48,000 Steps Of A Weekend

Pam bought a device that tracks her steps. She was wearing it this weekend and we had 2 days of 24,000 steps each.

Saturday we went to the Freemont Solstice Festival. I had never been before. I knew there were going to be naked bicyclists, but I really knew nothing more than that. We opted for the bus from Tacoma since the Rock and Roll Marathon was going on in Seattle as well and it was a great idea. The traffic was stupid around Seattle.

We arrived around noon and had some lunch and a beer at the Red Door. They have a sandwich that is spicy hummus and thin slices of green apple on wheat bread with tomatoes and lettuce that is really good. I'll be stealing that recipe. We also had their Black Bean Burger that is nice and spicy. A couple of beers and we were ready to walk.

Right away there were some talented and entertaining buskers mixed in with the vendors. The weather was perfect as well. We walked through the vendors and around the parade route, stopping at Woodsky's for an additional beer.

A visit to the troll under the bridge and we were ready to work our way back around for the parade. I'm sure I have never seen as many pervy looking old guys with cameras as I did there. It made me a little self conscious about my camera.

We realized early on that there was to be only rare "clean" shots of the cyclists and moved down the route to Woodsky's for a beer until the cyclists began. Most of the pics I have were taken with the camera overhead and snapping away so I'm sure there's no Pulitzer Prize in my future.

The parade proper is a very Earth centric affair. There were anti- Monsanto and anti- Coal train groups, a sun and planet crew and lots of great bands. With perfect weather it was PACKED.

We had people we were trying to meet up with, but there was no hearing your phone ring so we never connected. We headed for the bus a little before 5 and were home by 6:30.

Sunday we had plans to hike Crystal Peak. We have hiked it before and been turned around by snow before the summit as well so we were hoping for success this time.

It was raining in Lakewood when we woke and the rain was worse as we drove through Puyallup, but - magically - as we got to Enumclaw the rain stopped. We hit the trail at 8:10 and followed an inspired Pam up the hill. This trail starts out with switchbacks like most trails for the first almost 1 1/4 miles. At that point you take the switchback to the right and there isn't another for a little over 2 miles.

That means that you are looking up at the hill ahead of you for a long time, so it is a good trail to hike head down. We did encounter some snow on the trail after the long awaited next switchback. There were 5 patches and the worst of them was the first. It required crossing a 100 -200 foot area on a steep slope. I was wishing I had my ice axe for that chunk, but the snow was easy to manipulate and we made it without incident.

We arrived at the summit in 2:15 minutes, had some food and rested for 20 minutes before heading down. The return trip took 1:30 and a well deserved lunch and beer at the Naches Tavern in Greenwater awaited us. All in all it was 8 miles and about 3100 feet of elevation gain.

Be very well and more soon.....

The Responsibility To Choose What You Become

A long time ago I was doing my research on a paper. My intent was to slam Jean Paul Sartre on his idea of responsibility. I thought at first glance that it went way too far. As I read and gathered my "evidence" to bury this knucklehead it became apparent to me that he was right and the paper took a turn for the better I think.

Sartre said - in part - that if you were drafted to go to war and decided to go that the war was as much your responsibility as it was the initial aggressor's. It is easy to say poppycock and move on, but if you dig in and think through it you may find a better way to live.

In a world with a million excuses for everything it is easy to deflect. You slice a ball out of bounds and someone was talking in your backswing. We can easily become the golfer's credo of "It's not whether you're right or wrong, but how you place the blame that matters."

Simple applications of this idea of responsibility begin with a simple phrase (or mantra if you are so inclined) "It's my fault." We don't like to use that much because through deflection there are a million reasons why it's NOT our fault.

Why would I want it to be my fault anyway? The easy answer is that it is disarming. A client calls and says that they are unhappy because something that happened on your end. Let's say an assistant was less than accommodating. You have two choices. You can say "I'll talk to them." or you can say "That is my fault."

 If it is your fault the problem shrinks to include you and your client and you control the outcome. They are disarmed because they are used to deflection. It is far easier to "win" this situation than the one where you leave the client hanging, wondering if you really will speak to the assistant.

Why is the attitude of an underling your responsibility? There are only 2 reasons why a failure happens in the workplace. It is either a hiring mistake or a training mistake. Any effort to look for other reasons is deflecting. So it truly IS your fault when it is all said and done.

What if the issue originates with a third party who you neither hire or train? I have ran into this often in Real Estate. A mortgage person or title company or inspector does something to make your client angry and they call you to vent. If you deflect the pain goes on, but if it is your fault it ends.

How can you justify that? It IS your fault. You have a duty to your client to properly manage their expectations. That may require you train them on the possibilities that you know of that they may not be aware of. If you fear that such disclosure would make them uneasy then all the more reason to go there so if it happens you aren't stuck trying to explain it.

You also need the third parties to understand the expectations you have in terms of timing and information flow and follow them up yourself. It is simply the process of under-promising and over-delivering.

The most common reason you have issues is your inability to say "NO." We want to please so we soften no to maybe or we'll try or let's see. All three of those say "YES" to your clients and coworkers and third party vendors. If the reality is NO then the answer to the question is NO. If you want happy clients and coworkers, learn how to say NO.

Your personal health is a great place to begin to embrace this concept. After all, what you put in your mouth and whether you chooses to exercise are your responsibility

If you work on this idea of responsibility you can learn to apply it to all circumstances of your life. I still very much struggle with it when driving, but a more compassionate world awaits us if we do embrace it and practice it.

