On March 25, I wrote that the night before we watched Star Trek Into The Darkness which is an alternative take on Wrath of Khan. I found it to be novel and entertaining. Afterward, we watched The Trouble with Tribbles as a follow up and went to bed after checking the cold air outside. It wasn’t really snowing.
In the morning of the day that I wrote this we woke at seven. We ate and had coffee between bouts of housecleaning. It took us till 10 to address everything on our hostess’s list. I didn’t do a lot. They mopped, swept, cleaned bathrooms and washed dishes. I carried garbage out while my friend warmed the car. We locked up and went to Kings Beach for gas.
We got coffee in Truckee and then drove over the pass. I noted that Boreal Ski Resort was not active. We got to Gold Run fast enough. Through Sacramento I saw a few things I thought were new and we talked about the Vaca Mountains. We talked about refineries and trees through the Delta and took a break in Martinez to drop our hostess off.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Sunday, November 3, 2024
Wednesday, October 30, 2024
Drive Me to Northstar
On March 24, I wrote that the day before my sister and brother-in-law showed up at around four and we had cheese and crackers and cocktails. My friend and I had been playing cards. The tri-tip was delicious as were the salad and potatoes. My sister and our hostess talked a lot. They had both gone to UC Berkeley and her family was near ours growing up.
After the meal we chatted for a bit and when my brother-in-law and sister left there was a bit of snow. The three of us agreed to watch the Star Trek reboot movie which turned out to be pretty good. I went to sleep early.
When we got up at 9:30, I accepted my friend’s gracious offer to drive me to Northstar and we made plans to meet after she went snowshoeing at the end of the ski day.
At the rental shop, getting set up, I opted for a half-day on the slopes. I decided to put my boots in a locker because during my previous visit to Northstar my shoes inexplicably disappeared. I sat for coffee at Vous, which used to be called Starbucks even though place hadn’t changed at all in the intervening period.
I adjusted my boots and then I went and caught the gondola to the middle of the mountain. Then I went as far as possible to Mount Pluto on the express which kept stopping, much to everyone’s consternation.
I went down a black diamond to find the cat track on the next rides. I took three blues The Islands, Castle Peak and Drifter to find as much as I could of Backdoor the lower cat track. I had an Irish coffee in the middle of one of those runs. Made a few good rides and a bunch of nice turns. I find that the turns are better when the snow is fluffy white – much more forgiving. There was hail at the end of the day.
By then my friend had messaged that she was getting ready to meet me. So, I got one more ride in on the backside and arranged to meet her at the bottom. The ride on the front of the resort to stagecoach was rough but fun. I dumped the skis and walked to meet my friend for a drink before we returned to the house where I took a nap.
We had made soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner before watching TV.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
After the meal we chatted for a bit and when my brother-in-law and sister left there was a bit of snow. The three of us agreed to watch the Star Trek reboot movie which turned out to be pretty good. I went to sleep early.
When we got up at 9:30, I accepted my friend’s gracious offer to drive me to Northstar and we made plans to meet after she went snowshoeing at the end of the ski day.
At the rental shop, getting set up, I opted for a half-day on the slopes. I decided to put my boots in a locker because during my previous visit to Northstar my shoes inexplicably disappeared. I sat for coffee at Vous, which used to be called Starbucks even though place hadn’t changed at all in the intervening period.
I adjusted my boots and then I went and caught the gondola to the middle of the mountain. Then I went as far as possible to Mount Pluto on the express which kept stopping, much to everyone’s consternation.
I went down a black diamond to find the cat track on the next rides. I took three blues The Islands, Castle Peak and Drifter to find as much as I could of Backdoor the lower cat track. I had an Irish coffee in the middle of one of those runs. Made a few good rides and a bunch of nice turns. I find that the turns are better when the snow is fluffy white – much more forgiving. There was hail at the end of the day.
By then my friend had messaged that she was getting ready to meet me. So, I got one more ride in on the backside and arranged to meet her at the bottom. The ride on the front of the resort to stagecoach was rough but fun. I dumped the skis and walked to meet my friend for a drink before we returned to the house where I took a nap.
We had made soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner before watching TV.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Saturday, October 26, 2024
Lake Effect
On March 23, I wrote that the night before our host had made us salmon with my friend’s help. I thought the meal was delicious. They did everything. I was downstairs for a little bit but later we sat through a movie until midnight. I went to bed a little late.
We were up at 9:30 and I made coffee and we ate French toast. I ate a lot. My friend and I went to Safeway when the snow stopped falling and the day had warmed up. The roads were clear enough as we drove to into town. We walked along the Lakeside. The weather was kind of like the Lake Effect in Buffalo. There was a bit of snow falling as we shopped.
We drove back to the house. I noted that my older sister would be visiting to eat dinner with us. Our hostess was making tri-tip. We were watching women’s basketball.
We were up at 9:30 and I made coffee and we ate French toast. I ate a lot. My friend and I went to Safeway when the snow stopped falling and the day had warmed up. The roads were clear enough as we drove to into town. We walked along the Lakeside. The weather was kind of like the Lake Effect in Buffalo. There was a bit of snow falling as we shopped.
We drove back to the house. I noted that my older sister would be visiting to eat dinner with us. Our hostess was making tri-tip. We were watching women’s basketball.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Tuesday, October 22, 2024
Kings Beach
On March 22, 2024, I wrote that the previous Wednesday my friend called to say we needed to change our plans because the hostess for our trip to Tahoe was having car problems.
Later we spoke on the phone and agreed that we would drive her car to Martinez. So, I made a train ticket for us to leave from Martinez. After that, I tidied the apartment and ran errands and checked in on work ahead of my vacation. After that, I packed and headed over to my friend’s house. She and I went out to an Indian food place and a bar on Haight before stopping by the grocery store to get a couple of items
I slept well enough and the next morning we headed out at 7:45 and drove to Martinez where we dropped the car off at our hostess’ house. She owns a condo in Tahoe and had invited us to stay with her for the weekend. However, she had work to do so would be leaving after our train had departed.
After she dropped us off at the Martinez train station, we walked around the marsh for about 45 minutes and ate bagels. After we boarded and sorted out our seats we went to the café car, where I set up my computer to do a little bit of work.
The trip was nice. As we headed through the Yuba bypass, we looked at all the birds and after Sacramento, enjoyed the climb to Auburn. She pointed out areas through which she had recently gone hiking and a lot of other stuff out the window. We looked at the trackside geology near Emigrant Gap and made sure to sit on the side with the view as we passed through Yuba gap. As we passed Kidd Lakes, we decided to pack. However, I also showed her Tinker Knob, which I had climbed two summers before.
Once we were off the train in snowy Truckee, we went to the taco shop across the street. Our Hostess, who had left Martinez about two hours after us, found us having a drink along the river then. That was when we headed over to Kings Beach.
Our hostess had already stopped through her condo in Kings Beach by then so the house was nice and toasty. We spent a few hours settling in. I played a bit of catch-up with my messages. Eventually, we drove into town and had pizza at a nice place which offered detroit style. We then went to Safeway and bought a mountain of food.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Later we spoke on the phone and agreed that we would drive her car to Martinez. So, I made a train ticket for us to leave from Martinez. After that, I tidied the apartment and ran errands and checked in on work ahead of my vacation. After that, I packed and headed over to my friend’s house. She and I went out to an Indian food place and a bar on Haight before stopping by the grocery store to get a couple of items
I slept well enough and the next morning we headed out at 7:45 and drove to Martinez where we dropped the car off at our hostess’ house. She owns a condo in Tahoe and had invited us to stay with her for the weekend. However, she had work to do so would be leaving after our train had departed.
After she dropped us off at the Martinez train station, we walked around the marsh for about 45 minutes and ate bagels. After we boarded and sorted out our seats we went to the café car, where I set up my computer to do a little bit of work.
The trip was nice. As we headed through the Yuba bypass, we looked at all the birds and after Sacramento, enjoyed the climb to Auburn. She pointed out areas through which she had recently gone hiking and a lot of other stuff out the window. We looked at the trackside geology near Emigrant Gap and made sure to sit on the side with the view as we passed through Yuba gap. As we passed Kidd Lakes, we decided to pack. However, I also showed her Tinker Knob, which I had climbed two summers before.
Once we were off the train in snowy Truckee, we went to the taco shop across the street. Our Hostess, who had left Martinez about two hours after us, found us having a drink along the river then. That was when we headed over to Kings Beach.
Our hostess had already stopped through her condo in Kings Beach by then so the house was nice and toasty. We spent a few hours settling in. I played a bit of catch-up with my messages. Eventually, we drove into town and had pizza at a nice place which offered detroit style. We then went to Safeway and bought a mountain of food.
Back at the condo we unloaded the food and looked at what was on offer in the house. Then we had some drinks
I had a light headache. I was not a very happy person.
I texted my older sister about staying in Kings Beach.
We settled into watch Sherlock Holmes–our hostess found the code for prime. My friend made it through the whole movie but our hostess went to bed. We found that there was a bit of snow coming down at the end of the night when we went to bed after 10.
On the day that I wrote this I was up at 9. My friend and I left at around 10:30 and went to Incline village and got some coffee before driving to Spooner Lake and going on a walk. The lake was totally frozen but we managed to find a few dry patches to avoid freezing. I didn’t want to go around the whole lake but we agreed to it and in the end it was cool seeing the aspen groves.
Later we drove halfway back to Incline Village to go for a walk in Secret Cove. You have to park on the highway and descend to it. While there was a lot of snow it was mostly easy to avoid it. I noted that it was likely amazing in the summer. We sat on the shore and took in the view. We also saw a few others there taking photographs.
The drive back to the house in King’s Beach was easy. Once we were back inside, we engaged in light conversation. I took a short nap and I texted my older sister. We made plans for her to visit.
At 6 we set up for a salmon dinner and ate at 7.
Friday, October 4, 2024
The Ski School
On February 9 I wrote that I had been staying in the town of Norden near Donner Pass. The night before I hung out in the common room at Clair Tappaan until midnight with guests. The next morning I woke to the breakfast bell ringing. After breakfast, I said goodbye to several guests who were heading home that day.
Then I got my stuff together and hitched a ride up the road to Sugarbowl from some lady from Davis to the ski resort and went over to find my kids with their mom at the ski school. Once we had gotten set up with our equipment, I took the boys to the kiddie slopes. One had skis and, as it was his first time, I got him a lesson with a novice level one instructor who was really great. My other son, who had been snowboarding before, got an intermediate lesson – level three.
I left the boys to go on a couple runs on my own but halfway up Judah Lift I discovered my lift pass had somehow been canceled. So, I ended up backtracking to re-authorize it. Later I headed all the way to the top of Disney lift to enjoy the view. I had recently taken a few trips to visit places I could see from the top during the previous summer.
Then I had a cup of coffee and took Christmas Tree lift to the top. Later I stopped at the coffee shop at the Village Lodge. I did several runs to get back to the kiddie runs but in the end I had to cut across a few runs looking for my boys.
On the one hand, I found that my snowboarding son was doing really well. However, my skiing son had also improved and was no longer lacking confidence. I took the boys to Judah Lodge and gave them chips before heading back out.
My skiing son told me then that he was content to ride the conveyor. However, my snowboarding son wanted me to take him on the White Pine Lift which was for beginners. So, we did that a few times but then I told him that I wanted to see if his brother wanted to do the kiddie lift too.
Unfortunately, I think he misinterpreted my words because he dashed off to speak to his brother and promptly disappeared. When I caught up with his brother I learned that he had taken his board off and walked to Judah Lift. Thankfully, I was on skis so I was able to chase him over to the lift. That was how we had a surprise trip to the top of Mount Judah. We had a fantastic run. I got pictures. It was awesome – my son said the run was awesome twice.
When we got back, I let the boys use the kiddie slope and conveyor for a while. Eventually, the three of us returned to the ski school to drop our gear off. Their mother found us as we walked to the lodge and I said goodbye.
I stopped at the bar in the village then before hitching a ride to the lodge. I made it with plenty of time for the dinner bell and ended up sitting with some new guests. In all there were about 16 people. After dinner we congregated in the common room where someone had built a fire.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Then I got my stuff together and hitched a ride up the road to Sugarbowl from some lady from Davis to the ski resort and went over to find my kids with their mom at the ski school. Once we had gotten set up with our equipment, I took the boys to the kiddie slopes. One had skis and, as it was his first time, I got him a lesson with a novice level one instructor who was really great. My other son, who had been snowboarding before, got an intermediate lesson – level three.
I left the boys to go on a couple runs on my own but halfway up Judah Lift I discovered my lift pass had somehow been canceled. So, I ended up backtracking to re-authorize it. Later I headed all the way to the top of Disney lift to enjoy the view. I had recently taken a few trips to visit places I could see from the top during the previous summer.
Then I had a cup of coffee and took Christmas Tree lift to the top. Later I stopped at the coffee shop at the Village Lodge. I did several runs to get back to the kiddie runs but in the end I had to cut across a few runs looking for my boys.
On the one hand, I found that my snowboarding son was doing really well. However, my skiing son had also improved and was no longer lacking confidence. I took the boys to Judah Lodge and gave them chips before heading back out.
My skiing son told me then that he was content to ride the conveyor. However, my snowboarding son wanted me to take him on the White Pine Lift which was for beginners. So, we did that a few times but then I told him that I wanted to see if his brother wanted to do the kiddie lift too.
Unfortunately, I think he misinterpreted my words because he dashed off to speak to his brother and promptly disappeared. When I caught up with his brother I learned that he had taken his board off and walked to Judah Lift. Thankfully, I was on skis so I was able to chase him over to the lift. That was how we had a surprise trip to the top of Mount Judah. We had a fantastic run. I got pictures. It was awesome – my son said the run was awesome twice.
When we got back, I let the boys use the kiddie slope and conveyor for a while. Eventually, the three of us returned to the ski school to drop our gear off. Their mother found us as we walked to the lodge and I said goodbye.
I stopped at the bar in the village then before hitching a ride to the lodge. I made it with plenty of time for the dinner bell and ended up sitting with some new guests. In all there were about 16 people. After dinner we congregated in the common room where someone had built a fire.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Monday, September 30, 2024
The Men’s Dorm
On February 8 I wrote that I had traveled to Donner Pass to the Clair Tappaan in anticipation of skiing with my kids. The night before I had had trouble sleeping because it was so cold and I had yet to acclimatize.
I got up at 7:30 am and had coffee in the dining hall. I sat with some the other six guests at the lodge. The chef had made us eggs and bangers with pancakes.
When we were done, I got ready to go and hitched a ride to Sugarbowl ski resort’s gondola and headed over to the Judah ticket office to skis and a ticket. They had trouble finding my reservation so I went to the ski school to learn more.
After that I got on the Judah Lift. I went to Mount Lincoln and Crows Nest after that. At Crows, I lost a ski and hurt my arm. I got coffee and rested at the lodge. I texted with a friend about it.
Later, as the resort wound down, I did another few runs and quit. I went to the bar and then hitched my way back to the lodge.
As soon as I arrived, I made arrangements with Hotel management to switch to the men’s dorm because it was warmer there. Then I sat down for a chicken sandwich with the rest of the hotel guests. I noted that the group is generally pretty gregarious and friendly.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
I got up at 7:30 am and had coffee in the dining hall. I sat with some the other six guests at the lodge. The chef had made us eggs and bangers with pancakes.
When we were done, I got ready to go and hitched a ride to Sugarbowl ski resort’s gondola and headed over to the Judah ticket office to skis and a ticket. They had trouble finding my reservation so I went to the ski school to learn more.
After that I got on the Judah Lift. I went to Mount Lincoln and Crows Nest after that. At Crows, I lost a ski and hurt my arm. I got coffee and rested at the lodge. I texted with a friend about it.
