New Adventures with an Old Friend

I have found an old friend, a friend that I haven’t seen in years. We used to spend hours together, in the neighborhood, around town, at the beach, in the mountains. For some of the adventures, it was just the two of us enjoying the solitude. Other times we were part of a larger group. My life was simpler when we were friends years ago, much less complicated. No kids, no job, I could spend time with my friend as often as I liked. I was much healthier and in better shape when we were friends and much of this I can attribute to our friendship. If this friend is so great, how did I lose contact? Who is this wonderful friend that I speak of?

Running! I have taken up running again. Running and I used to spend hours together when I was younger. Getting back in touch with this old friend has been awesome. A couple weeks ago, I was able to get up at 6am and run on Pre’s Trail in Alton Baker Park. Running early in the morning on those days brought back so many memories from my youth. The crisp clean air, the smell from the grass, trees and wildflowers, the chirping of the birds. Wonderful memories of when I could run 10 miles or more if I wanted.

That was a long time ago! Now, I am thrilled to be able to jog for 20 minutes, which I did last week for the first time since running the Butte to Butte in 1997. That was 12 years, 80 pounds and 3 kids ago. I barely trained for that 10k and I was able to average 9 minute miles and finish in just under an hour. Now, I might be able to run 1 mile in 9 minutes but I certainly could not run 2 at that pace. And 6.2 miles, not a chance.

Wednesday afternoon I ran the west loop of Pre’s Trail in the 90 degree heat. Last summer I would have struggled to run from the front door to the driveway. Just sitting in the shade during a 90 degree day would have worn me out. Now, 6 hours after spending 35 minutes on a bike for spin class, I was able to run two 10 minute intervals in the heat. Awesome.

Wednesdays run was by far the most enjoyable run I have had yet. The west loop of Pre’s Trail is a 1 mile loop that circles the Cuthbert Amphitheater in Alton Baker Park. While I was running, I was able to enjoy some atmosphere from the stage where Jonny Lang was preparing for Wednesdays concert. The smell from the vendors preparing for the show added to the experience. How lucky we are to live in Eugene, for all its faults, there sure is plenty to be proud of.

Today, my schedule called for running 25 minutes. I was really looking forward to this workout. 25 minutes! I never thought I would be this far along in my training so soon. I started my run on Pre’s Trail at about 10 am, it was already about 80 degrees, but what a beautiful morning. My run was going pretty good for the first 15 minutes, an occasional runner would jog by and I felt great. I had hoped to be able to cover 2.5 miles in 25 minutes an average pace of 10 minute miles, but I found that to be a little fast and at about 7 minutes I slowed to about 11.5 pace. On the middle loop of Pre’s Trail near the BMX track I saw to young ladies walking dog. I could tell they were in good shape so I, being a man, decided that I would do my best Steve Prefontaine impression. As I approached them on the trail I lengthened my stride despite the fact that 15 minutes into my run I was a little tired. I smiled and said hello as a ran by, trying my best to look like a real runner. I felt just like Pre, minus the long hair and pornstache as I cruised by the eye candy, however, I am sure I looked more like Paul Blart minus the pornstache. It felt awesome to run at that pace and I felt like an 18 year old kid again, for about 30 seconds, until reality set in. I am obviously not ready for that kind of pace! It took a while to catch my breath after my little outburst, but I continued on. As I ran through the trees gasping for air, I sucked a bug right down my throat. Must be some kinda runners karma! Oh well, small price to pay.

I am so happy to be back spending time with my old friend. I look forward to many more miles with this friend and I sure hope he never lets me gain 80 pounds again!

True American Icons

Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, Billy Mays and now Steve McNair. What do these famous people have in common? Prior to the past month, nothing really. I find it absolutely amazing the amount of media attention that has been focused on the events of these deaths. Well, not all of these deaths, I for one am certainly tired of hearing Michael Jackson songs. The fact is you cannot turn on a TV, radio, or the internet and see or hear a reminder that the “King of Pop” is dead.

Look, I get it. I know the impact that Michael Jackson had on American pop culture in the 80’s. But the past decade he has been nearly irrelevant, other than the occasional tabloid story concerning his eccentricities. And the sexual abuse allegations, have we forgotten about that? For all that Michael Jackson did for American pop culture in the 80’s, he more than made up for by acting like a total loon in the 90’s. We will probably never have answers to what happened with those children, however, the fact that he admitted to having “sleepovers with the boy” put him in a situation that he could never recover from, except apparently by his death.

