Monday, October 05, 2009

Goat Lake









































I try to get out just one time each summer on a little overnight trip, not only because I enjoy it tremendously and to keep in touch with my backpacking side, but to remind me of how difficult and challenging it can be. This trip was no exception: by the time I got to my destination I was already wishing I was back at the car, on my way home to enjoy a nice cold beer. My shoulders were aching, my thighs were burning and blisters were already forming on both heels.

The hike started out great, at about 930 in the morning, from the Cathedral Pass trailhead, at the very end of the Salmon la Sac road, just north of swampy Tucquala Lake. As a rare treat, Tuuli was with me for the first few miles, the first time we had been hiking together in years. The trail starts steeply up the dark side of Goat Ridge, switchbacking through a thick tangle of mossy firs and pines. At about 4500', most of the underbrush is gone, views open up and once the top of the ridge is reached, the sun came on like a furnace. The trail now continues north to Cathedral Rock and the nearby Squaw Lake, or you can hang a left and head south on the aptly named Trail Creek Trail, which ultimately leads to Waptus Lake and more specifically to the Goat Peak area, where I was headed. Here Tuuli and I parted company as it was getting late and I had to get trucking to reach my destination in time for dinner. She went to the lake and headed back home.

I had another 5 or 6 miles to go, the first couple of miles being very flat and scenic with the trail just sort of meandering through an open forest, occasionally crossing dried-up stream beds and for a very short while paralleling the quite pretty Trail Creek. Much of the area was strangely flat and open, but with few view opportunities--unusual for the high country. Of course it was very quiet with no signs of other hikers. The trail then began to lose elevation and finally at the bottom of a little gully was my turnoff, signed "Lake Michael."

The lost elevation was immediately regained, as the rough and rocky trail immediately began to climb the west flank of Goat Ridge. Nondescript at this point, the trail wound through open pine forests and blueberry bushes that had turned bright red. As the elevation approached 5000' the trail flattened out, which was a pleasant change for my worn out thighs and shoulders. The pack now felt like it weighed a hundred pounds and no matter how I adjusted the straps, I just couldn't get comfortable.

I began studying the GPS closely looking to find the best place to turn off the trail to get to my lake. The distance to the lake got down to about 1.3 miles and then started increasing, so I figured I wasn't going to get much closer. I found a little deer path and worked my way toward east and in about 1/2 hour crested a hill and looked down and saw water. It was about 5pm, the lake was bathed in a golden, late afternoon light and the acres of surrounding blueberry bushes appeared to be on fire. The unnamed lake was nestled into a little bowl with Goat Ridge to the east, Goat Peak to the south and a lovely beckoning meadow, just begging for a tent to be pitched.

After about an hour, the tent was pitched, just a few feet from the lake's edge and by 630 I was enjoying a lovely little freeze-dried Phad Thai, or Bhad Thai, as it will henceforth forever be known. A typical restless night ensued, with occasional glimpses of a black sky filled with thousands of light-filled holes. By midnight, the full moon had risen over the ridge, putting out the stars. I spent the rest of the night listening to the little FM radio on my cell phone and officially "got up" at 630am. I immediately brewed some of the Starbuck's Via instant coffee and spent the next couple hours sitting in front of the tent, waiting for critters to show up. In the end all I saw were a few birds and a couple chipmunks. Curiously, there was an area of flattened grass nearby that I had remembered from the night before. I have to assume some deer had slept there, but had done so so quietly that I never noticed.

At around 9, I started up to the top of the ridge to get a closer look at Goat Peak, which I had hoped to climb. I found that my planned route was impassable due to a recent snowfall, so I spent a few minutes with the binoculars looking for goats, without any luck. I walked south on the wide open ridge for about a mile and then worked my way back to the lake. I packed up my things and by noon I was on the way back home.

Things I learned from this hike:
a) Fleece pants a fleece sleeping bag liner don't mix--they stick to each other like velcro, making it difficult to move around
b) Invest in a better pack. The one I used for this hike was a bargain basement special. Much better to spend a few extra bucks, get a pack that's lighter, has more pockets and fits better.
c) Same can be said for the tent. While nice and light and very spacious I had one zipper nearly break and I tore the nylon in one of the corner where the pole is seated.
d) Don't experiment with non-traditional dishes like phad thai. Better to stick to the freeze dried classic like beef stew and lasagna.
e) You can never have too many batteries for your camera and your GPS.
f) Bring sleeping pills next time.

