Finally and Fast

So I woke up and weighed in at 206 lbs. I finally got off of my 207 plateau which has been bummin' me out for a month or so. I know a pound doesn't seem like much, but when you are working at it and get stuck a pound is everything.

Brimming with energy from my HUGE weight loss Athena took me on our 6.7 mile route in 1:23 which is 12:23 miles or 4.8 MPH! I didn't think I could walk that fast, especially since we have been pulling 4.4 to 4.5 MPH lately. My heart rate monitor had me running between 140 and low 150's which is a good zone for me to work in. Maybe not everyday but every now and then.

We are getting what the military boys call "short." We are less than 3 weeks away from our RV trip through the Utah National Parks, Grand Canyon and a couple of other National Monuments in Arizona, Vegas - I mean it's on the way. We have to go - Death Valley, Sequoia and Kings Canyon, Yosemite, Tahoe, Crater Lake, Wine country in Washington, North Cascades, and a college reunion in Spokane.

I am researching the Whole Foods stores locations, and we will try our best to stock up at as many farmers' markets as we can. I am also looking into "tethering" our smart phones to the laptop for Internet access.

We have worked all of the bugs we could think of out of the RV. The awning works great. We know how to switch over to the generator when we need to. We added a water filter to the galley sink for drinking water. I retrofitted some storage solutions in the berth over the cab. Now we just need time to pass so we can get gone (as they say in the hood).

I have also been stalking the organic berry girl at the local farmers' markets. We have been vacuum sealing and freezing a lot of berries and peaches so we have a supply later in the year. With the peaches and raspberries you need to freeze them on a cookie sheet first and then vacuum seal them so they don't get smashed. The blueberries and blackberries you can stop the suction early and they do fine.

More soon......

Short On Words

It rarely happens that I have nothing to say. Since my last post Athena has taken me for a couple of her favorite 6.7 mile walks - three I think. She got screwed out of her 1 mile off lead time last week when the Sound Transit security guy was doing whatever it is they do along the tracks. Since there is a no trespassing sign I figured our presence would be enough without letting Athena off lead.

Our tomatoes are ripening which is cool. They are coming along slowly now, but I can see that we will need to do some serious work to get them stored soon. We also have a ton of Thai basil so I made some pesto from it and used it on some lightly grilled squash. It is nice because it has a little extra spiciness.

I continue to harvest and either use or dry chilis. This year I grew Cayenne, Jalapenos, Anaheims, and one that is between the jalapeno and the Anaheim. I have 2 large zip locks full of dried chilis which will become chili sauce and chili powder soon. I could easily harvest 50 or more now if I wanted.

Athena wanted to pass on a tip for weight loss. If you let your dog bum food off of you then you won't eat it yourself and you will eat less calories. Nice huh?

More soon.....

Pics That Didn't Die

Here are some of the lucky pics from the Ozette Triangle that I didn't kill.

See, I even ramble on with pictures! I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

More soon.....

Duplicate File Numbers = Lost Shots

On the Ozette Triangle backpacking trip last weekend I took so many pictures that I had to go to a second memory card. When I got home I uploaded the pictures from the second card first which included pictures Pam and I got at Cape Flattery after the backpack trip and the group pictures from Sandy Beach where we spent the second night and from the trailhead after the trip.

When I put the first card in and began to upload the computer popped up with a message that there were duplicate file numbers so I THOUGHT I selected the option to copy and use new file numbers and clicked the little box to do that for all the conflicts - pictures. I must have selected wrong because the first batch of pictures is now gone and the cards have been formatted. Ouch!

Here are some of the pics that survived.

I was thinking that 3 miles on a flat hike would be no exercise, but with a 65 lb pack the first day it was a decent amount of work. We were a lot lighter day 2 and even lighter when we hiked out Sunday. I would have liked to see the pictures from Cape Flattery as it is no small effort to get there. You go through Neah Bay and keep going another 3 or 4 miles. Bad Paully!! Bad ! Bad!

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The Ozette Triange Prep

We're off to hike the Ozette Triangle in the far northwest corner of Washington. The hike should be fairly easy as we are taking the 9 miles in 3 sections and camping out 2 nights. The only hard part will be the heavy - around 40 lb - packs we have to carry. I hope to have tons on pictures to post when we return.