Later, as the resort wound down, I did another few runs and quit. I went to the bar and then hitched my way back to the lodge.
As soon as I arrived, I made arrangements with Hotel management to switch to the men’s dorm because it was warmer there. Then I sat down for a chicken sandwich with the rest of the hotel guests. I noted that the group is generally pretty gregarious and friendly.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Thursday, September 26, 2024
DHL Driver Picked Me Up
On February 7 I got up at 7 and took BART to Oakland and rode bike share to Emeryville Amtrak Station where I had a cup of coffee before boarding a Zephyr train for a trip to Truckee to meet my kids and go skiing. On the ride to Sacramento, I set up my computer in the cafe car to listen to a work meeting. After Sacramento, I did a couple more work tasks and then settled in for the mountain crossing starting in Colfax. Near Donner Pass, I put warm clothes on.
I went to get pizza in Truckee when I got off the train just before TART Connect arrived at the station to pick me up. It was a good thing that I had finished my pizza because I probably would’ve missed the ride.
While my TART reservation was only to Donner Lake Pub, during the ride the driver offered to drive me to my lodge near the pass. Unfortunately, the van’s all wheel drive wasn’t working well in the newly fallen snow so when we got to chain control they had to let me off – just a few miles from my lodge!
Fortunately, a DHL driver picked me up there and took me to Donner Ski Ranch, which was exciting. There I had a beer and talked on and on about my trip. After that I found another ride to my lodge.
When I got to Clair Tappaan I checked in and had dinner with the other guests. I took a nap, and then was alone for the rest of the evening. I was drinking tea and hot cocoa at the end of the day.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
I went to get pizza in Truckee when I got off the train just before TART Connect arrived at the station to pick me up. It was a good thing that I had finished my pizza because I probably would’ve missed the ride.
While my TART reservation was only to Donner Lake Pub, during the ride the driver offered to drive me to my lodge near the pass. Unfortunately, the van’s all wheel drive wasn’t working well in the newly fallen snow so when we got to chain control they had to let me off – just a few miles from my lodge!
Fortunately, a DHL driver picked me up there and took me to Donner Ski Ranch, which was exciting. There I had a beer and talked on and on about my trip. After that I found another ride to my lodge.
When I got to Clair Tappaan I checked in and had dinner with the other guests. I took a nap, and then was alone for the rest of the evening. I was drinking tea and hot cocoa at the end of the day.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Sunday, September 22, 2024
Castle Crags
On January 28, 2023, I wrote that the day before, I packed my cargo bike with my foldable bike and rode to Embarcadero. Then I rode the under ground to Van Ness. I went to the apartment and had a cocktail with some guests who were staying with me. They were preparing to go to the Edwardian ball.
Later I met a friend at Patricia‘s Green. We went to dinner and I was happy with the experience. We talked about birding. We confirmed that we would go on a bike ride the next day. We went to nearby bar and caught a five up to Divisadero. Later we hung out with her roommate at home
In the morning of the day that I wrote this my friend and I went to Masonic where we got coffee. Then we took the five to Embarcadero and ate crepes before getting the bikes out and boarding a BART train to Pleasant Hill. I showed her how to use my cargo bike and then we rode to Heather Farm Park.
The ride was perfect up to that point. We made a stop, and then we rode to San Miguel Park. After that we rode past the high school to the entrance of Castle Crags. Again I was totally surprised at how easy things were.
We continued to Mammoth Rock. The terrain had changed so she hiked and I put the foldable on the back of the cargo bike and rode with her. After sitting and observing Mammoth Rock we climbed up to look at the sandstone there. There are wind made holes in the rock which are very unique looking.
Later we walked up Buckeye Ravine and I made a mistake and we ended up walking up the Diablo Scenic Trail. It was ironic because it afforded us a great view but changed the outcome of our hike – I had wanted to go through Shell Ridge but it was late once we had gotten down to Elise Court.
So, instead of going to Borges Ranch we descended to Castle Rock Road and retraced our steps down Castle rock Road to San Miguel Park. As we headed back to Pleasant Hill we made a brief stop in Diablo Hills Golf Course where we found my hat which I had sadly left in Heather Farm Park.
From there we opted then to go to Zachary‘s for dinner. We rode the Canal Trail to the East Bay Municipal Utility District trails and then we rode into the business center where Zachary‘s is.
When we were done eating we went to Monument. I noticed that the ride to the BART station was really hard because it was dark and it was on a major road. However, we did a really good job. When we got to Pleasant Hill station, I packed up and, after a short trip, we said bye at Civic Center.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Later I met a friend at Patricia‘s Green. We went to dinner and I was happy with the experience. We talked about birding. We confirmed that we would go on a bike ride the next day. We went to nearby bar and caught a five up to Divisadero. Later we hung out with her roommate at home
In the morning of the day that I wrote this my friend and I went to Masonic where we got coffee. Then we took the five to Embarcadero and ate crepes before getting the bikes out and boarding a BART train to Pleasant Hill. I showed her how to use my cargo bike and then we rode to Heather Farm Park.
The ride was perfect up to that point. We made a stop, and then we rode to San Miguel Park. After that we rode past the high school to the entrance of Castle Crags. Again I was totally surprised at how easy things were.
We continued to Mammoth Rock. The terrain had changed so she hiked and I put the foldable on the back of the cargo bike and rode with her. After sitting and observing Mammoth Rock we climbed up to look at the sandstone there. There are wind made holes in the rock which are very unique looking.
Later we walked up Buckeye Ravine and I made a mistake and we ended up walking up the Diablo Scenic Trail. It was ironic because it afforded us a great view but changed the outcome of our hike – I had wanted to go through Shell Ridge but it was late once we had gotten down to Elise Court.
So, instead of going to Borges Ranch we descended to Castle Rock Road and retraced our steps down Castle rock Road to San Miguel Park. As we headed back to Pleasant Hill we made a brief stop in Diablo Hills Golf Course where we found my hat which I had sadly left in Heather Farm Park.
From there we opted then to go to Zachary‘s for dinner. We rode the Canal Trail to the East Bay Municipal Utility District trails and then we rode into the business center where Zachary‘s is.
When we were done eating we went to Monument. I noticed that the ride to the BART station was really hard because it was dark and it was on a major road. However, we did a really good job. When we got to Pleasant Hill station, I packed up and, after a short trip, we said bye at Civic Center.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Wednesday, September 18, 2024
Running to Bike Party
On January 16 I wrote that the previous Friday I went home and was worried about being alone instead of running to Bike Party but I made it out the door just fine. I had purchased some beer at Fred’s earlier. I saw a bunch of ride participants on Market. I rode BART to Rockridge with one of them and hung out under the freeway with a couple of others. I had took a few photos and shared them with people on social media.
The ride went up Claremont and doubled back on Keith. We then rode up to Lake Temescal. I hung out with the regulars plus a new reveler who I knew would be around a lot. I almost lost my gloves - which I actually needed given the temperature outside. I also had a hard time finding water.
We rode through Montclair. The climb was hard actually and then we ended up at the park in the center of town. I looked for water there too. I looked everywhere, and eventually bumped into a couple who was doing the same.
A short while later, when I finally found the water fountain, I saw the ride leader wearing waders and walking around inside the lake. I caught up with a few acquaintances and noted who was absent.
When we all got on our bikes again, the ride went down Moraga Avenue and that was fun, but very dangerous. I was riding with one of the ride volunteers for a while. We meandered along Piedmont and up Broadway to Lake Merritt for the final stop. I hung out with the core group for the ride there and later rode with them to Grand Lake for donuts
Sadly I had to leave quickly to catch the last Bart train. I saw a Bike Party acquaintance on the platform along with a few others.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
The ride went up Claremont and doubled back on Keith. We then rode up to Lake Temescal. I hung out with the regulars plus a new reveler who I knew would be around a lot. I almost lost my gloves - which I actually needed given the temperature outside. I also had a hard time finding water.
We rode through Montclair. The climb was hard actually and then we ended up at the park in the center of town. I looked for water there too. I looked everywhere, and eventually bumped into a couple who was doing the same.
A short while later, when I finally found the water fountain, I saw the ride leader wearing waders and walking around inside the lake. I caught up with a few acquaintances and noted who was absent.
When we all got on our bikes again, the ride went down Moraga Avenue and that was fun, but very dangerous. I was riding with one of the ride volunteers for a while. We meandered along Piedmont and up Broadway to Lake Merritt for the final stop. I hung out with the core group for the ride there and later rode with them to Grand Lake for donuts
Sadly I had to leave quickly to catch the last Bart train. I saw a Bike Party acquaintance on the platform along with a few others.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Monday, July 29, 2024
Hung Out at Boat Playground
On January 5 I told an acquaintance of mine that I would go on his bike ride later. I went home got my bike and some warm clothes and took BART to Glenn Park. Then I climbed Monterey and Hearst to City College. My host, the birthday boy, was with his girlfriend and neighbors. We rode Phelan and Holloway to SF State and then over to 45th avenue. I tried to stop by my father’s house but his light was off so I grabbed a beer at Gus‘s and the seven of us hung out at Boat Playground. We also went up MLK and hung out at Sunset Boulevard and later at the bleachers at Big Rec.
I left with a couple of other riders and we said said when we got to Laguna. I was alone until 11 and watched castle of Cagliostro until late after eating a frozen pizza.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
I left with a couple of other riders and we said said when we got to Laguna. I was alone until 11 and watched castle of Cagliostro until late after eating a frozen pizza.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Thursday, July 11, 2024
Route 20 to Larkspur
On December 10, 2023, I finished up the winter trip I had made to Marin County with my boys.
We got up at 8:30 at the Inn, went downstairs and ate the food in the dining room. We saw the host. The boys were really animated and I had to tell them to sit still several times. When we returned to the room they watched TV.
We were packed by 11 and went to the coffee shop to listen to live jazz. Later we explored San Anselmo Creek before we rode route 20 to Larkspur. We made a brief stop at Niven playground. After that we boarded a ferry to SF. I got the boys clippers.
I got coffee at the ferry building and we slow rolled home and the boys played video games.
We got up at 8:30 at the Inn, went downstairs and ate the food in the dining room. We saw the host. The boys were really animated and I had to tell them to sit still several times. When we returned to the room they watched TV.
We were packed by 11 and went to the coffee shop to listen to live jazz. Later we explored San Anselmo Creek before we rode route 20 to Larkspur. We made a brief stop at Niven playground. After that we boarded a ferry to SF. I got the boys clippers.
I got coffee at the ferry building and we slow rolled home and the boys played video games.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Sunday, July 7, 2024
Onward to Phoenix Lake
On December 9 I was in Marin County with my boys for a winter trip. I had packed my cargo bike before work so when I picked them up from school the day before we went straight to the Ferry Building. We had caught a ferry to Larkspur and rode to San Anselmo for had pizza and gelato.
When we got up that morning at The San Anselmo Inn, we went downstairs and had breakfast. Then we put on warm cloths and after a brief stop for hot cocoa, headed to Ross Creek and onward to Phoenix Lake. We looked at rocks in both places. I explained the landscape at Shaver Grade and the pipeline trail.
I had to take some time to think about what to do at the five corners trail intersection then but settled on climbing to Bon Tempe Lake. After a couple of stops, we made it all the way to Lagunitas Lake. We looked at the dam and had a snack in the picnic area.
A short while later we rode back to Shaver Grade but continued on the paved road to the Meadow Club. Some of the Cyclists in the area told us how to get through the Meadow Club. I was surprised when we got there that it was possible given the fact that it is closed to the public. We saw deer at Bolinas Road. We also saw a cat.
From there the descent to Fairfax was quick. Upon our arrival, we walked around and I settled on the Roastery. I bought us a bunch of moon pies. Later we went to Fairfax Market and returned to San Anselmo.
That evening we went to Jane‘s Taco shop which is a favorite of mine. I ordered a bit too much to eat but it was good. When we left, we noted that an old movie – The Three Stooges – was being projected onto the wall of the building across the way. I recalled then that this is an annual tradition there for the Christmas season. We also got some gelato before bedtime.
When we got up that morning at The San Anselmo Inn, we went downstairs and had breakfast. Then we put on warm cloths and after a brief stop for hot cocoa, headed to Ross Creek and onward to Phoenix Lake. We looked at rocks in both places. I explained the landscape at Shaver Grade and the pipeline trail.
I had to take some time to think about what to do at the five corners trail intersection then but settled on climbing to Bon Tempe Lake. After a couple of stops, we made it all the way to Lagunitas Lake. We looked at the dam and had a snack in the picnic area.
A short while later we rode back to Shaver Grade but continued on the paved road to the Meadow Club. Some of the Cyclists in the area told us how to get through the Meadow Club. I was surprised when we got there that it was possible given the fact that it is closed to the public. We saw deer at Bolinas Road. We also saw a cat.
From there the descent to Fairfax was quick. Upon our arrival, we walked around and I settled on the Roastery. I bought us a bunch of moon pies. Later we went to Fairfax Market and returned to San Anselmo.
That evening we went to Jane‘s Taco shop which is a favorite of mine. I ordered a bit too much to eat but it was good. When we left, we noted that an old movie – The Three Stooges – was being projected onto the wall of the building across the way. I recalled then that this is an annual tradition there for the Christmas season. We also got some gelato before bedtime.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Wednesday, July 3, 2024
Catch San Francisco Bike Party
On December second, 2023 I wrote that the night before I went home from work and I had just enough time to ride to Kearney Street on my cross check.
I saw some people riding market street along the way and they led me up Columbus to catch San Francisco Bike Party at Beach Street. We paused at Ghirardelli and then we went up Polk Street. People greeted me along the way.. The ride went up Broadway before heading to Japantown for the first stop. I saw people I had met on Butter Lap and the Mystery Ride. I also met the ride leaders. An acquaintance of mine, who I had hoped to see had a flat so went hom.
When the first party stop ended, we headed up Steiner to McAllister and then over to Baker and Fell where we made a mess of traffic. At Conservatory of Flowers we hung out in the middle of JFK Drive, which I thought was novel. I introduced new people to everyone. I handed out beers and reconnected with people.
A lot of people from the east bay were there and I was impressed with how they all knew the SF people. The ride headed to Union Square but I noticed a lot of people stayed behind. Union Square was really great because of the Christmas carols and the tree. I chatted with people I wanted to talk to and headed home after saying bye.
I saw some people riding market street along the way and they led me up Columbus to catch San Francisco Bike Party at Beach Street. We paused at Ghirardelli and then we went up Polk Street. People greeted me along the way.. The ride went up Broadway before heading to Japantown for the first stop. I saw people I had met on Butter Lap and the Mystery Ride. I also met the ride leaders. An acquaintance of mine, who I had hoped to see had a flat so went hom.
When the first party stop ended, we headed up Steiner to McAllister and then over to Baker and Fell where we made a mess of traffic. At Conservatory of Flowers we hung out in the middle of JFK Drive, which I thought was novel. I introduced new people to everyone. I handed out beers and reconnected with people.
A lot of people from the east bay were there and I was impressed with how they all knew the SF people. The ride headed to Union Square but I noticed a lot of people stayed behind. Union Square was really great because of the Christmas carols and the tree. I chatted with people I wanted to talk to and headed home after saying bye.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Saturday, June 29, 2024
SOMA to South Park
On Sunday, November 5, 2023, I wrote that on the previous Thursday I got home from work and ate. I watched TV and texted with an acquaintance of mine, a doctor from the North Coast, who said he would be visiting in the morning. I woke at a reasonable time and walked to BART to find him as he was getting in. We went to a coffee shop and chatted. I left him with a key to my apartment before I headed to work.
I managed to leave the office by 3 o’clock and at my apartment found my guest had made himself at home. I took the time to unwind from work. We shared a cocktail and did some catching up before getting a meal at the local South Asian restaurant.