Monday, September 14, 2009

N. Scatter Creek/Van Epps Pass


Well, this supposedly was at one point a sheep trail, for moving the critters into and out of the high country. It's basically a straight line from start to finish, with few concessions to human hikers. This trail made the Davis Peak hike a couple weeks ago look like a cakewalk and at the time, that had been this summer's standard for crazy-difficult hikes.

The Scatter Creek trailhead starts at 3200' about 1/8 mile off the main Tucquala Lake road, north of Lake Cle Elum, across from the Scatter Creek campground. The signed turnoff is just a bit past where the creek crosses the road (often dry in late summer). There's enough parking for maybe 4-5 cars. Heading north into the cool pine forest, the trail picks up Scatter Creek in about a quarter mile. It's here that that the trail start going up very smartly and it doesn't relent until a small meadow is reached at about 5800'.

The trail follows the creek for another one-half mile, bordering the top of an ever-heightening gorge, and then turns northward toward the spine of the ridge which it more or less follows for the next two miles. At about 5000' views open up to the west. On this day, at least, the sun now finds the trail and things can become very warm. After mid-summer there will be no water except for a very small stream near the pass, where I would recommend using a purifier, as it is a popular watering hole for various animals passing through.

At close to 6000' find the aforementioned stream and swamp and a couple flat spots for camping. Work your away across a wet meadow and pick up the faint trail on the other side. Go through a short section of forest at which point the trail enters a talus slope where you need to pay close attention not to lose your way. After climbing very steeply for a quarter mile, you enter another (drier) meadow, across which is Van Epps Pass, which appears as an opening between the trees. The pass itself is a classic example of a low point in a ridge separating two sides. The views on the other side are spectacular, across to Jack Ridge and beyond that to the Stuart Mountains. The trail now continues as the Meadow Creek Junction, down to the isolated Jack River Valley, far below. Around the pass are numerous campsites and unlimited rock scrambling opportunities.

The hike itself is only a little over 3 miles each way, but includes nearly 3000' of elevation gain. At 1000' gained per mile. the grade averages out to nearly twenty percent. Time up was 2.5 hours; time down was 1.5 hours. I rate this trail very highly as reaching the pass affords outstanding views and there is a great sense of accomplishment in completing such a strenuous hike. Make no mistake though--this is not for the faint of heart. You must be in decent physical shape or this trail will play you out after the first half mile.

Monday, August 31, 2009

Davis Mountain



I've driven by this trailhead a hundred times during the last 20 years, but have been scared off by tales of the trail's infamous 88 switchbacks, by its total lack of water and just by the fact that it has a dead-south exposure and is an extremely warm hike during the summer months.

But finally, the pure challenge of 4500' of vertical gain offering outstanding views at the top overcame my objections and I decided to give it a try. About 1.6 miles past the Salmon la Sac campground (and the end of paved road), take a left and head west down a rather rough road. As you approach the river, you'll find the upper parking lot, but continue another couple hundred yards to the trailhead, just south of which you'll find a rough area to park. The trail loses a hundred feet of elevation to an attractive bridge, where the trail proper starts. Shortly thereafter, the trail diverges--take the fork to the right and continue through sub-alpine forest for a couple miles, at which point the view opens up and the trail opens wanders through an area where a forest fire consumed the entire ridge a number of years ago. You can count switchbacks if you like, but trust me, there's a lot of up here and this trail is best-suited for the well-conditioned hiker with a lot of water.

Between 4 and 6000 feet, enjoy more switchbacks and occasional valley views to the south, including Lake Cle Elum. Otherwise, there's nothing spectacular, just the thrill of working your quads and knowing you'll soon be entering into a lovely alpine environment. At 6000', the ridgetop is gained and the trail veers north and heads into a thin pine forest and toward the great traverse of Davis Peak. Near this divergence is a sidetrail with excellent rock scrambling, of which I heartily partook. While I didn't quite make it to the summit, I can easily imagine the views from the lookout to be stupendous. Those planning to go to the top and back should plan on at least 8-10 hours total hiking time and should probably bring a minimum of 3 quarts of water.

