summiting mount whitney - part 1

monday, october 4, marked a defining notch in my life trajectory thus far: a successful summit of mount whitney!





at 14,505 ft. high, it's the tallest peak not only in the sierra nevada but also in the contiguous united states. located about 200 miles north of los angeles and bordering sequoia national park and the inyo national forest, the ascent is typically done in two days with an overnight stay at trail camp, 6.3 miles from whitney portal and at 12,000 ft. above sea level. this allows for acclimatization at high altitude and makes the summit very attainable the next morning. this was not the option we chose.

we opted to try it in one shot: a 22-mile beast of a hike that prognosticators pegged anywhere from 12-20 hours to complete. go big or go home, right?



arrived in the quaint city of lone pine, CA on sunday at around 3pm to pick up our day permits and get briefed on what to expect. a low of 23 degrees fahrenheit at the summit basically punched us in the gut. we were also handed wag ("waste alleviation and gelling") bags, which are basically compost bags for human waste in order to keep the mountain clean.




after checking in to our hotel, we decided to drive the 13 miles upwards to the start of our hike at whitney portal, just so we wouldn't waste time trying to find it the next morning. this was an eye opener, because even though we basically just sat there for a 1/2 hour at 8365 ft, one could feel the thin air and the shortness of breath when exerting yourself even minimally.




bottom left (above) is a handy scale that weighs your pack at the start of the mount whitney trail and to its right is a site we hoped to see again the next day - the finish line. we headed back down to the city for an early dinner at 6pm at the pizza factory - a rousing, social hotspot that puts lone pine on the map. i'm kidding.



returned to our room at 7:30pm, where we all strategized on how to pack our bags with enough food/water/clothing to leave us best prepared for our journey.


while pam & vim hit the hay at 8pm, i watch sportscenter on repeat, basking in the glow of my SF giants taking the division crown on the last day of the baseball season. tomorrow's going to be a damn good day...

mount whitney - preparations

so it's set: our first attempt at ascending mount whitney takes place monday, october 4. taking the day off from work, as we have our day permits lined up (weekends are too tough, as they issue only 100 per day in peak season and one has to enter into a lottery prior).

we're planning to spend sunday night in lone pine, then hit the whitney portal trailhead 4am sharp. it's a 22-mile out-and-back hike climbing over 6000 feet in elevation from the start at 8,365 feet. i've never done a hike this long nor in this altitude before, so i have no idea what to expect. the most difficult part is strategizing what to pack - you want to be prepared, but at the same time you need to travel light because of the distance.

water is an issue, because you can't possibly pack enough H2O to last 22 miles - unless you're either the incredible hulk or have a sherpa at the ready. and weather will be tough to gauge, as temps in lone pine are in the low 90s this week, but at the summit it's sunk as cold as 34.

regardless, i'm ready for the challenge and excited at the opportunity to take down my first "14." wish me luck!

eats - pizzeria mozza

still euphoric from my first meal at the pizzeria (i've dined at the osteria). i lucked into reservations for saturday dinner - normally one must call a month in advance - so my excitement was palpable leading up to 8:45pm.

the dining area can only seat 60, so it was packed and bustling with hopeful visitors clogging up the waiting area. since they have an assortment of about 20 pies and i have only one stomach, i was saddled with the impossible task of choosing just one. the general consensus seems to favor the fennel sausage, so i stood firm in my selection. our meal consisted of:

* nancy's chopped salad
* bruschetta w/chicken livers, capers, parsley & guanciale
* margherita w/mozzarella, tomato & basil
* fennel sausage w/panna, red onion & scallions
* butterscotch budino, maldon sea salt & rosemary pine nut cookies

the chopped salad invokes the feeling of a cafe in little italy and the creamy chicken livers left you wanting more.

but the real star was the ballyhooed pizza. the crust is second to none, as it's bubbly, crispy and chewy all at the same time, and the super thin middle somehow holds its shape despite the garden-fresh toppings. i literally could eat this everyday.

pizzeria mozza
641 n. highland ave.
los angeles, CA 90036
http://www.mozza-la.com/

mount whitney

toying w/the idea of climbing mount whitney in 2 weeks' time before the weather takes a turn for the colder. the 'day' hike would tally 22 miles and at 14,494, it's the highest mountain in the lower 48 states. plan is to sleep over sunday night, attack the trail at 5:30am and hope to finish by nightfall...

R&R gallery - bill murray exhibit

on the walk back to our ride, we passed the R&R gallery - which was premiering its new exhibition "mr. bill murray" - complete with the ghostbusters ectomobile (the license plate indeed read ECTO 1) parked right outside. there were a gripload of people waiting to get in, so we opted not to queue up in yet another line...

hollywood hills - view

the view from yamashiro restaurant - nestled atop the hollywood hills - at about 7:15pm.

SF giants vs. LA dodgers

and the jinx has been broken! my trusty g-men pulled out last night's game in heartstopping fashion, breaking my previous 0-4 winless streak at dodger stadium. behind the strength of HRs by pat burrell, buster posey & juan uribe, the g-men emerged victorious 5-4. we also sat directly behind KTLA weatherman mark kriski (who?) ...