Athena knows we are leaving soon and not taking her. My nephew Bret came by yesterday and he has Athena sat before. She is moping around a little and still being extra special good in case we change our mind and take her. Poor kid!

I did get her out for a pair of 6.7 mile walks today and yesterday, and it is the route that includes some off lead time along the train tracks which she loves. Our big trip next month will wear her out. A month in the RV should take all the excitement out of the hanging in the RV thing for her.

I was able to find some box wine with decent ratings for our backpacking trip so we don't have to carry bottles. We have to pack in wood and decided on the pressed wood logs. Everyone is supposed to carry one which should cover us.

More soon.....

It's Not Just About Calories Examples

Not that 310 calories for a sandwich is great, but it beats some of the 800 plus ones. Subway's Oven Roasted Chicken Breast Sandwich weighs in at 310 calories, but there is ALWAYS a trade off with fast food guys. That sandwich has a whoppin' 830 mg of sodium - more than half of what you should eat in a day- and still finds a way to deliver 5 grams of fat. The other thing to remember is that virtually all of the chicken served in fast food and processed food had MSG in it.

McDonald's Premium Southwest Salad with Crispy Chicken only sounds healthy. That bad boy has 450 calories with 21 grams of fat and 820 mgs of sodium BEFORE you add the dressing! Wow!

Not to be outdone Burger King's Tendergrill Chicken Sandwich has 470 calories, 18 grams of fat, and a humongous 1100 mg of sodium. That qualifies as a "SALT BOMB."

Wendy's is trying to help with their "Nutritious Side Options" which includes their Caesar Side Salad which has only 250 calories, but packs a punch with 17 grams of fat and 510 mgs of sodium. They also have their small chili which has 460 calories, 23 grams of fat and a MIND BOGGLING 1400 mgs of sodium. I had to recheck that 3 times! That was from their website and from their Nutritious side options. Wow!

For dinner tonight we will have the Big Salad with fresh Organic greens, a bell pepper from the garden, green beans, tomatoes, avocado, purple scallions, sunflower seeds with my homemade Lemon Balsamic Vinaigrette. Sounds terrible huh?

More soon......

Kinda Scary Lookin" Veggie Eating Dog

Athena, the tough looking dog, is a little baby vegetable eater. We had a dinner consisting of a Portobello Mushroom Burger, Grilled Corn On The Cob, and an Orzo Pasta Salad with Pesto sauce, Cherry Tomatoes, Grilled Zucchini and a little bit of fresh Mozzarella.

When I finished my corn Athena was positioned as always in her forever hopeful bumming spot between us. I decided to test her pallet so I handed her the cob. She took it out on the lawn and proceeded to eat the whole thing. She came back just in time to get Pam's spent cob and finished that.

After dinner I put together our juice for tomorrow which has a bunch of carrots in it and she ate the ends of all of the carrots as well.

They are going to kick her out of the tough dog club when they read this. Oh, that;s right, they can't read so I guess she's OK.

Along the way today her famous lei bit the big one in the back yard. Neither of us saw her destroy it, but there it was in a pile of fake blue flowers. She must have just got tired of it because as late as last night I took it off of her and she bugged me until I put it back on.

I try not to do anything to limit my dogs' enthusiasm. When they get old and their fun level goes down I always miss it so I'm big on the memories I'm getting now.

Recipe:  Portobello Mushroom Burgers

2 Portobello mushrooms stemmed
1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar
Salt
Pepper
1/4 tsp Onion Powder
1/4 tsp Garlic Powder

Marinate the mushrooms for a couple hours in the ingredients above and then grill them for 3-5 minutes per side on the BBQ. Serve on a Whole Grain Bun or Bread with some Grain Mustard and Cheddar cheese if you want.

A note on grilled corn. There are lots of ideas on how to grill corn on the cob. I don't soak mine and after the husk is tanned on all sides I pull back the husk and get a little color on the corn itself. We brush it lightly with Olive Oil and a little sea salt and it is great. The grill time is a total of 15 - 20 minutes and I ONLY use ORGANIC Corn. If it isn't organic it IS GMO which means it has a pesticide in it that remains stable even after cooking.

More soon.....

Before and After Pics

OK. Here is the before and after - or at least along the way to after. Not my finest moment.

Now that that is over I can move on to more pressing issues.

