Chewing Gum Lake

Olivia and I met up with our friends Thijs and Anna for a one night backpack trip in the Sierras. We met early Saturday morning in the town of Pinecrest, California, a mere three hours east of San Francisco. Our hike was fun...and grueling. We'd both forgotten how hard it is to carry a heavy load up a mountain, at a high elevation, with little preparation. We brought enough food for eight people and enough clothes to survive a blizzard for a week. So we were well fed, and warm, as we managed to have absolutely perfect weather.

Here are a few photos of our adventure.

Our friends are much lighter packers than we are:

From Fall 2008 Sierra Backpack Trip

However, we can find inner peace purifying water on Chewing Gum Lake:

From Fall 2008 Sierra Backpack Trip

Down coats and Cabernet can make even the chilliest October evening bearable:

From Fall 2008 Sierra Backpack Trip

Crystal-clear Autumn mornings in the Sierras make the hike worth it:

From Fall 2008 Sierra Backpack Trip

Our camp on Chewing Gum Lake:

From Fall 2008 Sierra Backpack Trip

From Fall 2008 Sierra Backpack Trip

Thijs looks for the best route down:

From Fall 2008 Sierra Backpack Trip

Resting:

From Fall 2008 Sierra Backpack Trip

Peeking:

From Fall 2008 Sierra Backpack Trip

Our cross-country route got a little extreme:

From Fall 2008 Sierra Backpack Trip

From Fall 2008 Sierra Backpack Trip

From Fall 2008 Sierra Backpack Trip

We enjoyed the fall colors:

From Fall 2008 Sierra Backpack Trip

From Fall 2008 Sierra Backpack Trip

All in all, it was a great adventure:

From Fall 2008 Sierra Backpack Trip

Ride Your Bike to Work

I'd heard from a friend that a bunch of people at everyone's favorite search engine get together and ride from San Francisco to work every Friday. As my place of work is near said company, I thought, hey, if they can do it, then so can I. So I joined up with some folks early Fri morning and rode from San Francisco to Palo Alto. It was an awesome ride, beautiful sunrises on the bay, interesting routes near the 101, through the airport, around bays and marshes and sloughs. At 45 miles, it was a long ride, but this won't be the last time I ride my bike to work (in case you're wondering, I rode the train home...)


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One month

Its been a busy month.  Chris spent a few weeks in Shanghai and another week near Monterrey.  Olivia has been busy as well.  Check out our month, try to guess what we've been doing.