MattK's blog-o-matic

The day the world changed

mattk — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 00:05:00 GMT

As everyone on Earth knows by now, Barack Hussein Obama won the election yesterday. He did more than win a contest, he brought hope to millions of us. I said it before and I'll say it again... he's the JFK of our generation. I am no longer ashamed to tell my international friends that I'm an American. Today, I am very proud to say it.

The city of Seattle has been bursting with anticipation for weeks. Well, last night that anticipation finally took to the streets. The entire city was mobbed with celebration. We also celebrated with friends, but once Ella went to bed I headed out to the streets to join everyone else. At Midnight there were about 2,000 people at my location. That quickly became 3,000 people. I found out later that the crowd grew even bigger after I went home.

To see a crowd in Seattle so happy was exhilarating. To see them so happy about our country was incredible. I shed more than a tear last night. The culmination was seeing every single person sing the Star Spangled Banner in unison. There was real meaning to what we were doing and it was a moment I will never forget. I can't wait to share it all with Ella when gets older.

I took a bunch of pix, which can be found up on my Flickr site.

Other pix:

fenderfour with a great photo of Laura, Geoff and I.

Geoff's pix

Finally, a good iPhone wine app - Cor.kz

mattk — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 00:40:00 GMT

After a lot of work, a bunch of us have come together to release an iPhone app to help us with our wine addiction. Cor.kz (found at http://cor.kz) is an application for your iPhone that provides you with the only mobile front end to the massive CellarTracker wine database. We found ourselves having a hard time using the web front end to CellarTracker, so we decided it was time to build a front end that was native to the iPhone and much more friendly.

Now its only been out there for a few days, and we've already seen it installed by wine enthusiasts in over 20 different countries. If you've been following me on twitter, you probably think I'm an alcoholic because you've seen my tweets about drinking wine. Well, our app enables you to share the information about your favorite wine with friends on twitter, thus as I've been testing the app it appears that I'm drinking 10 bottles a day.

Even if you don't have a CellarTracker account, you can still search the massive database to find the community information about a particular wine. I find this is most useful in a restaurant when I'm trying to determine which wine to buy for dinner. Cor.kz will even show you detailed label information to insure that the waiter brings the right bottle of wine.

Anyway, this app has become a labor of love for us. I've added a few more screenshots to my flickr account. If you have questions, feel free to ping us at support@cor.kz .

I'll be blogging about the whole iPhone dev experience in the next couple days. It has been eye-opening to say the least.

Now I'm off for some more wine....

A rough week

mattk — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 17:23:00 GMT

^{My grandmother holding my sister and I in 1972. I love the smirk on my sister's face.}

As you know from my post last week, I attended my grand mother's memorial service in Boswell, Pennsylvania a couple days ago. It was a rough visit and one of the few I've made to my father's hometown in a long while. I was given the nod to write an eulogy for my grand mother and as promised you can read it here. Unlike the last eulogy I gave, I did not make the same mistake about rehearsing this one. I purposely only read it a couple times prior to giving it so that my emotions could be genuine. I cried and I felt like it really meant something. Whew. Oh, I almost forgot to post the link to Thelma's obituary.

While in Boswell, I got to see a bunch of places that I haven't visited in a long time, such as the house my grandfather built and my dad grew up in. I also had the joy of looking at old photos of my family that I've never seen. Such as this one....

^{This pic was taken for my grandfather while he was serving in WWII. The back
of the photo reads in her handwriting "at the Art Museum. Hope you like it! -Thelma"}

I learned that my grandfather's nickname was "Fat", not because he was fat, but due to him going to the store to order a "Fat Boy" coffee each day. Now I know where I get my coffee craving from. I also learned that my grandfather died on a leap year, which was kinda neat.

The day was sad, but as luck would have it...ok, who am I kidding, it wasn't luck. The sun came out as we made our way to the cemetery. Emma was near. She wanted to be part of the day...Sure enough, a bee buzzed by and I knew it was her. It was a little overwhelming and I had to take a walk after the service to keep myself from breaking down. It was cool to have her by my side when neither Ellen nor Ella could be there.

After the service, I made a quick stop at the Flight 93 Memorial which is only a few miles away. Memories of my close friend who died on 9/11 came back to me.

