• Coyote Skinning

    Coyote Skinning

    Two days ago, I started skinning the coyote, with the help of Ryan and Jeremy. One of the secretaries picked it up near Lake Arrowhead and handed it to me in Home Depot’s parking lot. It was road kill. After skinning and scraping, I salted it. Then, I brain-tanned and smoked the hide.

    View post


  • June Lake and Yosemite

    June Lake and Yosemite

    This evening, I returned from a long trip away from home. It’s nice to be back. On Tuesday, I hiked up the trail above June Lake and Gull Lake. Yost Meadow was beautiful. That afternoon, the rest of the group joined me. There was Uncle Ben, Andrew, Lynette, Wing, and Gabriel. I gave devotion on…

    View post


  • Desolation Wilderness

    Desolation Wilderness

    On Sabbath morning, we left and headed to Eagle Falls campground, where we parked. Joe had to go get an overnight parking permit while we waited. Anyhow, we made it for the 11:00 shuttle bus to Meeks Bay where our hike began. After an initial stretch of flat trail, the terrain became an incline. We…

    View post


  • Lake Tahoe MSIS Meeting

    Lake Tahoe MSIS Meeting

    The trip up to Tahoe was really long. Joe Bowen drove very slowly and carefully. Sometimes, it was painful. Anyhow, we got to the Resort at Squaw Creek and made it to the first dinner for the Musculoskeletal Infection Society. I served as President this year. The idea of having meetings in the mountains came…

    View post


  • Rabbit Hunt

    Rabbit Hunt

    The rabbit pests are out, and they seem to be multiplying more and more. My fiberglass recurve bow from college days still works well.

    View post


  • Mammoth to Thousand Island and Garnet Lakes

    Mammoth to Thousand Island and Garnet Lakes

    On Friday last week, we headed up to Mammoth Lakes. We stayed the first night at the Pine Glen group campsite number 7. The next morning, we set out from Agnew Meadow. Our group consisted of me, Sean, Sean’s mom and aunt—Nancy and Deborah, Kevin, Ryan, Brad, and Armando. The hike to Thousand Island Lake…

    View post


  • Black Canyon Downstream

    Black Canyon Downstream

    We just got back from kayaking the Black Canyon. It was with Alice, Wing, Alvina, Rosebud, and Ryan. Laisum and Jayce canceled because they were sick. This time, we started from Hoover Dam and visited some of the points of interest further upstream. The sauna cave was nice, but I especially enjoyed the hot shower…

    View post


  • Tucson

    Tucson

    The American Association for Hand Surgery took place in Tucson. Dan Kemper did a nice presentation about plating for comminuted distal radius fractures. Between and after the meetings, I spent time touring Saguaro National Park.

    View post


  • Epic Christmas Trip

    Epic Christmas Trip

    We had an epic Christmas vacation! On Sunday, Christmas morning, we drove up to Monterey. The drive was nice, and the scenery was beautiful, especially around the Pebble Beach area. We had Chinese food for dinner. The next morning, I went out for a run—just after a night of rain. The air was refreshing. After…

    View post


  • Zion in Autumn

    Zion in Autumn

    This last weekend in October was spent visiting beautiful Zion National Park during the peak of fall color. The highlight was Kanarra Creek and the slot canyon carved by this stream.

    View post


  • Horseshoe Meadow to Whitney Portal

    Horseshoe Meadow to Whitney Portal

    The trip began on September 15. After spying Whitney summit from the Lone Pine Ranger Station, Ryan and I got car shuttled to Horseshoe Meadow. From there, our trip took us to Chicken Spring Lake, Guyot Creek and Pass, Crabtree Meadow, and Guitar Lake. We had the most spectacular sunset at Guitar Lake, and the…

    View post


  • Sawtooth Ridge Loop

    Sawtooth Ridge Loop

    A week ago Thursday, we head up to Bridgeport. Although the invitation had gone out to so many people, only Lynette and Jessica managed to RSVP. At the beginning of the trip, just a few steps into it, Jessica’s backpack strap fell apart. We patched it up with a needle and some dental floss. It…

    View post


  • Four Passes Loop

    Four Passes Loop

    Last week on Thursday, Sid and I left for Snowmass—for the Musculoskeletal Infection Society (MSIS) meeting. We had lunch on a rainy day at the Quiznos in downtown Denver. It was funny that Sid remembered that the last time we ate together was also at a Quiznos, the one in Loma Linda. On Friday, the…

    View post


  • Thousand Island Lake

    Thousand Island Lake

    This weekend trip started in Agnew Meadow. The Mammoth shuttle bus system just opened for the season. After camping midway up the River Trail, we made it to a partially frozen Thousand Island Lake. Banner Peak was also snow-covered. A few of us decided to do a polar swim—or do some pushups on floating ice.…

    View post


  • First Time up the Black Canyon

    First Time up the Black Canyon

    I was nervous about this trip. Wendy from the OR had told me about it, and we decided to rent kayaks from Willow Beach. I’ve never kayaked upstream before, and leading up to the trip, I was rehearsing how to navigate and use eddies to hop upstream. It ended up not being too bad, except…

    View post


  • Dominican Republic

    Dominican Republic

    On Sunday a week ago, Scott and I arrived in the Dominican Republic. After a long travel night and day, we went for a run, which felt really good. That evening, we had dinner at Café Bellini. Their arugula portabello salad and spinach ravioli were really good. The next day, we went early to meet…

    View post


  • Puerto Rico Tour

    Puerto Rico Tour

    We arrived safely, after nearly missing our flight while trying to drive through the rain to Ontario. We had arrived 3 minutes before the check-in counter closed. Stephen and Patty Schnall happened to be on the same flight. In San Juan, we got our rental car and headed to Fajardo—not too bad of a drive.…

    View post


  • Grandma Eating a Fish Head

    Grandma Eating a Fish Head

    This is a picture sequence of Grandma skillfully dissecting a fish head with chopsticks.

    View post


  • Tuolumne Meadows to Happy Isle

    Tuolumne Meadows to Happy Isle

    This is the trip when Ryan forgot his shoes, but we still made it up to the top of Half Dome.

    View post


  • Kayak Building

    Kayak Building

    After looking at a number of designs, I got lumber and other supplies from Chesapeake Light Craft. Building the kayak took about a month. The most difficult part was in trying to get the epoxy resin and fiberglass to go on without bubbles or wrinkles. Taking it out on the water for the first time…

    View post


  • Continental Divide – Tonahutu Loop, Rocky Mountain

    Continental Divide – Tonahutu Loop, Rocky Mountain

    Epic trip through Rocky Mountain National Park, after the Musculoskeletal Infection Society Meeting in Aspen, Colorado.

    View post


  • Hockett Meadows and Lower Blossom Lake

    Hockett Meadows and Lower Blossom Lake

    This was the trip of unforgettable sunsets, spectacular scenery, roaring river crossings, and packed snowfields. It was also a celebration of Patrick’s birthday. We left home in the early morning and made it to Mineral King mid-day to start our hike. It was an easy four miles to Deer Creek where we spent the first…

    View post