When we got back to the apartment, I gave him one of my bikes and we visited Clarion Alley to catch our breath. Then we stopped at the liquor store before heading off to meet up with San Francisco Bike Party at 17th and Harrison – Inchan Kaajal Park.
The ride left a bit after we got there. We went up 15th to the Castro and down 18th which I thought was dumb but my companion was pretty happy with the experience. I sent pictures to our mutual acquaintances. We returned to Valencia and headed east on 26th to Balmy Street.
The first stop was Potrero del Sol. I introduced my companion to a bunch of people I know. However, he was making friends on his own. Later he told me that he remembered the skate park from when he was a kid. Everyone was having fun but the cops showed up so we had to leave a little early for SOMA.
We were a little worried that we were leaving the group behind so hurried up Potrero Street. Cops harassed us as we turned onto 17th but the ride was moving along. I pointed out groups of people I knew as we rode.
We rode through Mission Bay and some of the narrow alleys we passed through made the experience really unique. We passed through Soma to South Park, the second party stop. I reconnected with a bunch of people. One group I was really interested in speaking with was a big crowd. We discovered some new friends.
When people started to leave I said bye to everyone. Then the two of us rode up second street and stopped by the Chieftain. Later at The Tempest I noted that the Karate Kid was playing on the TV. The bartender said she liked to put interesting movies on. I suggested Lost Boys.
We rode through a bunch of alleys then and eventually ended up on Mission Street. Later back at the apartment, I ate ice cream and the bikes ended up left in a corner spot in the hallway.
The next morning, a Saturday, I woke at 9:30 and boiled water until I had everything ready. We had made eggs, toast, sausage and hashbrowns. We chatted for a while and looked through my rock collection.
Later, we got the bikes and rode to Page and Divisadero where we coffee sitting in a parklet. A it later we rode to Steiner and I saw a person I knew who showed us a picture of a toucan from a garage sale. We also bought a few things there.
It was really hot out. We went to Waller skatepark where my companion got some skating in. There were pro-skaters there. I was really impressed with the stones along the edge of the skate park. I noted that there was a lady watching her husband skate while holding their infant. When I spoke with them I learned that they both like to skateboard. I texted pictures of the skate park to our mutual acquaintances.
We rode up Willard to Carl Street and I got us to Carmel Street, which was tedious because the grade is pretty steep. However, once we got to the top, we descended Clayton to Market and across to Grandview where we had sodas at Neighbors Café. It was still pretty hot. The view from up there was really great. I suppose that is why they call it Grandview.
We visited James Lick school, which was the site of a well known skate spot known as the Ripper on Clipper. The professional guys we had seen at Waller Skatepark had recently organized an event there with Thrasher Magazine. I got pictures.
We went to 24th and ate at Barney’s before taking in a few art galleries. The weather changed quickly to mist at this point as the sun was beginning to set. We bought some art and chatted with locals as we made our way through the Mission to Valencia. We looked inside of Boogaloo but they were closed.
As there was some kind of shopping event going on in the neighborhood, we stopped at 826 Valencia, Paxton Gate and City Art before stopping by the apartment to dump all of our loot - records, art and even a jacket. However, we quickly returned to Valencia to visit a skate shop near 14th and a couple of other places.
When we were done, we went to the Latin American Club for cocktails. I was excited because we ended up sitting next to some interesting ladies. We also walked over to The Royal Cuckoo Market which was fantastic.
The night was a bit damp. The people were really nice. We got to know a few people before finishing the night with tacos at 19th and Mission. My companion got packed to head off to the airport when we got back to the apartment.
We both woke at five in the morning but I went back to sleep as soon as he had left. Apparently his flight to the east coast got canceled and he was put on a waitlist. However, the flight attendants ended up giving him better deal and he ended up getting to there before the rest of his party.
I woke up at what I thought was 1030 but it was 930 because of daylight savings time. I went to Mercury and had coffee. Then I went home and I was alone and lazy until I wen to do laundry. When I got back, I started the dryer and started writing.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
I managed to leave the office by 3 o’clock and at my apartment found my guest had made himself at home. I took the time to unwind from work. We shared a cocktail and did some catching up before getting a meal at the local South Asian restaurant.
When we got back to the apartment, I gave him one of my bikes and we visited Clarion Alley to catch our breath. Then we stopped at the liquor store before heading off to meet up with San Francisco Bike Party at 17th and Harrison – Inchan Kaajal Park.
The ride left a bit after we got there. We went up 15th to the Castro and down 18th which I thought was dumb but my companion was pretty happy with the experience. I sent pictures to our mutual acquaintances. We returned to Valencia and headed east on 26th to Balmy Street.
The first stop was Potrero del Sol. I introduced my companion to a bunch of people I know. However, he was making friends on his own. Later he told me that he remembered the skate park from when he was a kid. Everyone was having fun but the cops showed up so we had to leave a little early for SOMA.
We were a little worried that we were leaving the group behind so hurried up Potrero Street. Cops harassed us as we turned onto 17th but the ride was moving along. I pointed out groups of people I knew as we rode.
We rode through Mission Bay and some of the narrow alleys we passed through made the experience really unique. We passed through Soma to South Park, the second party stop. I reconnected with a bunch of people. One group I was really interested in speaking with was a big crowd. We discovered some new friends.
When people started to leave I said bye to everyone. Then the two of us rode up second street and stopped by the Chieftain. Later at The Tempest I noted that the Karate Kid was playing on the TV. The bartender said she liked to put interesting movies on. I suggested Lost Boys.
We rode through a bunch of alleys then and eventually ended up on Mission Street. Later back at the apartment, I ate ice cream and the bikes ended up left in a corner spot in the hallway.
The next morning, a Saturday, I woke at 9:30 and boiled water until I had everything ready. We had made eggs, toast, sausage and hashbrowns. We chatted for a while and looked through my rock collection.
Later, we got the bikes and rode to Page and Divisadero where we coffee sitting in a parklet. A it later we rode to Steiner and I saw a person I knew who showed us a picture of a toucan from a garage sale. We also bought a few things there.
It was really hot out. We went to Waller skatepark where my companion got some skating in. There were pro-skaters there. I was really impressed with the stones along the edge of the skate park. I noted that there was a lady watching her husband skate while holding their infant. When I spoke with them I learned that they both like to skateboard. I texted pictures of the skate park to our mutual acquaintances.
We rode up Willard to Carl Street and I got us to Carmel Street, which was tedious because the grade is pretty steep. However, once we got to the top, we descended Clayton to Market and across to Grandview where we had sodas at Neighbors Café. It was still pretty hot. The view from up there was really great. I suppose that is why they call it Grandview.
We visited James Lick school, which was the site of a well known skate spot known as the Ripper on Clipper. The professional guys we had seen at Waller Skatepark had recently organized an event there with Thrasher Magazine. I got pictures.
We went to 24th and ate at Barney’s before taking in a few art galleries. The weather changed quickly to mist at this point as the sun was beginning to set. We bought some art and chatted with locals as we made our way through the Mission to Valencia. We looked inside of Boogaloo but they were closed.
As there was some kind of shopping event going on in the neighborhood, we stopped at 826 Valencia, Paxton Gate and City Art before stopping by the apartment to dump all of our loot - records, art and even a jacket. However, we quickly returned to Valencia to visit a skate shop near 14th and a couple of other places.
When we were done, we went to the Latin American Club for cocktails. I was excited because we ended up sitting next to some interesting ladies. We also walked over to The Royal Cuckoo Market which was fantastic.
The night was a bit damp. The people were really nice. We got to know a few people before finishing the night with tacos at 19th and Mission. My companion got packed to head off to the airport when we got back to the apartment.
We both woke at five in the morning but I went back to sleep as soon as he had left. Apparently his flight to the east coast got canceled and he was put on a waitlist. However, the flight attendants ended up giving him better deal and he ended up getting to there before the rest of his party.
I woke up at what I thought was 1030 but it was 930 because of daylight savings time. I went to Mercury and had coffee. Then I went home and I was alone and lazy until I wen to do laundry. When I got back, I started the dryer and started writing.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Tuesday, June 25, 2024
I Decided to Go
On October 7 I wrote that the night before, a friday night, I stopped by a taqueria on Polk Street and then rode zigzag to Green and Laguna on the way to Bike Party at Fort Mason. I looked at who was there and saw a few close friends and a couple of others I knew. I also noticed a few new random people.
When the ride left, I had to try hard to find people to interact with and ended up riding close to a couple I knew for a while. Some new people smiled at me and I wanted to chat with them but I had to maneuver to do so. That was when a person from the East Bay caught up with me on his tall bike and interrupted my interactions with them. All of us had a good natured chat as we approached Golden Gate Bridge above Fort Point.
At the visitor center at Golden Gate Bridge I got water and saw others I knew. One person gave me a hug. A short while later I decided to go home as our access to Golden Gate Bridge appeared blocked.
In the morning of the day I wrote this, I had coffee at Mercury Cafe in the sun at 10 but had to move to the shade. I went home to tidy
Later I went to Geary and Masonic to do some shopping. I stopped to have fish and chips on the way back. I also stopped at Target and had a great time watching the sunset from the parking lot on the top floor. I took great photos of the Pacific Ocean in the post sunset view. It had been a very hot day and the sky was brilliant.
Later I went to Minibar and Page where I tried to make friends with a bartender and saw an acquaintance. I got home pretty late.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
When the ride left, I had to try hard to find people to interact with and ended up riding close to a couple I knew for a while. Some new people smiled at me and I wanted to chat with them but I had to maneuver to do so. That was when a person from the East Bay caught up with me on his tall bike and interrupted my interactions with them. All of us had a good natured chat as we approached Golden Gate Bridge above Fort Point.
At the visitor center at Golden Gate Bridge I got water and saw others I knew. One person gave me a hug. A short while later I decided to go home as our access to Golden Gate Bridge appeared blocked.
In the morning of the day I wrote this, I had coffee at Mercury Cafe in the sun at 10 but had to move to the shade. I went home to tidy
Later I went to Geary and Masonic to do some shopping. I stopped to have fish and chips on the way back. I also stopped at Target and had a great time watching the sunset from the parking lot on the top floor. I took great photos of the Pacific Ocean in the post sunset view. It had been a very hot day and the sky was brilliant.
Later I went to Minibar and Page where I tried to make friends with a bartender and saw an acquaintance. I got home pretty late.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Friday, June 21, 2024
Inkwells
On September 4, 2023, I wrote that it was my fifth day with my boys camping in West Marin. We were staying in Samuel P. Taylor State Park, rounding out an eventful visit to the coast which included Point Reyes. The state park has two sites for cyclists. Campsite one is designated for hikers and cyclists but was full so we camped in site 62, which serves as an overflow site for cyclists.
We shared the site with a guy who left early that morning. The night before he and I had chatted until late. He was from the East Coast so I had to explain Critical Mass to him. We also discussed cycling in general. When I woke up that morning at 6:30, we made coffee and chatted until he left. I explained the route to the Golden Gate Bridge as he was leaving
I let the boys sleep and when they got up I gave them a couple treats. Then I directed them to self start and make an effort to pack. They stuffed sleeping bags while I set up carrots and apples. A bit later they worked on the tent. Unfortunately the steaks were so deep in the ground I had to ask a ranger to pull it up with a prybar. We decided it was likely an old stump underground.
I sent the boys out with a playmate nearby. I left a battery to charge at the handicapped bathroom and that made me nervous. I got to know the other campers all of whom were packing to go home. When I was done packing, I checked the site and I found the boys playing along the river. The boys needed to keep a bunch of bark for some reason.
After we said bye to everyone, including the boys new found friends from the campsite, we got back on the trail The Cross Marin Trail. I noted as I was riding and taking pictures that I really love this part of the ride and the views are quite phenomenal.
At the Inkwells swimming hole, I had trouble parking but eventually I parked on the trail down in the river. Then, after getting ready to jump in, I used my strategy of getting the boys into the deep pool by getting in and asking them to leave it to me. They both braved the pools and I even shuttled one boy across the pool twice. We left after two quick dips but I noted that there were a lot of kids leaping into the pools from high up. Everyone was visibly enjoying themselves.
When we left, I took the boys for hot cocoa and a yummy scone in Forest Knolls. Then we rode San Geronimo Road to White Hill, where the climb turned out alright despite the traffic. I rode Olema Road into Fairfax town and passed a bunch of people two or three times. We met a guy playing guitar at San Anselmo City Hall.
I discovered that we had to ride to Sausalito for the ferry which made me sad. However, it was best method home given the late departure of the Larkspur Ferry. I took Bike Route 22 through Bonaire. Then we took Route 5 to Horse Hill with no problems.
In Sausalito, I got the boys ice cream and we boarded the 5:15pm ferry. I had a beer on the boat when we got off, there were a lot of bikes. We went to Gott’s for fries.
We shared the site with a guy who left early that morning. The night before he and I had chatted until late. He was from the East Coast so I had to explain Critical Mass to him. We also discussed cycling in general. When I woke up that morning at 6:30, we made coffee and chatted until he left. I explained the route to the Golden Gate Bridge as he was leaving
I let the boys sleep and when they got up I gave them a couple treats. Then I directed them to self start and make an effort to pack. They stuffed sleeping bags while I set up carrots and apples. A bit later they worked on the tent. Unfortunately the steaks were so deep in the ground I had to ask a ranger to pull it up with a prybar. We decided it was likely an old stump underground.
I sent the boys out with a playmate nearby. I left a battery to charge at the handicapped bathroom and that made me nervous. I got to know the other campers all of whom were packing to go home. When I was done packing, I checked the site and I found the boys playing along the river. The boys needed to keep a bunch of bark for some reason.
After we said bye to everyone, including the boys new found friends from the campsite, we got back on the trail The Cross Marin Trail. I noted as I was riding and taking pictures that I really love this part of the ride and the views are quite phenomenal.
At the Inkwells swimming hole, I had trouble parking but eventually I parked on the trail down in the river. Then, after getting ready to jump in, I used my strategy of getting the boys into the deep pool by getting in and asking them to leave it to me. They both braved the pools and I even shuttled one boy across the pool twice. We left after two quick dips but I noted that there were a lot of kids leaping into the pools from high up. Everyone was visibly enjoying themselves.
When we left, I took the boys for hot cocoa and a yummy scone in Forest Knolls. Then we rode San Geronimo Road to White Hill, where the climb turned out alright despite the traffic. I rode Olema Road into Fairfax town and passed a bunch of people two or three times. We met a guy playing guitar at San Anselmo City Hall.
I discovered that we had to ride to Sausalito for the ferry which made me sad. However, it was best method home given the late departure of the Larkspur Ferry. I took Bike Route 22 through Bonaire. Then we took Route 5 to Horse Hill with no problems.
In Sausalito, I got the boys ice cream and we boarded the 5:15pm ferry. I had a beer on the boat when we got off, there were a lot of bikes. We went to Gott’s for fries.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Monday, June 17, 2024
Up The Cross Marin
On September 3 I wrote that it was my fourth day with my boys camping in West Marin. We were visiting Samuel P. Taylor State Park and Point Reyes National Seashore among other places. That morning we woke around 630 after spending the night sleeping together in a two man tent at Olema Campground.
The boys had set the tent up on their own the night before and had generally slept well. However, I had made the mistake of sleeping in the tent with them because of the my lingering fears stemming from the terrible rains we had had at Wildcat camp. The tent was so small, I had the worst time getting into the tent, fighting my claustrophobia and falling asleep.
Fortunately, I was well rested enough by the time we got up. I scared some crows away from the tent and then got the boys up but later let them nap a bit extra while I did some laundry at the campground offices. I also stopped by Olema’s only coffee shop before returning to the tent.
