations for all hikers in your group. Look for a review of this book in the near future.

I’d mentioned that my Friend, Christopher T., volunteered to come with me for the hike in 2012 and the climb in 2013. He’s an experienced climber, though new Southern California. After reading about the goals to hike and climb Mount Whitney, he researched the mountain and sent me this link to SummitPost.org that describes the trails and hikes to the Summit. This site puts the mountain in perspective for climbers and details the difficulty level of each of the trails. To be clear, Whitney Trail is a Class I hike. So, not very technical or difficult. However, given that we plan to do the 21 mile round–trip hike in one day, it’ll be strenuous on our lungs and legs. Suffice it to say, we have to have some stamina, especially more so than I have now.

I took Thursday partially off from the gym and walks. I didn’t have any energy after the trip and multiple meetings throughout the day. I got in some calisthenics work: pushups, pull-ups, jump-rope, jumping jacks, and run-in-place; all done in a half hour.

On Friday we took a 3.3-mile walk locally on some hills around the house. I took my day-pack filled to about 15 lbs. Ferchie joined me and the dogs for the walk. The dogs were panting 5 minutes into the walk, but they kept up with the our faster pace. We finished the walk in 50 minutes. For those interested, that’s a pace of 3.96 miles per hour.

Finally today, Scot T. and Ron T., the Mr. T’s, and I finished the week with the usual hour of racquetball. We got only two games in. I lost both games and smashed my right elbow against the wall, but we had a good time and played hard. I’m looking forward to next week’s game.

I spoke with the Mr. T’s today about joining me for the climb. There was a lot of hand wringing, then huffing and puffing, but we’ll likely have them in the team. After all, who can pass up on camping at high altitude and a long hike with training that only makes you healthier and stronger? Both of these guys are fantastic outdoorsmen. Scot taught me how to camp. I can’t imagine he would pass up on an opportunity to be one with nature.

I learned a good lesson this week. In general, If I wait to workout past 7 PM, I’ll just skip it. So, starting next week, as a rule of thumb, I will workout no later than 5:30 PM. Also, I’m looking forward to getting back into the P90X routine described earlier in the week.

Week 1 done! 51 weeks to the Summit!

What Do You Think?

Do you have any advice on how to better approach my training? Do you have any other thoughts to share? Feel free to comment below.

Photo Credits

SummitPost.org site

Day 4: Seattle Downtown

2011-07-19T21:24:00.000-07:00

Climbing Mount Whitney

At various times today I thought about how to fit my P90X routine given the crappy room, sucking out the motivation from my very being. I finally decided to forego it today and tomorrow, and, instead, just walk downtown Seattle. After all, I'm in a town notorious for its cooler weather and hilly downtown. What better walking conditions could you ask for?

So, I took to the streets and headed east. This seemed especially a good idea since I was supposed to meet up for dinner at about 7 PM, which is like 5 or 6 PM anywhere in Southern California. If you don't know what I'm talking about, the sun sets at about 9 PM in the Pacific Northwest. In other words, twilight ends at about 9:30 or 9:45 PM. That's at least an hour more daylight than Southern California. The nights don't even seem as dark as Southern California!

In any case, I ended up walking past the local hospital and university. I saw some beautiful buildings. Sitting here writing this (with some remaining daylight at 9:31 PM) I realize my posts could use pictures of locations I visit. So, from now on, you'll get those too. They may be pictures from my phone, but at least you'll have a more intimidate feel for what I see.

Overall, I had a short walk of about 3 miles in one hour. It was slower than usual, but I was also walking hills, not just flat streets. So, I was happy with the progress and I'm looking forward to a longer and more rigorous walk tomorrow night.

My dinner friend didn't show up, but...hot dog...I ended up at the Purple Cafe. This place is a wine-lover's haven, not that I'd know. Nevertheless, I met a couple of great guys here and enjoyed relaxing after my walk. The food was very enjoyable and our bartender, a Maine native who had lived in Los Angeles for 13 years before settling in Seattle, was plenty knowledgeable about drinks and food.