Enough of that. As I stated I am tired of hearing these stories and I wish they would go away, which brings me to my next point. The airwaves have been filled with stories about Michael Jackson, however on the same day, another American Icon also died. Farrah Fawcett, who lived as scandal free as anyone in Hollywood possibly could unfortunately died the same day as Michael Jackson. Farrah Fawcett is the type of icon that we should have celebrated upon her death. Instead, the celebration of her life was trampled by the death of Michael Jackson. The spotlight that should have shown on her life was instead fixed on the life of Michael Jackson, with only a slight mention of all the scandal and absurd behavior. Tragic.

And while we are at it, did you know that Ed McMahon was a decorated World War II fighter pilot in the Marine Corps? Me either! Luckily for me there is Wikipedia! I understand that scandal sells, (Michael Jackson, Steve McNair) but why does it seem that outstanding American Icons, (Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett) with amazing real life stories to be told just fade off of our screen while the headlines for the eccentric, scandalous criminals are crammed down our throats? Sure, sex sells, but when was the last time you heard a “good” story from Hollywood? Perhaps we should try reporting on the few positive roll models in Sports and Hollywood and take the spotlight away from the scandal and debauchery. Maybe then the overpaid dirtbags will fade from our screens to be replaced by those that deserve the attention.

Independence Day!

The 4th of July! Just hearing this statement brings visions of firework displays, barbecues in the park, parades, carnivals and baseball games. It seems that Americans have forgotten what this holiday is all about. All week long I have heard talk of the “4th of July”, but not once have a heard the actual name of the holiday, Independence Day. Have we as Americans forgotten why we celebrate? Do we even care anymore?

When I was a child, I remember patriotism as a positive trait. The pride I had in saying the pledge of allegiance every morning. And the national anthem, I still get goose bumps every time I hear it! Is this true for today’s generation? Can school children even recite the pledge?

It seems that with today’s political climate we have forgotten what it means to be an American. Patriotism is not what it once was. So many young people seem to be embarrassed to be American. What a shame this is! Despite our flaws as a nation, America is still the greatest country in the world. It frightens me as I reflect on the past 20 years and see this erosion of patriotism. Where will we be in another 20 years?

Independence Day! While hearing this does not bring the visions of beer, bbq and baseball like “The 4th of July”, it does stir a sense of pride within me. I am proud to be an American. I respect this country, the flag and the government, regardless of who is in the White House.

Independence Day! The day Americans celebrate our independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. The day we should all take a moment and reflect on what freedom means to us.

Independence Day! The birthday of American patriotism and the greatest nation on Earth.

So as we celebrate this weekend with your barbecues, fireworks and parades, take pride in the fact that we are Americans. Honor our country and enjoy all the freedoms it provides.

Fire!!

It's 11:00 pm, and I have just gotten into bed. It is warm in my room and I am lying in bed listening to the hoodlums outside. Just as I begin to fall asleep I am jolted awake by the most annoying sound in the world. The fire alarm in my apartment building is screaming at me to get out of the building. Imagine the smoke alarm in your home, now multiply that by ten.

I jump out of bed and instantly run to Madelyn's bedroom. She is sound asleep, oblivious to the ridiculously loud siren blaring in the hallway. Lindsey is running from room to room, not sure why, although I am sure she is freaking out. I grab a towel and cover the alarm to muffle the sound as Lindsey grabs Madelyn. We grab some clothes and head down stairs from our third floor apartment. As we reach the second floor, I start to smell smoke. Down another flight of stairs and the smell is even stronger on the first floor. I look down the hallway and I can see that there is a small amount of smoke in the hallway. Lindsey and Madelyn are out of the building by now, but I stay behind to check it out.

This is the part where I would like to tell you about the little old lady I rescued or the children I carried from a burning apartment. But that is not what happened. I didn't even get to rescue a puppy, not even a goldfish.

Feeling slightly cheated, I start to realize that the smoke I smell is sweet, like bbq. I remember smelling the smoke just before I went to bed and thinking that smells good! At that point I figure that somebody must watch way too much Food Network. Their cooking skills just scared the crap out of all their neighbors!

I join Lindsey and Madelyn outside in the parking lot. Everybody from my building is standing around looking annoyed. I notice one gal roaming the parking lot who looks much more anxious than the rest of us. Let’s just say she looks nothing like Rachel Ray. I wanted to ask her what's for dinner, but I decided I would move my car out of the complex just in case the whole place goes up in flames. At least I will be able to drive somewhere for the night.