The boys had gotten up and dressed by then. They had even stuffed their sleeping bags a little. The camp was waking and I noticed the profound diversity of the people around me. It seemed everyone was speaking Korean, Japanese or Spanish. This was something I had noticed the night before but there was much more clarity about it as the day got brighter.
I was moving things around at this point and we went to the laundromat to get the rest of our stuff, charge our batteries and finish packing. Everyone was interested in my e-cargo bike. We left around 11:45am and went to the coffee shop for a snack.
After that we climbed Drake Blvd to Bolinas Ridge Trail on our way to Samuel P. Taylor Park. I am always daunted by this hill since the only two ways to visit the park from the west involve busy roads. However, the climb was easy enough with few cars and I attributed that to the fact that it was morning on a major holiday so all the traffic was headed out to the coast.
Unfortunately, the descent on the east side of Bolina Ridge was scary because the road is a little rough and the slope had us moving pretty fast. I rested my nerves at Tocaloma before we rode swiftly up The Cross Marin to campsite 62 - the hiker/biker overflow site. The boys set up a tent while I retrieved a site tag. On the way back to finish setting up the campsite, I saw quite a few cyclists in the designated hiker/biker also known as site one.
Once we were dine setting up, The three of us rushed off to the swimming hole adjacent to Inkwells Bridge. There were lots of ladies - some of whom I even got to talk to. I drank a beer and encouraged the boys to get in the deeper poot. One of them even got in a second time. Importantly, I discovered, much to my surprise, that the canyon has many fine examples of greenstone!
Once I had had my fill of the afternoon, the boys got on the back of the bike and we returned to the campsite to have dinner. The boys initially tried to find fun nearby in the campground but as we had kept bumping into a camper about my boys’ age, they went looking for and found him. We had seen him around the campground enough at that point that I was rather amused by it. His family goes to the campground every year.
While I was feeding the boys dinner a short while later we got to know a through biker from Seattle who had been assigned to our site. We chatted about cycling and life in the city as we wound down for the night. I have a general policy of feeding the boys on camping trips and simply telling them to go to sleep and they usually do so. However, on this night they kept distracting me because of the visitor who was pretty interesting.
Once the boys had settled down, I focused on cleaning up the site table while chatting with our site mate. Eventually we realized we both had friends in the same communities in Oregon and we looked at the map together. We discussed the Smith complex fire which had been raging only a few weeks previous and I told him an acquaintance had texted to say that the Smith complex had gotten rain.
The boys had set the tent up on their own the night before and had generally slept well. However, I had made the mistake of sleeping in the tent with them because of the my lingering fears stemming from the terrible rains we had had at Wildcat camp. The tent was so small, I had the worst time getting into the tent, fighting my claustrophobia and falling asleep.
Fortunately, I was well rested enough by the time we got up. I scared some crows away from the tent and then got the boys up but later let them nap a bit extra while I did some laundry at the campground offices. I also stopped by Olema’s only coffee shop before returning to the tent.
The boys had gotten up and dressed by then. They had even stuffed their sleeping bags a little. The camp was waking and I noticed the profound diversity of the people around me. It seemed everyone was speaking Korean, Japanese or Spanish. This was something I had noticed the night before but there was much more clarity about it as the day got brighter.
I was moving things around at this point and we went to the laundromat to get the rest of our stuff, charge our batteries and finish packing. Everyone was interested in my e-cargo bike. We left around 11:45am and went to the coffee shop for a snack.
After that we climbed Drake Blvd to Bolinas Ridge Trail on our way to Samuel P. Taylor Park. I am always daunted by this hill since the only two ways to visit the park from the west involve busy roads. However, the climb was easy enough with few cars and I attributed that to the fact that it was morning on a major holiday so all the traffic was headed out to the coast.
Unfortunately, the descent on the east side of Bolina Ridge was scary because the road is a little rough and the slope had us moving pretty fast. I rested my nerves at Tocaloma before we rode swiftly up The Cross Marin to campsite 62 - the hiker/biker overflow site. The boys set up a tent while I retrieved a site tag. On the way back to finish setting up the campsite, I saw quite a few cyclists in the designated hiker/biker also known as site one.
Once we were dine setting up, The three of us rushed off to the swimming hole adjacent to Inkwells Bridge. There were lots of ladies - some of whom I even got to talk to. I drank a beer and encouraged the boys to get in the deeper poot. One of them even got in a second time. Importantly, I discovered, much to my surprise, that the canyon has many fine examples of greenstone!
Once I had had my fill of the afternoon, the boys got on the back of the bike and we returned to the campsite to have dinner. The boys initially tried to find fun nearby in the campground but as we had kept bumping into a camper about my boys’ age, they went looking for and found him. We had seen him around the campground enough at that point that I was rather amused by it. His family goes to the campground every year.
While I was feeding the boys dinner a short while later we got to know a through biker from Seattle who had been assigned to our site. We chatted about cycling and life in the city as we wound down for the night. I have a general policy of feeding the boys on camping trips and simply telling them to go to sleep and they usually do so. However, on this night they kept distracting me because of the visitor who was pretty interesting.
Once the boys had settled down, I focused on cleaning up the site table while chatting with our site mate. Eventually we realized we both had friends in the same communities in Oregon and we looked at the map together. We discussed the Smith complex fire which had been raging only a few weeks previous and I told him an acquaintance had texted to say that the Smith complex had gotten rain.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Thursday, June 13, 2024
Olema Campground
On September 2 I wrote that I was pretty bummed out about the rain the night before. I had been traveling through West Marin camping with my boys for a few days. We had arrived at Wildcat Camp a bit late and got rained on most of the night.
While I normally like to sleep under the sky, when the rain had petered out a bit, I reluctantly decided to sleep in the tiny two man tent with my two seven year old boys as a precaution. I fell asleep as it really started raining then. The volume was way more than I had anticipated and much more than earlier in the night. The boys kept kicking me and one spot kept dripping on my face but I just moved and covered up and it was OK. Miraculously, I was neither cold or too wet – I guess the tent was actually waterproof.
I woke up at 5:30 but the three of us just lay there until around seven. Then we got up and looked around. We ate some pretzels and I started taking the camp apart. Getting the sleeping bags done was the most important but the boys started stuffing them immediately. Then we started moving stuff around until things made sense.
Because I noticed the sky clearing up and that the tent was drying out, I set the tarps up in a different spot and got the bike nearly done. Then we changed for sunny weather and walked to the ocean.
I had some beverages ready (chocolate milk and a can of coffee for myself) and we walked to the cliffs above WIldcat. We looked out over the ocean for a while. After that we went to the outlet of Wildcat Creek. I noted that the lagoon had a lot of algae in it. I met a person who had had a hard time camping at Glen Campground in the rain.
I took the boys up back to the trail and we ascended to Wildcat Lake where we had a snack and I drank my second coffee. A bunch of people passed on their way from Palomarin and I realized the trail head is really close.
When we were done, we descended to the bike and got ready to go. Because we were on a bike, we kept pace with a couple of people as they were hiking with us. As we approached Glen Trail, the grade increased so much that I had to make the boys walk.
We passed a few other people on Glenn Trail also. I noted that there was some green stone. But I don’t think that that was a correct assessment. I noted that the rocks that we had been seeing up to this point were mostly sandstone and or slate. I noted that Glenn trail was really pretty and that the creeks on the Glenn side ran north.
Much later we found our way around to the Bear Valley Trail. We rode past some hikers to Divide Meadow and had a snack. I noted that we had debated over the decorative rocks arranged around the facilities there. I thought they look like granite but they could’ve been greenstone.
We rode into the Visitor Center then. The boys had fun looking at the exhibits and I sat for a rest. I saw a few people we had been camping with. I met a couple biking to Glenn Camp.
When we rode to the privately owned Olema campground, I thought I’d just do laundry but they had a site available so we set up our tent and I got a coffee. When I did this one of my boys said “this guy with his coffee.”
At about 5 o’clock, we headed to Point Reyes Station where I found a pizzeria. We put our name in and went to the grocery for food for the next couple of days. Then we sat down to eat. The food was good. After that I treated the boys to ice cream bars and then we headed back to Olema campground.
The boys went to sleep pretty quickly. I went to the laundromat to charge the bike and write.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
While I normally like to sleep under the sky, when the rain had petered out a bit, I reluctantly decided to sleep in the tiny two man tent with my two seven year old boys as a precaution. I fell asleep as it really started raining then. The volume was way more than I had anticipated and much more than earlier in the night. The boys kept kicking me and one spot kept dripping on my face but I just moved and covered up and it was OK. Miraculously, I was neither cold or too wet – I guess the tent was actually waterproof.
I woke up at 5:30 but the three of us just lay there until around seven. Then we got up and looked around. We ate some pretzels and I started taking the camp apart. Getting the sleeping bags done was the most important but the boys started stuffing them immediately. Then we started moving stuff around until things made sense.
Because I noticed the sky clearing up and that the tent was drying out, I set the tarps up in a different spot and got the bike nearly done. Then we changed for sunny weather and walked to the ocean.
I had some beverages ready (chocolate milk and a can of coffee for myself) and we walked to the cliffs above WIldcat. We looked out over the ocean for a while. After that we went to the outlet of Wildcat Creek. I noted that the lagoon had a lot of algae in it. I met a person who had had a hard time camping at Glen Campground in the rain.
I took the boys up back to the trail and we ascended to Wildcat Lake where we had a snack and I drank my second coffee. A bunch of people passed on their way from Palomarin and I realized the trail head is really close.
When we were done, we descended to the bike and got ready to go. Because we were on a bike, we kept pace with a couple of people as they were hiking with us. As we approached Glen Trail, the grade increased so much that I had to make the boys walk.
We passed a few other people on Glenn Trail also. I noted that there was some green stone. But I don’t think that that was a correct assessment. I noted that the rocks that we had been seeing up to this point were mostly sandstone and or slate. I noted that Glenn trail was really pretty and that the creeks on the Glenn side ran north.
Much later we found our way around to the Bear Valley Trail. We rode past some hikers to Divide Meadow and had a snack. I noted that we had debated over the decorative rocks arranged around the facilities there. I thought they look like granite but they could’ve been greenstone.
We rode into the Visitor Center then. The boys had fun looking at the exhibits and I sat for a rest. I saw a few people we had been camping with. I met a couple biking to Glenn Camp.
When we rode to the privately owned Olema campground, I thought I’d just do laundry but they had a site available so we set up our tent and I got a coffee. When I did this one of my boys said “this guy with his coffee.”
At about 5 o’clock, we headed to Point Reyes Station where I found a pizzeria. We put our name in and went to the grocery for food for the next couple of days. Then we sat down to eat. The food was good. After that I treated the boys to ice cream bars and then we headed back to Olema campground.
The boys went to sleep pretty quickly. I went to the laundromat to charge the bike and write.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Sunday, June 9, 2024
Wildcat
On September 1, 2023, I wrote that I had spent the night sleeping on a tarp in the hiker biker site at Samuel P. Taylor State Park. However, boys had spent the night in a tent they had set up on their own. I had slept well and when I woke I lay there enjoying the forest.
There were at least four through-packing cyclists from other countries there. One of them went to make coffee away from site so as not to disturb the rest of us. The others got up one by one and packed. Eventually they all departed for their own adventures.
I set up to feed the boys and slowly got them up. I made oatmeal for the boys and fixed myself a can of cold brew coffee. I had made some of the dehydrated stuff too.
A camper, about my boys’ age, who we had seen around the campground passed through looking for us and the three of them went off to play. Apparently his family goes to the campground every year. The boys returned several times as I was breaking down our camp and I had them stuff their sleeping bags and roll up the tent.
Once I had finished packing the GSD, my e-cargo bike, I took the boys over to say hi to their new companion’s family. Then we rode down The Cross Marin Trail past the park offices and made a brief stop in Tocaloma where we looked at the bridge. A bit later, when we rode over Platform Bridge, I saw some interesting geology in the road cut.
On the way to Point Reyes Station, I noted that getting to Highway 1 was a real pain along this section of road because of the slight rise at the highway and the relative amount of traffic for a major holiday. However, once we got to Point Reyes Station things improved.
We went to the Station House for a delicious lunch. On the way to the grocery store we happened upon the boys’ playmate from the campground with his family. I thought it was really funny and wonderful that we kept bumping into him.
A short while later we headed out to Olema where I had some coffee. I was really irritated at the timing, the traffic, managing children and other stuff. However, I was able to manage.
From Olema we headed north on Highway 1 to Five Brooks, which involved a nearly 500 foot climb. It was difficult but the traffic was lighter than expected. I took a short break at the horse staging area and later we spent about 20 minutes at the Five Brooks parking lot. We found an interesting rock there which I suspected was granite but could have been greywacke.
We headed into the forests of Point Reyes then, taking the Stewart Trail through a dense forest of Douglas fir up the side of Inverness Ridge. The start was easy enough – just a Creekside climb – but it switched back a couple of times and morphed into a dense and foggy forest.
When we entered the flat spot on the top of the ridge there was a plaque for the site, known as Fir Top the highest point along that section of the ridge. I noted that the location is less of a mountain and more of a lump. However, at 1,324 feet it was by far the highest point in our trip.
The forest is dense there and the fog was so moist it was practically raining in some places. One of my sons was actually scared because the forest was a little spooky. We took a break, took pictures and had a small picnic
After that, we descended about 1000 feet – it was hard. At the turn off for Glenn Camp, I noted that that path was somewhat level. From there we descended again to the coast. The mist got a little better but sunset was approaching.
When we started heading into the campground, the ocean was spectacular. We saw a skunk and a bunch of elk. I noted that there are eight sites at Wildcat Camp and only six were occupied.
I tried to get us oriented but right as the tent got done it started raining, which cut much of the fun for the evening short.
When the rain started going away, I dried the tarps out and put everything away and got the boys ready for bed. I had set the site up with the picnic table on one side and the bike on the other. The tarps had provided an area with a seating space in front of the tent. After the boys wound down, I spoke to some of the campers.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
There were at least four through-packing cyclists from other countries there. One of them went to make coffee away from site so as not to disturb the rest of us. The others got up one by one and packed. Eventually they all departed for their own adventures.
I set up to feed the boys and slowly got them up. I made oatmeal for the boys and fixed myself a can of cold brew coffee. I had made some of the dehydrated stuff too.
A camper, about my boys’ age, who we had seen around the campground passed through looking for us and the three of them went off to play. Apparently his family goes to the campground every year. The boys returned several times as I was breaking down our camp and I had them stuff their sleeping bags and roll up the tent.
Once I had finished packing the GSD, my e-cargo bike, I took the boys over to say hi to their new companion’s family. Then we rode down The Cross Marin Trail past the park offices and made a brief stop in Tocaloma where we looked at the bridge. A bit later, when we rode over Platform Bridge, I saw some interesting geology in the road cut.
On the way to Point Reyes Station, I noted that getting to Highway 1 was a real pain along this section of road because of the slight rise at the highway and the relative amount of traffic for a major holiday. However, once we got to Point Reyes Station things improved.
We went to the Station House for a delicious lunch. On the way to the grocery store we happened upon the boys’ playmate from the campground with his family. I thought it was really funny and wonderful that we kept bumping into him.
A short while later we headed out to Olema where I had some coffee. I was really irritated at the timing, the traffic, managing children and other stuff. However, I was able to manage.
From Olema we headed north on Highway 1 to Five Brooks, which involved a nearly 500 foot climb. It was difficult but the traffic was lighter than expected. I took a short break at the horse staging area and later we spent about 20 minutes at the Five Brooks parking lot. We found an interesting rock there which I suspected was granite but could have been greywacke.