The next day I flew home to Seattle, and I took a day to basically do nothing. I went out that night to a big party and got home about 4 am. For some reason, I woke up the next day at 8:00. I have no idea how, but I rallied my body to run in the TTTS Race for Hope in Kirkland which started at 9am. It was the easiest 5K I had ever run, but seeing all those families with twins and other surviors of TTTS was draining. I really missed my little girl. Emma woke me up early to make sure I participated in this and to do what I can to help others. After the race, it was so beautiful she and I headed out to the mountains. It was a special drive. Emma led the way as she took me thru all kinds of switchbacks into a magical wonderland of alpine roads. 500+ miles and 9 hours later, I was back home. Exhausted doesn't begin to describe how I felt, but it was worth it.

Again, Emma helped me thru a rough week and I am grateful for it. Thanks Em, I know you will continue to look out for me.

She will be missed

mattk — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 03:50:00 GMT

As you may have seen from my Twitter or Facebook updates earlier in the week, my grandmother passed away suddenly a few days ago. She lived a great life to the ripe old age of 90, but her death was sudden due to a freak accident that occurred in Ohio. Well today I flew from Seattle to the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania to say goodbye to her. It's funny, I really miss her, but I don't feel remorse or sadness because I knew she was ready. You could just tell. As Ellen mentioned, the last time she said "goodbye" there was something different. Grandma knew her time was up.

The weirdest thing happened as I met up today with relatives and friends that I've never really known. They all knew me and knew me intimately. It felt like the entire tiny town of Boswell has been hanging on every word from my blog and our recent tragedy with Emma. It was incredibly touching but odd. I don't know these people, but I now feel a strong desire to learn who each and every one of them are and how they have effected my father and my family. Hopefully, I can come back with Ellen and Ella to learn all about them.

Anyway, my beautiful Grandmother will be forever known as the person who woke up at 6am to a smaller version of me, begging to play UNO. She never once said no. She never once said go away. Each and every time she played games with me until I was bored with them. No complaints. She loved her family unconditionally. It has been heart breaking to see her old age tear apart this loving demeanor and bring on depression. She had dealt with some hard times recently and I only hope that I could handle it as gracefully as she did.

As I studied old photos of her today, my sister mentioned something to me that I never really realized. Grandma always dressed well, I knew that...but she was purposeful in her outfits and her photos. Each photo was a pose. Each photo was her special opportunity to show people who she really was. I now had a special appreciation for her that I haven't had in the past. I'll post these photos of her later.

My one regret is that I don't have a record of her stories. The last time I was with her, she discussed a relative who had served in the Civil War. Really? The Civil War from the 1800's? Holy Crap! She was loaded with this amazing family history and now most of it is gone.

Tomorrow I am to give a eulogy for my Grandma Thelma. I have no idea what I will say. I'll post a copy of it up here afterward. Grandma K will be missed for sure, but I'm happy for her. Her pain has ended. I am extremely thankful that Ella met her a few weeks ago. And on Monday she met her other granddaughter, Emma.

I can picture Emma with Grandma now.... and of course Grandma is already teaching my little girl how to play UNO.

You and me, punk rock girl!

mattk — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:03:00 GMT

This past weekend was Ellen's birthday and as usual, we had to throw a party. Now, we've done the redneck thing, not once but twice and we've all become Canucks for the night, so what were we to do this time... Maybe someone should have told her that it was her 21st birthday, but alas we missed that. So this time she decided to go punk rock with a little princess stuff thrown in for good measure.

We had a smaller party than usual, about 50 folks, but it was great. Ellen baked the crazy cake you see above and even Sasha go into the act by making Sid Vicious-soise. After a night of drinking, I think I ate 5 bowls of that great soup. Of course, we also had Ella dress up in her cute punk rock princess outfit.

It's been a while since we hosted parties and I forgot how much fun it is. I think we'll be doing more of that in the future.

My Flickr pix can be found here: http://flickr.com/photos/nomadicentrepreneur/sets/72157607238170429/

Allison's pix can be found here: http://flickr.com/photos/alison-velvetgarden/sets/72157607237837045/

Jaime's pix (Facebook) can be found here: http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=69808&id=542806092

More Climb For Kids Photos

mattk — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 07:57:00 GMT

Peter has just sent more photos from our climb up Mt. Rainier. They are included in my set on Flickr, and they begin with this photo. There are some real doozies in there, including this great video from Camp Muir.