On a scale of 1-10, I'd rate this a 6.5. If you have the time and motivation to make it to the lookout which sits atop Davis Mountain, the hike could easily rate an 8 or 9, but it's a lot of elevation gain and kind of longish for a day-hike, especially when you throw in a roundtrip distance of almost 12 miles, IMHO. But getting above the tree-line is always good, the marmots were out and there is an excellent pool near the bridge at the end of the hike for a refreshing swim.

Saturday, August 08, 2009

Huckleberry Mountain

Didn't See A Single Huckleberry

Any hike with "Mountain" in it has sounded very appealing to me the last couple summers. When you add in "Huckleberry" and late summer, well, it's almost too much to pass up.

So the timing being right, and the name being right, and I was on my way to Huckleberry Mountain, a modest sort of mountain at a little under 5700', but just perfect for this coolish Saturday morning.

To get there, head out past Lake Cle Elum and at Salmon La Sac, where the paved road ends, veer right and head north for approximately 5.1 miles, turning right onto an unmarked side road. At less than .5 mile, find the a place to park just before the sign that says 4WD and just pass the turnoff to the Boulder-DeRoux trailhead.

I started the hike up the old jeep road (totally impassable for passenger vehicles), and immediately went past an old log cabin, well-maintained but vacant. Here the switchbacks began in earnest, looking like a snake on the map, as the rugged road works its way up the north side of Huckleberry Mountain, mostly through shady forest, with only occasional views southward down the Cle Elum River valley. The elevation gain is steady, if not spectacular and one wonders how even a super-Jeep could possibly get through, but fresh tire tracks show they they can.

At 3 miles is a wonderful spring with a mini-waterfall right next to the road. You can fill up your canteen here--this is the only water on this hike. In another quarter mile, the road forks with the main leg heading rightish, and the left switchback continuing up the mountain. Another half mile and the road ends and there's just a steep scramble to the top, not more than a quarter-mile. Work your way to the west and north side of the summit for smashing views. Hiking time to the top is about 2.5 hours, hiking time back down about 1.5 hours. Elevation gain 2300+ feet.

This is a nice hike, with the spring and the views being the primary payoff. Judging from the tire tracks, one may expect to encounter off-road vehicles. the threat of which leaves one somewhat disconcerted. This day however, I say neither man nor machine. Unfortunately, I also didn't see the mountain's namesake, which was a great disappointment.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Sasse Ridge



Up early to beat the heat, I left the house in Cle Elum at 7am. At about 730 I turned off the Salmon la Sac highway to Forest Service Road #128. The road is totally unmarked but is about 1 mile past the Thorp Lake turnoff and almost directly across from a small picnic area on the Cle Elum River. The road itself is a little rough, but not too bad until you get to around 3300', which is about 2.5 miles up from the highway. There is a nice place to park here at the end of a switchback. Vehicles with higher ground clearance can go further, perhaps cutting up to 4 miles off the hike (2 miles each way).

Follow the road roughly 2 miles and observe improving views to the west and south, including Mt Rainier. At 2 miles, the road splits--stay right, following the spur up another half mile to the road end. The somewhat obscure trail starts here, moving rapidly into cool forest. The trail is marked approximately 1/8 mile in as Little Salmon la Sac Trail.

Shortly the trails enters a steep area, bordering a large rock field on the right and forest on the left. In about one-quarter mile, the trail again trends north, back into the forest, leveling out nicely. In another quarter mile, water is found in the form of a small, swampy area. Using a convenient log, cross the swamp, picking up the trail again in the upper left quadrant of a wet, shady field. Here the trail continues up to the ridge line, which is reached in a few minutes.

To the south is Sasse Mountain, barely a quarter mile away as the crow flies. I went to the left, following the ridge north. The trail crosses steep fields of wildflowers and offers peakaboo views of Mt Stuart and more wide open views down the West Fork of the Teanaway River and further east toward Ellensburg and Blewett Pass.

In another quarter mile, a high point of 5650' is reached with glorious views in all directions, particuarly to the west and south. Mt Rainier looms spectacuarly. Hiking distance from the car is about 4.25 miles, hiking time about 2.5 hours, back about 1.5 hours. With more time, the ridge could be followed further in both directions, resulting no doubt in a pleasant romp. Pack plenty of water, sunscreen and shades--it's hot and bright. Once the ridge is crossed, there is decent cell phone coverage.

Sunday, July 05, 2009

Paddy Go Easy Pass/Sprite Lake




Friday, July 3, 2009

Having spent much of last summer exploring many of the ridges and low mountains of the North Teanaway Valley, I decided this year to head a little west and check out some areas I hadn't been to in many, many years, if at all.