Be very well and more soon....

Our Little Find Of A Trail + Bushwhacking = Another Way Down

Pam and I headed to Tidewater, Or. to see her dad and uncle for Father's Day weekend. We took a route that meant we did not touch I-5 in Oregon at all. It was interesting and way off of the beaten path which work for us.

Saturday we got up and ate and headed to the trail we found the last time we were down. Armed with a GPS and accompanied by her dad and her uncle's 2 dogs - a Boxer and a Yorkie - we headed up the trail.

I guess it is not used much since it was fairly overgrown. The little Yorkie too to staying right on my heel so he knew which way we were going since the grass was too tall for him to see over. The trail is 2.25 miles to the top from her uncle's house so it didn't take us long.

 

When we arrived at the top Pam's dad explained that a little bushwhacking would us through to another route down. Since neither Pam nor I have any common sense when it comes to this stuff we followed him through the brush and over to the other side.

There were more foxgloves blooming on this hike than I have seen in the rest of my life! The hills were purple with them. The little Yorkie got entwined in berry vines a couple of times and had to be extricated, but was a surprisingly good little trail dog.

While there was plenty evidence of an elk herd, we saw only a brief glimpse of a deer hopping away on our way down. All in all we hiked 4.63 miles with maybe 1200 ft on elevation gain and had a great time.

The Yorkie required a bath and a lot of brushing to remove sticks and twigs and burrs, but was otherwise fine for his first foray into hiking. The Boxer was gassed and hit the floor as soon as we got back. All humans were fine and headed to Rogue Brewery in Newport for lunch and well deserved beers.

Be very well and more soon....

Man That Chick Is Fast!

Sound to Narrows was yesterday and I decided to walk the bulk of the route with Pam. She picked a pace that she felt was as fast as she could maintain and off we went.

The weather was a little cool and overcast which is perfect conditions. We weren't a mile in before we were plenty warm.

We cruised along at an average pace of about 13:45 miles. At just before the 5 mile mark I left Pam to her own devices and took a slightly quicker pace for the last 2.5 miles. It is at the point in the walk where you get to start catching slow runners who left 15 minutes before us.

The sun was trying to break through as I made my way up Vassault street to the finish. I even asked it not to come out yet which freaked out the two young girls I was passing at the time. Now they are stuck with stories of the crazy old guy on the Sound to Narrows talking to himself.

I finished in 1:40 for the 7.44 miles and had just gulped down about 8 Dixie cups of water and turned back to the finish line when I saw Pam bearing down on the finish line. She cruised to a 1:44 finish!

So much for taking it east and walking at her pace.

We headed back to the house and were joined by the gang for lunch and many bottles of wine on a perfect sunny day.

I hope your Saturday was as good as ours.

Be very well and more soon....

Update On Smoothie Recipe - IMPORTANT

The Townsend Farms Antioxidant Blend has been recalled due to a Hepatitis A issue. If you have any check the best by dates according to the following link.

 http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm355166.htm

Be very well and more soon....

Between Bad Snow And Fussy Bears

Since Pam was off with her girlfriends this weekend I was left to my own devices which is generally not a good thing. Athena and I got in a fast 6.79 miles Saturday morning and then we got some shopping done. The big plan was to hike up Eagle and Chutla Peaks Sunday.

In the summer Eagle Peak Saddle is a quick bit of hard exercise for us. From where we park to the saddle and back is 7.9 miles roundtrip with 2800 feet of elevation gain. In the rest of the year you are guaranteed to run into snow somewhere along the way. The last section to the saddle is a steep face that is prone to avalanche danger so success is not guaranteed.

Garry and I hit the trail at 7:30 and made good time to the bridge that crosses the creek which is about 2.5 miles up the trail. The creek was running fast and full and we were getting ready to hike into the cloud cover above.

The next 1 1/2 miles went a little slower as the snow was mainly covering any trail. We didn't need any traction aids because the snow was "good walking" snow. We arrived at the base of the last stretch to the saddle in the mist with very little visibility. We checked the snow and found that there was 6-8 inches of heavy snow on top of very hard ice below.

I know I was waiting for one of two things. First, that it would clear and we might see a safer route without the bad snow/ice combination that looks like an avalanche waiting to happen. Second, that Garry would say "Hey, let's try going up a little and see how it feels." Well, it didn't clear, but Garry did say the magic words.

We maybe went 40-50 feet before we decided that living to try again was a better idea than risking our lives to reach the saddle. We turned back and met Sherrie and Spence who were almost 2 miles up the trail as we headed down.

We gave them a full report including the fact that we had not seen any wildlife or signs of wildlife along the way. Usually, there are deer and elk to be seen and the occasional marmot. We took their snowshoes from them since they wouldn't need them. I was sporting my new pack which is larger than my old one so I had room for more stuff including my bear spray which I showed Sherrie and Spence. We let them head up and we headed down.

A little farther down we ran into 2 gals who were asking about the trail and after a couple of minutes I realized that one of them was a girl who grew up 3 houses down from us and whose sister is married to my little brother. Small world.

Garry and I reached the car at 11:45 and logged 7.8 miles or so.

Sherrie and Spence also were turned around at nearly the same place, but by a black bear with a bad attitude. She was likely a mother with cubs nearby, but they only saw her and she was letting them know in no uncertain terms that she did not require or desire their company so they hightailed it out of there and likewise lived to climb another day.

Such is the way of mountains. There is always something that can keep you from your goal for that day, but there can always be another day if you make the right decisions.

Be very well and more soon....