Enough of my spouting off about what I have planned for 2011...what will YOU be doing?
Here's a small, oft heard piece of advice - tomorrow is never guaranteed. I'd like to think I can find something new in every day, and "new" doesn't have to mean anything necessarily earth - shattering or life changing. Many days when it's too wet out side I'll check out maps and begin to wonder if I could make it over a certain trail or pass...after all, the map is flat, so the imagination can run wild. Which it does...always.
Or I can simply add to my vocabulary. Having dictionaries all pver the place means never having to go a day without learning a new word. Since I believe our power lies in our ability to communicate with each other, I've found adding words to my vocabulary each day to be rewarding. After all, how else would I be able to assess whether I'm being lugubrious or sardonic, obsequious or saccharine? You get the picture. Words are awesome.
2011 will be The Story of Your Life, with 365 chapters. Live well, fill in all the details because your story has tremendous value. I look forward to hearing a chapter or two, perhaps around a campfire somewhere.
I've got 42 minutes until 2011 here in sunny California. There's a good chance I'll do something tomorrow that I've never done before. May 2011 be the year of your dreams!
Friday, December 31, 2010
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Planning The Year
Some nights I feel like a wuss. It's chilly outside, so I sit home instead of going out to follow the Arroyo Mocho for a few miles. Or I take a drive instead of heading to the gym. Or I just sit and watch bowl games...
But just when I start to feel the weight of winter settle on my shoulders, a cool spark sets off a small, warm fire in my head. Out come the maps. All those trails and summits I haven't started or finished are back on The Calendar. Kearsarge Pass, Mt. Williamson, a 100 - mile or longer roll over a TBD setting, and my ultimate, Kilimanjaro - all are on the table again. Because every one of them will happen, if I have to live to 110 to get 'em done.
Being another year older in just a few days isn't at all worrisome. Nothing's changed. The hair's still grey, knowledge of 60' rock 'n roll undiminished, fire still burning. Heck, I might just start rolling New Year's Day until I feel like stopping - perhaps in March. A little bit of the Forrest Gump thing. But these are the dreams, the dares to myself that keep me going through the winter.
And with every mile, every turn, every hill (both up & down) my existence is reaffirmed. It's nice..no, make that giddy..to know I can still do this stuff and not even breathe hard while doing it. This world is the most wonderful test of mortality that could have been devised; Dante himself couldn't hold my jock, as the old saying used to go. 2011 is going to be a trend setter and exquisitely satisfying if all I do is head to a quiet hillside to listen to the birds. But I have this buzz in my ear that this will be the year for resetting the benchmarks I built a few years ago. If only there were corporate sponsors! I need a publicist, an agent....I coulda been somebody, I coulda been a contendah!
I hope and pray that you're taking this winter to dream, to make some plans. After all, tomorrow is a gift - say "thank you" and do with it all that you can. And let's talk - I might need some company if I'm going to roll a hundred miles....
But just when I start to feel the weight of winter settle on my shoulders, a cool spark sets off a small, warm fire in my head. Out come the maps. All those trails and summits I haven't started or finished are back on The Calendar. Kearsarge Pass, Mt. Williamson, a 100 - mile or longer roll over a TBD setting, and my ultimate, Kilimanjaro - all are on the table again. Because every one of them will happen, if I have to live to 110 to get 'em done.
Being another year older in just a few days isn't at all worrisome. Nothing's changed. The hair's still grey, knowledge of 60' rock 'n roll undiminished, fire still burning. Heck, I might just start rolling New Year's Day until I feel like stopping - perhaps in March. A little bit of the Forrest Gump thing. But these are the dreams, the dares to myself that keep me going through the winter.
And with every mile, every turn, every hill (both up & down) my existence is reaffirmed. It's nice..no, make that giddy..to know I can still do this stuff and not even breathe hard while doing it. This world is the most wonderful test of mortality that could have been devised; Dante himself couldn't hold my jock, as the old saying used to go. 2011 is going to be a trend setter and exquisitely satisfying if all I do is head to a quiet hillside to listen to the birds. But I have this buzz in my ear that this will be the year for resetting the benchmarks I built a few years ago. If only there were corporate sponsors! I need a publicist, an agent....I coulda been somebody, I coulda been a contendah!
I hope and pray that you're taking this winter to dream, to make some plans. After all, tomorrow is a gift - say "thank you" and do with it all that you can. And let's talk - I might need some company if I'm going to roll a hundred miles....