Up past the east side of Lake Cle Elum, the paved road ends at the popular Salmon la Sac campground, itself a jumping off point for many fine hikes. The road in a more primitive form continues north, past the rather quaint settlement of a score or so cabins in the Boulder Creek vicinity and eventually to Tucquala Lake, situated near the road end in an open, boggy valley, with 6000' ridges soaring to either side. It should be noted that just before the lake proper (near the Scatter Creek trailhead), the road crosses a rather deep creek. While the water depth had to be every bit of 18", most vehicles I observed, including my own Subaru Outback, had no problems. For low ground clearance cars, however, it's a serious obstacle--presumably more so during times of heavy snow melt.

The Paddy Go Easy trailhead is on your right, perhaps a half mile past the USFS field station. The trail was virtually unmarked during my visit, except for a sign that said "most difficult." The small parking lot is on two levels, with room for approximately 8 cars. Don't forget your parking pass! Elevation at the trailhead is about 3350 feet. Driving time from Cle Elum is about one hour. The last 11 miles of the road are gravel.

I started the hike at approximately 11am and the temperature was already in the mid-80s. The trail heads down a little bank to the right, crosses a small stream and meanders through some low brush until a couple hundred feet of elevation gain is achieved. At about one-half mile, the brush goes away and a more open, pine forest is presented with plenty of rocky soil for wildflowers, including wild roses and lupine. The trail continues up at a fair grade, occasionally switching back but more often just meandering in an ever-upward, fairly steep dimension. There are but half a dozen downward steps on the entire route.

Views down the Cle Elum River valley occasionally open up and the opposite ridge hides more views further south to Rainier and beyond until higher elevation is reached. At approximately 5500', the first snow and hence snow melt is encountered and on this hot day, it was a very welcome sight. Here the trail levels out a little and in another 3/4 mile or so, reaches the pass, with wide open views in virtually every direction. Crossing north over the ridgeline, snow is everywhere, making for a refreshing playfield of shallow, open slopes and tree-lined bowls. Hang a right, traversing an easy snowfield for about 1/4 mile and you come to Sprite Lake, nestled at the bottom of a long, steep slope and fringed with rocks and a few trees. At this time of year, the lake was just melting out on its edges. According to the map, if one continues another half mile to the east, just under the ridge, are a couple more lakes, much smaller but more isolated. Backpackers take notice--there are not an abundance of campsites near the lake, and of course, no fires are allowed.

On a scale of 1-10, I'd rate this hike a solid 8. Just the name of the pass is worth a couple points (being a good Irishman), the hike up was challenging but not absurd, the snowfields and views at the top were outstanding, and a classic, high-alpine lake was the clincher. Late in the summer, bring water as there likely won't be a drop on the trail until you reach Sprite Lake.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Tiana's Home


On October 6, 2008 I had a header in my blog titled, "Tiana's Gone." Now I am so happy to write that Tiana's back home again, nearly 8 months later. Tonight she will sleep in her own bed, use a flushing toilet and be able to wash up using warm water. She will be able wear a watch again and nobody will collect her shoes before bedtime. In losing so much structure, she will be gaining freedom and independence and the ability to make choices. All of us are optimistic.

Yesterday was mostly about a long, hot drive through Eastern Oregon and Washington. We left Bend at about 11, headed north on 97 and rolled into Cle Elum at a little before 6pm. We got Tiana some good driving time, and she did well and has probably already forgotten about the accident on Saturday. We had dinner at El Caporal and played cards until about 10. We all went to bed early.

This morning Tiana was up by 830 and Savi shortly thereafter. A quick breakfast and we were out the door, with Tiana getting her first real freeway driving ever. Traffic was heavy until almost Easton, then broke up and was fine the rest of the way. We rolled onto 73rd and I must admit I got a little teary eyed as our good old house came into view, as did Tiana. She was very excited as we stopped the car and she saw the sign I had put on the front porch.

We'll all sleep better tonight....

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Day 2, Bend Oregon

Today started out great, turned kind of ugly and ended reasonably well.

We all got up fairly early, including the girls, and had a wonderful complimentary breakfast in the motel's dining room. I mean this was fantastic, with a full-on buffet, including thick-cut bacon, eggs, all kinds of fruits, muffins and potatoes, waffles--you name it. And delicious coffee.