I was mildly taken to task for my "dumbing down" of the exercise calories thing. I knew I would be, but my goal was to illustrate approximately what I would get from about 4 hours a week of fast walking. We are bombarded by information on calories in and out and it is so much blather unless you can connect the dots.

One thing I learned along this journey so far is that the calories are not as relevant as what the calories are. 300 calories of white bread is not the same as 300 of whole grain bread or brown rice. 300 calories of fried chicken (probably a drumstick or maybe a wing) is not the same as 300 of grilled organic chicken breast. Even 300 calories of processed grilled chicken breast that you nuke is different than the freshly grilled organic breast.

While I am sort of on the subject, Organic does not automatically equal good for you. You can eat a fully vegan diet that is loaded with organic products that you should not eat. There is organic white bread and white rice. There are organic tortilla chips and potato chips. You can deep fry organic chicken in organic canola oil and it is still bad for you.

Most of us are getting a little older and may need to bring reading glasses when we go shopping, but you need to read labels. Don't just focus on the fat content either. The sodium is just as bad for you as the fat. That is where a lot of the "lite" and "low fat" and "diet" items fail as good food. They are regularly loaded with either sodium, MSG or sugar (in the case of the low-fat items).

This stuff isn't always easy, but it IS worth doing. There is nothing like the feeling of lightness that you get when you walk, or the lack of pain in your joints, or even simple little things like clearer skin.

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What Does It All Mean?

OK. So Athena walked me just under 20 miles this week. I tried to be good, but she put up with me even with my flaws. So the question is what does that mean in terms of calories burned? I got on to my favorite walking calorie calculator - http://walking.about.com/od/calorie1/Calorie_Calculators.htm - and plugged in the information and it spit out 2724 calories burned. So if I've been good about intake all week I should have lost about .8 lb.

I'm still not sure when I crossed over to the dark side where people have favorite calorie counting websites, but that's another story.

I found a new text messaging driver category today. I was going to let it go but I saw a second one on the same walk so I have to talk about it. She is Mommie Textest. This one sits at the light with her kid in the car, and while the kid is talking to her she is staring at the phone and ignoring the kid. I can only hope she is setting up some tryst or rendezvous and not replying that Yes she will pick up some Bud Light on her way home.

The garden continues to provide us with product. I continue to harvest chilis. At this point we have harvested over 100. Most have been dried for my chili powder, but we have used another 20 or so for different meals.

If the sun would just hang around a little while, the tomatoes would all start getting ripe. There are a few just turning color now, but Paully want's some freshly picked tomatoes! I am now a believer in these self watering containers. I will expand their use next year.

More soon.....

Probiotics Information

One of the side effects of antibiotics in our food and over prescribing of them by our doctors is that they destroy the healthy bacterias that live in our bodies and fight off illnesses naturally. These are known as probiotics. They regulate our digestive systems.

Virtually every system in the body is affected by how well the colon works. Problems like colitis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue and many allergies have been shown to be caused by a poorly operating digestive system. There is some research that indicates the help probiotics give to your immune system aids in many kinds of allergies. The number one problem is the lack of healthy bacteria.

That is the easy part. The hard part is to figure out which of the bazillion products and supplements you should use. Is it the yogurt Jamie Lee Curtis is selling or one of the many other probiotic products out there.

The two main probiotics are Lactobacilli, and Bifidobacteria. The idea is to find a supplement that has as many live cultures as possible along with as many strains as possible. Our search ended up with Probioplus DDS which has 10 billion cultures and no dairy products. It may not be the only one to choose, but it was reasonably priced and available. At Vitacost.com they run about $20 for 100 tablets.

We take one every day. The instructions have you take more, but research I did indicated that one a day was likely a proper dose. We eat "clean" so we don't have as much to fight off as some folks. We also don't take antibiotics regularly. Antibiotics are non-specific so they kill all bacteria they come in contact with including the good ones in your colon. If you are taking an antibiotic you want to take more probiotics to compensate.

This is what I know. Since we began eating "clean" and taking the probiotics my skin is clearer, my nails stronger, and I'm still balding. I didn't say it would fix everything!

Other than the probiotic we take 2000 iu's of Vitamin D, a multivitamin, and 1200 mg Fish Oil along with 1 oz of Acai puree (Amazon Thunder). The Acai is a great antioxidant and a great, plant based source of Omega 3's, fiber, and have a protein profile similar to eggs.