We headed into the forests of Point Reyes then, taking the Stewart Trail through a dense forest of Douglas fir up the side of Inverness Ridge. The start was easy enough – just a Creekside climb – but it switched back a couple of times and morphed into a dense and foggy forest.
When we entered the flat spot on the top of the ridge there was a plaque for the site, known as Fir Top the highest point along that section of the ridge. I noted that the location is less of a mountain and more of a lump. However, at 1,324 feet it was by far the highest point in our trip.
The forest is dense there and the fog was so moist it was practically raining in some places. One of my sons was actually scared because the forest was a little spooky. We took a break, took pictures and had a small picnic
After that, we descended about 1000 feet – it was hard. At the turn off for Glenn Camp, I noted that that path was somewhat level. From there we descended again to the coast. The mist got a little better but sunset was approaching.
When we started heading into the campground, the ocean was spectacular. We saw a skunk and a bunch of elk. I noted that there are eight sites at Wildcat Camp and only six were occupied.
I tried to get us oriented but right as the tent got done it started raining, which cut much of the fun for the evening short.
When the rain started going away, I dried the tarps out and put everything away and got the boys ready for bed. I had set the site up with the picnic table on one side and the bike on the other. The tarps had provided an area with a seating space in front of the tent. After the boys wound down, I spoke to some of the campers.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Wednesday, June 5, 2024
Climb to Fairfax Falls
On August 31 I wrote that I left that morning for The Embarcadero with my boys to go camping in Marin. When we got to the Ferry Building, I had coffee and I got the boys some pastries. We were admittedly a little late for various reasons, and upon reflection I was a bit sad because we had to board the Sausalito Ferry instead of the one to Larkspur, which was closer to Samuel P. Taylor, our destination.
The ferry attendants were impressed with how we boarded. I thanked them but while the bike is not terribly large, the bags and human cargo make the bike a little bulky. I explained to them that I had done the trip enough times to know how to prepare.
During the trip across the bay, I re-packed the bike right before we rolled off the boat. I remember that I was so concerned with the timing of the trip that we rode directly down Bridgeway and continued onward to Horse Hill nonstop.
As the climb up that section of path tends to be tedious, the boys and I took a break there and we looked at the road cut. I had recently gone to Tiburon and Ring Mountain so explained how the rocks in the area sometimes contain garnet.
A short while later we were making our way through Central Corte Madera and continued on to Ross. We made a brief stop at the bank and I also made sure to stop at the consignment shop in San Anselmo – the owner is rather nice.
We made one more stop at Fairfax Market before braving the climb to Fairfax Falls. I noted that the climb to White Hill, always a major concern for me, turned out perfect. The boys got off twice at the top. I had to change the battery because my extra third battery had not been fully charged.
From the top of White Hill we flew down Drake Boulevard and headed out to Lagunitas where I got the boys snacks at the deli until the Indian restaurant opened. I got us a plate of chana masala and rice with naan. Then I bought some drinks and we headed to The Inkwells. Our late departure had foreclosed upon our swimming at Inkwells and that made me sad but I knew we were going to have a great trip.
At the campsite I got a tag at the kiosk. I’m met the Canadian and German guys camping there while the boys set up the tent. I made a small amount of ramen while chatting with one of the other campers. We had a beer and I wound down for the night.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Saturday, June 1, 2024
Coldstream Canyon for Photo Ops
My boys and I had been camping at Donner Lake for a week and my older sister had spent the last night with us. In the morning of August fifth, 2023, I woke up and by 6:15 I got the boys up. I knew the train wasn’t coming until the afternoon so tried to make sure I was thorough. I just went back-and-forth between the bear box and picnic table organizing.
My sister got up a bit after me. We started breaking down the tents while the boys were eating. That was around 830. We were wearing jackets, but it got warm quickly.
I checked the updated departure info for the trip. The boys disappeared into the campground by 10 but not before eating a bunch of marshmallows. We put the tents in the driveway to air out and I basically finished the backpacks after having the boys stuff their sleeping bags.
I managed to figure out the bags and the tent. Eventually, I got it all, but it was really late. My sister did a lot to help and agreed to drive us to the train. There was room for all of us in her pickup. My bag rolled around on Donner Pass Road, but we made it fine. As she got ready to leave, my sister told the boys to call her “Tia.”
After we waved bye to my sister, we had a snack. I gave the boys some box drinks. I told them that we were getting rid of the bag of rocks they had collected, and they refused. Then, not even ten minutes later, they left the bag at the Chamber of Commerce store.
As we were due to wait for a while until our train arrived, we did a lot of sitting around the station. One of the reasons for the wait was the track work. This was confirmed by the parade of rail workers passing the station on the mainline. I noted that when they left the railyard nearby in their individual rail work cars, each one had a siren they ran as they crossed the local streets. I took pictures.
After the rail crew had departed around noon, I took the boys to the local shops and a café. The boys were very well behaved, and I took in the view. A bit later we hung out at the station as the train approached. The boys found their bag of rocks, but I got rid of them as we were touring the station’s different offices and the museum.
The boys were slacking when the train showed up but it took a while so I noted that in retrospect, I overreacted by rushing. Once on board, I let the boys go to the café car, but had to grab a couple of things, so I almost missed Coldstream Canyon for photo ops. However, we had a great time climbing to Donner Pass.
We sat in the observation car almost until we got to the town of Baxter. Some lady from Illinois peppered my boys with questions while we ate sandwiches from the cafe car. Later, we returned to the café car for beef stew since the train was so late. I tried to take a nap then but wasn’t successful. We finished the trip in the café car after the Sacramento break outside. The sunset was amazing over the Vaca mountains.
At Martinez we packed up and at Richmond I took the boys downstairs. The boys were displeased with the Amtrak at this point and boarding our connecting bus and catching the 14 were really hard. Later, I let them play video games as I put stuff away.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
My sister got up a bit after me. We started breaking down the tents while the boys were eating. That was around 830. We were wearing jackets, but it got warm quickly.
I checked the updated departure info for the trip. The boys disappeared into the campground by 10 but not before eating a bunch of marshmallows. We put the tents in the driveway to air out and I basically finished the backpacks after having the boys stuff their sleeping bags.
I managed to figure out the bags and the tent. Eventually, I got it all, but it was really late. My sister did a lot to help and agreed to drive us to the train. There was room for all of us in her pickup. My bag rolled around on Donner Pass Road, but we made it fine. As she got ready to leave, my sister told the boys to call her “Tia.”
After we waved bye to my sister, we had a snack. I gave the boys some box drinks. I told them that we were getting rid of the bag of rocks they had collected, and they refused. Then, not even ten minutes later, they left the bag at the Chamber of Commerce store.
As we were due to wait for a while until our train arrived, we did a lot of sitting around the station. One of the reasons for the wait was the track work. This was confirmed by the parade of rail workers passing the station on the mainline. I noted that when they left the railyard nearby in their individual rail work cars, each one had a siren they ran as they crossed the local streets. I took pictures.
After the rail crew had departed around noon, I took the boys to the local shops and a café. The boys were very well behaved, and I took in the view. A bit later we hung out at the station as the train approached. The boys found their bag of rocks, but I got rid of them as we were touring the station’s different offices and the museum.
The boys were slacking when the train showed up but it took a while so I noted that in retrospect, I overreacted by rushing. Once on board, I let the boys go to the café car, but had to grab a couple of things, so I almost missed Coldstream Canyon for photo ops. However, we had a great time climbing to Donner Pass.
We sat in the observation car almost until we got to the town of Baxter. Some lady from Illinois peppered my boys with questions while we ate sandwiches from the cafe car. Later, we returned to the café car for beef stew since the train was so late. I tried to take a nap then but wasn’t successful. We finished the trip in the café car after the Sacramento break outside. The sunset was amazing over the Vaca mountains.
At Martinez we packed up and at Richmond I took the boys downstairs. The boys were displeased with the Amtrak at this point and boarding our connecting bus and catching the 14 were really hard. Later, I let them play video games as I put stuff away.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Tuesday, May 28, 2024
Donner Lake Kitchen
On August 4, 2023, I wrote that we had been camping at Donner Lake for a few days. I woke at 7am that morning in my bag sleeping on a tarp beneath the stars. However, I was lazy until nine because we really had no plans.
I cooperatively got the boys out of their tent, I made them some mush. They had never really been enthusiastic about it. Once again the neighbor, she was from Carson City, walked through our campsite. I noted that she liked to chat.
We washed up and put on sunscreen before walking to the boat rentals. I got us a paddle boat and we rode out to the dog park. I noted that the Private Beach Club Marina had gated off the good beach. I also noted that the rest of the lake side neighborhoods were private so it was hard to identify a spot on that side of the lake to moor the boat. I was also a bit worried about leaving the paddleboat.
Meanwhile, as we walked to our destination, Donner Lake Kitchen, I realized the trip was going to take a while. It was 15 minutes to the restaurant and they were about to close. When we finally made it the staff took our order but we had to wait awhile to eat. I ended up pleased with the experience given the effusive waitress and the pictures of Donner Pass everywhere.
When we were finished eating, we stopped at the corner store for beverages, and I got the boys some water cannons. We had to walk on the highway for a bit in our return to the boat. I was worried the gate through The Beach Club parking lot was locked but the boys got it open easily enough. We found the paddle boat just fine.
As we paddled the boat back to the boat launch my intention was to go swimming off of the boat but we basically ran out of time. Likewise, the current in the lake was compounded by the wind and waves to make the experience frantic. The boys could only pedal so much and at this point I had to manage a beer too.
After floating around the lake with the boys, we returned to the boat ramp. We saw a train go by up on Schallenberger Ridge from the boat dock. It was headed east. I was happy to get out of the boat. By the time we headed for the campsite, my sister had texted and when we got to the campsite we found her setting up her tent.
I was a bit tired, but wanted to go swimming. The boys suggested we just go, so we left and my sister agreed to meet us later. I took us to the lake outlet and we jumped in. I found the rock I had been sitting on the day before. The boys didn’t want to get in but joined me because they had water cannon. I noted that the swimming was better than the previous day because it was earlier in the day.
While we sat on the rock, we watched two ladies and their kids. When my sister showed up, we sat across from the rock where I had been enjoying the sun. The boys and I messed with the kids swimming nearby. The youngest was five and kept spraying us but the boys had cannons.
There were a couple girls he was antagonizing as well. We learned a bit later that my sister knew their mother as they were all from the same neighborhood in Reno.
We walked back a bit later and I got us settled into the campsite. We ate the Mexican food my sister had brought. Later we roasted marshmallows on the butane stove. When the boys finally got in their tent, I was able to chat with my sister for a bit and have a beer.
As I was writing up my day, Amtrak sent me a text saying that the train we had booked for the next day was 2 1/2 hours late.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
I cooperatively got the boys out of their tent, I made them some mush. They had never really been enthusiastic about it. Once again the neighbor, she was from Carson City, walked through our campsite. I noted that she liked to chat.
We washed up and put on sunscreen before walking to the boat rentals. I got us a paddle boat and we rode out to the dog park. I noted that the Private Beach Club Marina had gated off the good beach. I also noted that the rest of the lake side neighborhoods were private so it was hard to identify a spot on that side of the lake to moor the boat. I was also a bit worried about leaving the paddleboat.
Meanwhile, as we walked to our destination, Donner Lake Kitchen, I realized the trip was going to take a while. It was 15 minutes to the restaurant and they were about to close. When we finally made it the staff took our order but we had to wait awhile to eat. I ended up pleased with the experience given the effusive waitress and the pictures of Donner Pass everywhere.
When we were finished eating, we stopped at the corner store for beverages, and I got the boys some water cannons. We had to walk on the highway for a bit in our return to the boat. I was worried the gate through The Beach Club parking lot was locked but the boys got it open easily enough. We found the paddle boat just fine.
As we paddled the boat back to the boat launch my intention was to go swimming off of the boat but we basically ran out of time. Likewise, the current in the lake was compounded by the wind and waves to make the experience frantic. The boys could only pedal so much and at this point I had to manage a beer too.
After floating around the lake with the boys, we returned to the boat ramp. We saw a train go by up on Schallenberger Ridge from the boat dock. It was headed east. I was happy to get out of the boat. By the time we headed for the campsite, my sister had texted and when we got to the campsite we found her setting up her tent.
I was a bit tired, but wanted to go swimming. The boys suggested we just go, so we left and my sister agreed to meet us later. I took us to the lake outlet and we jumped in. I found the rock I had been sitting on the day before. The boys didn’t want to get in but joined me because they had water cannon. I noted that the swimming was better than the previous day because it was earlier in the day.
While we sat on the rock, we watched two ladies and their kids. When my sister showed up, we sat across from the rock where I had been enjoying the sun. The boys and I messed with the kids swimming nearby. The youngest was five and kept spraying us but the boys had cannons.
There were a couple girls he was antagonizing as well. We learned a bit later that my sister knew their mother as they were all from the same neighborhood in Reno.
We walked back a bit later and I got us settled into the campsite. We ate the Mexican food my sister had brought. Later we roasted marshmallows on the butane stove. When the boys finally got in their tent, I was able to chat with my sister for a bit and have a beer.
As I was writing up my day, Amtrak sent me a text saying that the train we had booked for the next day was 2 1/2 hours late.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Friday, May 24, 2024
The Schallenberger Tunnels
On August 3, 2023, I wrote that we had been camping at Donner Lake for a few days. That morning I woke up a couple times in my bag sleeping on a tarp beneath the stars but I ended up sleeping until eight in the morning.
After they got out of their tent, I made some mush for the boys and one of the neighbors came by. One of the kids we had been seeing around the site stopped by. It was her last morning at the campgrounds and it was kind of sad because she really liked hanging out with us.
A bit later we packed a small bag and made our way through the campground to service roads granting access to Cold Stream Canyon. Cold Stream is the canyon where the main rail line makes a giant dogleg in its ascent to Donner Pass. My plan was to hike the canyon paths to the rails on the ridge to view the tracks and maybe see some trains as well.
I made sure the boys were hydrated. We saw Split Rock, which turned out to be a glacial erratic. I gave them a short geology lesson about it. At Coldstream Road we saw a Ranger’s truck, but the gates were all locked so I knew the road was probably safe for us to walk on. After a short walk we found a horse trail which headed to the top of the ridge.
To facilitate the 300 foot climb, I told the boys that the person at the front of the line chooses a rest point and everyone passes them. We made it up 10 switchbacks this way. I knew how many there were based on the maps so we counted. While hiking we heard and later saw a cargo train pass out of the Schallenberger Tunnels and go into Truckee. We also saw some rail crews.
While climbing I noted that the forest was generally pretty quiet. I was able to identify Tinker Knob in the distance – a mountain I had climbed the year before. While there were some birds I noticed that there weren’t many more than the occasional vulture or hawk. It was not all that common to see smaller birds and I guessed this was due to the elevation and afternoon temperatures.
When we finally made it to the service road at the top, we rested and had water. The trail we were on climbs over the tracks on the crest above the rail line at the tip of the ridge there because the tracks pass through the Schallenberger Tunnels. When we were done with our rest we headed over to the western portal, which is somewhat visible from the campgrounds hundreds of feet below.
When we got there, the westbound Amtrak Zephyr passed through, which I found very exciting. I took a bunch of photos. We also climbed up to the top of the tunnel to get a better view. After a short rest we returned along the trails from which we came and continued until we were right above the eastern portal. The boys used the binoculars I had gotten them earlier in the year and we witnessed several rail crews rolling along the tracks backhoes and trucks fitted for riding the rails. Finally, after a bit of a wait, we had the great fortune to see the east bound Amtrak Zephyr too!
We descended the ten switchbacks through the forest to Cold Stream Canyon Road and descended to the gravel ponds near i80 then. I took them to Chevron, which was the only store in the area. I got a soda for the boys and then walked over to the museum.