After that I walked along the river for a while, watched a couple guys that were fishing and just soaked up the sun. At around 11, we went shopping at the mall across the street. I got some shorts at Macy's and Tiana got a few things as well. We then went to an area south of downtown called Mill Town, where they had a great selection of interesting shops and restaurants, even a new REI store. That was fun.

Then we decided to go up to Mt Bachelor, but had a lot of trouble finding the way, for some reason. Tiana was driving and we explored some nice country roads (most of them loaded up with bicyclists), but ended up back in town when we kind of got lost. As usual, Tuuli was nagging Tiana the whole time and it just wasn't fun for any of us to be in the car. Sure enough, Tuuli asked Tiana to pull over so we could look at a map, and before you could blink we were over the curb, across a little grass mound, through a heavy chain, over a steel post, back over another curb and into the adjacent parking lot, amazingly missing a couple cars. Of course Tiana was devastated, Tuuli was screaming and the whole scene was very traumatizing. I felt so bad for Tiana--it was a bad mistake, of course and just shattered her confidence. When the two of us were alone at the last parent weekend she drove nearly the whole time, well over 200 miles without the slightest problem. Within 10 minutes yesterday, Tuuli had already critiqued and corrected her more than I did in three days.

It would have been rather hilarious if not for Tiana's hurt feelings. The car was hardly scratched, the chain wasn't broken and I set the post back up no problem. You could hardly even tell a car had been there. Even though it was in a busy area, nobody approached us and we just drove away.

We finally got home and I took a nice long walk, while Tiana stayed in the room. This is just the kind of thing the therapists warn us could trigger an event, so I hope she is able to get over it. But any more driving for the rest of this trip is out of the question for her. Not because she can't do it, but because it just makes for such an uncomfortable environment in the car. Tuuli just can't relax and can't shut up--she simply can't do it. And I had so looked forward to having Tiana drive. It's fun for me, and it's fun for her. Very disappointing.

After dinner, Savi and I went to a roller derby event in downtown Bend, while Tiana just chilled in the room. It was a very good time and just what I needed. Of course now Tuuli isn't talking to me, so some things never change. I guess I'm exploring that classic definition of insanity....

Friday, May 22, 2009

We Pick up Tiana, May 22, 2009

Well, today was the big day. After arriving in our Sublimity hotel at a little before midnight, Savi, Mom and I got up reasonably early on this bright, beautiful morning, had some coffee and a very mediocre breakfast and headed south for Santiam. We got a little crossed up in our directions, but at about 1105 we rolled into the campus's drive and a moment later we saw a beaming Tiana emerging from the A frame, with bags and bags of her stuff on the porch.

After a few hugs and kisses and a final walk around the lakes, we were again off, possibly for the very last time, with Tiana driving. We worked our way up to the Bend highway and in a couple hours were at Sisters, a smallish touristy town of about 2000 at an elevation of 3200' or so. We walked around for a while, had a nice lunch, bought some fudge and ice cream and Tiana and I got a couple coffee drinks at an espresso shop. It was fun, but hot!

Mom took over the driving, as she had been an incessant nag on the way to Sisters, and we rolled into the Riverside Hotel at exactly 4. We checked into the sprawling hotel and found our room (#249) and were soon settled in. None of us was hungry because of our late lunch, so we screwed around until 730 and then headed into the old part of downtown. We found a very nice pizza place (http://www.pizzamondobend.com/) where we had pizza and salad. We walked around town for a while, went back to the hotel and for the most part were in bed by 11pm.

That's it for now!

Monday, April 27, 2009

Tiana and Dad at Newport OR



Wow, it's been a long time since I've blogged. A lot has happened, and a lot has not happened. The most recent event of any real significance, I guess, was last weekend in Oregon where I got to spend three days with Tiana.

Tuuli was tied up with the annual Spring Reign tournament in Burlington with Savanna and it was a parent's weekend at Santiam, so I made the long drive down to Albany Friday afternoon, April 17. Though I left directly from the office at about 2pm, I didn't arrive at the Albany motel until nearly 7, another brutal 5-hour drive that took its toll on my aching shoulders the next day. After checking in, I jumped in the spa for a few minutes, took a shower and went out for a quick bite to eat. This city of 25,000 at the confluence of the Calapooia River and the Willamette is becoming all too familiar to me. Home to the country's largest zirconium processing plant, Albany has failed to impress me after 6 or 7 visits. The crazy diagonal highways, the freeway that splits the older part of town from the strip malls and the hotels on the east side and the mass of one-way streets designed to confuse visitors like me, just has left a bad taste in my mouth. I'm happiest when I'm leaving Albany, either to pick up Tiana at Santiam or to come back home.