I hope this helps you understand why you might want to add a probiotic to your regimen.

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A Movie You Should Watch

I realize I have a sickness for watching documentaries on food and the food supply, but there is some really well done stuff out there. My latest find was recommended to me by my brother Mike. It is called "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead."
2 months
The subject of the film had some disease that required prednisone to keep somewhat under control. He got tired of taking pills - and being fat - and decided to do a 2 month juice fast. I believe that he first did a month of a diet heavy in fresh, raw foods so as not to shock his system too much.

I don't want to give too much away, but you will be blown away by what he did in 2 months.

The format of the movie was cool too as he drove across the US in the last month of the fast. In both months he speaks to a lot of people about what he is doing, etc. It's pretty cool.

Pam and I did a raw 4 weeks to start 2011 which began with a 3 day juice fast. They shouldn't really call it a fast because there were times when we were due for a juice and not hungry. No kidding! The juices were good and you had 5 a day so there was variety. I'm not convinced I would be good for 2 months, but I don't have a weird disease and over 100 pounds to lose either.

We continue to juice now, although I think I'll crank it back up and do at least 2 a day.

More soon....

Athena Got Leid & How Much Should I Get?

The universe was kind and provided a synthetic lei which made her pretty - oh so pretty - so pretty in every way. Well she thought so at least.

She does love her girly things. She doesn't really look like a girly type of dog, but she certainly is.

So we always hear about what is too much of this and too little of that so I thought to myself "Self we should provide our people with the information." So here it is.

The Recommended Daily Allowances (RDA) are based on a 2000 calorie daily intake. For most of us that is more than we should really take in. Men trying to lose weight should use about 1800 and then can add some calories based on exercise. Women in the same boat should be looking at 1600 with the same adjustments for exercise. That being said, the following numbers need to be adjusted based on what you target for your own program. If you are trying for 1600 calories a day then use 80% of the numbers that follow.

Another thing to keep in mind is the idea that you will likely want to adjust the fat and sodium down no matter what. Those numbers are a ceiling - not a recommendation. Currently, doctors are using 1500 milligrams of sodium as their ceiling and as far as fat goes it should be under 30% of your total caloric intake with an emphasis on good fats like olive oil and fats in fish, etc.

Based on a 2000 calorie diet you should have:

Fat                             60 grams with no more that 15 grams of saturated fat

Cholesterol              300 grams

Sodium                  1500 milligrams

Potassium              3500 Milligrams

Carbohydrates     55-60% of total caloric intake

Fiber                          25 grams

Protein                       40 - 175 grams If you are sedentary 40 - if you exercise a lot 175

Fats are necessary for many body functions. The trick is to limit bad fats and eat mostly good ones. Here is a list of good and bad.

Monounsaturated fats are good. They lower bad cholesterol and raise good. They are found in nuts, avocado, olive and canola oils.

Polyunsaturated fats are also good. They are found in fish as well as corn, sunflower, soy, and safflower oils. They work the same on cholesterol and are the Omega 3 type of fats.

Bad fats are saturated and trans fats.

Saturated fats are mainly found in animal products such as meat, dairy, eggs and seafood. Some plant foods are also high in saturated fats such as coconut oil,  palm oil and palm kernel oil.

Transfats are a food industry invention and are found in processed foods.

Carbohydrates, contrary to Dr. Atkins and others are not the enemy. Like fats there are good and bad carbs and the trick is to eat good and avoid bad. Simply put, good carbs tend to be higher in fiber and more whole foods, and less processed. Bad carbs are highly processed items like white sugar, white flour, anything that is "enriched" or has added sugars.

Pasta has gotten a bad rap, but IF YOU COOK YOUR PASTA AL DENTE IT IS A GOOD CARB. If you cook it mushy it is a bad carb.

Sodium is necessary in the diet because it balances the water in cells and also aids in managing reflexes. Excess sodium is very bad. It leads to high blood pressure and is part of the mix that has caused the current obesity problem in the US. 1500 mgs of sodium is less than one teaspoon. The average American man is eating between 3100 and 4700 mgs and women 2300-3100. The biggest issue with fast and processed foods is sodium content. When you process the flavor out of the stuff you need lots of sodium to make it palatable.