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
The Night The Moon Disappeared
It isn't often we humans get to celebrate the Winter Solstice and a total eclipse of the moon on the same night. I heard it's been 374 years since the last occurance. Monday night, I made a decision when I came home from work.
I wasn't going to wait for the next time.
Around 11 that night, Gina and I hopped into the car for the short drive to Del Valle Regional Park. A shadow had eaten about a quarter of the moon's surface already, and I felt uneasy about the tiny orb's future as I watched it being swallowed by that shadow, inch by inch. We parked on the highest point of Del Valle Road, overlooking the lake and taking in the beautiful moonlight's reflection on the fingers of fog that gently dripped over the ridges of the small canyons below.
It was chilly, by California standards, maybe 44 outside as we sat in the car. I opened the sunroof and put the seats back, which gave us a front row, don't - even - have - to - turn - the - head view of the eclipse. We'd catnap for a few minutes, then look up at the shadow's progress. Knowing that our Earth created the shadow gave me a feeling of planetary dominance, but then I'm a 49er fan and even the slightest hint of dominance over any object gives me cause to rejoice. Sad, I know...
Back on topic. Gina dozed a bit longer than me, as I was captivated by the shadow that had almost completely covered the small, rock satellite. I watched as the last sliver of moonbeam was fading into a brown, translucent murk, listening to the unexpected sound of crickets outside, as well as blanketing up from the chilly wind that blew through the sunroof.
Suddenly, as if they had become unplugged, the crickets stopped chirping. All of them. The wind stopped. Stars appeared by the zillion as the moonlight was gone. Now the mood lighting of the galaxy, many galaxies in fact, had taken over the sky - as if in a conspiracy with this great shadow. There was no sound - not a cricket, coyote or one of the ubiquitous barn owls. Nothing. We wondered if there was something to the Wiccan beliefs of the solstice's significance. Not knowing better, I surmised that combined with this eclipse the solstice had special meaning this winter. I'd sure like to know more....
We watched the drama of the silent sky. The fog no longer glowed; in the darkness, it had grown bold and floated up the hill and over the car, and suddenly the eclipse was obscured. A quarter mile south, the sky was clear. But right where we sat, we fantasized about some great force working very hard to keep the eclipse from our view. I have fun making up stories, and this night might have spawned enough for a hundred campfires.
We watched until we could watch no more. I had to get up at 5:30 AM Tuesday morning, and it was 1:30 now. The shadow had not abated, though; we drove slowly home, taking advantage of turnouts to look for progress in the early morning sky. By the time we arrived home, the slightest sliver of white light brought a sigh of relief - the moon was back. We would not have to put our moon's photo on a milk carton after all with a "Have You Seen This Orb?" above the photo.
It wasn't Paul McCartney at the Super Bowl, or American Idol, or something about the Kardashians. But if you ever find yourself looking for a low cost evening during which you can witness one of the rarest natural phenomena available to the most casual observer, mark the next Winter Solstice / Total Lunar Eclipse event on your calendars (that's WS/TLE to you acronymiacs). Yeah, you may have to wait a little bit...but like a Giants World Series party it's worth the wait. See you out there next time!
I wasn't going to wait for the next time.
Around 11 that night, Gina and I hopped into the car for the short drive to Del Valle Regional Park. A shadow had eaten about a quarter of the moon's surface already, and I felt uneasy about the tiny orb's future as I watched it being swallowed by that shadow, inch by inch. We parked on the highest point of Del Valle Road, overlooking the lake and taking in the beautiful moonlight's reflection on the fingers of fog that gently dripped over the ridges of the small canyons below.
It was chilly, by California standards, maybe 44 outside as we sat in the car. I opened the sunroof and put the seats back, which gave us a front row, don't - even - have - to - turn - the - head view of the eclipse. We'd catnap for a few minutes, then look up at the shadow's progress. Knowing that our Earth created the shadow gave me a feeling of planetary dominance, but then I'm a 49er fan and even the slightest hint of dominance over any object gives me cause to rejoice. Sad, I know...
Back on topic. Gina dozed a bit longer than me, as I was captivated by the shadow that had almost completely covered the small, rock satellite. I watched as the last sliver of moonbeam was fading into a brown, translucent murk, listening to the unexpected sound of crickets outside, as well as blanketing up from the chilly wind that blew through the sunroof.
