Winter Camping

Rebecca and I thought we would spend our MLK day weekend the same way we did last year - by going camping in the mountains. Whereas last year we were greeted by unseasonably warm temperatures - in the 50s and 60s, this year we overlapped with the coldest weather of the year - temperatures below freezing and wind chill taking it down to the low teens. But, confident in our gear and abilities, we decided to go anyways. Our original camping location, 'Rocky Top' in the southern section of Shenandoah, was aborted because the Southern section was closed due to snow, so we settled for a hike leaving from Bootens Gap in the central section. It was a lasso hike. We hiked a couple miles out from the trailhead, set up camp at a confluence of two trails which marked the start and end of an additional 5 mile hike. You can see the loop we did off mile marker 55 (on the East side of the Appalachian trail near Hazeltop) on the map: http://www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/upload/whole_park.pdf

It seemed like a reasonable plan. Hit the trail by noon, set up camp, do some hiking, sleep, hike some more, then pack up and drive to Charlottesville for dinner (we anticipated not camping for 2 nights since it was so cold). The hiking was slow going due to the 2 inch layer of ice that had developed on top of the snow. Apparently, the past week had been pretty cold and every step we took meant breaking through that hard top layer. It made the hiking a bit tiring, especially coming uphill, but it was cool to see broken bit of ice sliding down the hill in front of us (video).

Anywho, we did part 1 of the plan: set up tent and hike, making it back just before nightfall. We quickly organized our beds and started to cook dinner - realizing too late that the lentil dish we brought called for 30 mins of simmer time. We ate hard lentils as the wind was picking up and the temperature dropping, then climbed into our cocoon. Despite having a sturdy 4 season tent, it was COLD that night. We were both wearing every layer we owned, sleeping bag liners, and I was even sporting a balaclava. I broke out the foil emergency blanket to try to keep a bit warmer. Nothing really seemed to work, however, and neither of us got much more than a few winks. Ice coated the inside of our tent in the morning (from our breath), and our water was frozen. We were just happy to be able to pack our crap and head to the car. As we recapped the trip over coffee and breakfast in Charlottesville (there was no way we were cooking outside in the morning!), we decided to invest in some warmer gear before we try that again, as apparently my 15F bag, reb's -10C bag, and our various sleepwear wasn't enough to keep warm. At least we earned the respect of our friends. We returned to DC and recounted our camping tale to their collective amazement, as most of them hadn't even left their houses due to the cold weather!

Skyline drive and the trailhead, view from near our campsite.
Rebecca hiking the trail.
One of the ice-covered limbs overhead
First thing in the morning.
This video, although hard to see, shows the ice trickling down the trail in front of us as we were walking.

Oaxacan Ouch

Greetings, gentle reader. I'm settling into a routine again, enjoying the calm before school starts next week. I've been finding time to do some reading, I'm trying to exercise every day, and I get the evenings off, like normal people do! On a recent night, Rebecca and I went to try a Mexican restaurant that had recently opened: Casa Oaxaca. I thought the food was kinda blah, probably wouldn't go back because it was not super cheap. Rebecca, meanwhile, got Oaxacan revenge and had to call in sick the next day. I guess I can thank my California heritage for giving me immunity against such ravages. This photo was taken before the food arrived, and I thought it was funny how color-coordinated Rebecca was.

back in the saddle

Our baggage was delayed by 4 days, but we did finally receive it on the 2nd. We arrived back from Toronto last night. Our original flight was cancelled, but we were put on a direct flight 4 hours later, so we played speed scrabble (thanks for the present mom) and hung out in the airport. Toronto has a pretty nice airport, so this wasn't too bad of a way to kill a few hours. A short metro ride and we were home, unpacking and eating dinner with our housemates by 8pm. the 'Seasonal trees' episode from Planet Earth and some homemade popcorn proved the perfect way to end the evening.

Parting thoughts about Toronto... Rebecca's family really celebrates food. Much time is devoted to seeking out great restaurants, the preparation of the perfect dish, and meals lasting several hours. This squares nicely with my own philosophy on food, so we got along pretty well. The trip was enjoyable, and her family is absolutely lovely. Toronto also does municipal garbage collection right - there is mandatory separation into trash, recyclable (paper and plastic), and wet (food and compostable) categories, which makes sense and makes it easy to economize on landfill space. They even have these categories in the public bins! It makes for clean subways, streets and airports, too. Another thing: biking culture. Every block has 4 or 5 bike parking spots downtown, and it was routine to see bikers weaving through traffic even though it was 20F outside. Part of this has to do with the layout of the city (interspersed low/high density buildings), but it was pretty cool nevertheless.

I also learned a bit about myself - I need regular play time. As great as Rebecca's family is, by the 4th day of indoor fun, I was ready to burn some calories, posthaste! Following a short if slightly argumentative discussion, I convinced Rebecca to take me to the pool to swim. I was much happier after that. Our cross-country ski plans were sabotaged by a period of warm weather and rain (which also cancelled our departure flight), so we played squash and swam again before we left. A fun, fun visit.

Back at school, things are a bit slow because school doesn't start for a few weeks - a good time to devote myself to picking a dissertation topic and making summer research plans. But, as pippy longstocking noted, 'the lazybones said not today, tomorrow I'll work for you'.

Canadia is cold

It snowed last night in Toronto. Somewheres between 3 and 4 inches to ring in the new year. I arrived on the morning of the 30th with Rebecca, via a redeye from Santa Barbara, Las Vegas, and Philadelphia. Not the best itinerary, but it got us here. Turns out, it got us here without bags. Day 3 now, and we're still waiting for our luggage. US Airways hasn't exactly been a pleasure to deal with, and we are making many mental notes for our next travel experience.

The weather has been hovering around freezing here, which is pretty mild, so it's been nice to walk around and go shopping. The strong Canadian Dollar makes that an expensive proposition, however, so it's been a lot of window shopping so far. Toronto is like a smaller, colder, and cleaner version of LA (with better transportation), so there is a lot to do and a lot of different neighborhoods to visit. Highlights included passing through chinatown and seeing an old man sitting in the entryway of a shop and literally drumming up business- beating on a drum and haranguing passersby to view the wares inside. Mind you, it's below freezing outside and this man is there all day. Talk about a tough way to earn a living.

Hopefully we'll get our luggage and clothes today, and I can write a real update in my own clothes. We're staying at REbecca's sister's house for the trip. Bye for now!