Much later we went swimming in Donner Lake along the lake outlet. I thought it was a bit late to go swimming but I found a nice sunny rock and a bit of enjoyment. In fact I was surprised it was actually warm enough and that the lake temperature was also comfortable.
A short while later we returned to our campsite and had a dinner of ramen and some other items. Eventually the boys crawled into their tent to sleep and once they were squared away, I opened a beer and started writing.
After they got out of their tent, I made some mush for the boys and one of the neighbors came by. One of the kids we had been seeing around the site stopped by. It was her last morning at the campgrounds and it was kind of sad because she really liked hanging out with us.
A bit later we packed a small bag and made our way through the campground to service roads granting access to Cold Stream Canyon. Cold Stream is the canyon where the main rail line makes a giant dogleg in its ascent to Donner Pass. My plan was to hike the canyon paths to the rails on the ridge to view the tracks and maybe see some trains as well.
I made sure the boys were hydrated. We saw Split Rock, which turned out to be a glacial erratic. I gave them a short geology lesson about it. At Coldstream Road we saw a Ranger’s truck, but the gates were all locked so I knew the road was probably safe for us to walk on. After a short walk we found a horse trail which headed to the top of the ridge.
To facilitate the 300 foot climb, I told the boys that the person at the front of the line chooses a rest point and everyone passes them. We made it up 10 switchbacks this way. I knew how many there were based on the maps so we counted. While hiking we heard and later saw a cargo train pass out of the Schallenberger Tunnels and go into Truckee. We also saw some rail crews.
While climbing I noted that the forest was generally pretty quiet. I was able to identify Tinker Knob in the distance – a mountain I had climbed the year before. While there were some birds I noticed that there weren’t many more than the occasional vulture or hawk. It was not all that common to see smaller birds and I guessed this was due to the elevation and afternoon temperatures.
When we finally made it to the service road at the top, we rested and had water. The trail we were on climbs over the tracks on the crest above the rail line at the tip of the ridge there because the tracks pass through the Schallenberger Tunnels. When we were done with our rest we headed over to the western portal, which is somewhat visible from the campgrounds hundreds of feet below.
When we got there, the westbound Amtrak Zephyr passed through, which I found very exciting. I took a bunch of photos. We also climbed up to the top of the tunnel to get a better view. After a short rest we returned along the trails from which we came and continued until we were right above the eastern portal. The boys used the binoculars I had gotten them earlier in the year and we witnessed several rail crews rolling along the tracks backhoes and trucks fitted for riding the rails. Finally, after a bit of a wait, we had the great fortune to see the east bound Amtrak Zephyr too!
We descended the ten switchbacks through the forest to Cold Stream Canyon Road and descended to the gravel ponds near i80 then. I took them to Chevron, which was the only store in the area. I got a soda for the boys and then walked over to the museum.
Much later we went swimming in Donner Lake along the lake outlet. I thought it was a bit late to go swimming but I found a nice sunny rock and a bit of enjoyment. In fact I was surprised it was actually warm enough and that the lake temperature was also comfortable.
A short while later we returned to our campsite and had a dinner of ramen and some other items. Eventually the boys crawled into their tent to sleep and once they were squared away, I opened a beer and started writing.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Monday, May 20, 2024
Tahoe City
On August 2, 2023, my second night with my boys at the Donner Lake Campground, I wrote that the boys had gone to sleep soon after I wrote in my notebook the night before. I had done a great job of dressing warm and fell asleep at an appropriate hour.
I had checked the bus schedules and the timing for our transfers and figured out that we had to be up at six. When I was up, I set out food and got myself ready for the day. Then I got the boys up and encouraged them to prepare for their day until about seven.
I was a bit frazzled but we made it to the bus stop by eight. In fact we were early since the bus was a bit late. We transferred at Safeway and when we were on the 89 bus on Highway 89 I was ecstatic. I showed the boys the rocks above the canyon and the other points of interest.
A guy sitting next to me practically told me his life story – which included working on lifts in Olympic Valley. The driver asked if I had gone to High Sierra music festival, and I revealed that I had known the promoter.
At Tahoe city the TART Connect guy graciously drove us to the laundromat. I started a load and then we went shopping for snacks and other stuff. After that, we went to Rosies and had pancakes. I also rotated the laundry in between bites of pancakes.
Once we had gotten the laundry squared away we walked across the street to the beach and I was really happy with the result. I got a quarter mile out and the lake was still only 6 feet deep. We found a rock to sit on a short distance out. It was warm and the boys actually swam. We also enjoyed the view.
After that we switched gears to enjoy the local playground. They played a bit with the other boys, but I mostly set wet clothing out etc. The kids the boys were playing with were apparently a lot of fun.
When we were done we went to the dam separating Lake Tahoe from the Truckee River and had some snacks at the cantina there. Then we took the bus back to Truckee and onward. Transferring took a long time, but once we hiked back to the camnp site, things were great.
The boys had some toy slingshots they had picked up at the corner store the day before. A little girl played with them and I noted that when her parents stopped through they turned out to be friendly.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
I had checked the bus schedules and the timing for our transfers and figured out that we had to be up at six. When I was up, I set out food and got myself ready for the day. Then I got the boys up and encouraged them to prepare for their day until about seven.
I was a bit frazzled but we made it to the bus stop by eight. In fact we were early since the bus was a bit late. We transferred at Safeway and when we were on the 89 bus on Highway 89 I was ecstatic. I showed the boys the rocks above the canyon and the other points of interest.
A guy sitting next to me practically told me his life story – which included working on lifts in Olympic Valley. The driver asked if I had gone to High Sierra music festival, and I revealed that I had known the promoter.
At Tahoe city the TART Connect guy graciously drove us to the laundromat. I started a load and then we went shopping for snacks and other stuff. After that, we went to Rosies and had pancakes. I also rotated the laundry in between bites of pancakes.
Once we had gotten the laundry squared away we walked across the street to the beach and I was really happy with the result. I got a quarter mile out and the lake was still only 6 feet deep. We found a rock to sit on a short distance out. It was warm and the boys actually swam. We also enjoyed the view.
After that we switched gears to enjoy the local playground. They played a bit with the other boys, but I mostly set wet clothing out etc. The kids the boys were playing with were apparently a lot of fun.
When we were done we went to the dam separating Lake Tahoe from the Truckee River and had some snacks at the cantina there. Then we took the bus back to Truckee and onward. Transferring took a long time, but once we hiked back to the camnp site, things were great.
The boys had some toy slingshots they had picked up at the corner store the day before. A little girl played with them and I noted that when her parents stopped through they turned out to be friendly.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Thursday, May 16, 2024
Coffee in Soda Springs
On August 1, 2023, I wrote that while my twin seven year old boys and I were sleeping at our campsite on Donner Lake one of my boys woke up at 3am to say I love you and I thought that was really cute.
We slept until nine that morning. I gave them chocolate milk, and an apple and then tried to pack for a trip to Donner Summit later in the day. We were going to have dinner in Truckee also.
My older sister arrived from Reno at 10:30am with her daughter and the five of us headed up i80 around 11 o’clock. Old 40 had had a landslide over the winter so we had to go the long way.
I got coffee in Soda Springs and gave the boys a mini tour as we closed in on the original transcontinental tunnels over Donner Pass, which are now abandoned. Once there, we took a selfie at the entrance next to the dedication and historic marker. Everyone dealt pretty well with the first spooky tunnel, which is basically a raw bore through granite. We had a bunch of flashlights.
The boys got way ahead of us. The next tunnels, numbered Seven and Eight, went quickly. We climbed through a bunch of holes in the side of Tunnel Eight to look at the view in the canyon. My sister bruised her shin so had to take a break, but that section contains my favorite gallery in all of the tunnels so I continued on with the boys.
We made it all the way to Tunnel Nine and I got some great pictures before we rushed back. The boys really enjoyed it. We saw climbers and I noticed some new graffiti I had never seen before.
Later we drove i80 back to Truckee and I noted that there was a lot of traffic. At the campsites we went to the lake for a short bit and hung out at the picnic tables to have lunch. My sister had made us a great picnic. I enjoyed a walk through the taiga near the lake too.
We took a swim and then we drove to a brewery on the east end of Truckee for dinner. Eventually my sister and niece had to go and they dropped us at our campsite before driving home.
I was feeling exhausted then and we started getting in our sleeping bags by nine. I noted that they were still making noises in their tent as I was writing.
We slept until nine that morning. I gave them chocolate milk, and an apple and then tried to pack for a trip to Donner Summit later in the day. We were going to have dinner in Truckee also.
My older sister arrived from Reno at 10:30am with her daughter and the five of us headed up i80 around 11 o’clock. Old 40 had had a landslide over the winter so we had to go the long way.
I got coffee in Soda Springs and gave the boys a mini tour as we closed in on the original transcontinental tunnels over Donner Pass, which are now abandoned. Once there, we took a selfie at the entrance next to the dedication and historic marker. Everyone dealt pretty well with the first spooky tunnel, which is basically a raw bore through granite. We had a bunch of flashlights.
The boys got way ahead of us. The next tunnels, numbered Seven and Eight, went quickly. We climbed through a bunch of holes in the side of Tunnel Eight to look at the view in the canyon. My sister bruised her shin so had to take a break, but that section contains my favorite gallery in all of the tunnels so I continued on with the boys.
We made it all the way to Tunnel Nine and I got some great pictures before we rushed back. The boys really enjoyed it. We saw climbers and I noticed some new graffiti I had never seen before.
Later we drove i80 back to Truckee and I noted that there was a lot of traffic. At the campsites we went to the lake for a short bit and hung out at the picnic tables to have lunch. My sister had made us a great picnic. I enjoyed a walk through the taiga near the lake too.
We took a swim and then we drove to a brewery on the east end of Truckee for dinner. Eventually my sister and niece had to go and they dropped us at our campsite before driving home.
I was feeling exhausted then and we started getting in our sleeping bags by nine. I noted that they were still making noises in their tent as I was writing.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Friday, May 10, 2024
Donner at Twilight
On July 31 I wrote that the day before, I had boarded the California Zephyr to Truckee with my seven year old boys. I tried to keep them in the observation car as long as possible but the trip dragged on after Colfax so we returned to our seats in coach. We eventually returned to the observation car to enjoy the Yuba Canyon with the tunnels. I chatted with some of the other passengers until we again returned to our seats for a rest.
Much of the problem with our trip was the fact that the train was stalled behind a broken cargo train for an hour in there, and when that cleared, we rode through Soda Springs. I pointed out the lodge, the road and the tunnel - all places we had been together. It was at that point that I had to get the three of us off the train. The sun had just gone down and here I noted that I had left stuff in the observation car so I retrieved them.
I should’ve made a sanity check in there to make sure I didn’t lose anything. We stood in the wheelchair room until we pulled into the station (I got a great picture of Donner at twilight). I realized after we had gotten off that I had left a few things in the baggage area of the train. One of my boys was displeased with me about that since I had misplaced a book of his.
We arrived at the station at around 9:40 that night. I got the boys some popsicles and waited for the local rideshare. When they finally arrived, the driver was really nice and helpful. They knew where the Donner Campground was and helped us unload. Setting up the tent and getting the kids to bed took a long time and the summer night was actually pretty cold. I had to put in a lot of work to get our campsite together myself. The boys were really helpful though.
At 7:15 am on the day that I wrote this, I woke up on my tarp under the morning sky. I got the boys up and aired out their tent. Then I got us ready to go into Truckee. I made backpacks, collected items for the trip and put everything away. The boys ate pretzels and drank their power drinks.
We walked to the boat rentals and then to the ranger station. The boys were in good spirits. I had a can of coffee - an innovation I had discovered on previous camping trips. We had to run for the TART bus but the website was wrong by about 10 minutes, so it turned out OK. The boys took their jackets off at that point.
We first went to CVS and picked up some hats and sandals. Then we went to a sports shop, and I got a mini backpack for myself. We also went to the laundromat and I got tacos next-door because it’s impossible not to.
After that we walked to the coffee shop and the natural food store on the far side of interstate 80. We looked at the new Tahoe Truckee bike share system but the seats were too tall for the boys. I told them that we would get bikes the next time we visited. We went to Safeway and bought a lot of food before catching a bus back to the laundromat
Once we were done at the laundromat we caught the highway 89 bus to the Amtrak station and I took the boys to the pizzeria. Harry Potter was playing on the TV and the boys’ brains turned to mush. I had a salad and the boys ate pizza and we say out front enjoying the view on the main street. I took the boys to an old timey ice cream parlor – that was cool.
We caught a local Truckee bus which was on the wrong end of its route-I couldn’t even figure out how that had happened or the way it worked. When we got back to Donner State Park ranger station got tokens for the showers and then we walked to our campsite.
The boys had a late snack and then went to bed. I started writing.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Much of the problem with our trip was the fact that the train was stalled behind a broken cargo train for an hour in there, and when that cleared, we rode through Soda Springs. I pointed out the lodge, the road and the tunnel - all places we had been together. It was at that point that I had to get the three of us off the train. The sun had just gone down and here I noted that I had left stuff in the observation car so I retrieved them.
I should’ve made a sanity check in there to make sure I didn’t lose anything. We stood in the wheelchair room until we pulled into the station (I got a great picture of Donner at twilight). I realized after we had gotten off that I had left a few things in the baggage area of the train. One of my boys was displeased with me about that since I had misplaced a book of his.
We arrived at the station at around 9:40 that night. I got the boys some popsicles and waited for the local rideshare. When they finally arrived, the driver was really nice and helpful. They knew where the Donner Campground was and helped us unload. Setting up the tent and getting the kids to bed took a long time and the summer night was actually pretty cold. I had to put in a lot of work to get our campsite together myself. The boys were really helpful though.
At 7:15 am on the day that I wrote this, I woke up on my tarp under the morning sky. I got the boys up and aired out their tent. Then I got us ready to go into Truckee. I made backpacks, collected items for the trip and put everything away. The boys ate pretzels and drank their power drinks.
We walked to the boat rentals and then to the ranger station. The boys were in good spirits. I had a can of coffee - an innovation I had discovered on previous camping trips. We had to run for the TART bus but the website was wrong by about 10 minutes, so it turned out OK. The boys took their jackets off at that point.
We first went to CVS and picked up some hats and sandals. Then we went to a sports shop, and I got a mini backpack for myself. We also went to the laundromat and I got tacos next-door because it’s impossible not to.
After that we walked to the coffee shop and the natural food store on the far side of interstate 80. We looked at the new Tahoe Truckee bike share system but the seats were too tall for the boys. I told them that we would get bikes the next time we visited. We went to Safeway and bought a lot of food before catching a bus back to the laundromat
Once we were done at the laundromat we caught the highway 89 bus to the Amtrak station and I took the boys to the pizzeria. Harry Potter was playing on the TV and the boys’ brains turned to mush. I had a salad and the boys ate pizza and we say out front enjoying the view on the main street. I took the boys to an old timey ice cream parlor – that was cool.
We caught a local Truckee bus which was on the wrong end of its route-I couldn’t even figure out how that had happened or the way it worked. When we got back to Donner State Park ranger station got tokens for the showers and then we walked to our campsite.
The boys had a late snack and then went to bed. I started writing.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Friday, May 3, 2024
Foresthill Bridge
On July 16, 2023, I wrote that the previous day I had just left the town of Foresthill on Foresthill Road. The air was still only a bit warm but I knew the ride would be difficult. As I rode to a place I noticed on the map called Everybody’s Inn, the ride was easy enough with the singular exception of a pick up merging with traffic near the end.
I had a beer at the tavern and took in the aged interior. Apparently, the owner Cynthia had stopped offering rooms years ago and mostly catered to the breakfast crowd.
