Happy Fathers Day to my dad Hank!  I hope the weather on the East Coast is nice enough to play a little golf on your special day.

And Happy Fathers Day to my step dad Steve! Hopefully the backyard pool is ready for a relaxing dip. (If the rain has stopped yet )

Happy Birthday Lisa! June 26th marks an important milestone for my friend Lisa who continues to struggle with breast cancer.  There have been many dark days for her and making another birthday is a huge blessing for her and all her friends!  Please take some time to visit her website.

June 9th 2006 - Back from the Sierra Nevada

First off - I need to preface my Sierra details with an introduction to my girlfriend Virginia.  Thanks to our mutual friend Lyz, we've been dating since the beginning of April. We have a love of the outdoors as a strong common bond, and have done lots of local hiking.  Heading up the Owens Valley to the Sierra's was a natural next step.

Our Trip:
Hiking in the Sierra High country on the first weekend of June means lots of snow.

We made camp at Grays Meadow campground, and took a day to climb up to Gilbert Lake at 11,000ft.  The lake was still half frozen with snow.  So was the trail up to the lake!

We watched the trail disappear under large / steep snowfields several times on the way to the lake.  Navigation skills were required to scout the route and kick-steps over the top of the snow made for wet boots and lots of extra hard work.

However, the hike was fantastic and very much worth the effort!

Pictures HERE.

Watch the video here - 3 minutes 38 seconds.  Make sure you have your speakers turned on!