MLK Cabin Trip 2008

Friday, 18Jan08 - Sunday 20Jan08 - The 3rd annual winter cabin trip was a success. The Hawaiian luau theme was a blast. The weather cooperated beautifully, and Muttontop cabin was much nicer than Michener, which we swarmed last year.

The drive up to the upper parking lot was a bit dicey, many of our party didn't even attempt the climb in their 2-wheel drive vehicles. My 4x4 barely made it up, not enough weight in the back. Aaron with his heavy Jeep and Bruce in a 4x4 pickup with tire chains had no problem. Everyone made it eventually, either by carpool or on foot.

On Saturday, Jada and Kisses stayed with Catherine and Bruce while they worked around the cabin and waited for our Saturday morning arrivals. Ellen, Keith, James, and I did a bushwhack from the cabin up to the AT inside the park. Then we hiked up to Highrock and down some fireroads back to the cabin. We saw 2 sets of bear tracks, some coyote tracks, and signs of lots of smaller critters. It was a great workout in the snow.

Catherine prepared the meal Saturday night, which was an extremely tasty Hawaiian beef stir-fry dish. Mary and Winney prepared steamed turkey. On Sunday morning, Rachel and Aaron set up an omelet station and prepared an extravagant breakfast of bacon, sausage, potatoes, and omelets. Sunday breakfast was delicious. Saturday night, we spent time throwing the football and sledding down the field in front of the cabin. On Sunday morning, I spent about another hour sledding before heading back to the truck. Overall, it was a great weekend.

Human Attendees: Keith, Cham, Bruce, Catherine, James, Lisa, Rachel, Aaron, Ted, Mary, Winney, Dave, Christine
Canine Attendees: Jada, Kisses, Angel

MLK2008

Fuzz Visits Maryland

11Jan08 - 12Jan08 My little brother Fuzz came to visit for the weekend. We spent Friday night at ArenaCross at the First Mariner Arena. Saturday we went horseback riding at Dionne's. Then we went to Joe's to play Wii. After that we went to Annette's housewarming where Joe and Fuzz tossed the football for a while. For dinner Saturday night we went to Medieval Times and then spent the rest of the night at the Bass Pro shop climbing on the rocks, looking at the fish and animals, and shooting at the range. It was a good weekend, we were all exhausted by Sunday.

Fuzz Visits Maryland

Passing of a Legend

Hillary

Sir Edmund Hillary died today (Jan 11 9am NZ time), at the age of 88. I like to think there aren't many who don't know - not only was Hillary the first man to summit Everest, but he was a pioneer of mountaineering and an inspiration to countless climbers, including myself. His contributions to the mountaineering world probably fall short only to the contributions of Brad Washburn. In a strange twist of irony, Brad Washburn left us exactly one year ago today, Jan 10, 2007 (Jan 11 NZ time), at the age of 96.

Washburn

Notice that they did not die in a crevasse or in a white out storm. Both died of heart failure at ripe old ages. Some would call them lucky, others would call them smart, but I would guess it's probably a combination of the two. Their teachings will live on long past this decade.

Many people around the world suffer the loss of two of mountaineering's godfathers. There is plenty to celebrate in what they've left behind.
This is a typical detailed map, the result of meticulous work contributed by Bradford. The laser-accurate feature map of Mt. Everest.

"It's not the mountain we conquer but ourselves." - Hillary

My personal favorite:

"You don't have to be a fantastic hero to do certain things, to compete. You can be just an ordinary chap, sufficiently motivated to reach challenging goals." -Hillary