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Favorites Hiking Travel

The Honopu Ridge Trail

On September 11, 1992, a category 4 hurricane named Iniki struck the Hawaiian island of Kauai, killing six people and causing billions of dollars of damage. According to NOAA, the damage was so extensive that, after a month, power had been restored to only 20 percent of the island. Wind gusts as high as 175 miles per hour stripped the green from the Garden Isle’s lush vegetation. And the Honopu Ridge Trail hasn’t been officially maintained since that day.

Twenty-six years later, I hiked the remnants of the Honopu Ridge Trail to the most amazing view I’ve ever seen. Photos don’t do it justice.

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Skiing

Powder Skiing at Snowbird and Alta

White Diamonds at Snowbird

I arrived at Snowbird early enough to catch the first (public) tram to the top of Hidden Peak. Mineral Basin didn’t open yesterday, so I figured its south- and southeast-facing runs would be loaded with powder snow because of the storm’s strong west-northwest winds.

I was right. The 19 inches of fresh powder on White Diamonds was some of the deepest I’ve ever skied.

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Categories
Hiking

Backpacking PocketMod

Backpacking PocketMod (2.5MB .pdf)Download

I designed a backpacking PocketMod with useful information for hikers and backpackers, including:

  • Compass instructions
  • How to start a fire without matches
  • How to “make” water
  • Lists of the ten essentials (both the classic and updated versions)
  • A two-inch ruler
  • Graph paper with 0.125″ × 0.125″ squares to help with measurements
  • Length, area, capacity, weight, and temperature conversions
  • Room to specify emergency contact information and emergency medical details (allergies, medications, etc.)
  • A magnetic declination map (on the back of the page)
  • A table of USGS map scale conversions (on the back of the page)
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Categories
Sports

Become a Baseball Fan

Wrigley Field, Chicago, Illinois

In today’s fast-paced world full of attention-grabbing diversions, baseball has often been criticized for being too boring. I don’t buy it. Baseball has endured for so long precisely because so many still find following the game a worthwhile pastime.

I will admit, however, that following baseball is more challenging than following some other sports because of its slower pace, its frequency (almost daily), and some of the game’s almost imperceptible nuances. But with a little bit of effort, you, too, can learn to appreciate the game and become a baseball fan.

Without further ado, here are some humble suggestions for how to become a baseball fan.

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Categories
Travel

Death Valley National Park

Dante's View in Death Valley National Park

Last weekend, I visited Death Valley National Park for the first time. We were in Las Vegas for the weekend, but we wanted to get out of the city, so we took a trip to Death Valley for the day.

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Categories
Favorites Personal Travel

Ragnar Trail North Shore Oahu

An aerial view of Turtle Bay Resort that was featured on the Ragnar Trail Oahu website

Last weekend (April 21–22, 2017), I participated in a Ragnar Trail race on the Hawaiian island of Oahu.

The setting on the North Shore near Turtle Bay was very nice. The weather, however, was not nice. It rained off and on during the entire time event. Sections of the trails were covered with puddles and ankle-deep mud, especially the yellow trail. Although the conditions weren’t at all what I was expecting when I signed up, the event was awesome.

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Categories
Personal

Ragnar Trail Training

Ragnar Logo

For the past 12 weeks, I’ve been training for a Ragnar Trail race. I’ve never run a trail race, and the only road races I’ve run were Thanksgiving Day 5K races where I walked 85% of the course. My commitment to do this race was significant for me because I did so when I was literally in the worst shape of my life.

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Categories
Photography

Time-Lapse Photography

I became interested in time-lapse photography a few years ago when I discovered the CHDK hack software for Canon point-and-shoot cameras. The CHDK software included an intervalometer script, which made time-lapse photography possible for the first time. I’ve enjoyed the process, and I have surprised myself with the results. Here are a few of my favorite time lapses:

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Categories
311

Four 311 Shows in Five Days

There’s nothing particularly superlative about seeing four 311 shows in five days. There are fans that follow bands to every tour stop. And I know of one 311 fan who has been to hundreds of shows. I’ve been to a lot of 311 shows over the years, but seeing them four times in five days is noteworthy for me.

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Categories
Sports

Utah Jazz VIP for a Day

The Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony guards the Jazz’s Gordon Hayward

I received an early Christmas gift tonight: a row one ticket to tonight’s New York Knicks versus Utah Jazz NBA basketball game at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. I’ve had a close seat to an NBA game one other time, but this seat was three rows closer. And those three rows make a big difference. In my opinion, watching an NBA game from close seats is the premier sports fan experience.

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