Up, up, and away

So after all the running around Zion and Grand Canyon with my friends, I left for Sedona to meet up with my family to celebrate my parent's 50th wedding anniversary. My sister has a timeshare there which we all enjoyed very much. And it was great spending time with my niece and nephews.

In addition, we got a chance to go on a hot air balloon ride over the Sedona desert. I had planned to do that on my previous visit but the weather was uncooperative. Things worked out this time and we got up VERY early for them to pick us up and take us to the launch site.

Just inflating the balloons is pretty impressive. It is hard to describe what it is like. Just how big the balloons are and how intense the flame is. Every time the pilot hit the flame, I could feel a wave of heat blasting us.

Soon we were up in the air and looking across the gorgeous valley. When the flame was not on, the ride was extremely peaceful. You can barely tell you are moving at all, except for the scenery passing by.

An amazing experience, truly.

Thanks

Every year at Thanksgiving, we all make a list of the things we are thankful for. And this year is no different. So much to be thankful for really. I have such a wonderful family. I am so happy about the newest member Eliana and am excited that I will finally be seeing her, Tova, and Daniel soon-ish. And I am happy for Jesse who has a new job and a new apartment and new possibilities ahead of him. And I have an amazing set of friends (old and new) in so many places. I am doing well, in a job that I really enjoy, in a part of the country that has lots of beauty to be found. I could go on and on.

I really have very little reason to ever complain about anything. Though trust me, I find plenty of excuses. From the movie Grand Canyon (if you haven't seen it, put it in your Netflix queue, amazing) "But that's how you get yourself in trouble. By thinking how nice it'd be to be happy more." So how about a different kind of thankfulness instead. Every night before going to bed I'm gonna try to be thankful for the day I had. Because no matter how bad it was, someone else's day was worse. And every morning I'm gonna try to be thankful for the day ahead. Because somewhere, someone didn't wake up today. When you put it in perspective, the vast majority of us are incredibly blessed, and few of us really did all that much to deserve it. So be thankful, not just today, but every day.

Time to Make the Donuts

Everybody goes through ups and downs in their lives. It's no secret or surprise that after Deb passed it was a very tough time for me. The mantra that I got from a lot of different sources is "fake it until you make it". That is, keep going through the motions until it gets better.

At the time, I was finding it difficult even to get out of bed in the morning. But there was work to be done and things to do. It made me think of an old commercial by Dunkin Donuts.



Wow. That's old. Anyways, that's what I told myself every morning I woke up not wanting to face the world. "Time to make the donuts." Basically, it didn't matter that I didn't want to get up. I had to anyways. Those donuts weren't going to make themselves.

I wish there were some great wisdom in that but sometimes you just need something to hang onto until the storm has passed. Here's another favorite (and more current) version of the same idea. "Move Along" by The All-American Rejects.

South

Our big hike was at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Originally, we had planned to do a Rim-to-rim 24 mile hike. Frankly, I wasn't sure we would be up to it in the June AZ heat. When I found out plans had changed to a Rim-to-river-to-rim hike (a mere 16.5 miles lol), I was a bit relieved. Still a very daunting hike, but much more realistic.

The weather was even more cooperative. The day before the hike was planned, the high temperatures in the canyon dropped from 105 to a chilly 85! The plan was to get on the trail before sunrise so we could be on our way back up before the hottest part of the day. We started our way down the 7 mile South Kaibab trail before sunrise.

It was actually chilly and cloudy at first. But we warmed up once we got going and the sun came out.

The South Kaibab is a steep trail with no water along the way, ideal for going down. We quickly descended which gave up a totally different view of the canyon. It is one thing to be looking down into the canyon. It is something completely different to be in it, looking up.

We made pretty decent time. After a few hours, we were a at the Colorado river, which was a beautiful and impressive sight up close. Much different than that little line we would occasionally glimpse from the the rim.

A short ways away is Phantom Ranch, a camp at the bottom of the canyon. A good place to stop and rest for a bit and to fill up on water. I bought a t-shirt and mailed a postcard (yes, they have a post office) to prove I had made it.

