Getting a campsite reservation in Joshua Tree National Park is fairly elusive, especially on weekends for this time of year. A few weeks ago, at the nudging of the kids, I started browsing for sites, and to my surprise, a single site was available in Jumbo Rocks, so I grabbed it. We decided on two nights, so the first night will be at easy-to-reserve Black Rock, just at the northern edge of the park.
After having gone backpacking, and in particular, after the Hilton Creek Lakes trip with friends, the husbands wanted to introduce their wives to the wilderness, far away from anything accessible by car. So, I drummed up interest for this paddle excursion and secured reservations and permits in May, a full six months in advance.
This trip was planned months ago, and we had missed getting permits for the original weekend. This date was our backup, but it turned out to be better now, when the Arizona summer has transitioned to more fall-like.
The Water and Clouds of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers (瀟湘水雲) was composed by Guo Mian (郭沔, c. 1190–1260). He was a qin player from coastal Zhejiang (浙江), and I’d find out that he and my wife share the same ancestral hometown of Yongjia, Wenzhou (温州市永嘉县). As a famed guqin…
It’s been a year since we last went backpacking, and the kids have been looking forward to this trip. They are growing up, and they can have more freedom on this trip. The night before our trip, I put all the kids to bed an hour early, since we have an early morning start to a long car ride and hike.
We’re all looking forward to an upcoming paddling trip, from the Hoover Dam down through the Black Canyon, visiting hot springs on the side. A few weeks ago, I had given some of the novices a tutorial, and not, it’s time to try it out on the water. Mountain Oak…
This is Yan’s first time on Oahu, and we base ourselves out of the Moana Surfrider. I book a last-minute glass bottom boat cruise from Ko Olina Monday afternoon. It turns out that we’re the only ones on this boat, so we love this private excursion. The highlight for the kids, however, is the luau. They want to see another one, but we’re pressed for time.
Arriving in Tokyo Monday evening is very hectic. We leave the airport and take the light rail to our hotel. Our dinner consists of take-out food court items from the subway station, and we eat in our tiny hotel room.
Planning for the Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons meeting in Kyoto, I figured it would be better for jetlag to add in visits to Hawaii, on the way there and on the way back. And this being at the same time as our tenth anniversary, we would spend it visiting the honeymoon locations on Kauai. Yan and the kids approved of the idea.
The kids have been wanting to go camping, since it has been months. At the same time, we are planning a paddling trip to the Black Canyon below Hoover Dam later this year. Some of us need practice.
Ten years ago, this weekend, I proposed to Yan at Forest Falls. It had just snowed, and today is a perfect day for bringing the kids up to the mountains. Yan and I relive wonderful memories, and the kids enjoy hopping through the stream and throwing snowballs.
This year’s Hand Association meeting took place on the Big Island, at the Hilton Waikoloa. The sessions mainly took place in the mornings, and afternoons were free for roaming around the island. Highlights included hiking to lush waterfalls, watching serene sunsets, and viewing the glow of Kīlauea light up the starry night sky.
After experiencing a ski-in-ski-out place, it’s hard to go back staying at a regular rental. We found a wonderful condo just up the slope from Eagle Lodge at Mammoth. Just steps outside of our front door, we can ski down to the lift and be up on the slopes in no time. Mid-day, we simply turn right and ski back to our door. It was a great trip, socializing with friends and enjoying the mountain with the kids.
Yan’s longtime interest in archeology and the kids’ online Spanish classes were really what catalyzed this trip into existence. During the pandemic, Daphney had the opportunity to transition to Spanish immersion with a teacher in Mexico, and we kept up these classes with various teachers, all based in Cancún. So eventually we decided: we should go visit the teachers in person. While we’re there, we would tour the ruins of the Yucatán.
It’s a sunny Friday morning. We had driven up the day before and camped at Rock Creek Lake, a beautiful spot surrounded by pines and aspens that are just beginning to glimmer gold. The hike to Hilton Creek Lake #2 is five miles according to the map. We set out first, while Kendrick, Rakesh, Kara, Aaron, Noah, and Suri will join us later.
The first light of dawn peeks through the trees, nudging me awake from nine solid hours of sleep. There’s no rush, but we know we need to finish breakfast and hit the trail soon—Brad has a plane to catch. Breakfast is familiar but satisfying, with an extra treat of honey packets we saved from yesterday.
“The sun is up,” Brad’s voice jolts me.
I leap out of my sleeping bag, jump out of the tent, grab my wide-angle lens, and crank down the aperture. I race along the shores of Lake 11,400’, chasing the border where light meets shadow, trying to capture perfect sun stars. As I reach the southern shore, I snag a double star—one behind Mt. Tyndall, and the other mirrored in the lake below. The rising sun begins to burn off the morning dew, and wildflowers open up to embrace the warmth. I switch to my macro lens, capturing delicate details.
Breakfast is the same, yet somehow it gets better each morning—hearty oatmeal mixed with honey, pour-over coffee, and scones that hit the spot.
Sunbeams dance on the stream like shards of glass, casting shades of amber, emerald, and turquoise. The inlet at Golden Bear Lake flows stronger today, a subtle shift from yesterday’s calm. We know today’s going to be tough, so we pack up, soaking in the last views of this stunning basin.
The lake is still, like a mirror in the morning light. Around dawn, I poke around with my macro lens to find suitable subjects, looking for details that often go unnoticed. Then, we have a simple but satisfying breakfast: oatmeal with honey , scones with pour-over coffee. I had made the contraption to hold the filter paper, and grounds were pre-measured from home: 35 g of beans to 560 cc of water.
At last, Brad and I are standing at the Onion Valley trailhead on this very overdue trip. Way overdue. We had talked about doing such a trip off and on over the years—for nine years, to be exact. Only now has it materialized.
The kids are getting more and more trail time. Two years ago, we did one uphill mile each day, with two miles hiking out. Last year, we did two miles with a lot of elevation gain. Now, we’re going to tackle more than five miles. The last week has been…
This started two years ago, when I first drew up the plans, since everything I found on the internet for skin-on-frame were single kayaks. Daphney wanted a tandem, so drafting was the only way. I modeled it after drawings of some fast tandems and tested buoyancy and stability curves on software. The project had fits and starts, partly due to my schedule as well as motivation. Thankfully, I had a covered section of the house where I could leave the project in progress.
Anticipation Excitement builds. Daphney and Jayden can’t wait. Last year’s backpacking trip felt like a proud accomplishment. This will be a trip bigger than the last, and this will be Myles’s first such trip. It’s Friday evening of Labor Day weekend. Yan and I are doing some final packing. “We’re…
This morning, the kids gather sticks and cones during breakfast, anticipating another fire. We don’t have much time for a real one, so I douse everything with some leftover sanitizer and introduce them to the brief but huge flames of ignited alcohol. Down the road, we see a moose running in the brush. Yan and I switch spots, and I get out my camera. It’s an elusive apparition, now vanished into the forest.