Suddenly, as if they had become unplugged, the crickets stopped chirping. All of them. The wind stopped. Stars appeared by the zillion as the moonlight was gone. Now the mood lighting of the galaxy, many galaxies in fact, had taken over the sky - as if in a conspiracy with this great shadow. There was no sound - not a cricket, coyote or one of the ubiquitous barn owls. Nothing. We wondered if there was something to the Wiccan beliefs of the solstice's significance. Not knowing better, I surmised that combined with this eclipse the solstice had special meaning this winter. I'd sure like to know more....
We watched the drama of the silent sky. The fog no longer glowed; in the darkness, it had grown bold and floated up the hill and over the car, and suddenly the eclipse was obscured. A quarter mile south, the sky was clear. But right where we sat, we fantasized about some great force working very hard to keep the eclipse from our view. I have fun making up stories, and this night might have spawned enough for a hundred campfires.
We watched until we could watch no more. I had to get up at 5:30 AM Tuesday morning, and it was 1:30 now. The shadow had not abated, though; we drove slowly home, taking advantage of turnouts to look for progress in the early morning sky. By the time we arrived home, the slightest sliver of white light brought a sigh of relief - the moon was back. We would not have to put our moon's photo on a milk carton after all with a "Have You Seen This Orb?" above the photo.
It wasn't Paul McCartney at the Super Bowl, or American Idol, or something about the Kardashians. But if you ever find yourself looking for a low cost evening during which you can witness one of the rarest natural phenomena available to the most casual observer, mark the next Winter Solstice / Total Lunar Eclipse event on your calendars (that's WS/TLE to you acronymiacs). Yeah, you may have to wait a little bit...but like a Giants World Series party it's worth the wait. See you out there next time!
Sunday, December 19, 2010
'Twas a Weatherly Day
Some people look for conflict wherever they go. Often, it's as easy as turning on the latest cable channel's "competition" - "America's Next Top Fast Food Cashier" or "There's a New Big Dog At The Mortician's"...it seems we find ways to entertain ourselves with a constant barrage of contrived crap, guaranteed to stir emotions in the audience.
Well, I like it real. I like drama, to experience the conflicts of life and their very real consequences. That's why I like weather.
Weather watching and storm chasing are pastimes I learned to enjoy when I was very young - at first, it a matter of learning which clouds were which, or what happened if the wind blew from a certain direction. Once those tidbits were arranged in my head with other weather factors, I would do things like predict tornados in California, or whether conditions were good, bad or awesome for thunderstorm building.
That's why I enjoyed this weekend so much. It was warm, then cold; windy, then calm; dumping buckets of rain followed by a dryout followed by a thunderstorm. There was natural drama, barely predictable and full of surprises all over the Valley. Perched in my car on Patterson Pass this afternoon, I watched heavy shower after heavy shower all over the San Joaquin Valley, with bright fingers of lightning so distant I never heard the thunder. As I sat there, I watched the air temp fall from 57 to 50 in 45 minutes, and immediately drove into the hills south of town to check for snowflakes.
As it turned out, it was a mere 38 at 2500' at 5PM, so the showers were still wet, not icy. I got as far as the Santa Clara County line on Mines Road, disappointed that I couldn't spend the night. It surely will freeze up there tonight, so if it clears for a brief time in the morning, look south to see a white dusting of Rose Peak and on the highest points of the Diablos. I could imagine being tucked tightly in my backpacking tent with its sturdy weather proofing, inside my wonderful down sleeping bag, listening to the soft patter of snow gathering on the seat of my chair. Drama. Yes, that's my kind of drama!
But even a casual TV fan can tell you how a story's going to work out - who's to win, who's to get voted off the island; which characters are the heavies, or the diplomats, or the dummies....but with weather, the script changes virtually every day. And if you, like me, SEEK extremes, then we'll never get bored. Weather, despite the TV "meteorologists" forecasts, is a lot like most people - there isn't really a good or a bad, just a lot of differences or idiosyncracies to try to contend with. I recall a trip with Gina to Death Valley in May a few years ago, where we got caught with our warm - weather gear and damn near froze on the valley floor our first night there...in May. In MAY. Death Valley. Death FREAKING Valley! Who'sa thunk one could freeze to death in DV in May? Drama, I tell you, better than even Al Hitchcock could conjure.
A weekend of getting up close and personal with our weather, that's what it was. The more extreme the forecast, the more I smile. Given a choice of a Bowl game or a violent storm, guess what I'll be watching? Soon we'll be wondering where the rain went, and are we heading into a drought? Wait and see...the story's being written somewhere out in the South Pacific as we speak, so tune in again tomorrow....turn off the TV - I just love this weather!