As Foresthill Road runs along the narrow Foresthill Ridge heading west from town. As it trends downhill for the most part, I knew that my ride was not going to be that difficult. However, there are occasionally segments which go up and in the areas approaching Foresthill Bridge the dips and rises become more prominent. I did this cycle about three times and on the way got photos of Monte Verde – a local landmark. I also spoke to two utility arborists.
I was low on water, and after a little walking and riding I made the Auburn Recreation Area bike trails. Sadly, it was too hot and complicated so I returned to the road. The Upper Clemintine toll house staff gave me water – but I don’t think they were very accommodating.
I rode to a trail parking lot on the south side of the road and ate most of the rest of my food. Then I went to lower Clementine and Old Auburn Road. Every mile or so I would stop to catch my breath and it was almost entirely because of the heat.
When I got to Foresthill Bridge, California’s tallest, the wind was slowing me, even as the grade downward increased. I also found my skin was a lot dryer when I was riding because of it. I stopped near the bridge and went over both sides of the roadway for photos. I was burning up and dehydrated. I finished my water.
Looking at the bridge from the east side only enhanced its prominence. Built as access to the canceled Auburn Dam, it connects the Foresthill Divide to populated areas near i80 and essentially made my trip possible.
As the trails below and adjacent to the bridge were obviously insufficient for my tastes, I rode straight across and the situation for water was worse. I also noticed anti-suicide notes on the bridge. There were two trails connected at the bridge but they descended into the canyon before heading in the direction of Auburn and therefore not great.
Climbing to Lincoln in Auburn was really hard and once I was at the top, I knew I only had minutes before I would die of exhaustion. There was no shade and I took a wrong turn but made my hotel fast enough. I noted too that the front desk staff was really nice. They gave me water and offered friendly assistance.
Over the rest of the afternoon I floated around in the pool and jacuzzi, had a burger at the restaurant and did a bit of laundry. Then, when the sun had set I rode to downtown to visit the California Club. The drunks were rude, but I had a good time.
In the morning of the day that I wrote this I woke up around 615 and managed to get on my train easily enough. At the train station there was no ticket machine so the conductor gave me a discount. I sat on the train writing and drinking coffee. The train was full. There were older people talking, toddlers with their moms. They were reclusive table mates. I was getting off at Richmond station.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
I had a beer at the tavern and took in the aged interior. Apparently, the owner Cynthia had stopped offering rooms years ago and mostly catered to the breakfast crowd.
As Foresthill Road runs along the narrow Foresthill Ridge heading west from town. As it trends downhill for the most part, I knew that my ride was not going to be that difficult. However, there are occasionally segments which go up and in the areas approaching Foresthill Bridge the dips and rises become more prominent. I did this cycle about three times and on the way got photos of Monte Verde – a local landmark. I also spoke to two utility arborists.
I was low on water, and after a little walking and riding I made the Auburn Recreation Area bike trails. Sadly, it was too hot and complicated so I returned to the road. The Upper Clemintine toll house staff gave me water – but I don’t think they were very accommodating.
I rode to a trail parking lot on the south side of the road and ate most of the rest of my food. Then I went to lower Clementine and Old Auburn Road. Every mile or so I would stop to catch my breath and it was almost entirely because of the heat.
When I got to Foresthill Bridge, California’s tallest, the wind was slowing me, even as the grade downward increased. I also found my skin was a lot dryer when I was riding because of it. I stopped near the bridge and went over both sides of the roadway for photos. I was burning up and dehydrated. I finished my water.
Looking at the bridge from the east side only enhanced its prominence. Built as access to the canceled Auburn Dam, it connects the Foresthill Divide to populated areas near i80 and essentially made my trip possible.
As the trails below and adjacent to the bridge were obviously insufficient for my tastes, I rode straight across and the situation for water was worse. I also noticed anti-suicide notes on the bridge. There were two trails connected at the bridge but they descended into the canyon before heading in the direction of Auburn and therefore not great.
Climbing to Lincoln in Auburn was really hard and once I was at the top, I knew I only had minutes before I would die of exhaustion. There was no shade and I took a wrong turn but made my hotel fast enough. I noted too that the front desk staff was really nice. They gave me water and offered friendly assistance.
Over the rest of the afternoon I floated around in the pool and jacuzzi, had a burger at the restaurant and did a bit of laundry. Then, when the sun had set I rode to downtown to visit the California Club. The drunks were rude, but I had a good time.
In the morning of the day that I wrote this I woke up around 615 and managed to get on my train easily enough. At the train station there was no ticket machine so the conductor gave me a discount. I sat on the train writing and drinking coffee. The train was full. There were older people talking, toddlers with their moms. They were reclusive table mates. I was getting off at Richmond station.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Monday, April 29, 2024
The Ride to Foresthill
On July 15, 2023, I wrote that the previous Thursday night I had the worst time camping at Placer Big Trees because of the mosquitoes. I also spent the whole night worrying about how I was going to get to Foresthill. The fire in 2022 (a.k.a. The Mosquito Fire) had caused a lot of damage along the Mosquito Ridge Road and the forest service had decided to close Circle Bridge during the recovery period, which I suspected was really just a logging operation.
Initially, I wanted to just go down to Circle Bridge but during the night I spent a lot of time thinking about it and realized that if there’s no way to get across the bridge, I would have to not only climb back up to Big Trees but I would also have to climb to Robinson Flat anyway. As the distance and elevation gain was similar I decided to just go to Robinson Flat.
When I woke up at around 6 o’clock, I packed without eating. The mosquitoes had never let up all night. I slept with a tarp on my face. I dreamt of a Twitter user, who would not stop posting in the background of my timeline, and when I woke, I realized it was because of the mosquitoes.
I rode out to Mosquito Ridge Road and onward until cell service was OK. Then I made a hotel reservation in Auburn. I rode to Robinson Road and refreshed myself. I made screenshots of the map because there was no cell service. As the climb got incrementally harder, I noted that while it would get progressively worse the rest of the ride was mostly downhill.
The road followed some old irrigation infrastructure but I couldn’t see any of it. The road got a little bit worse once I got to the end of Flat Ravine Creek which feeds Secret Canyon. After that the road became really hard to use and was practically powder. It was even harder when pickups passed me especially since much of the traffic was due to the Circle Bridge closure. I walked the last 100 feet.
After I took a few pictures from the top, I rode to the Robinson Flat campground and got water. I also took all my mosquito protection off and ate a little bit of food. It was 1130 and the ride to Foresthill was almost entirely downhill. There was a fire crew and some lady at the road intersection. I descended to a spot where I could catch my breath. I looked at the geology. I found some slate, but the road cut seemed to have a lot of different types of rock in it. I admired the view. I was passed twice by motorists.
My descent was epic. I had to climb about 300 feet at various points. The descent from Canada Hill was really steep. This section went east and west in a giant arc with a few turns. I was passed by cars about three times. Some guy in a pick up truck offered me a beer while I was looking at quartzite on a big descent above Secret Canyon. As I climbed out of the canyon on the other side, I noted that the area looked like it may have been a community at one time.
I noted every time the road would become steep, I would have to climb a little bit and that affected my average. However, once it leveled off through Westville, and during the approach to Hamburg Road, the road started trending downward on an easy grade. In fact, every uphill from then on was mountable and I really didn’t lose my cadence all the way into town. I think I rode the fastest I had ever ridden my bike in my life in this section. The ride lasted almost an hour here at an average of 20 miles an hour.
I passed forest highways 66 and 10 and entered residential areas. In total I was passed six or eight times by the time I got to Sugar Pine Lake Drive. From then I had traffic regularly and they were rude. In Foresthill proper I nearly passed my lodge – The Miner’s Camp. When I finally got in, the staff got me set up. They even ran a load of laundry for me, which was very nice. I went to the supermarket, which had a great view of the Desolation Wilderness. When I returned the staff were gone.
While my laundry was drying, I went to the Bar and Grill across the street to have a beer and got to know the local color. There were people dressed nicely outside and I noted a lot of people older than me inside with their families. However, the staff was all pretty young. I posted to Twitter as much as I could about my trip at that point. After I put my laundry away, I returned to the grill and had food. Then I stopped by my room for a while.
I went to the mountain club to finish my tweets and found they had a nice bartender who knows everyone in town. There was a gregarious lady playing pool who also seemed to know everyone. The locals ended up asking me a lot of questions about myself and eventually about my trip. I was back to my room around 1 am.
In the morning of the day that I wrote this, I was up at 9 am and went to the local breakfast place. I wasn’t impressed but it was a small town. Then I returned to my room and raced to pack. The staff was very nice. I looked at my maps in the common area. Then I took a series of back roads through town and ended up at the national forest service district office where I started writing in my notebook.
Initially, I wanted to just go down to Circle Bridge but during the night I spent a lot of time thinking about it and realized that if there’s no way to get across the bridge, I would have to not only climb back up to Big Trees but I would also have to climb to Robinson Flat anyway. As the distance and elevation gain was similar I decided to just go to Robinson Flat.
When I woke up at around 6 o’clock, I packed without eating. The mosquitoes had never let up all night. I slept with a tarp on my face. I dreamt of a Twitter user, who would not stop posting in the background of my timeline, and when I woke, I realized it was because of the mosquitoes.
I rode out to Mosquito Ridge Road and onward until cell service was OK. Then I made a hotel reservation in Auburn. I rode to Robinson Road and refreshed myself. I made screenshots of the map because there was no cell service. As the climb got incrementally harder, I noted that while it would get progressively worse the rest of the ride was mostly downhill.
The road followed some old irrigation infrastructure but I couldn’t see any of it. The road got a little bit worse once I got to the end of Flat Ravine Creek which feeds Secret Canyon. After that the road became really hard to use and was practically powder. It was even harder when pickups passed me especially since much of the traffic was due to the Circle Bridge closure. I walked the last 100 feet.
After I took a few pictures from the top, I rode to the Robinson Flat campground and got water. I also took all my mosquito protection off and ate a little bit of food. It was 1130 and the ride to Foresthill was almost entirely downhill. There was a fire crew and some lady at the road intersection. I descended to a spot where I could catch my breath. I looked at the geology. I found some slate, but the road cut seemed to have a lot of different types of rock in it. I admired the view. I was passed twice by motorists.
My descent was epic. I had to climb about 300 feet at various points. The descent from Canada Hill was really steep. This section went east and west in a giant arc with a few turns. I was passed by cars about three times. Some guy in a pick up truck offered me a beer while I was looking at quartzite on a big descent above Secret Canyon. As I climbed out of the canyon on the other side, I noted that the area looked like it may have been a community at one time.
I noted every time the road would become steep, I would have to climb a little bit and that affected my average. However, once it leveled off through Westville, and during the approach to Hamburg Road, the road started trending downward on an easy grade. In fact, every uphill from then on was mountable and I really didn’t lose my cadence all the way into town. I think I rode the fastest I had ever ridden my bike in my life in this section. The ride lasted almost an hour here at an average of 20 miles an hour.
I passed forest highways 66 and 10 and entered residential areas. In total I was passed six or eight times by the time I got to Sugar Pine Lake Drive. From then I had traffic regularly and they were rude. In Foresthill proper I nearly passed my lodge – The Miner’s Camp. When I finally got in, the staff got me set up. They even ran a load of laundry for me, which was very nice. I went to the supermarket, which had a great view of the Desolation Wilderness. When I returned the staff were gone.
While my laundry was drying, I went to the Bar and Grill across the street to have a beer and got to know the local color. There were people dressed nicely outside and I noted a lot of people older than me inside with their families. However, the staff was all pretty young. I posted to Twitter as much as I could about my trip at that point. After I put my laundry away, I returned to the grill and had food. Then I stopped by my room for a while.
I went to the mountain club to finish my tweets and found they had a nice bartender who knows everyone in town. There was a gregarious lady playing pool who also seemed to know everyone. The locals ended up asking me a lot of questions about myself and eventually about my trip. I was back to my room around 1 am.
In the morning of the day that I wrote this, I was up at 9 am and went to the local breakfast place. I wasn’t impressed but it was a small town. Then I returned to my room and raced to pack. The staff was very nice. I looked at my maps in the common area. Then I took a series of back roads through town and ended up at the national forest service district office where I started writing in my notebook.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Thursday, April 25, 2024
Placer County Big Trees Grove
On July 13, 2023, I wrote that the night before I spent a few hours writing for the night at my Wabena Creek campsite. I went to sleep at 10:30. My pen died and that was upsetting. However, I resolved to ask passersby.
As I hadn’t gone camping by myself in a long time, I ended up combing through my thoughts and memories for quite some time. One memory of my mother really stuck with me that night. My mother and I had planted a sequoia in the yard of her vacation home and it had died recently – after my mother had passed away. It struck me as important so I made a mental note and searched for a picture of her to keep nearby as a reminder of that moment.
I had a hard time getting comfortable as I was going to sleep that night because everything was spooky but by the time I got into my bag I was pretty tired and was asleep by 10:45.
I woke up at midnight and three but mostly got a full night’s sleep. I got up at around 8:30 and noted that the pattern to my packing is to kind of do everything at once. I also noted that I can’t put anything on the bike until I’d eaten and gotten water.
When I was packed, I went for a short distance and reviewed my objective for the day – getting to the intersection of Foresthill and Soda Springs roads. I noted that from where I had been camping at Wabena Creek, I would have to do about three climbs with one light descent. Ultimately the climb was about 1000 feet.
I headed out at 10. I was half way by distance at 11:15. However, I made it to the crest of the Foresthill Divide at one. That spot is essentially the end of Soda Springs Road and the beginning of Foresthill Road but there is no signage or anything else of note for that matter. I passed some guys going to see the petroglyphs on an adjacent road. They gave me a mechanical pencil which wasn’t what I wanted but I thanked them since it was good enough.
At that point my spirits were pretty good but then there were quite a few unforeseen climbs between the crest and Sunflower Hill. I was following the ridge above Duncan Creek (which I couldn’t see) so the road climbed and descended a lot. It was only a drop of about 200 feet and all really. After that I quickly descended to Robinson flat. That was a drop of around 300 feet. On the way, I saw a California fire crew and I spoke to some campers who told me that the water at Robinson was OK.
I got water at Robinson and made myself some canned chili. When I had cleaned up and continued, I noted that Foresthill Road is paved heading south. However, my plan was to go to Placer County Big Trees Grove so I took Robinson Flat Road instead. The climb initially was through stressed, fire scarred forest with a climb of 350 to 500 feet.
From there the dirt road descended sharply. It was long too and I had no cell service the whole way. In fact, I was really concerned I was going the right way. The drop was about 1200 feet over about 5 miles. I could see French Meadows Reservoir and the Desolation Wilderness in the distance when I finally got to Mosquito Ridge Road.
I rode down to Big Trees then. The ride was really quick because Mosquito Ridge is paved. Two work crews passed me near Greekstore doing 60 miles an hour probably. The elevation change was less. Probably around 1000 feet.
When I got to Placer County Big Trees Grove, I was able to walk the trail and take pictures of the two most impressive giant sequoias. There was a grove of mature, but smaller trees. I spoke to a guy from the town of Foresthill who had come over via Robinson Flat. I was concerned because it turned out in Mosquito Ridge Road was closed at Circle Bridge due to the fire recovery activities which meant that my route out – on Mosquito Ridge Road – was also closed.
I contemplated going that way anyway and I was really really frustrated about it. I returned to my bike and set up camp. There were mosquitoes everywhere and noted ironically that that was why they called it Mosquito Ridge. The sun had just gone down while I was writing and I was really dreading not having a tent – probably for the first time in my life.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
As I hadn’t gone camping by myself in a long time, I ended up combing through my thoughts and memories for quite some time. One memory of my mother really stuck with me that night. My mother and I had planted a sequoia in the yard of her vacation home and it had died recently – after my mother had passed away. It struck me as important so I made a mental note and searched for a picture of her to keep nearby as a reminder of that moment.