7 wins in a row!

emerged victorious on the softball diamond tonight, 18-17 in thrilling fashion. after starting the season 1-4, tonight's win made it 7 in a row and we finished in sole possession of 3rd place! it was definite cause for celebration immediately after. cheers!

ballast point - brewery tour

immediately following our stop at urge gastopub in rancho bernardo, our bus pulled into ballast point, a san diego brewery and purveyors of yellowtail pale ale & sculpin IPA. ballast point has been in operation since 1996, when owner/co-founder jack white - not the white stripes lead singer - teamed up with brewer extraordinaire yuseff cherney in their joint love for beer (and fishing).

in addition to a hefty discount on everything they had on tap (including tasters, pints & take home growlers), we were lucky enough to score a tour of the facilities. i've been to a handful of tours in my day - notably stone, anchor steam and pizza port - so chalk up another to the short list. but none included nifty safety goggles in the event of a sudsy mishap...







sadly, we departed ballast point close to 7pm and made the journey back home. this cat immediately went into full-on snooze mode for the better part of the trip, only to wake in between sips of a growler that was being passed around...

stone - 14th anniversary celebration & beer festival

made the pilgrimage to stone brewing co's 14th anniversary celebration in san marcos, CA on saturday. this was the 4th time i've been - i've been to their 8th, 10th and 12th - so i kept my bi-annual streak alive. courtesy of the library alehouse, who chartered a party bus to/from santa monica, newbies vim, sara & olivia joined me on the excursion to sunny san diego county.




a ticket to the 3-hour session grants you admission, a commemorative glass and 10 pours of delicious craft brews from over 50 world class breweries, including bear republic, mikkeller (denmark), the bruery, russian river, and a host more. trying to remember my selections, but here goes:

1. stone double-dry hopped 14th anniversary ale
2. bear republic mach 10
3. speakeasy midnight run india black ale
4. stone vertical epic 07.07.07 aged in red wine barrels
5. repeat (it was that good)
6. russian river supplication
7. lost abbey TEA (traditional experimental ale)
8. great divide espresso oak-aged yeti
9. maredsous 6 blond
10. stone smoked porter w/vanilla beans

after the session A came to a close, we 'hopped' (sorry) aboard the bus to a new gastropub called urge (not a gay nightclub), where more beer and food awaited us! chose this opportunity to try brewdog's tokyo, an imperial stout brewed w/jasmine & cranberries that clocks in at a very unladylike 18.2%.

eats - animal

finally got the chance to hit up animal, a uniquely meat-centric joint located on fairfax ave. outside of three salads (i counted) on their ever-changing daily menu, this place is a carnivore's dream. call it stop #2 on my birthday dinner tour of 2010.



consisting of 15 appetizers, 5 entree-size plates and 2 amuse bouches, the food here is meant to be shared, as prefaced by our waiter when also describing the fluctuating cooking times for each of the dishes. we opted for 4 of the smaller plate varieties, as seen below:




starting from the top left clockwise, we feasted on:

1. quail fry, grits, chard, slab bacon & maple jus - the jus is out of this world
2. hamachi tostada, herbs, fish sauce vinaigrette, peanut - clean, simple, delectable
3. poutine, oxtail gravy, cheddar - the slow-cooked braised oxtail was fall-off-the-bone tender
4. barbecue pork belly sandwiches, slaw - quite simply, one of the best things i've eaten in all of southern california

of course, i can't breathe much now, typing this up between short inhales and deep exhales. but it was well worth the wait. now if you excuse me, i'll be dreaming of the pork belly sandwiches...

animal
435 n. fairfax ave.
los angeles, CA 90036
http://www.animalrestaurant.com/

'eat pray love' - musings

today marks the opening of the filmed adaptation of the popular bestseller written by elizabeth gilbert. while this would typically give dusting-the-audio/video-cables-behind-your-TV a run for the money in terms of excitement level, in this case i cannot proclaim for this to be true...

i got sucked into reading the novel a few months back and was surprised to enjoy it as much as i did. even though gilbert didn't conceive of the material with my demographic (um, MALE) in mind, i curiously found myself embracing her inner self and drawing an abundance of inspiration in her quest for self-empowerment. i actually started tabbing certain pages that sang out to me as i tore thru her journey to italy, india and indonesia and can admit that i'm looking forward to the movie. but shhh... you didn't hear it from me...

lindsay's 1st birthday

celebrated my friend kyle's daughter's 1st birthday today, which was great fun. they organized quite the celebration, renting out a community room at woodbury park in irvine for all the festivities.

in addition to the incredible spread, there was a full roast pig, complete with scrumptious crispy skin. kyle's dad had dibs on the head - supposedly the best part - so unfortunately i wasn't able to sample any of it. they also had a nifty candy table, which mirrored what they had at their wedding reception a few years back.