BrewBlog

Can Nogueira do it?

I sincerely hope so.  Nogueira is my favorite fighter and this is a huge fight for him.  Couture is a big test and there is a lot at stake.  I really like Couture and this will be the first time I've ever wanted him to lose.  Nog needs the win to stay prominent.  A loss will signal to many a decline and will take him out of contention, at least until he could string together a couple wins.  A win likely puts him into a future title shot or at least a fight for number one contention.  Couture is going to be so tough to beat.  Couture's style suits Nog well if it wasn't Couture.  Both of these guys are machines and it could be a classic.  I'm not going to provide analysis on this fight or anything like that, but I will say that for a fight that would have been huge five years ago, it's still a big fight.  I'll post my thoughts following the fight on Saturday.

GO NOG!!!!

Saddlebag Lake Backpacking Trip 2007

Having never been backpacking before, when a couple friends from work asked if I'd like to join them on a trip, I was intrigued.  The idea of going out into the great wide open and exploring for a few days was tempting for a couple reasons.  It's important to get out of the city to see some beautiful landscape and breath clean air.  The physical aspect of backpacking adds an element of sport and fitness which is something I should be doing more of.  Also it's key to get away from work.  I've been hiking and I've been camping countless times but I've never backpacked so this had the draw of something new as well.  Finally, The guys I was going with were among my favorite people at work and I was happy to spend time with them off the Mothership.

After some encouragement from Allison I was a lock for the trip and I was excited.  Having less than two weeks to prepare meant that my current physical condition was going to have to do because training was more or less out the window.  This concerned me since I hadn't been running and I knew poor cardio was going to be my potential nemesis.  I had very little acceptable gear.  After some consultation I knew I needed to carry less than 35 pounds total, including my backpack and everything.  I had no backpack and my tent, sleeping bag and sleeping pad were all too heavy or bulky.  After dropping some serious cash at REI I had everything I needed for the trip.  After some typical stress about what I was forgetting or packing incorrectly and whatever else I could worry about, the time to take off arrived.

The plan was to leave work a couple hours early and leave from there.  The day we left didn't exactly go off without a hitch.  Jackson was sick that day and Allison and I had to juggle our schedules to each spend half day with him.  For me that meant dragging him around while I did some last minute shopping a preparation the day off.  Then, just a few hours before we were to leave, a work related crisis hit.  We had an ugly e-mail outage (a service our team is responsible for) and had to do some scrambling all the way up until the time we left.  The rest of my team would spend several long days working the problem while I was leaving for my trip.  But we were off and the first night we were going to towards Tahoe and do some luxury camping (regular camping) at a favorite stop of mine, Silver Fork Campground. 

That first night at Silver Fork  was pretty relaxing because we had all the extra gear available to us because we had not yet started the actual backpacking portion of the trip.  We had the deluxe cooking supplies, picnic table, chairs, etc.  We also had a cooler full of beer which is nice because we had ice cold beer.  That first night though, we had a casualty.  One of the guys had a little too much to drink and feel onto the steel grate that's attached to the fire pit, breaking a rib.  Ouch.  Of course he wasn't going to be able to do anything, much less backpack, so he had to be driven all the back to Folsom the next morning.  It was obviously an unfortunate situation but we went on as a party of three from there on. 

The next day we drove to where we would begin our hike, Saddlebag Lake.  Saddlebag Lake is located approximately 13 miles northeast of Lee Vining at an elevation of 10,090 feet and is the highest lake in California that is reachable by road.  Since you undoubtedly don't know where Lee Vining is, Saddlebag Lake is close to Mono Lake and is right up against Yosemite's east border.  Saddlebag Lake itself is really just a small part of the trip overall but represents where we started and finished.  Saddlebag Lake is part of the 20 lakes basin.  We probably saw almost all if not all of the lakes in the area.  The day hike from Saddlebag Lake Resort covers the main area and is only about eight miles total.  Backpackers typically use that as a way to get to other areas and explore way off the main path, which is what we did. 

We spent a total of three nights and four days hiking the loop and covering plenty of terrain off the main trail.  The first day was all about getting from the trail head at Saddlebag Lake Resort to about Potter Lake (See map).  It was quickly apparent to me that my cardio could have been better.  At the same time though, I was pleased at how I was handling carrying the weight and I was confident about being able to handle the trip overall.  The second day was a tough day because we hiked over some mountains and into Yosemite.  The path we took was a tough and somewhat dangerous climb, high up and over big rocks, then back down into Yosemite.  Once there we set up camp and did some exploring in that area, covering a few miles.  That second night we slept right off Upper Macabe Lake in Yosemite (see map).  Day three was the toughest day overall.  We hiked out of Yosemite and climbed Shepherd's Crest (see map -- it's misspelled there!).  Elevation at the top is 11,400 feet and the view is incredible!  We went almost all the way to the actual peak and stopped just shy.  We regret it now but it was close enough.  The place we stopped had a good place to sit and take it all in.  The actual top would have taken another ten minutes or so of going across another set up rocks and up another steep part.  This was a highlight of the trip for sure.  After the long decent to the base and back down to the actual trail we headed for Helen lake and set up camp for our third night (see map).  The fourth day was a hike along the east side of the trail and back to the trail head, the car and civilization.