Fiber keeps you digestive system working properly which keeps virtually all of your systems working properly. It's like they say "What happens in the colon...." I'll let that go for now. 25 grams is a minimum. It won't hurt you to double that amount as long as you get a mix of soluble and insoluble fiber and STAY HYDRATED.

Protein is tricky. Raw foodies will tell you you need less than the 50 grams in the RDA. If you are an athlete you will need more. There are plant based ways to get protein including beans, pasta, nuts, seeds, and quinoa.

Now you know enough to be dangerous like me - well maybe not that dangerous, but armed anyway.

More soon....

 



Payoff Hikes And Reunions

When I first agreed to hike with Pam and her friends it was because she kept telling me about the great views you can only get by putting in the work. Since I am an avid amateur photog, I took the pill and started hiking with them.

The thing is that many things have to come together for the great pics to happen. The weather has to cooperate and you have to get to your destination. There were many places we hiked where there was no payoff - no great shot to take even if the other forces aligned in your favor. Cougar mountain and Tiger mountain fall in that category.

I have now crossed over to the dark side and prefer a harder hike - one with around 1000 feet of elevation gain per mile. I like the workout, but that doesn't mean I am not still looking for a payoff picture at the end or along the way. For instance, I will always opt for Mt. Rose over Wagon Wheel Lake because Mt Rose has some really great views where Wagon Wheel has a small lake without much sex appeal.

Short story long, Pam, Phyllis and I headed up to hike Ranger Falls and Green Lake which is roughly 11 miles with 1600 feet of elevation gain. We chose it so we would make the family reunion shortly after noon. When I say 11 miles I mean that it is a 6 mile walk with a 5 mile hike in the middle as you walk the road for 3 miles to the trailhead from the Carbon River entrance to Mount Rainier National Park. The road to the trailhead washed out in 2006 and they have opted not to repair it and instead make it a trail.

This was the first hike this year where we did not run into snow on the trail, but the falls were running nicely.

See! That's a payoff picture!

The trail first goes to the falls and then goes up to Green Lake.

More Payoff! That's what I'm talkin' about!    We were on the trail at 7:21 and back at the car at 11:11 after taking a 20 minute break at the Lake and 5 at the falls.

Off to the family reunion at Lake Tapps. We won't describe the route. Just know that neither Pam or I know the back way from Bonney Lake to Lake Tapps. Ms. Pam had me bring the camera and herded everyone for a picture at a little after 3.







So there we are in all of our glory. The bulk of the Anderson/Kaperick Clan. The efforts of 2 sisters - My Mom and My Aunt Bev. They were both productive. My Mom had 13 kids and Bev had 7. As usual a good time was had by all, and most everyone made the affair.

Athena settled for a 3.65 mile neighborhood walk today although she did try to turn for longer routes several times along the way.


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Where'd The Sun Go?

I know better than to trust the talking heads on TV when they say it's going to be nice for the next 8 days, but somehow I fell for it anyway. I was thinking Yee Haw - here comes a great Friday. Oh Well. Mark my words, they will all be telling us how difficult it is to predict the weather in this area. We might even hear one of them mention the dreaded "convergent zone" as an excuse. Who decided there was such a "zone" anyway, and how are we to know whether every area has one or not? TV weatherman is a great job. You are regularly wrong and they still pay you.

Nothing like a good conspiracy theory to kick off Sea Fair weekend! Here is the real scoop. There had to be cloud cover here because some sun explosions made it likely that there would be great northern lights viewing if only it was clear. See how that works? If there is a chance of seeing something cool the clouds WILL come. That's all you need to know about weather in the Northwest.

The final recipe for the "Pasta" salad I made for our picnic tomorrow is as follows.

10 or 12 cups of julienned raw squash
30 peas shucked
3 pint boxes of organic Cherry Tomatoes
1 Red Onion sliced paper thin
3 Cloves Garlic minced
2/3 cup White Wine
1 Cup String Beans (I used a mix of green and purple or black) cut in 1/2 in pieces
4 sprigs of Thyme
1/2 cup fresh Basil
1/4 cup fresh Oregano
Fresh Mozzarella - I marinated mine in Balsamic Vinegar Olive Oil and Basil
1/2 to 1 cup of Freshly grated Romano cheese - to taste.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Olive Oil

Heat 1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil and saute the onion for 4 or 5 minutes.Add salt and pepper. Add the garlic and saute another minute. Add white wine and let the wine reduce by half. Halve all of the tomatoes and add all but 1/2 cup to the pan and saute until they get mushy. Add peas and cook for 2 minutes and then add all the herbs - first the thyme and then the other 2. Salt and pepper to taste and then pour over the julienned squash. Stir until all the "pasta" is coated well. Allow it to cool to room temperature and then mix in the beans, reserved tomatoes and cheeses.