The whole experience made me realize why I love traveling, walking the earth, and sharing a meal: it's fun meeting new people that share the same zest for life and bring a new perspective to it. The whole experience made me realize that I was exactly where I needed and wanted to be at that moment. I only wish Ferchie and Veda were here to share it with me!

As a very important side note, I got an Instant Message from a good friend today. Apparently he read the posts here and wants to join me for the hike in 2012 and, possibly, the climb in 2013. Hurrah!!!

We have room for 15 people in our outfit. Any other takers?

What Do You Think?

As always, feel free to share your comments below.

Photo Credit

Calsidyrose

Day 3: Uneventful

2011-07-18T21:21:00.000-07:00

Climbing Mount Whitney

Today was uneventful. I traveled to Seattle for work after waking up at 4:30 AM. I was too tired to do anything cardiovascular or otherwise after work. I'd originally planned a core / stomach exercise. Instead, I had dinner with a coworker. I was especially demotivated after seeing what kind of dump I was in (my hotel). I didn't even feel like taking my socks off in the room, much less workout on any agility or strength training.

What About Other Conditioning?

However, that brings me to a point. Aside from walking twice a week, I'm also working on agility, strength and endurance. I'm following a mostly calisthenics, weight-training, aerobics, and yoga routine from the P90X fame, if you've heard of it. Specifically, I'm doing the Lean routine which encompasses the following:

Day 1: Core Synergistics
This is mostly stomach, glutinous, and lower-back routine with some calisthenics (push-ups and sit-ups) to strengthen the core of your body. This is especially helpful for carrying the heavier day-pack or nigh-packs.
Day 2: Cardio X
The workout starts with some yoga, then jumps into Kenpo-style aerobics and finishes with plyometrics or high-impact aerobics. This is all good stuff for aerobics conditioning.
Day 3: Shoulders and Arms
Most of the routines here are with weights. They're meant as strength training. I enjoy this routine since it focuses on two of my favorite muscle groups: the glamour muscles. I admit though, I can't imagine the benefit of these muscles for the hike. On the other hand, who wants to look out of proportion with huge legs and no upper body strength?
Day 4: Yogo X
This is a grueling 1.5 hours of yoga of various styles. I write "grueling", but once I'm done with it, I truly feel at ease. The calmness of mind will come in handy on those long days hiking, helping me turn inward, stop thinking and relax.
Day 5: Legs and Back
Another of my favorite set of muscles. You do a lot of squats with little to no weight and pull-ups. Who needs weights with pull-ups, right? The legs routine will certainly strengthen all the right muscles for the hikes.
Day 6: Kenpo X
Another day of aerobics-style of workouts just insures the lungs are working well. I substitute racquetball or a walk day for this.

Day 7 is off for P90X, but I will either walk that day or play racquetball. The whole routine is designed to get the musculature and cardiovascular strength for making it to the top of Mount Whitney.

Bring it!!!

What Do You Think?

Feel free to share your comments below.

PHOTO CREDIT

Thomas Hartmann

Day 2: Mount Whitney Resources & References

2011-07-17T23:07:00.001-07:00

Climbing Mount Whitney

It’s been a good second day. I started out with another 3.5 mile walk with the dogs and my daypack. I’d loaded the pack up to 11 lbs. yesterday with my camelback filled, a two-way radio and extra batteries along with my cell phone and some snacks. Mind you, I didn’t need the snacks, but I wanted to simulate what I’d carry.

Today I added the dogs’ water. That added another 2.5 lbs., bringing the total bag weight to 13.5 lbs. I still need to figure out the full equipment I need to take, including my walking gear. Certainly my old work / hiking shoes are no good. Ever since I lost weight last year, my feet seem to have shrunk as well. They swim in the old shoes.

In any case, I did some more research and thought I’d share some of the resources here.