...and don't forget Chad has his photos available too.

Wow, that was only just a week ago.

Climb For Kids - 2008 Climb of Mt. Rainier - Trip Report

mattk — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:01:00 GMT

The inaugural climb for Climb For Kids was earlier this week and it was definitely an adventure. The climbers on this first trip included James Goodman, Chad Behling, Peter Wall, Kevin MacDonald and myself. We all were in great shape and had our sites on the summit, but it appeared that mother nature had other plans for us.

As we arrived at the pleasant confines of Paradise at 5460 feet, we noticed a thick cold fog had overcome the entire mountain. The weather had even frozen Kevin's hair. Nevertheless, we spent the first day climbing with our 50 lbs packs up to Camp Muir at 10,080 feet. If you have never been to Camp Muir then you haven't had the pleasure of viewing the South Cascades from above. You really get to see the detail in Mt. St. Helens too. Looking in the other direction at Camp Muir, you can view our route over the Cowlitz Glacier onto Cathedral Gap. The digs at Camp Muir are not all that special, except that we had great guides as our cooks, a hut to sleep in, and an outhouse to relieve ourselves (which is a luxury at altitude, though your nose wouldn't agree).

Day 2 on the mountain was a rest day, where we enable our bodies to acclimatize to the lack of oxygen. Most of us had head aches sleeping the night before and one of us even became nauseous and vomited. Thus, we were happy to be taking it easy. After a lazy breakfast, the guides took us through mountaineering basic training - walking in snow, rope work, self arrest, etc. After lunch, we took advantage of the break in the weather and headed out to high camp at Ingram Flats. Once at camp (pay special attention to the lack of snow around the tents in that last picture), we had the summit talk, ate dinner and went to bed around 4:30 pm. Our plan was to wake up at midnight and start climbing by 1:00 am. Doing simple things at altitude can be difficult, like using the rest room. Since we no longer had the luxuries of Camp Muir, I had to use a bucket with a bag as my outhouse. You end up relieving yourself in front of god and country, but you have a great view that goes along with it. To top it off, you get the joy of carrying your waste off the mountain with you.

A storm starting coming in late on day 2. With it came 60 mph winds that created such a loud racket with our tents flaps that sleeping was impossible. The wind brought snow and snow and snow and snow. I mean it really snowed. You would not be able to tell that it was August by the amount of snow that fell on us. Seriously, we received 2 feet of snow between 10pm and 6am the next morning. Given this storm, a summit attempt was impossible. We all slept in til about 7am when we decided to pack up and head down the mountain. It was still snowing and the wind was howling.

The way down to Paradise was an adventure. First, we left Ingram Flats and had to carefully maneuver our way around the buried crevasses. Then once on top of Cathedral Gap we had to gingerly walk on the snow covered slopes down to the Cowlitz Glacier. Apparently we weren't ginger enough, as one of our rope teams got caught in a slab avalanche. We all just sort of watched them slide away and there was nothing we could do to help. They were lucky enough to stop themselves in time before being pulled off the mountain, however it was pretty scary. Once at Muir, we quickly ate some lunch and headed down to Paradise. The snow from Paradise to Muir had hardened over the last day turning the entire snowfield into an ice rink. There was a thick layer of ice covering the snow, and JJ, our guide who has led over 300 attempts up Rainier commented that he had never seen the snowfield in this condition.

We all got back down the mountain safely, and unfortunately did not reach the summit. However, we certainly had an adventure and raised $35,000 doing it. All the climbers commented that it was so much fun that they couldn't wait to try again next year. You should join us!

The rest of my pictures can found up on Flickr. I'll be linking to other team members' photos as they come in.

Thanks to everyone who made this possible. Your donations really made a difference.

The C4K 2008 Climb is upon us!

mattk — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 21:39:00 GMT

Those of you who receive the news letter for Climb For Kids, already received this message, but I am posting it here again for those who might have missed it. I may try to send out updates via twitter, but coverage on the mountain is very spotty. Wish us all luck!

-----------

Friends,

The Climb For Kids 2008 Mt. Rainier Climb is upon us. Chad Behling, Kevin MacDonald, Peter Wall, James Goodman and myself are all about to head to the mountain to try our hands at reaching the summit. We are all very confident and nervous about the climb, but with you all in our corner I am sure we will perform well. The team is ready and strong.

