Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Happens to the best of us


Here's a link to a story out of Utah involving a track meet, a camera man, and a javelin. Don't worry, it's not as bad as you think. But, you should probably check your stomach before checking out the photo...

Monday, May 12, 2008

Trip to the Poky Mounsains...

We have returned from yet another successful McCallen trip to the Smoky Mountains. This continues to be one of my favorite places to go. You can have the beach; get me to a trailhead in the Appalachian mountains, and I'm on my way.

We marked two more trails off of the 850-mile long list this trip: Forney Ridge trail from Clingman's Dome parking lot and Alum Cave Bluffs trail. Both of these were spectacular walks, and both were very different. Forney Ridge trail was more steep and much more technical with lots of roots and rocks. But, once you get to Andrew's Bald, all of the looking down at your path stops and you get to take in the clear view of Fontana Lakes and beyond. Alum Cave Bluffs trail is somewhat more simple to trek, but the outcome is no less incredible. The Bluffs are a sight to behold and I would recommend the 3.5 hour round trip to anyone.

Some extra excitement from the trip included a powerful thunderstorm bringing sideways rain, quarter size hail, and lightning on Friday night. We also witnessed a charter bus becoming stuck on Ski Mountain road on the way up, and, yes, on the way down. I submit this as the greatest act of ignorance of the weekend, no offense to the driver. Finally, we saw 3 black bears in Cades Cove (And about 80 deer). On the way back to the cabin after Cades Cove Saturday night, we also got up-close and personal with ole Smokey. A 300lb + black bear tried to make a break across the road in front of us, but luckily for all of us, he thought better of it...

When are we going back???

Monday, May 5, 2008

This and That


In a landslide, the voting public says I should go to Colorado to climb a mountain. I am easily swayed into great opportunities, so I will take this in to definite consideration.
On to matters of the BRR; I have no update as of today. I would like to make a definite decision and sign up in the next 2 weeks, so we need to come up with the remainder of our team by then. Or, we could each run 5-6 legs. I vote no on that one...
Finally, I would like to ask a question:
Is Jason Clark Mike Rowe? Are they the same person? Have you ever seen them in the same place at the same time? I submit that they are, in fact, one person.

-B

Friday, May 2, 2008

What is a 14er, you ask?

Well, from wikipedia:
"In mountaineering terminology in the United States, a fourteener is a mountain that exceeds 14,000 feet (4,267.2 m) above mean sea level. The importance of fourteeners is greatest in Colorado, which has the majority of such peaks in North America. Climbing all of Colorado's fourteeners is a popular pastime among peak baggers."

- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourteener

Points of the Day

1. The mountain bike trails in the Trussville Sports Complex are great. Very tight and technical, though. Luckily, we had our trusty guide Passinout to be sure we didn't meet too much harm.

2. I am seriously waffling on the trip to Colorado and need a motivational speech. Please, feel free.

3. I'm not sure what state our team is in for the BRR as of now. I think there are concerns (reasonably) about running at night, local wildlife, etc. Somehow we need to collectively decide on this. Me personally, I am willing to try it. I think if we all try to recruit, we can come up with 12 crazies. There is also a possibility of finding teammates on the message board for the race - there are lots of people looking for teams/teammates.

4. The Alabama State Senate will be voting on the HB196 (beer legislation - will allow higher content beers in the state for the short explanation). Shoot your local statesperson an email to show support because, hey, everyone likes options.

5. Ryan Perilloux has been kicked off of LSEAUX's American football team for acting too much like an Alabama player. Look out, Bama, your recruiting class might pick up a transfer bonus!