Windy Pass Hike

On Thursday after racquetball my brother casually asked me if I would like to do a hike on Saturday with him. I thought, "Great. This would provide some quality brother-to-brother time." He explained all the details which went in one ear and out the other. All I heard was "wah wah wah wah." (Charlie Brown reference) Somehow I figured the hike should be about 4 hours. Seems like a good amount of time for a hike, right?

So Saturday came and I threw a few granola bars and some string cheese in a pack, filled my water bottles, and grabbed my inhaler. I was ready to go, right?

Ben, Dallas, and I started the hike up South Fork canyon at Big Springs. We were too far along the track until Ben spotted a beaver dam. We got off the trail and examined it, taking a few photos. On the way back I stepped in a big marshy mess of a bog and went in up to my ankle! Good way to start the hike. Fortunately not much water actually worked it's way into my shoe or that would have been hell for the rest of the hike.







The trail up to the summit was pretty step most of the way it seemed. I had a hard time realizing how steep it was until I looked back at the path we had already covered.

Now I forgot to mention that I had been sick all week. Not sick like I would stay in bed kind of sick. But I had had the sore throat, then coughing and on Saturday my nose was a running through most of the hike. So we were approaching the top and I was completely sweaty, my nose was running, and my head was pounding. The is all happening when we are about to summit "Windy Pass." So you might figure out what happens next: yep, wind. The wind was freezing. I had enjoyed the sun being behind the clouds for most of the hike but now I was starting to freeze. Just when I thought I was as miserable as I was going to get, it started to rain and thunder. Nice! So we hunkered down under pine tree just like you are supposed to when there is lightening. (sarcasm intended) Fortunately the storm passed fairly quickly and we were able to summit. The view was beautiful but I was still miserable and just wanted to find the quickest way down. Plus it had taken us 4 hours just to summit. I knew going down the way we came was going to be hell. So we opted to have my sister-in-law come and pick us up by Rock Canyon Campground. So we followed one of the man made troughs across to the other side of the canyon and picked up the trail going down. It was long. Too long but I think still a better option than going back the way we came. It took us about two hour from the summit to get to the campground and another hour or so walking on the road until we found my sister-in-law. Yay! She even brought us each a big 32 oz. Diet Coke a piece. I was in heaven! We were supposed to hike Timpanogos the next Saturday. Yeah, that's not going to happen! :)

Credit Card Commerical - Pet Peeve

Last night I was at the gym and they have these new LCD TV hooked up to the cardio machines. I was listening to my iPod but watching the TV. It helps distract me from what I'm really there to do. Anyway, a commercial came on and it reminded me of a pet peeve that I have with credit card commercials. This commercial reinforced that annoyance because they show the same scene over and over. Notice in the photo above how the card is right-side up? And are they running it through a magnetic card reader? And isn't the magnetic strip always on the top of the back of the card?! So really all the people swiping their cards like this are idiots or the credit card companies are idiots for not thinking that we wouldn't get the point of the commercial if the card were upside down. Anyone else bothered by this? :)

Nurses to the Rescue

Tonight at the gym I witnessed a scary incident. I was about 15 minutes into my cardio routine on the elliptical machine when the girl on the treadmill in front of me started behaving strangely. The girl began looking to her right and then started turning around. Initially I thought she was doing one of those tricky maneuvers and was going to run backwards. But she was looking up at the ceiling and before long she fell off the treadmill. Then I thought that maybe she had just fallen and was going to get up. I have seen people fall before and they are generally a little embarrassed and hope that no one noticed. So I kept exercising not wanting to draw too much attention to her. But she just laid there and was obviously out of it. I was definitely at a loss as to what to do. I panicked. Fortunately the gym was packed and several girls rushed over to help take care of her. The one girl obviously knew what she was doing. She later explained to the gym staff that she was a certified nurse. She started taking her vitals while others notified the gyms staff who then called the paramedics. I was so glad that there was someone there that knew what to do. They got her comfortable and kept talking to her. Then they moved her to her side when she started foaming at the mouth. (I don't know if that is the right term but that is what it looked like.) Soon the paramedics arrived to take care of her the nurse and the other helpers quietly faded into the background. Eventually the girl came around with some oxygen from the paramedics and some rest.

I thought, how great that someone who has those skills is willing to step up and help when it is needed. It reminded me of my sisters who are also nurses. I know that they also have helped out in similar situations at a moment's notice. I admire that and tonight I was especially grateful for the nurse who helped. Thank you, nurses!

Geefle and Gonk

Last Thursday I worked out my back and bicep muscles for the first time in quite a while. I didn't hold back and they started to ache yesterday. When I woke up this morning they were really quite sore. I was having a hard time straightening out my arms and it reminded me of a few of the muppets on Sesame Street, one of which could not bend his arms. (The exact opposite of my problem. In case you are now confused.) So I thought I would Google and see if I could find any reference to those muppets. Sure enough. Here's the whole skit exactly as I remembered it. Thought you might enjoy it too.

Provo River Parkway Trail

Lately the weather has been so nice. Maybe it's all that fresh air from my screen door just going to my head, but I felt the need to be outside before winter comes. You know how it works here in Utah. You get six months of summer and six months of winter with just a few days of spring and fall in between.

So after church I gave up my post meetings nap and headed for the Provo Canyon. I really didn't have a definite plan but I was prepared with my camera, iPod, and water. I pulled into the Canyon View Park just after heading up the canyon and parked my car. Then I just hit the trail. I was planning on walking up to Bridal Veil Falls not sure about how far I would have to go. It definitely was a good distance for me.

It took me about 2 hours but I enjoyed the scenery along the way and took a few photos as you can see.

Wii Have a Problem

I've been telling my family that I think I broke a rib while playing Wii Tennis. I was kind of kidding but not really. The right side of my chest hurts when you press on it in a certain spot. It hurts when I roll over in bed or twist to get up out of bed. So I'm pretty sure that I do have a broken rib. The question is "Could I have really broken it while playing Wii?" I decided to take that question to the Internet. Apparently a broken rib is one of the less serious problems that you could have. The site, Wii Have a Problem, chronicles the various injuries that people have actually inflicted on themselves, others, or even inanimate objects while playing Wii.

Here are the people injuries: Damage Report

Is That Bad?

Once upon a time I thought I was a pretty good tennis player. At least I really enjoyed playing. It's been several years now since I've even picked up my tennis racket other than to reach something on the shelf behind it. But now I have a Wii and my tennis skills are as tight as ever! I've been working almost every day to make "pro." Oh and let me tell you, I am really close. Less than 100 points to go! The problem is that playing this much Wii tennis makes me think that I can play the real thing again probably even better than before. My nephew (whose name shall remain anonymous) once told me that after playing Rock Band that he thought he could really play the drums or guitar for that matter. I now understand the phenomenon. They make video games so real any more that I can see how this happens. After all when I play Wii tennis like real tennis, I sweat! It's actually one of the reasons that I bought the system to begin with. But now I find that I justify it as "exercise." Is that bad?! I just know that I haven't been making it to the gym as often as I was in my pre-Wii days. Maybe I will feel better about it once I try wearing my heart rate monitor while playing. Or maybe I just need to buy the Wii Fit.