The journey for all of us started just a few months ago and has reached its apex today, with approximately $32,000 raised so far. This is an amazing accomplishment and could not have been achieved without your help. The money we have raised will be going to our good friends at Fetal Hope (http://www.fetalhope.org) who will be able to divvy the money to those in need. Special thanks goes out to the two very generous corporate sponsors who have helped us as well.

As you know, my family has felt the effects of TTTS and what it can do. I will be on a personal journey these next three days, as I dedicate this climb to the memory of my daughter Emma. Whether or not we reach the summit, I will be thinking of her, knowing that we are doing all that we can to help prevent future tragedies.

Take care and thank you. You are all very special people. I will update the website and will send out a trip report once we return from the mountain. Wish us luck.

-Matt Kowalczyk
Executive Director
Climb For Kids

Climb For Kids - About to Conquer Mt. Rainier

mattk — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 00:22:00 GMT

It's been a while since I blogged. Sheesh have I been busy and on top of that my Tablet PC died. It had a good run for 4 years, so it was about time I replaced it. Yes, the rumors are true, I did buy a Mac to replace it, but I'll save that story for another post.

Next week, Monday thru Wednesday, 4 other climbers and myself will be attempting to climb Mt. Rainier to raise money for my new non-profit group, Climb For Kids. We are all in great shape and anxious to go. Today we have released a joint press release with our beneficiary, Fetal Hope. The press release is below... I'll update you all tomorrow to see if any one picks up the release.

A copy of the release can be found on Fetal Hope's site too.

CLIMB FOR KIDS CONQUERS MT. RAINIER IN HOPES OF CONQERING FETAL SYNDROMES:
FAMILY BATTLED RARE FETAL SYNDROME, NOW TURNS THEIR PASSION OF CLIMBING TO EFFORTS OF RAISING MONEY AND AWARENESS

SEATTLE, WA – It takes a lot of courage and physical ability to take on a mountain climb to the top of peeks such as Mt. Rainier, but for one man and his crew, it started with a passion for life and those lost. On Monday, August 25, 2008, Climb for Kids will make its inaugural climb up Mt. Rainier in efforts to raise awareness of and fund research for fetal syndromes such as Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS).

Matt and Ellen Kowalczyk know all too well what it is like to experience the joy of being pregnant with twins, but unfortunately, have also shared the ups and downs of experiencing a lesser known about fetal syndrome called TTTS. At 15 weeks into their pregnancy, the Kowalczyk’s twins were experiencing discordant blood and nutrient flow through shared vessels across the placenta that causes one baby to receive too much, while the other receives too little. Most research shows that the disease is approximately 90% fatal if undiagnosed or untreated.

“I realize how incredibly fortunate our situation was [with] the doctors, the facilities, the successful surgeries and, most of all, the amazing amount of support provided by our family and friends. On top of all that, we were fortunate enough to have the best medical insurance in the world. Ellen and I have read horror stories of doctors not properly treating TTTS and incorrectly advising mothers to terminate a pregnancy. On top of that, a lot of medical insurance won't cover the costs,” said Kowalczyk, Founder and Director of Climb for Kids.

After a minimally invasive in-utero surgical procedure that would laser the shared vessels closed, at 29 weeks gestation, the Kowalczyk’s twins, Ella and Emma were born. Upon celebrating their miracles, the Kowalczyk’s created Climb for Kids as a way to increase awareness of TTTS and to give back to organizations that fight it and other fetal distresses. However, their celebration of defeating TTTS was short-lived, as the Kowalczyk’s experienced the tragedy of losing Emma at 4 months old to an infection caused by surgery to repair a hole in her heart.

“[Emma] gave us a great many gifts. Some are harder to realize than others. She was the poster child for perseverance and strength. Her lessons need to be passed on as far and as wide as possible,” said Kowalczyk.
After a very emotional few months, Kowalczyk is now focusing his attention on promoting and building the Climb for Kids organization and will join five other climbers in attempting to reach Mt. Rainier’s summit on Monday, August 25th. Together the team has raised nearly $32,000 for fetal support and research. This year’s sole beneficiary is the Fetal Hope Foundation of Denver, Colorado whose mission is to provide support, provide information, fund research, increase awareness and be an outlet for leading medical information pertaining to fetal distresses and syndromes.