Up early the next morning, a quick breakfast and I was off on the 45 minute trip to campus. The first few miles are on a major east-west highway, then a smaller highway until you get to the village of Scio, then head south on yet a smaller highway, turn right onto a country road, over a covered bridge and then past various farms, pastures and rolling hills. The last few miles always bring back memories of earlier visits in the snow, ice and rain--every kind of weather--and many emotions. Rolling onto the campus driveway and i relive every event of the last 7 months, the good times and the bad times and the many strong feelings associated with each.

i met Tiana outside Anne's office at 830 and she was her usual cheerful self, full of hugs and very talkative. After a quick meeting with her therapist, it was off to the parent's workshop for me until about 1130, at which time the girls brought down the usual lunch. After eating together and signing out, Tiana jumped in the driver's seat and we were off to Newport, by way of Albany and Corvallis. I was not to drive the car for more than 15 minutes for the rest of the weekend!

Tiana was in a good mood and we made a lot of small conversation as I pointed out the finer points of driving, which she seemed very interested in absorbing. She did some freeway driving for the first time and excelled at it. We drove onto the U of O campus in Corvalis, which I had wanted to see for a long time, and walked up through the flower filled quad. Back in the car, we headed west toward the sun and the beach town of Newport 40 miles away, pulling into our ocean front hotel at about 5. We had dinner at a retro-50s burger joint, did some sight seeing and went back to our room at about 830, where we watched TV until I fell asleep at about 11.

The next day and a half was filled with more sight-seeing, shopping, watching TV and just general screwing around. We got along very well and never had a bad moment. Tiana seemed very relaxed and focused on enjoying herself. We had a great time walking on the beach, visiting various lighthouses and checking out the local ice cream shops, one of which had the most bizaare flavor I had ever seen--bacon!

On Sunday we somehow got the wild idea that we should try to find a cat that I could take back to Seattle, Unfortunately, we drove to various shelters but nobody was open. Tiana was excited the next morning when I told her about a place I had found in south Albany that was open and had a nice selection of adoptable cats. We checked out at about noon on Monday, drove to the shelter and were let into the "cat room" where we played with a number of cats for about half an hour. Finally we opened the crate of a 5 year old cat named "Fatima" who immediately came to us and jumped on our laps. That was good enough for us and ten minutes later we were out the door with our new cat. We stopped in downtown Albany for lunch and got some pet supplies. An hour later we were back at Tiana's school, where Fatima was a big hit with the other students. After the typical difficult, emotional goodbye, I was on that familiar road again, flooded with past feelings and hopes for the future.

[More photos are at http://s604.photobucket.com/albums/tt129/seattlefrank/]

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Knee Surgery


Had a bit of knee surgery yesterday. Just a scoping procedure where they went in and cleaned out a bit of torn cartilage from my left knee. Last patient of the day--in at 2 and out the door at 415. Incredible relief to have that done and already I feel the knee is much stronger. I was able to actually able to get a reasonable nights' sleep last night. What a relief! For the last month I don't think I got any more than 3 hours sleep in any given night, and when combined with all the pain medication I'd been taken, I was becoming a real wreck. It's amazing I survived as well as I did. Before the surgery, when the doctor and i were reviewing my MRI, he said he was quite surprised that I was still walking.

Even though the knee had been causing a lot of pain, for the last few weeks it had been both more shoulders that were the bigger problems. As I wasn't able to use my legs to lift myself out of a chair or even to change position in bed, I had to use my arms in ways they had never been used before. This compensation caused a shooting in both shoulders whenever I moved them in a certain way. It was very difficult to put on a shirt or to even tie my shoes and I practically had to forget about sleep. Just getting into and out of bed was an excruciating prospect, even with the large amounts of hydrocodone I was taking (vicodin).

I had been logging my vicodin usage as the big concern is if you take too much, it can cause liver damage. This is due to the acetemenophin that is in each capsule, not the codeine. Because it wasn't proving real effective for the shoulder pain, I was up to 15 pills a day, nearly twice the recommended limit. Most of that was taken at night, where I was desperately trying to get at least a little sleep each night. Finally, after seeing Shawn West (my family doctor), he prescibed some percocet, which was much stronger and was a little more effective at controlling the pain.