How to Train
Most of what I’ve found is on training for the big hike or climb. Here’s the list so far:

How to Train for Hiking Mt. Whitney
This is an eHow page where I got most of my ideas on how to train for the hike. There are some good pointers about hiking equipment as well here.
Mount Whitney Training Hikes, by REI
This is way cool. REI provides group hikes at the local mountains to help prepare with elevation acclimation as well as agility training. The climbs are over various local mountain ranges in Southern California including Cucamonga Peak, Mt. Baldy, San Bernardino Peak, Mt. San Jacinto, and San Gorgonio Mountain. The hikes are similar to Mount Whitney, except shorter and at lower altitudes. They range from 8.5 to 16 miles round trip and cost $110 for REI members and $130 for non-members.

This’ll be on my list of climbs once I can do some of the local hills and climbs and traverse 10-15 miles round-trip.
Mount Whitney
This is an excellent site about all things Mount Whitney. I read the clearest description about getting the hike permits on this page. I love the photos and video here as well. They gave me a better idea of the views I’ll get to see when I get there.

What Do You Think?

Do you have any Mount Whitney resources you can share? What do you think of today’s post? Feel free to share your comments below.

Day 1: The Goal and Reason to Climb

Photo Credit

Mount Whitney Website’s Photo Page, REI Mount Whitney Training Hikes Page

Tribal Leadership Book Review

2011-07-17T16:02:00.001-07:00

Book Recommendations

How effective is your company in achieving its mission? What role do you play in your teams? How effective are you as a leader? How can you improve your leadership beyond steering or controlling groups?

No doubt we’ve asked these questions of ourselves. We may have even come up with somewhat satisfactory answers. However, there’s nothing like research-based studies and books to shed light on what we may already intuit, or in helping us understand how to better lead our professional and personal lives.

This last thought is exactly what may occur to you when reading the paper-back edition release of Tribal Leadership by Dave Logan, John King, & Halee Fischer-Wright. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in better understanding how to lead teams, groups, or companies into a new level of productivity AND camaraderie. Read on to learn why.

Overall
The book is well-written and easy to follow. In fact, you may start the book and become addicted to the ideas, unable to put it down. The conclusions are based on a study of 24,000 people in different companies at different levels of efficacy.

The description of each stage of leadership, from complete chaos (Stage 1, “Life sucks”) to a well-oiled machine (Stage 5, “Life is great”), is lucid enough to seem familiar from your day-to-day life. You’ll likely come away from this book with a new mindset to navigate your personal and professional life to better serve, not just yourself, but your community at-large.

In short, after reading this book and applying its lessons, you’ll become a better member of society and the world community, increasing your happiness as well as everyone else’s.

Pros
The authors’ approach to leadership is based on a study of 24,000 people in different organizations. The focus is not purely on Drucker-style of leadership lessons, but historical evidence of effective leaders and the common theme that runs through each leader’s story.

This may sound like a typical theme for leadership books, except the authors approach and interpretation is different. The authors focus on relationships and the languages that represent the different styles of leadership, not just ideas. Given the book is based on studies of individuals and their results, the concepts aren’t theoretical in nature. In fact, the authors admit they had to revise their pre-conceived notions based on lessons learned in the course of preparing to write and update this book.

The various levels of an organization and leadership are described as Stages, each signified by a general state of mind, consisting of a Mood and a Theme (table below is recreated from page 25 in the book):

Stage	Mood	Theme
5	Innocent Wonderment	“Life is great”
4	Tribal Pride	“We’re great (and they’re not)”
3	Lone Warrior	“I’m great (and you’re not)”
2	Apathetic Victim	“My life sucks”
1	Despairing Hostility	“Life sucks”

The Themes are summaries of the language a person in each stage uses to express their state of mind. Each of us have been at these Stages at one point or another in our lives, though, as the authors explain, the majority of population gets stuck at Stages 2 and 3. Stage 3 is the most prevalent, as is apparent in our day-to-day interactions with overpowering managers, bosses, or business owners who portray the “I’m great, and you’re not” mentality, with especial emphasis on “you’re not.”