“We are honored and grateful to be the beneficiary of this event. My hopes is for us to further partner on fundraising efforts and mutual support in our missions that allows us to more effectively strive towards helping those in need, in education for both families affected and health professionals,” said Lonnie Somers, CEO and Founder of the Fetal Hope Foundation.

Kowalczyk’s vision for Climb for Kids is to host 4 climbs throughout the United States with over 30 climbers pledging to fundraise $5,000 each. Including sponsorships, this amount would surpass his organization’s fundraising goal of $100,000 per year.

“We first learned of Climb for Kids through our relationship with Evergreen Hospital, our Seattle TTTS RFH title sponsor and facility where Matt and his wife were treated. Our organizations share the same mission and with their generous support and friendship, we will make a major impact in changing the course of fetal distress and syndromes, much the same way that Susan G. Komen has done for breast cancer,” said Lonnie Somers.

For more information on Climb for Kids or the Mt. Rainier climb on Monday, please visit www.climbforkids.org.

Trip Report, Kendall Katwalk and Ridge Lake

mattk — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 00:32:00 GMT

The 13 mile round trip hike to Kendall Katwalk and Ridge Lake continues to be one of my favorite hikes in the Northwest. I felt bad because I dissed my friends again so that I could go on this hike, but the spectacular views really picked up my spirits. As usual, I got an early start on this hike in an effort to be in front of any weekend hikers and mosquitoes. I'm so glad I started this trip early, as I ran into a bunch of people on my way down. Thankfully, the elevation and strong breezes kept the mosquitoes at bay.

The trail got its name due to a "catwalk" that had to be blasted out of the side of Kendall Peak in order to continue building the Pacific Crest Trail. The catwalk is only a few feet wide and one wrong move would mean a 1000 ft drop to the valley floor. The trail had been snowed in just one week ago, and this was the first weekend it was entirely clear all the way to the Katwalk. I even ran into a marmot mommy and its kids. As I mentioned the views on this hike are just incredible. It's rare to find a hike that is as gorgeous as this.

After a brief interlude at the Katwalk, I scurried down thru the snow to Ridge Lake for lunch. I took a quick nap, peaked at Gravel Lake and then headed back to the Katwalk. Once at the Katwalk I started running into the weekend hikers who are usually a colorful group of folks. Seriously, there was a person who stared at the ground and refused to say anything to me other than "fine." and there was an asshole who was actually talking on their cell phone. I hike for the solitude and the deep connection I have with the mountains, but I am always perplexed why these people go hiking. Folks, this ain't Bellevue, this is an amazing wilderness. Spend a few moments and actually enjoy nature or head back home to your strip malls. Sheesh.

Moving on...this week I hauled 8 litres of water in my pack to stregthen my body for the Climb For Kids climb next month. My lower back now hates me. :-)

Anyway, I have more pix and some fun videos up on Flickr.

Goodbye Randy, I hardly knew ya

mattk — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 23:36:00 GMT

For those of you who have been following the news or my twiiterfeed, you'll know that Randy Pausch, acclaimed professor from my alma mater, finally succumbed today to the pancreatic cancer that has been haunting him for 7 months. I don't claim to know Randy personally, but I do know the person inside the man. I did happen to meet Randy at an alumni event in Seattle many years ago, and at the time I thought he was as arrogant as he was passionate, much like me and my former Microsoft cronies. However, the amazing person behind that confident shield became more evident when he was diagnosed with cancer.

I know that person. I can relate to that person. I am that person. Much like the events of his life had changed him, the events surrounding Emma's death have changed me. I don't claim to be as flamboyant as Randy, nor as profound, but that's not what I mean. I associate myself with the person who has discovered life for what it really is. A person who cherishes each day like it is their last. A person who places time with their loved ones high above time doing anything else. This is not to brag, but to profess. Randy treated life the way 5 year old treats their first time at Disneyworld. I try to do the same, though I must admit that I'm not always successful at it.

Randy recently gave his "last lecture" at CMU, and then proceeded to write a book about it. I knew his story, but was unaware of his book until someone presented it to me at Emma's memorial service. It was a fitting gift at a time when I needed help coping. I read excerpts from the book each day as Ellen and I drove across the US. The book made me laugh as much as it made me cry because it was able to capture in simple words how I felt about my Em.