If you want it a little spicy add some red chili flakes with the tomatoes you cook.

Enjoy your weekends and remember to use sun screen. Just kidding! You'd need sun for that.

More soon....

Sorry Kid - Pops Doesn't Have The Good Legs Today

Athena tried her best, but was unable to get me up to our normal pace of 4.5 MPH or more. We ended up getting in 6.69 miles in 1:31 so about 4.45 or something. We weren't even doing anything hilly! I was just slow today.

Every year on the 1st weekend in August we have a reunion with my cousins on my Mom's side of the family. We'd need to rent a large hall to do one with my Dad's side as he was one of 9 kids of a Catholic family. The reunion is at my cousin Carrie's house on Lake Tapps. They are those laid back perfect host types with lots of great toys and amenities like a HUGE hot tub, boat, jet skis, a laser sail boat, etc..

I have decided to do a "Pasta" salad with my zucchini "pasta." We are still harvesting some peas - although this is likely the end of them, some green and black beans, peppers, squash, and tons of herbs. I had to buy some organic tomatoes as ours are just barely starting to turn towards red.

I'm thinking I will saute some onion and garlic in some olive oil and then toss in the cherry tomatoes (halved) and let them cook down a little and then toss in some the peas for a minute or 2, then add basil, oregano, and thyme at the end and then pour the whole thing on some squash-getti noodles and let the whole thing hang out for a while so the "noodles" can soften up. Then I'll add some chopped up beans and some fresh tomatoes and some diced up mozzarella and some grated Romano cheese to finish it.

I have until tomorrow to decide so toss me some suggestions to make it better.

I think Athena and I will try walking earlier and see if it's the heat that slowed me down today.

More soon.....

Walking Observations

There are some things a city walker or prospective city walker needs to know. I learned them on my own along the way because I strongly believe that for any exercise program to be successful it has to be sustainable. For me that means I need to be able to walk out the front doo\r with my dog and go for a walk. I get bored so I need to be able to do a variety of routes as well.

Here are some things I learned.

1. Driving skills seem to go to hell near the following places. Apartment complexes, fast food restaurants, Walmart, community colleges or technical schools and convenience stores.

2. No one ever looks on the sidewalk when they are checking to see if they are OK to pull out or turn.

3. There are 3 types of text messaging drivers.

     a. The bobble head. These people keep their phone in their lap area and bob their head up and down.
     b. The sidewinder . These people hold the phone off in their right hand and look back and forth to it.
     c. The God complex. These folks just don't care about anyone else. They are the only people that matter. They will sit at a green light and make you wait until they are done and ready to move on.

4. Lots of people miss the point with the whole "hands free" law. They hold their phone and turn in on speaker. This may be worse than holding it up to their ear because they tend to look over at the phone while they talk.

5. Athena makes people smile when we walk. I can't be sure if they are laughing at the guy being drug by his dog or if it's the look of sheer joy on her face when she is on a walk.

We got in 6.3 miles in a little under 1:22 today.

More soon.....

A Glorious Day Needs A Glorious Setting

Pam wisely took the day after her birthday off. When we woke this morning the sky was clear and the plan emerged to hike High Rock Lookout with the hopes of getting some great pictures. We arrived at the trailhead and were on the trail at 10:18. The 9 plus miles from Skate Creek Road are harrowing to say the least. There are some "gear breaking" potholes along the way.

We made the top - 1.9 miles - in just over 40 minutes and were greeted by these views.

I hope you like the pictures. The only other update I have is that we recently harvested 50 peppers from the greenhouse. It was a combination of Anaheims, Cayennes, a hybrid hot pepper, and Jalapenos. They are drying in the oven at 150 right now so I can turn them into chile powder. There are easily 3 times that on the plants that will need to be harvested in the next week or so. It smells great in here right now.

More soon.....