We were a little behind schedule by then and it was starting to heat up. About 80 and actually a bit humid (for AZ, not for us northerners). Actually, it was pretty much what we were used to on a summer NY day. So it was time to move on. At that point, we switched to the Bright Angel trail, which goes along the river for about a mile and a half. We couldn't resist dipping our feet in at a couple of places.

Unfortunately, it was time to head upward and the "real" part of the hike began. Hey, only 8 miles left to go! And all uphill. It was steep but really, not bad compared to some of the other hikes we had done.  Along the way I couldn't resist having a little fun with the sign that basically says "What you just did. Don't do that!"

We stopped at Indian Gardens campground to rest, refill on water, and eat for a bit. The weather was starting to get chilly, and once we left the rain started coming down. We were getting closer to the rim, which we found out later was having crazy thunderstorms and even hail all day.

So we stopped at the 3-mile resthouse to wait out the storm a little. We chatted with a ranger who had lots of good stories about people and rescues in the canyon. The weather wasn't really too bad. So we trudged onward and upward for the final 3 miles to the trailhead. We even made good time, completed in about 12 hours including stops. I think at the end we were motivated to get to the top.

Along the way one guy said to us that we were doing something special. I suppose that's true in a sense. It was definitely the toughest hike I have ever done. But actually easier than I expected. We were very well prepared. This is not a hike that you just get up and do it without knowing what you are doing. But I think what I would take from it is just the opposite. We weren't all that special. We aren't super-athletes. But when you put your mind to it, people can do more than they realize, if they are willing to take a chance. Ha ha. Cue cheezy music. Anyways, that's my take on it.

Inspiration

When I was first talking about getting my motorcycle, a friend of mine who rode recommended a TV series for me, "Long Way Round". It was at "Really Long Wait" in my Netflix for quite some time. But early this year it became available and I immediately put them to the top of my queue.

It is hard to describe the series. Mostly, because when you get started it sounds like an urban legend or a bigfoot story. The movie actor Ewan McGregor (Moulin Rouge, Big Fish, and perhaps the only good thing in all of Star Wars: Episodes 1-3) and Charley Boorman (an actor friend of his) decide to ride motorcycles all the way around the world. From England to Siberia, then a short flight to Alaska, and continue riding to NY city. You might think the hard thing about that is the distance. Don't get me wrong, it is truly amazing. But it is trumped by driving in Mongolia and Siberia on surfaces that cannot legitimately be called roads (or even what we would consider off-roading). I saw the series and I still don't know how they did it.

So it's impressive. So what? What does that have to do with me. Well, it is more a matter of timing. Those DVDs were sitting there waiting for soooo long, and yet when do they arrive? In the months before my trip to AZ, when our plans were to hike rim-to-rim across the Grand Canyon. Hmmm. Makes you wonder. Maybe it was a message. Maybe I was just looking for some sort of motivation. Well, coincidence or not, it was interesting to watch this huge adventure unfold while packing my hiking gear. And then watching the canyon forecast jump in the last few days to over 100 degrees. "I'm in awe of it, and I'm completely terrified at the the same time." I agree Charley, I agree.

North

After Zion, we headed down to the Grand Canyon. All my previous trips had been to the South Rim, which is very family-friendly and touristy. All fine and good, but this time we were spending some time at the North Rim, which is a whole different creature.

It is much more remote and so you feel much closer to nature there. The North Rim is also much higher elevation than the South, so it is cooler there. Forecast was 70s for the North Rim, 80s for the South Rim, and 100s for the bottom of the canyon. That first night, we got there in the late afternoon. Just enough time to catch a quick view of the canyon and setup camp.

The next day was a big hike day. We went down the main trail into the canyon, the North Kaibab Trail. We were taking it 4.7 miles down a side canyon to where it meets the main Grand Canyon.

In my mind, this would be our big test for the big hike we had planned later in the trip. The idea was to get up really early and go down and back before it got too hot. Unfortunately, on the way down we were falling behind schedule, mostly from stopping to take tons of pictures. But at the end, we were rewarded with a wonderful view of our destination, Ribbon Falls.