Well, I like it real. I like drama, to experience the conflicts of life and their very real consequences. That's why I like weather.
Weather watching and storm chasing are pastimes I learned to enjoy when I was very young - at first, it a matter of learning which clouds were which, or what happened if the wind blew from a certain direction. Once those tidbits were arranged in my head with other weather factors, I would do things like predict tornados in California, or whether conditions were good, bad or awesome for thunderstorm building.
That's why I enjoyed this weekend so much. It was warm, then cold; windy, then calm; dumping buckets of rain followed by a dryout followed by a thunderstorm. There was natural drama, barely predictable and full of surprises all over the Valley. Perched in my car on Patterson Pass this afternoon, I watched heavy shower after heavy shower all over the San Joaquin Valley, with bright fingers of lightning so distant I never heard the thunder. As I sat there, I watched the air temp fall from 57 to 50 in 45 minutes, and immediately drove into the hills south of town to check for snowflakes.
As it turned out, it was a mere 38 at 2500' at 5PM, so the showers were still wet, not icy. I got as far as the Santa Clara County line on Mines Road, disappointed that I couldn't spend the night. It surely will freeze up there tonight, so if it clears for a brief time in the morning, look south to see a white dusting of Rose Peak and on the highest points of the Diablos. I could imagine being tucked tightly in my backpacking tent with its sturdy weather proofing, inside my wonderful down sleeping bag, listening to the soft patter of snow gathering on the seat of my chair. Drama. Yes, that's my kind of drama!
But even a casual TV fan can tell you how a story's going to work out - who's to win, who's to get voted off the island; which characters are the heavies, or the diplomats, or the dummies....but with weather, the script changes virtually every day. And if you, like me, SEEK extremes, then we'll never get bored. Weather, despite the TV "meteorologists" forecasts, is a lot like most people - there isn't really a good or a bad, just a lot of differences or idiosyncracies to try to contend with. I recall a trip with Gina to Death Valley in May a few years ago, where we got caught with our warm - weather gear and damn near froze on the valley floor our first night there...in May. In MAY. Death Valley. Death FREAKING Valley! Who'sa thunk one could freeze to death in DV in May? Drama, I tell you, better than even Al Hitchcock could conjure.
A weekend of getting up close and personal with our weather, that's what it was. The more extreme the forecast, the more I smile. Given a choice of a Bowl game or a violent storm, guess what I'll be watching? Soon we'll be wondering where the rain went, and are we heading into a drought? Wait and see...the story's being written somewhere out in the South Pacific as we speak, so tune in again tomorrow....turn off the TV - I just love this weather!
Saturday, December 18, 2010
It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like......
...a new blog from 4wheelbob! Here we are, back at it, planning for new heights in 2011. There will be more news on my Kilimanjaro effort and The Wheelchair Foundation's great work; news on my EBRPD hikes, which can be followed on www.ebparks.org/bobcoomber , and some dreamin'....which may include weekends in the Whites, springtime in California's best wildflower shows, and meetups with people, animals and birds.
While it's raining outside at this moment, I'm burying myself in books of California's county high points and checking off those I want to do next year. Black Butte, Snow Mtns. East & West, maybe, finally Whitney or Ritter....I hope that talking of my plans gets you excited and in a planning mode, too. Maybe we'll cross paths out there, in some place a wheelchair will be the least expected device.
At any rate, I'll be bumping up my fitness regimen, doing some rain hikes, following the progress of the springtime bloom - and I'd be overjoyed at sharing my experiences with you. As always, your life is a book, with new chapters being written every day. Let's start writing ours right now, and shre them somewhere, on the trail...Happy Holidays!
While it's raining outside at this moment, I'm burying myself in books of California's county high points and checking off those I want to do next year. Black Butte, Snow Mtns. East & West, maybe, finally Whitney or Ritter....I hope that talking of my plans gets you excited and in a planning mode, too. Maybe we'll cross paths out there, in some place a wheelchair will be the least expected device.
At any rate, I'll be bumping up my fitness regimen, doing some rain hikes, following the progress of the springtime bloom - and I'd be overjoyed at sharing my experiences with you. As always, your life is a book, with new chapters being written every day. Let's start writing ours right now, and shre them somewhere, on the trail...Happy Holidays!
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