The goal of the book is to provide each person and, in turn, the groups that they lead, the tools to elevate to Stages 4 and 5 as quickly as possible. However, there are apparently no shortcuts. You need to own and graduate from each Stage. The graduation comes when we have mastered a stage and realize there has to be a better way of operating than the current Stage. Trying to bypass a Stage by purely using the language of a higher one comes across as disingenuous. We’ve all worked in companies where the leaders talk about how “we can be great if we do X,” but their actions demonstrate they mean “I can be better off if YOU do X.” This approach doesn’t just come across as lacking, but also leads to distrust of leadership and eventual downfall of an organization into the ineffective Stage 2 mentality.

The stages are described as Viral. To demonstrate this concept and how quickly Stage 2 groups can form, during a presentation to large groups, one of the authors often states aloud that, “My life sucks because I have to be here with all of you” (page 64). After the audience gets over being stunned, one person may pipe up that their life sucks since they have to listen to the speaker. Soon, everyone’s chiming in why their life sucks as people become comfortable airing their daily life frustrations. This viral nature isn’t limited to Stage 2, but can be replicated in all other stages as well, pointing to how language can be used to lead a group into a higher Stage of operation. The caveat is that the members must be ready to graduate to a higher stage.

The authors warn that the Stages shouldn’t be used to categorize people, but to understand a person’s or organization’s language and relationships. They argue that categorization leads to pigeon-holing which prevents a person’s or organization’s graduation to a higher Stage.

The concepts in the book are sticky given the book’s clear structure and presentation. Each chapter starts out by introducing the main points in the initial pages, then delivers the ideas in detail, and, finally, summarizes the chapter with Leverage Points and Success Indicators. The summaries are essentially a bulleted list of key points that could be actionable.

Aside from the main content, the book contains three key Appendices. You may be tempted to skip them, until you realize they provide the ideas in brief for each Stage of Tribal Leadership, the summary of the research that lead to the book, and details of how the authors can be reached. The authors do truly practice what they preach: setting up relationships that benefit a group or the society at large.

Cons
Some of the ideas in the book may seem academic, though nothing like theoretical models you’d see in textbooks. In fact, the authors have skipped the “academics” by providing some of the theories and research details in Appendix B, thus allowing the reader to focus on the lessons learned in the main body of the book. In general, the ideas are approachable and will be comprehendible by most readers, from individual contributors to leaders.

Also the tips on how to progress from one Stage to another could be more detailed. For this, you’re directed to the the book’s website where you can further read about local events, training, and even blog posts on the subject.

What Do You think?

Please feel free to comment on this review or share your thoughts about the book by writing a comment below.

Photo Credits

Tribal Leadership website.

Day 1: The Goal and Reason to Climb

2011-07-16T17:30:00.000-07:00

Climbing Mount Whitney

It’s official: I've decided to hike to the summit of Mt. Whitney at 14,505 ft. in the Summer of 2012.

Some of you may have already known this since I’ve spoken offline about it for close to a year. I just didn’t know when I’d do it or how to train for it. All of that has changed. In fact hiking it isn’t the end-goal. I will hike the West face in the Summer of 2012 as a single or overnight trip. That’s 21 miles round-trip. I will then climb the East face, the climbing face of Mt. Whitney, in the Summer of the following year.

Why Do It?
So, why the heck would I want to do this?

Many years ago my wife pointed out something I hadn’t realized about myself: I have dulled senses. You see, I love spicy food and individual sports, and I like trying the boundaries when playing. That doesn’t necessarily mean I’m the best at them, but I like to push my physical and mental comfort boundaries.

But how does this get translated into dulled senses? My wife found an article that described people that seek extreme sports, foods, and lifestyles have dulled senses. They seek the extremes to push their senses into “feeling” something or experiencing the reality of life. In other words, since their senses are dulled, they’re always in search of a way to sense the world around them more. For these numbed individuals, seeking the extreme is no different than a person with sharply tuned and sensitive senses leading their life experiencing everyday phenomena.