I had a hard time getting comfortable as I was going to sleep that night because everything was spooky but by the time I got into my bag I was pretty tired and was asleep by 10:45.
I woke up at midnight and three but mostly got a full night’s sleep. I got up at around 8:30 and noted that the pattern to my packing is to kind of do everything at once. I also noted that I can’t put anything on the bike until I’d eaten and gotten water.
When I was packed, I went for a short distance and reviewed my objective for the day – getting to the intersection of Foresthill and Soda Springs roads. I noted that from where I had been camping at Wabena Creek, I would have to do about three climbs with one light descent. Ultimately the climb was about 1000 feet.
I headed out at 10. I was half way by distance at 11:15. However, I made it to the crest of the Foresthill Divide at one. That spot is essentially the end of Soda Springs Road and the beginning of Foresthill Road but there is no signage or anything else of note for that matter. I passed some guys going to see the petroglyphs on an adjacent road. They gave me a mechanical pencil which wasn’t what I wanted but I thanked them since it was good enough.
At that point my spirits were pretty good but then there were quite a few unforeseen climbs between the crest and Sunflower Hill. I was following the ridge above Duncan Creek (which I couldn’t see) so the road climbed and descended a lot. It was only a drop of about 200 feet and all really. After that I quickly descended to Robinson flat. That was a drop of around 300 feet. On the way, I saw a California fire crew and I spoke to some campers who told me that the water at Robinson was OK.
I got water at Robinson and made myself some canned chili. When I had cleaned up and continued, I noted that Foresthill Road is paved heading south. However, my plan was to go to Placer County Big Trees Grove so I took Robinson Flat Road instead. The climb initially was through stressed, fire scarred forest with a climb of 350 to 500 feet.
From there the dirt road descended sharply. It was long too and I had no cell service the whole way. In fact, I was really concerned I was going the right way. The drop was about 1200 feet over about 5 miles. I could see French Meadows Reservoir and the Desolation Wilderness in the distance when I finally got to Mosquito Ridge Road.
I rode down to Big Trees then. The ride was really quick because Mosquito Ridge is paved. Two work crews passed me near Greekstore doing 60 miles an hour probably. The elevation change was less. Probably around 1000 feet.
When I got to Placer County Big Trees Grove, I was able to walk the trail and take pictures of the two most impressive giant sequoias. There was a grove of mature, but smaller trees. I spoke to a guy from the town of Foresthill who had come over via Robinson Flat. I was concerned because it turned out in Mosquito Ridge Road was closed at Circle Bridge due to the fire recovery activities which meant that my route out – on Mosquito Ridge Road – was also closed.
I contemplated going that way anyway and I was really really frustrated about it. I returned to my bike and set up camp. There were mosquitoes everywhere and noted ironically that that was why they called it Mosquito Ridge. The sun had just gone down while I was writing and I was really dreading not having a tent – probably for the first time in my life.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Sunday, April 21, 2024
Soda Springs
On July 12, 2023, I wrote that I had stayed at a ski lodge in the high sierra the night before. I had done some laundry and enjoyed a quiet night before going to bed.
I woke at 8:30 and ate in the lodge’s mess hall. The cook an egg scramble and coffee with breakfast links. I chatted with the manager and packed a bit later. Eventually, I checked out and loaded up my bike.
The staff waved as I descended to the general store in Soda Springs. I had been there before a few times so was surprised that they had moved across the street. I got a couple cans of cold brew coffee, sunglasses and water.
When I was done shopping I rode my bike up to Serene Lakes to snap a picture of the house my sister-in-law rents every winter and send it to her family as a souvenir. Then I went over to Serene Creek outlet. I was really tired at that point from climbing such a big hill but on the other hand I was at 7000 feet.
Once I was rested enough, I descended into the American River on Soda Springs road. Only about three trucks passed me as I was riding. I stopped a few times but mostly to adjust the bike. There were big Cedars everywhere. I stopped at the snow station at Onion Creek.
At this point I noticed a lot of people coming in and going. There was even a pick up parked with a dog sleeping under it. I also noted that it was very obvious that people were living nearby in the census designated place of The Ceders but I had kind of known that beforehand. I was still surprised to discover that the place is populated in the summer by hundreds of people.
I had had an easy enough time riding up to this point and it was only three but I was dreading the climb ahead. I knew it was a traverse to The Cedars. When I got to Cedar Creek, I had to find a Crossing. I also asked the guy for water from his house. I almost forgot my hat.
I rode to the American River then and parked next to a barbecue pit at a makeshift amphitheater. When I got in the water, it was really cold. Then I crossed the river and was surprised to find a tennis court with a dedication to Warren Laurance
I had to fjord a creek then as it had somehow flooded the road – some lady was driving the other way. Then I climbed about 3 miles passing a bunch of locked gates along the way. I ended up passing a road that was marked not maintained.
After that I occasionally rested or walked because I had to climb about 750 feet to a saddle above Wabena creek. I got photos of Point Mariah, Serene Creek, and even Tinker Knob. I had started captioning my photos because I was not in a place with cell service.
I rode into Wabena creek then and found a campsite at the bottom of the valley where the roads meet and the main road continues to the Divide – where I was planning on going the next day. I used my water filter and made a bunch of water. Then I set up my campsite with a sleeping area for the night. I noted that the mosquitoes were horrible. However, the creek was nice.
I had started eating. It was around 830. My pen died.
I woke at 8:30 and ate in the lodge’s mess hall. The cook an egg scramble and coffee with breakfast links. I chatted with the manager and packed a bit later. Eventually, I checked out and loaded up my bike.
The staff waved as I descended to the general store in Soda Springs. I had been there before a few times so was surprised that they had moved across the street. I got a couple cans of cold brew coffee, sunglasses and water.
When I was done shopping I rode my bike up to Serene Lakes to snap a picture of the house my sister-in-law rents every winter and send it to her family as a souvenir. Then I went over to Serene Creek outlet. I was really tired at that point from climbing such a big hill but on the other hand I was at 7000 feet.
Once I was rested enough, I descended into the American River on Soda Springs road. Only about three trucks passed me as I was riding. I stopped a few times but mostly to adjust the bike. There were big Cedars everywhere. I stopped at the snow station at Onion Creek.
At this point I noticed a lot of people coming in and going. There was even a pick up parked with a dog sleeping under it. I also noted that it was very obvious that people were living nearby in the census designated place of The Ceders but I had kind of known that beforehand. I was still surprised to discover that the place is populated in the summer by hundreds of people.
I had had an easy enough time riding up to this point and it was only three but I was dreading the climb ahead. I knew it was a traverse to The Cedars. When I got to Cedar Creek, I had to find a Crossing. I also asked the guy for water from his house. I almost forgot my hat.
I rode to the American River then and parked next to a barbecue pit at a makeshift amphitheater. When I got in the water, it was really cold. Then I crossed the river and was surprised to find a tennis court with a dedication to Warren Laurance
I had to fjord a creek then as it had somehow flooded the road – some lady was driving the other way. Then I climbed about 3 miles passing a bunch of locked gates along the way. I ended up passing a road that was marked not maintained.
After that I occasionally rested or walked because I had to climb about 750 feet to a saddle above Wabena creek. I got photos of Point Mariah, Serene Creek, and even Tinker Knob. I had started captioning my photos because I was not in a place with cell service.
I rode into Wabena creek then and found a campsite at the bottom of the valley where the roads meet and the main road continues to the Divide – where I was planning on going the next day. I used my water filter and made a bunch of water. Then I set up my campsite with a sleeping area for the night. I noted that the mosquitoes were horrible. However, the creek was nice.
I had started eating. It was around 830. My pen died.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Wednesday, April 17, 2024
A Break on Donner Lake
On July 11, 2023, I wrote that I woke on the second day of my Trans-Sierra adventure at 7:30 at my coworker’s house in Truckee, CA. My host had made me a coffee and when I was done drinking it, I started packing. I barely made it out of the house before he and his wife had their first meetings, but we made our goodbyes just fine.
I rode my bike to the Legacy Trail and continued towards downtown Truckee. The ride was impressive as the trail was well made and direct. I stopped at a nearby bike shop to get a tune up. At first it seemed straightforward but when I returned to the shop we concluded that my barrel adjuster and the derailleur cable needed to be replaced. I speculated Amtrak was likely at fault but it didn’t matter at that point. A call to a shop across town sent me on my way.
The ride through downtown was a bit difficult because of the traffic and my maladjusted cables but when I got to the bike shop they told me that they had the supplies to help me out.
I swallowed my nerves and walked to the hardware store and grocery across the freeway and got supplies for my trip. I found a nice hat, batteries, fruit and snacks. Then I got coffee from Starbucks and walked back.
Back at the bike shop they told me that they had fixed the derailer just fine and even gave me a spare cable for my trip! I refilled my water, had some delicious tacos at the local corner store next door, rode the bike around and decided everything was just fine.
At this point it was a bit late in the day and I was a bit concerned about my climb up Lakeview Canyon to the tunnels and onward to Donner Pass. However, my estimates said I had enough time though I would probably miss dinner at the lodge I was staying at that night.
I took the new bike path up Cold Stream and then passed through Donner Campground before taking a break on Donner Lake to get some water. Then I followed South Shore Road and climbed up Red Mountain Road through the neighborhood. Eventually I found a water utility footpath which I had identified while planning the trip. Following it brought me, after a lot of exertion up 100 feet of hillside, to a dirt road headed into Lakeview Canyon.
The road was not in great condition but it was level. Following it I reveled in forests below Shellenberger Ridge and the great views of Donner Lake before eventually finding Lakewood Canyon Road. I had trouble climbing the hills due to the altitude so I took my time and didn’t rush. I crossed two streams before getting to the old transcontinental rail route. I rushed over to the Donner Tunnel at Eder then. Unfortunately, there were no trains coming out of the active tunnel on the UP main line but I still ended up taking a bunch of pictures and video to commemorate the event.
From there I set off for the abandoned tunnels which constitute the original route of the rail line’s Donner Crossing. For some reason, because this was the second or third time I’d been through them, the tunnels seemed shorter, but it was probably because the last time I did the trip I had gone through twice. I noted too that it was probably just because I had taken in so much the first time. Either way, I took photos and tweeted.
At Donner Pass Road I went to the Old 40 Lodge and had a whisky to celebrate. After that, I rode to my lodge. I noted that the cook had just made me a hamburger! For the rest of the evening after I ate I was lazy and drank some of the beer the lodge has on offer. I also chatted with the cook and another staffer for a while.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
I rode my bike to the Legacy Trail and continued towards downtown Truckee. The ride was impressive as the trail was well made and direct. I stopped at a nearby bike shop to get a tune up. At first it seemed straightforward but when I returned to the shop we concluded that my barrel adjuster and the derailleur cable needed to be replaced. I speculated Amtrak was likely at fault but it didn’t matter at that point. A call to a shop across town sent me on my way.
The ride through downtown was a bit difficult because of the traffic and my maladjusted cables but when I got to the bike shop they told me that they had the supplies to help me out.
I swallowed my nerves and walked to the hardware store and grocery across the freeway and got supplies for my trip. I found a nice hat, batteries, fruit and snacks. Then I got coffee from Starbucks and walked back.
Back at the bike shop they told me that they had fixed the derailer just fine and even gave me a spare cable for my trip! I refilled my water, had some delicious tacos at the local corner store next door, rode the bike around and decided everything was just fine.
At this point it was a bit late in the day and I was a bit concerned about my climb up Lakeview Canyon to the tunnels and onward to Donner Pass. However, my estimates said I had enough time though I would probably miss dinner at the lodge I was staying at that night.
I took the new bike path up Cold Stream and then passed through Donner Campground before taking a break on Donner Lake to get some water. Then I followed South Shore Road and climbed up Red Mountain Road through the neighborhood. Eventually I found a water utility footpath which I had identified while planning the trip. Following it brought me, after a lot of exertion up 100 feet of hillside, to a dirt road headed into Lakeview Canyon.
The road was not in great condition but it was level. Following it I reveled in forests below Shellenberger Ridge and the great views of Donner Lake before eventually finding Lakewood Canyon Road. I had trouble climbing the hills due to the altitude so I took my time and didn’t rush. I crossed two streams before getting to the old transcontinental rail route. I rushed over to the Donner Tunnel at Eder then. Unfortunately, there were no trains coming out of the active tunnel on the UP main line but I still ended up taking a bunch of pictures and video to commemorate the event.
From there I set off for the abandoned tunnels which constitute the original route of the rail line’s Donner Crossing. For some reason, because this was the second or third time I’d been through them, the tunnels seemed shorter, but it was probably because the last time I did the trip I had gone through twice. I noted too that it was probably just because I had taken in so much the first time. Either way, I took photos and tweeted.
At Donner Pass Road I went to the Old 40 Lodge and had a whisky to celebrate. After that, I rode to my lodge. I noted that the cook had just made me a hamburger! For the rest of the evening after I ate I was lazy and drank some of the beer the lodge has on offer. I also chatted with the cook and another staffer for a while.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Sunday, April 14, 2024
Truckee Pyramid Bike Path
On July 10, 2023, I wrote that the day before I managed to sit in the Amtrak café car until the train entered the Truckee Canyon but eventually I had to collect my bag and get in line with the other passengers to get off the train in Reno. I had to run to the back of the train to get my bicycle which is not a lot of fun. Once I had exited the station I took a picture of myself downtown Reno and then rode through blistering heat along the river path. I had to put on sun protection halfway.
At my sister’s house I sat in the living room until I had recovered from the heat. Later I tried to look at the map for my ride over the next few days but was interrupted by dinner. My niece had made chicken tenders. After that, we watched the movie National Treasure. I had recently taken a liking to these kinds of Hallmark movies. I was up with my laundry until late.
I woke at 7:30 and had cereal but was mostly lazy until nine. My sister had gone to work and my nieces said bye after I finished packing. My nephew was asleep.
I rode to Mayberry Park then and spoke with a cyclist on business 80 about the route. We passed each other a few times. I passed a construction site and a few other things. Google didn’t send me through the town of Verdi but along the bypass instead. I stopped at the River Belle store and accidentally went to the Verdi Casino.
I decided to get coffee and fill up on water. A short while later I was able to trace the Truckee Pyramid Bike Path (TPB) through Crystal Park. Once I had left Verdi, the trail began in earnest and it was really hard. The first leg was to the California border. It was on water company property, so there were a lot of irritating grates and other things forcing me to get off of my bike.
There were two canals which the trail (a dirt service road) kept crossing so I had to make multiple unnecessary climbs over it. At the Fleish canal I had to go over the intakes station and a beautiful suspension bridge. There were steps everywhere. The trail was too narrow in some places too.
After crossing the river and tracks, I connected with the ruins of old 40. Then the trail alternated between narrow dirt tracks and potholed roads. I passed the Farad Intake Station and there were annoying stairs there too. Then I crossed Floriston Road.
I rode along a novel and interesting wooden causeway at that spot. Eventually it ended at a 60 foot stairway where I had to take my bags off the bike and exert myself beyond anything I was capable of in that hot weather. At the top an angler assured me that there would be no more stairs.
The rest of the trail all the way to Hirschdale was a climb. I had to take several breaks – one I replaced all of the clothes that I was wearing that had stickers all over them. I followed Hirschdale to Glenshire.
From there I climbed up Glenshire Road to visit my coworker at his house. The climb was fully an eighth of the total for the day. My coworker brought me to see his wife and after I had rested we visited his favorite Mexican place in the town of Truckee.
We discussed work, our homes and home. Later, when we returned to his place. I texted with family and tweeted.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
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