At the falls, we stopped for lunch and cooled off in the water. It was getting pretty hot as we were pretty close to the bottom of the canyon. So we decided to wait for about an hour, but the heat wasn't going to let up for a while. On the way up, the first mile was rough, as there was really no shade and it was close to 100. But we were smart and paced ourselves, drank lots of water and kept our electrolytes up. We were prepared. After that 1st mile, we re-entered the side canyon. Since it was much more narrow, the canyon walls gave us a lot more cover from the sun and the rest of the hike was a lot more bearable. It was definitely a tough hike, but I was feeling a lot better about our ability to hike in the high temperatures of the canyon.

The Boys of Summer

I would hope you have you heard the Don Henley song. It is perhaps one of the best music videos EVER.



Anyways, that's not what this post is about, but instead the line in the song: "after the boys of summer have gone". Summer is gone and school is back. Yes, I taught classes in most of August, so I didn't really have a break, but it still feels like a new beginning to me. Even if with not quite so much energy and excitement as usual.

The first week is always crazy, and this year was no exception. As I take on more and more responsibility for the Engineering Science program, it seems to get even more hectic. Somedays it is frustrating because it seems like my reward for volunteering is getting asked to do more work. But it is my choice, I guess, and so I have to live with it. And I can see the results in the students, so that is my reward.

The good thing about being on an annual schedule is that it forces you to re-assess and re-focus. It is easy to get into a rut. Life can wear on you and bring you down. And you just want to take a break from it all and hide. I admit I've done a lot of that this summer. But sometimes you need someone to give you a kick in the butt. Tell you to get out there, whether you want to or not.

Thanks 'Nique. I needed that. Adventure! Here I come.

Put On Thy Strength, O Zion

So this summer, I had an amazing 3 week trip to AZ, UT, and NV. This trip involved friends, family, strangers, and solitude. I began my trip with a bunch of friends who love hiking. Our first destination, Zion National Park.

After arriving in Vegas, we rented a car and on the way there we stopped at a gas station out in the middle of nowhere, really. The attendant told me that Zion was the best of all the parks, even better than Grand Canyon. I was highly suspicious of that claim, but when we got there I could see what he meant (even if I don't agree). The thing that makes Zion different is that when you enter you are at the bottom of the canyon, not the top. This makes for some incredible views.

We got there late afternoon, so we set up camp. The next day was the big day for us to explore. We hiked to a couple of pools in the morning, nice easy tourist hikes. By afternoon we were looking for something more challenging but didn't want to get overwhelmed by the heat. The high was supposed to be 100-110 F. We all had tons of water, electrolytes, power bars, and such. But still that is crazy hot.

A ranger had told us that Hidden Canyon was a good mid-day hike because it was cool and shady. It was supposed to be 2 miles round trip. After hiking for what had to be 2-3 miles, we were all getting very hot and frustrated. It kept seeming like the canyon had to be just a little bit further, all the while the hike was getting more and more strenuous. There were parts where you had to climb rocky surfaces so slippery that chains were there to keep you from falling. Finally, we came to a narrow area with a huge obstacle at the end. I have to admit that I didn't think we were going to make it any further. But after a bit of exploring, some of us decided to continue on. The obstacles we met were pretty serious. I have done some bouldering in the past but never anything nearly as difficult as this. There was one I simply could not get over by myself. Fortunately, there were some more experienced hikers who helped us over. And at the end we found this.

Yes, that is snow. In Zion Park. In June. Truly a hidden canyon. It was wicked hard but definitely worth it. After that, we were all exhausted so that was pretty much it for the day. The next day we had to leave for Grand Canyon, so we took the morning to sight-see the parts of the park we hadn't gotten to yet.

My only regret is that we didn't have more time to explore. Oh, well. Plenty left to do for next visit.

Sing us a song of the century

So music has always been an important part of my life. It helped that I had 2 older sisters, so there was always a radio playing at a young age. We would listen to Casey Kasem's top-40 countdown every week, religiously. Don't believe me? How else would I know that the #1 hit of the year for 1982 was "Physical" by Olivia Newton-John?