To make this last week worse, our hot water heater broke and flooded the basement. Tuuli was a big help in dealing with that, but it was still a hassle getting a new one installed, etc. Boxes of junk are still spread throughout the basement, drying.

But the topper was on Thursday morning when I went to see Dr West for the pre-op formalities and was told that I needed a complete physical before the operation could be approved. What a nasty surprise that was! Anyway, the physical was over and I went to work. On the way home for lunch, Dr West called and said there was an anomaly on my EKG and there was a chance the surgery might need to be rescheduled. Well, that was about the last thing I wanted to hear, but fortunately, a couple hours later he called back and said my surgeon agreed to go ahead with the procedure. The end result thought is I have to go downtown next week for another battery of tests. I asked if I could put it off for a while as I was a little strapped for cash at the moment, but the doctor insisted it had to be done in the next few days. Kind of wondering what that's all about--always thought my heart, if nothing else, was in pretty good shape. Hopefully it was just a glitch in the original test.

Anyway, feel much, much better now and just wish I had gotten this done earlier. But again, I was trying to save money and attempted to rehab the knee on my own. Obviously, as it turned out, that was a losing battle as I had two fairly severe tears to the inside of my meniscus. The pain is much more controllable now and even the shoulders are already starting to feel better. It's amazing how quickly the human body can recover!

Of course, the downside to having the operation was that I was not able to drive down to see Tiana last weekend. As she had just graduated to a higher level, it would have been great to take her off campus and spend some real quality time with her. But that's the way it goes--mentally, and probably physically too, I could not have waited another 4-5 days to get the knee fixed. It was getting to the point where my arms were compensating for my knee, my back was compensating for my arms and then my thighs and ankles were starting to hurt too. What a mess I would have been after a few more days! Not to mention having to go into work each day and just generally dealing with the lack of sleep.

It's now Wednesday and I'm finally able to remove the bandages around my knee and lower leg. That takes a little of the support away, so I've been using my arms a little more, which is bringing back a little pain in my arms. I'm down to 2-3 pain pills a day. Still haven't been able to take a real shower--hopefully tomorrow. Went to the gym last night for a light workout and the knee felt great afterwards. No swelling and I slept well.

Will go in to see the doctor next Monday for a final sign off. But right now, I'm real happy with the way the knee is progressing and don't anticipate any complications. Fully expecting to start riding my bike next week.

NOTE: AFTER A COUPLE WEEKS, SHOULDER AND LEG PAINS RETURNED AND I WAS ON MORE PAIN MEDICATION THAN EVER. DESPITE MULTIPLE VISITS TO THE DOCTOR, COULDN'T FIGURE OUT WHAT WAS GOING ON. COULD BARELY GET OUT OF BED IN THE MORNING. FINALLY WAS REFERRED TO A REUMATOLOGIST WHO IMMEDIATELY DIAGNOSED MY PROBLEM AS POLYMYALGIA RHEUMATICA (PMR), A CONDITION, OR DISEASE, THAT AFFECTS THE MUSCLES OF THE NECK, SHOULDER AND UPPER LEGS (http://www.medicinenet.com/polymyalgia_rheumatica/article.htm). MUCH MORE COMMON IN THE 65+ AGE GROUP, I WAS ONE OF THE YOUNGEST MALE PATIENTS THE DOCTOR HAD SEEN. I WAS PRESCRIBED THE STEROID PREDNIZONE AND WITH 48 HOURS ALL THE PAIN WAS GONE AND I WAS ABLE TO GO ABOUT MY NORMAL BUSINESS. THE KNEE OPERATION HAD BEEN COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY. THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT PMR SPONTANEOUSLY REMITS WITHIN 2-3 YEARS WITH NO LONGTERM EFFECTS. RARELY LEADS TO MORE SERIOUS CONDITIONS.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Call 911


My nephew Sam, a neighbor kid (Spencer) and two other talented musicians are the group "Ambulance," and they played at a North Seattle club last night called The Lab. Gently asking the crowd of mostly high school kids to stand up and move forward before starting their set, and despite minor technical difficulties, Sam and the band put on a show that would do most mainstream Seattle club owners proud. Playing their own material, Ambulance performed a seven (?) song set that had elements of mature punk and up-tempo grunge with creative schisms that blew me away. A very enjoyable show on every level, and much like a performance I had seen last week on Capital Hill, where I found myself wishing it could go on and on. Already accomplished musicians, these guys set the club on fire and are just going to get better and better.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Parent Weekend #2




January 17-19, 2009
More photos HERE.