I am deeply saddened with the loss of Randy, as it reminds me of the passing of Emma. However, the life lessons I learned from each of them will always cheer me up. Thanks Randy, Thanks Emma. Your gifts will remain with us forever.

Stumbling along

mattk — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 22:30:00 GMT

I've been back at work for a few weeks since the whole Emma ordeal and things have been interesting. My consulting biz is having a hard time rejuvenating itself. Opportunities present themselves for business, but each deal has fallen apart, which is a little weird. This obviously has had a negative impact on cash flow and my stress level. Neither of these two things I needed at this point. I'm sure business will pick up, otherwise I might have to look elsewhere to gain mula. Microsoft perhaps? I'm actually thinking about it, believe it or not.

Climb For Kids seems to be going ok, but I'm quickly realizing that a non-profit is as much work as a regular for-profit startup. The mechanics are different and so I feel like I'm learning a lot and also making a lot of mistakes. We've been able to secure 2 corporate sponsors, but we've had a hard time filling all the openings for climbers. That being said, I do have high hopes for the next level of the company. Some of these changes will be fun, others should really help the fundraising. In the meantime, I'm looking for a web designer, a fund raising strategist, and a PR person to help me. I've been kicking around the idea of a Christmas gala or auction to help raise money, but I have ZERO experience setting something like that up. Give me a shout if you want to help you can email me at info [at] climbforkids.org.

I feel great about the Climb For Kids climb next month. I'm in great shape and the other participants are really stoked. We do have one opening, so please let me know if you want to join us.

OK, I'm about to actually create a business plan for Climb For Kids. I've done this before, so it should be pretty quick, however there are new things like sponsorship programs that I will have to sort thru. I will also need to create a real logo and I have very limited creative skills. Ugh.

Trip Report, Nason Ridge Lookout

mattk — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 00:45:00 GMT

My mountaineering training for this year's Climb For Kids climb (have YOU donated yet!?!?!) has me searching for the best day hikes that are fairly close to Seattle. This week I thought I'd look for something as good as Cathedral Pass, but in a different wilderness area. Thus, I opened my hiking book from the Glacier Peak region and chose the very first hike the book opened to, Nason Ridge Lookout via the Round Mountain.Trail.

This climb is not really THAT difficult, but it is 10.5 miles round trip and has few leg burner inclines. I won't rehash all of the details here, but the highlights for me were the fire scarred trees which resembled something out of a Tim Burton movie, beautiful wildflowers, and spectacular views. Seriously, I don't understand why this hike is not listed as one of the top 100 hikes in Washington. The views were just incredible and they never stopped.

The only problem I encountered, or I should say they encountered me, were the hoards of mosquitoes. Luckily for me I had 100% DEET which I applied liberally to my exposed skin. My lunch spot provided 360 degree views of the mountains, but it included plenty of pesky mosquito friends.

You can see the rest of the photos up on Flickr.

Trip Report, Cathedral Pass and Deep Lake

mattk — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 20:33:00 GMT

Yesterday I went on a solo hike to recharge my batteries. Every now and then its good to go out in the middle of no where and be alone with your thoughts. The spectacular weather took me to an equally spectacular part of Washington State known as the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. Everytime I visit that area, I tell myself I need to explore it a whole lot more. It is rarely crowded there and the views are amazing.

After scanning various books, I decided to hike to Deep Lake. The hike to the lake is 8 miles one way (disregard what the books say, the maps clearly show 8 miles) and it passes the beautiful Squaw Lake at 2.2 miles. From Squaw the trail continues upward to 5600 feet at Cathedral Pass, where you will find a magnificent view of Cathedral Rock and Mount Daniel. Mount Daniel is the highest point in King County. Had I brought my ice axe, I would have scrambled up the mountain or at least part way, instead I decided to hike 1200 feet down the 3+ miles to Deep Lake.

The lake was amazing and the water crystal clear. I sat down and ate lunch after this long hike. Bugs were biting everywhere else but at the lake, thanks to a nice breeze. I was all by myself at the lake with breathtaking views. Wow. It more than made up for the 8 mile hike I still had ahead of me.

Well, I now I have another secluded spot to go hiking and camping, maybe I shouldn't have shared this with all of you. :-)

Cute Pic of the day, part deux

mattk — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 19:28:00 GMT

Great quote from Amani... "She's huge and darling. "