Within 15 minutes, what seems like the entire Eugene Fire Department shows up, lights and sirens blaring. This finally wakes up Madelyn and she can’t believe her eyes, there are fire trucks everywhere! She looks like a kid at Christmas! She sure loves fire trucks. Which is interesting, I thought, because as Madelyn is checking out all the pretty fire trucks, her mom is checking out all the pretty firemen. Hilarious! You can't make this stuff up.

It takes about 10 minutes for the pretty Firemen to clear the building and let us back in. As we get back to our apartment, Madelyn wants to know how the fire trucks got here, and her mom wants to know why all firemen are so hot, even the chubby old ones!Not having a pg answer for either question, I turn on the Food Network and consider fixing a snack.

U.S. Soccer

Surprise, surprise! The U.S. Men’s Soccer team played in the final of the Confederations Cup against perennial power Brazil. I was only able to watch the final 20 minutes of the game on Sunday when I returned from hike. I was stunned when I turned the game on and saw that the U.S. led the match 2-1. I knew immediately what the impact of that score meant for the U.S. team. As I listened to the announcers speak about the magnitude of that score it validated my thoughts. Win, lose or draw, this score will create a buzz for U.S. Soccer that has not seen since they hosted the 1994 World Cup.

As I watched Brazil do what Brazil does to win the game my disappointed in the loss was overshadowed by the excitement I felt for U.S. Soccer. Once again it seems that the U.S. will be relevant in international soccer. The momentum that this tournament and more importantly this game has created for the U.S. leading up to next years World Cup really has me excited for soccer.

The U.S. team led by coach Bob Bradley, and players like, Landon Donavon, Clint Dempsey and Tim Howard, seems to have enough talent to play with the best teams in the world. This has not always been the case, as the U.S. Soccer team has lacked the talent to seriously challenge for a World Cup championship. I believe that next year the U.S. will be considered as a serious threat to contend for the title.

The results of last weeks Confederations Cup and the success of the U.S. team may have been overshadowed in the U.S. by the deaths of Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson and Billy Mays, and the sentencing of Bernard Madoff, I still have heard and seen more soccer highlights then I can ever remember. Even on ESPN, where the majority of the talking heads despise soccer, there was actually a little excitement and perhaps even a little pride. I was listening to “The Writers Block” with The Registers Guard’s George Schroeder and Jay Jones of OneClickSportsNews.com and they spent a large portion of the show talking soccer. While it was very obvious that Jay Jones very much dislikes soccer and it appears he especially dislikes U.S. soccer, it appeared to me that he had actually done his homework and was somewhat prepared for the story.

What does all this mean? I don’t know, however, the fact that soccer is in the headlines at all is certainly a step in the right direction. My only hope is that the U.S. continues there recent success as they continue with the World Cup qualifying matches that they have coming up this summer and carry it over into next years World Cup. I know that I will be paying a lot more attention and I hope that ESPN and the rest of the sports world will as well!

Bobby Lake

What an amazing weekend! I spent the entire weekend at Bobby Lake on the Pacific Coast trail in the Oregon Cascades. This was my very first backpacking trip, and I can tell you that it will not be the last! If you have ever spent time at any of the high lakes in Oregon, you will know what I am talking about when I say this is perhaps the most beautiful place on earth.

I had stayed up late the night before, packing and repacking my backpack.(Thank you Maggie!) My learning curve was pretty steep. Do I really need two pairs of pants? Do I have enough warm clothes? It all seems simple, but when you have to pack everything into one backpack along with your tent, sleeping bag, fishing gear…, and then strap it to your back for 3 miles, well, even the smallest items require serious thought.

My brother Eric picked me up at my place in Eugene at about 9:30 Friday morning. I was like a child at Christmas the night before, tossing and turning, imagining the adventure that awaited me in the morning. The 90 minute drive to the Bobby Lake trail head was pretty quiet. I always enjoy the trip to the mountains.

One nice thing about backpacking is you are ready to hit the trail as soon as you park, no tedious unpacking of useless gear, just strapping the backpack on and heading into the forest. Starting the hike at 10:30 is nice, the temperature was about sixty degrees and I was comfortable in just shorts and a t-shirt.

As we hit the trail, I could feel the tension leaving my body. The 50 pound pack on my back felt comfortable and I felt strong. There were small patches of snow visible through the trees and occasionally we had to walk over small drifts. Eric is surprisingly fast despite the fact his pack is at least 20 pounds heavier than mine. This is his third trip this year and he is in great shape. About 10 minutes in, I start to notice the altitude, I am breathing heavy and starting to break a sweat. I still feel strong and I am enjoying the solitude of the forest. As I am following Eric along the Bobby Lake trail, I quickly realize how peaceful the forest is. It is an amazing feeling when you are in the forest and you no longer hear the vehicles on the highway, just the sounds of the forest. And the smell, I love the smell of the forest. There is something so therapeutic about leaving civilization behind.