The trip was awesome and I'll be doing it again.  Once Jackson is old enough, Allison he and I will go as a family and I'm very much looking forward to that.  The trip totally wore me out.  It was my first time and my experienced friend David that has done this several times said it was the hardest hike he'd done so I was feeling good about my abilities.  I suffered at parts though.  Next time I will be getting in better cardio shape for sure.  But I hung in there and was able to do everything my friends were able to do.  The scenery was breathtaking and that alone is worth all the effort.  Anyone thinking about backpacking should just do it because it really is worth the effort and expense.  The good thing for me is that I have much of the essential gear now. 

Check out the map below (you can double-click them for a better look).

I put together a photo album of some of the pictures as well.

World's Most Dangerous Mall

Recently I was at the Roseville Galleria mall with my family and I ran into MMA legend Ken Shamrock.  Allison and Jackson were in line to buy one of those great pretzels while I was on the hunt for a chocolate croissant.  It's not typical that I'd break away from the pack to go after a specific treat but it was a craving.  So I was on my way back from Borders (they didn't have a chocolate croissant) to rejoin the family when I spotted Ken Shamrock and what was presumably  his teenage son walking towards me.  Just as we were about to pass I had to say something considering how big a fan I've been all these years.  Star struck, I came up with very little.  I said his name to get his attention as we passed each other and he quickly spun around, "yeah?".  I'm guessing he gets stopped a fair amount since I know millions of people know who he is.  "I'm a huge fan" is all I was going to say as I extended my hand for a handshake.  He obliged and simply said, "thanks, I appreciate it".  That was about it. 

His persona and character is one of a tough guy but he seemed intense in real life.  I'm sure he's a fairly intense guy in general or he wouldn't be in the professions he's chosen.  Anyway, I was stoked to have had that brief exchange.  Of course I'd liked to have had a picture or autograph or something but oh well.  ABC featured Ken Shamrock on a television program and gave him the nickname "World's Most Dangerous Man" and that has stuck with him ever since.  Even though he's not really the world's most dangerous man, I wouldn't tell him that.  He could easily take me out as well as dispatch of any other individual in the mall that day.

MMA

Coming up on two years of blogging I can't believe it's taken me this long to blog about MMA.  For those that don't know, MMA is mixed martial arts.  I love MMA.  It's easily my favorite sport and I'm pleased to have been a fan for twelve years now!  The sport has erupted in popularity recently and it makes me happy and a little sad at the same time.  Being into something that few people understand or know of makes it a bit of a special thing, almost as if it's a unique club or some kind of a secret.  It's similar to being into a band that few have heard of.  Then the band makes it and everyone knows who they are.  They are still great but now everyone knows it and it becomes a little less special.  MMA has gone through the same sort of thing in the past couple of years.  I hear people talking or read articles and think to myself, "I liked it first". 

Still though, I'm glad MMA is taking off.  I'd rather it go through what it's going through than remain an underground thing.  In a way it makes me less of a dork or oddball for liking it (that's arguable).  As it becomes accepted, arguments in favor are made on their own and the sport doesn't really need people like me anymore because it has made it.  Influential people are talking about it and athletic commissions are accepting as legitimate.  A combination of many things has taken the sport to all time heights and I couldn't be happier about it.  Now, my choices for MMA entertainment are beyond what I had ever hoped.  There are over dozen well known companies and hundreds of smaller ones.  The athletes are training specifically for MMA instead of adapting a discipline they adopted prior to mainstream MMA existence.  The increase in competition has made the sport more interesting than ever. 

Let's hope the popularity bubble doesn't ruin the sport by over regulating or over saturating.  Saturation is already happening but I think it's still healthy at this point.  There is room to grow and I'm not concerned about that just yet.  Even though the top ten lists in each of the weight classes focuses on the main few companies, breaking into the mainstream isn't impossible by any stretch.  Standouts and stars abroad are getting their shots in the bigger shows.  The titles in the larger brands matter, which is important to me.  I mark out for belts and championships an always have.  The promotions are learning about what sells but they don't cram it  down our throats.  The pure competition of the sport still rules supreme even though we are subject to the occasional squash match ups and freak show bouts.  Those are entertaining in their own way.  Story lines are developed and unfold.  Style clashes are still prevalent.  Stars definitely exist.  The bigger names are getting compensated now too, fortunately. There are faces and their are heals (good guys and bad guys).  There are lot's of reasons to tune in if you like the general premise.

Having never blogged about MMA I'm flooded with plenty of ideas of topics to write about but for now I'll settle for simply proclaiming my appreciation for the sport.  Settling in for a good show with friends makes for a good time.  The fight game is interesting in many ways and ranks among my favorite forms of entertainment overall.  The pure competition is largely unmatched in other sports.  I'm looking forward to the near and distant future of what the sport will offer.  The most interesting news (big news as well) is the UFC and Pride merger.  I think we all knew that was coming but it opens up so many possibilities for cross-promotional super bouts.  I was sad to see Pride as we know it go away forever but that sort of thing will happen, it's just business.  Let's just hope the spirit of Pride is maintained to some degree.