For example, I’ve now mountain-biked, played racquetball, snowboarded and sustained injuries from each. The injuries only made me want to go back. As much as I didn’t enjoy the pains, in each case they reminded my how alive I was. Heck, I’m the guy who gets a thrill from turbulence when some folks are scrambling for the vomit bag!!!

When I was considering what new thing to do next, I thought of parachuting, bungee jumping, snowboarding big mountains (not resorts) among other adventures. Then I heard Chapman University President Jim Doti talk about his mountain climbing experiences. He has climbed or hiked mountains on various continents, including Antarctica. He mentioned that Mount Whitney, right here in California, is the highest mountain in the lower 48 United States. He talked about his experience climbing it, as well as how the lessons on the mountain applied to his daily life and leadership at the University.

…And the light bulb went off. My next adventure was going to be hiking and climbing high elevations. The first mountain on the list, and a test of whether I’m up to the challenge, will be Mount Whitney.

Some Facts About the Mountain
When I began my research , I realized there was a lot I didn’t know about our local Mount Whitney. Here are some very interesting fact:

Peak	14,505 ft. or 14,497 ft. Depends on measurement tools
Coordinates	36 34'42.9 N, 118 17'31.2 W
Type	Granite
Age of Rock	Cretaceous Approximately 145.5 to 65.5 million years ago – holy cow!
Range	Sierra Nevada
First Ascent	1873 by Charles Begole, A. H. Johnson, and John Lucas
Name	Named after state geologist of California, Josiah Whitney
Trail Difficulty	Strenuous
Peak Season	May to November

I originally thought I could just show up and hike this mountain. Apparently not. You need a permit from the Eastern Sierra Eastern Agency. What’s more, you can only apply for a permit between February 1 and March 1 of each year. Once you apply, your application is thrown into a pile and stirred. During the selection, a lottery, you’re assigned advance reservations (15 per group maximum). There are only 100 day use and 60 overnight use permits issued daily. With the mountain being a popular hiking and climbing location worldwide, you can imagine how difficult it may be to get a permit.

All of this only makes the adventure just that…an adventure and one that certainly has my full attention and respect.

Mount Whitney, here I come!!!

What’s Next?
Given the timeline and that I’ve never seriously hiked any more than 10 miles in high elevation (Lake George in Mammoth area at about 10,000 ft.), I need to train for my hike next year. I’ve also NEVER climbed a mountain, with a few exceptions of small hills in Death Valley in my late ‘teens and some other unknown hills in Iran when I was a kid.

So, the next step is training. My first focus is the hike in 2012. I will complete increasingly difficult hikes each week, at least twice per week. I started today with a 3.5 mile hike in my local neighborhood. I’ve done this enough times walking our dogs, but I’m adding a backpack with water and some equipment to make it more challenging.

I’ll continue to add weight to my day-pack until I get to the weight I’ll be carrying on my day-trip hike at Mount Whitney. I’ll also increase the total daily mileage every three weeks by a mile. This’ll put me at a 20 mile hike in 50 weeks. Once I hit 10 miles, I’ll also change terrain. I’ll begin climbing the local hills, then mountains so that the last two months of climbs will be at the local mountains with peaks above 10,000 ft. This is to insure I have the proper musculature, aerobic and elevation conditioning for the final climb.

I’ll chronicle my adventures here. I hope to be able to not only share my stories, but also get your thoughts on how I can insure my success. I’ll post my progress after each training day under this newly created category, Climbing Mount Whitney. Each post will have the number of days since start of the training, with the aim of chronicling the ascent in both 2012 and 2013.

The only thing I’m missing are partners. I’m looking for folks with similar goals that are up to the challenge and interested to share the experience.

Any takers?

What Do You Think?

Have you climbed Mount Whitney? Do you have any tips on how I should approach my adventure? Feel free to share you comments below.

Day 2: Mount Whitney Resources & References

Photo Credit

Thomas Hartmann, Mount Whitney Website