About three quarters of a mile in we start to meet our biggest adversary, the mosquito. These tiny little creatures are relentless. As we follow the trail through the forest, the mosquitoes come and go like an angry, buzzing wave. As we pass through these clouds of nasty blood suckers, we are constantly swatting them from our face and arms. While annoying, these mosquitoes do little to dampen my mood. I am still loving this adventure and I can’t wait to see what is around the next bend or over the next hill.

I began developing blisters on both feet at about 1.5 miles and now I am starting to slow a little. I am wearing the only “hiking boots” (I use this term loosely) I own. I guess that is what I should expect from a $30 pair of boots. At about 2 miles in, the Bobby Lake trail intersects with the Pacific Crest Trail, and we travel on the PCT for about a quarter mile until the Bobby Lake trail splits off. As I walk down a slight hill I can see the lake through the trees and it is much larger than I had imagined. When we get to the lake, we leave the main trail and begin the trek around the lake. Just when I thought I had made it, I remember that Eric had told me we would be camping on the other side of the lake. My feet are blistered now and I am starting to fatigue. We travel along the edge of the lake for a few hundred yards and we come to a rock out cropping. It is an easy climb, but with a 50 pound pack and blistered feet it is pretty challenging. Eric points across the lake and informs me that we are camping over there.

As we climb down off of the rock outcropping, the trail begins to get pretty overgrown. It is pretty obvious that few people venture past the rock. My feet are pretty sore and my legs and back are tired, I push myself to keep up with Eric. Despite the pain in my feet and my tired muscles, I feel great. The feeling I get as I push through the pain and fatigue, knowing that I can’t just stop and sit down to rest is amazing. Even as Eric disappears through the forest and the trail disappears in front of me I gain confidence in my ability. I know that I am close, but I feel as if I could go further if I had to. Eric must know that the camp is close because he is completely out of sight now. The trail that I was following is nothing more than an occasional break in the brush. I know that I just need to follow the lake and I will find camp. As I climb over fallen trees, and duck under low hanging branches, I marvel at my new found confidence. The brush along the lake has gotten too thick and I can see that if I move up the hill the brush is lighter. I venture away from the lake feeling as if I can conquer the world. The forest opens up as I get further up the hill. I look around and there is no sign of a trail and the lake is out of sight now. Am I lost? No way! I continue up and over the slight hill and as I start down the other side I see the lake again. Eric is standing next to a table made entirely from logs from the forest in the middle of an amazing campsite overlooking the lake.

Eric and I unpacked and set up camp. For four hours Friday, Eric and I sat next to Bobby Lake, watching our poles, listening to the silence of nature. At around 4 o’clock, Shane and Jason walked out of the forest and into camp. I had never met either of them but Eric had camped and fished with Shane before. Adam, Mike and Jay made camp around 8:30 that night. Mike brought me my Nike’s and saved my feet from cheap boots. (Thanks Mike!) Shane’s dad Terry joined us early Saturday morning. An amazing man with an endless supply of fishing stories, I can only hope that I am that fit when I am his age.

Eric and I had been fishing for over eight hours Friday and we had a few bites but no fish. Adam arrives, throws a worm in the lake and within 30 seconds he has his first bite and a minute later he lands a 17 inch rainbow trout. Unbelievable, I know! I did catch one rainbow trout myself, only about 16 inches but the largest fish I have ever caught and the first fish I have in over 10 years. Jay was eager to clean and cook the trout for me, by far the best fish I have ever eaten!

That night and the next day was exactly what you would expect of a camp full of men, fishing, drinking and telling stories of fishing trips past. Most of which will never be spoken of except while sitting around a campfire.

After getting up at about seven on Sunday, I immediately started breaking down camp and packing up. As soon as I unzipped the fly to my tent I was tackled by hundreds of mosquitoes. We packed up and hiked away from Bobby Lake at about 9 on Sunday morning. Eric and I hiked out with Adam, Mike and Jay. Adam has been hiking to Bobby Lake for more than 20 years and we took many short cuts through the woods on the way out. I felt so strong for the hour that we hiked to get to the trailhead, I felt like I could have gone another 5 miles.

I made it! The Bobby Lake trail is an easy hike, with nearly no climbing. But for this first timer, I found a part of myself that has been missing for years. I have been bitten by the outdoors bug. As I sat next to that lake, swatting mosquitoes and watching my motionless fishing pole, I found myself planning future adventures.