Well, here it is January 17th and we're again at an Albany motel, awaiting another parent weekend at Santiam School. It's always stressful getting ready for these weekends as we have to get out of Seattle, usually during rush hour traffic, negotiate the 5 hour drive to Albany, get unpacked and ready for the morning. Usually we have some kind of argument, just to add to the fun. This time it was whether Savi should come to the school both Saturday and Sunday, or just Sunday. Since Tuuli and I were going to be tied up with a parent workshop from 9 till noon, and then with counselor and teacher conferences until after 2, it made more sense to me that Savi just come for the Sunday session, when we had no commitments other than to just be with Tiana. Tuuli strongly disagreed. Oh well!

Tuuli and I got up early Saturday and were at the school by 9. We had an enjoyable session from 9 till noon where we interacted with the other parents through various touchy-feely exercises. It's great getting to know them better and hear there stories. At noon we met the kids and of course it was another emotional meeting between me and Tiana, with both of us crying and hugging each other for an extended period. It was then time for a quick lunch and then meetings with her teacher and therapist. She's doing fine in school, maybe getting a little bogged down because of a recent bad cold she had. She just needs to be a little more assertive and ask for help when she needs it. The therapist's session went well, with most of the time being spent on how Tiana could finish the work she needs to do to advance to the program's Level 2, where she has considerably more privileges and responsibilities. We hope Tiana will be at Level 2 by the end of January, or the first week in February.

We spent the rest of the day, which was cold but sunny, walking around the campus, throwing rocks on the frozen ponds, eating various treats that mom had brought and playing cards. We also tried on a couple new jackets I had brought for Tiana, but she didn't really like them, so I'll try again at the next parent's weekend. At around 6 we had a nice dinner and were gone by 7. It was a great day, I thought, spoiled a bit by a little homesickness Tiana had when she was in the back seat of the van, thinking about all the time we had spent in that car and all the places it had taken us in years past.

The next day was more of the same, but Savi was with us and it was fun to have the four of us together again, especially the two sisters, who seemed to get along great. Tiana liked Savi's new jacket and the girls played cards together. We drank tea, ate more junk food. For breakfast, I brought a plate of bacon, sausage and eggs from the hotel, along with a quart of milk, which Tiana seemed to really enjoy. We also brought a half dozen Egg McMuffins, which we heated up in the microwave and had for lunch. Marsha's parents also brought along a lot of food, including some coconut birthday cake and some chocolate covered pretzels.

Tiana led us on a hike to Camp Morrison, which was about a mile up a steep hill. She showed us the primitive facility where the students take their showers and took us around the old camp, which the Boy Scouts used to use during the summers. It was a lot of fun. Tiana was in an excellent mood, always smiling and goofing around. I really enjoyed being with her. She was very brave and didn't talk about when she could come home and showed very little homesickness. We also got another tour of her bunkhouse and Tiana was happy that tonight was going to be her first night in a lower bunk. I also helped her to build a new shelf and she mentioned several times during the day how excited she was to try it out. My, how things have changed! Such humility I never would have anticipated....

At 4 pm the program was over and we had to say goodbye. Like our greeting yesterday morning, it was very difficult. I told her I loved her and missed her every minute and that I hoped she worked hard so she could come home as soon as possible. It is just overwhelmingly sad and poignant to see the look in her eyes when we have to leave.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Family Bible


My mother's family bible has changed hands! The Aspinwall bible, which Dad has taken care of for the last number of years, is now in my hands. Dating back to the late 1860s, the bible faithfully recorded all family births, deaths and marriages until the mid-1970s, when it's maintenance was disrupted with the death of my mother's parents (Mark and Gladys Aspinwall). At that point, it came into our family's possession, and since my Mom's death, Dad has been taking care of it. An expensive re-binding has put the bible in near mint condition. Amongst other items, also included with the bible was a lock of my mother's hair from when she was seven months old, and a hand-decorated Christmas Pageant program from when Mom was in grade school at Garfield Elementary, the same school I went to in Olympia.