Wednesday, October 28, 2009

CANYON ROAD- IN THE SNOW


HIKERS: Kim, Amy, and the dogs
TIME: 8:30 am- 9:30 am
WEATHER: 24 f, snowing

KIM'S NOTES: It was interesting to be hiking in the snow again. I had some mixed feelings about it. It was beautiful, no doubt about that, but a little too early in the weather scheme of things for us to be getting 4-8 inches of snow. Nice hike though.

Monday, October 26, 2009

ZION, CORAL PINK SAND DUNES


Walking on the petrified dunes.


The actress.


Modeling the hair piece.

AMY'S NOTES: Spent the weekend in Zion National Park shooting an experimental film short. I didn't have too much time for hiking but did manage a few solitary wanderings up side canyons in the petrified sand dune area. We also spent some time shooting in Coral Pink Sand Dune State Park which looks just as the name describes - coral pinkish, dunish, and very sandy. Beautiful weather in the 70's.

Monday, October 19, 2009

GREEN RIVER DAILY




AMY'S NOTES: A beautiful weekend on the Green. Ran from Buckley Wash to Swazey's a couple of times with bike shuttles. Forgot the tent, forgot the bike seat, forgot my paddle, lost my wallet... Slept in the tandem inflatable, borrowed a paddle, got the wallet back thanks to the honesty of strangers... it all worked out. The cottonwoods were brilliant yellow, the beaches were empty, the sun warm, and the nights cool. A handful of rafters came down from Desolation but it was otherwise empty. Sad to see summer go. Oh yeah, and I forgot the pan to cook dinner in. :-)

Friday, October 16, 2009

MAPLE CANYON EXPLORATION


HIKERS: Cory, Kim, Phoebe
TRAIL: view point, slot canyon, and pipe dream

NOTES: Maple canyon is our oasis in the desert. Who would ever guess that a fern could grow in the wild in our climate, but it is true and we saw them today. I have hiked this trail before, but we took the 'road less traveled' a couple of times and were greatly rewarded by amazing scenery. The colors are so gorgeous right now I was mentally kicking myself the whole time that I didn't have my camera. We also found a huge cavern called 'pipe dreams' that has bolts all over the ceiling for climbers. I am so disappointed there weren't any climbers on one of the routes. It would be an amazing thing to see. They would have to be defying gravity! All in all- perfect weather, perfect scenery and perfect trails. After Phoebe quit bawling the company wasn't too bad either. : )

BACKBONE REVISITED


HIKERS: Amy, Kim
TIME: Approx. 9:30- 10:40 am
TEMP: Little chilly to begin with, but perfect after we got going.

NOTES: We haven't hiked in a while and it felt like visiting an old friend. We didn't do too bad for just eating a big breakfast right before either. Hiking in the fall is the best! Cool, crisp weather, beautiful colors and mud caking your shoes. Ah, perfect...

Monday, October 12, 2009

RAGNAR LAS VEGAS


Attempting to spell RAGNAR

DATES: October 8-9, Friday & Saturday
TEAM: Mighty Mandelbaums #37 (aka Mighty Muffin Tops)
RUNNERS: Van 1: Amy, Tracy, Jason, Kristi, Joe, Hillary, Van 2: Jaren, Doug, Michelle, Brad, Roger, Tracy
START TIME: Oct 8, 9:00 am
FINISH TIME: Oct 9, 12:30 pm
LEG 6: Valley of Fire, 5.3 miles, Hard, 90 F, mid afternoon, 62 min
LEG 18: Lake Mead Trail, 5.4 miles, Hard, 58 F, midnight, 67 min
LEG 30: Vegas Suburbs, 2.9 miles, Easy, 60 F, early morning, 32 min

AMY'S NOTES: 171 miles. The first 12 hours of the race were pretty great. You run your first leg, support everyone else running their first leg. Carry water, spray your teammates down, spray strangers down, crack jokes, cheer for other runners, keep a running tally of all the honey pot stops, and generally have a good time. The next 12 hours are a little more interesting. Your normal bedtime hour comes and goes, the honey pots take on a certain rankness, the temperatures cool, people's eyes start to glaze, night settles in on the course, runners pass as bobbing flashing lights on the asphalt, and the legs become a journey of solitude through an unfamiliar desert landscape with only a few feet of headlamp illuminating the way. The final hours are another story entirely - it's more like survival mode. On my third leg, shortly after dawn, I joined the "god job, keep it up" club. I stopped counting after the 10th time and started laughing after each proclamation of encouragement. You have to look pretty miserable for perfect strangers to be repeatedly telling you "good job, keep it up." Not the fastest times in the world, but I ran the whole way despite being ridiculously sick all week long, and I'm shamelessly proud of myself.

To see several ridiculous videos of the adventure go to: http://www.youtube.com/remoteindustry

Friday, October 2, 2009

BALD MOUNTAIN IN THE MOONLIGHT


HIKERS: Kim, Phoebe
TEMP: 45 f
TIME: 8:30 pm
NOTES: Very fun little hike with my 6 year old daughter. We just went as far as she could (about half way to the screen) and then we stopped and had a little snack. She had a blast looking at all the lights of the town and all the stars. We had a great time!