Then came the age of MTV. You know, that channel that used to be about music. Even though we didn't have cable as a kid, we did have a half-hour show on U66 (a silly little UHF station) that showed videos. It's hard to explain the mind-blowing experience of seeing Michael Jackson's "Thriller" or the Police's "Every Breath You Take" for the first time.

My parents gave me a turntable (yes really) when I was pretty young so I could play records and 45s. Our motorhome had an 8-track (seriously I am not as old as I sound), but we only had like 3 tapes. So we'd listen to them over-and-over-and-over... When I got older, I bought a stereo system for my room which led to music wars between me and Angela. Both of us playing our music really loud trying to drown out one another. I don't know how Mom and Dad put up with it.

Anyway, the point is that I love music. So it was a really special treat to see one of my favorite bands, Green Day, in concert recently. I had always heard how great their shows were, but all the descriptions were inadequate. It was a truly amazing marathon 3-hour event with no breaks. I wish I had the words to describe it all. Instead, let me try a picture. I got lucky and caught Billy Joe flying through the air in an incredible leap. It just scratches the surface, but it'll give you a hint of what it was like.

That's all for now. Until next time, "Keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars."

One-eyed monster

I was riding home tonight and really enjoying it. The following thought came to mind. It is about biking in part, but it is really more about a way of thinking:

I am Cyclops
My single eye shines bright
I do not shy away from the twists and turns of life
Instead, I push it to the edges but I never cross any lines
I bob and weave, finding my own path
Make way, I'm comin' through

I am Cyclops
I look over at those in their cages and I chuckle
I can see better than them with their two eyes
I see it, I hear it, I smell it, I feel it, I live it
I am uninsulated from the winds that blow and the bumps that throw me
And I wouldn't have it any other way

Sherpa

So what is a Sherpa? Why is it in the name of this blog? What does it have to do with me? How did this whole Sherpa Dale thing start? And why does it matter anyways? All good questions, if I do say so myself.

First, a Sherpa is a mountaineering guide from the Himalayas. So while western adventurists (like Richard Branson) gasp for air and freeze their way to the top of Mt Everest, these guys chuckle their way to the top while carrying 200 lb packs.

What does this have to do with me? Very little, as far as I can tell. But when I was hiking in South Korea in Seoraksan National Park, Tova and Daniel (don't remember who started it) started calling me Sherpa Dale. And if you know them, when they start something, they don't let it go. (Case in point, their current Facebook thread on Nacho Libre.) And it kinda stuck in my brain.

So, I'm not from Nepal. I'm not some hiking machine. I'm not some wise eastern philosopher. But I do like to go on trips and visit interesting places. And I do teach for a living, which is kinda like being a guide. And every once in a while I come across a small piece of wisdom. That's the kinda stuff I want to talk about on this blog. Thus the name.

Grandpa

It's a bit strange to use this word in reference to myself. Maybe if I were a bit older it wouldn't seem so weird to me. But hey, story of my life, I guess. The only model I have to go by is Grampa Nauert.

He may have been old of body, but never old of mind. He always was pretty active and had a really good sense of humor. Not a bad model at all.

So welcome Eliana. At 7.7 lbs and 19", you are such a beautiful baby.

And I will enjoy spoiling the heck out of you, as all grandparents do. I wish you weren't so far away! And congratulations to Tova and Daniel. What a joy and a blessing.

Three years

Anniversaries are a good time to look back.
Anniversaries are a good time to look forward.
Anniversaries are a good time to take stock of where you are right now.

Anniversaries are a good time to remember.
Anniversaries are a good time to forgive.
Anniversaries are a good time to forget.

Anniversaries are a good time to hold those you love.
Anniversaries are a good time to heal your heart.
Anniversaries are a good time to let go of the past.

Anniversaries are a good time to laugh.
Anniversaries are a good time to cry.
Anniversaries are a good time to say "I love you".

Happy anniversary babe. Enjoy the fireworks.