Terrible Analogies

The process for obtaining a permit to hike Mt. Whitney is a bit convoluted, and relies on punctual form submission, proper request format, pre-payment, and pure dumb luck to come out a winner.  The US Forest Service limits the amount of people allowed on the mountain each day, and because the demand for permits is extremely high a lottery system was introduced to be as fair as possible to all applicants.  The lottery drawing begins on February 17th, with the winners and losers notified via mail in April.

As luck would have it, this past Friday I received an envelope in the mail containing one of these:

Awww Yeah!  I actually won a spot on the mountain.  Looks like my training won’t be in vain.  I’ll see you up at 14,500ft in September!  The plan is to run up and down Mt. Whitney Trail (22 miles) in under 8 hours.  As you can see I have an extra spot open on my reservation.  Want to come along?

UPDATE 9/9/09: I’ve successfully completed my Mt. Whitney run.  See this post for details and photos!

For the past four days I’ve been sick.  When I say sick I mean sick. My body has felt like flaccid lukewarm Jell-O, and my mind has been as blank and confused as the local public access channel on a slow Tuesday afternoon.  Today, for the first time in days, I’ve felt well enough to expand my horizons beyond feeble baby steps around the backyard.  

As if on queue Karin piped up with, “Why don’t we go to Carrillo?  It should be an easy walk, and it’ll be good to get you in the sun for a bit.”  Before I could raise any form of concern, she had somehow shuffled me into the car like an invalid with a head full of Xanax, and had spirited me away to destinations unknown.

I think she suckered me into this trip my saying, “It’ll be a good chance to break out your D200“. She knows knows my weaknesses all too well…

Twenty minutes later we’re walking hand-in-hand down a pleasant trail under the afternoon sun surrounded by blossoming desert plants, beautiful 1940′s era spanish-inspired buildings and, surprisingly enough, peacocks.  

For someone who has been as sick as I have for the past few days, Leo Carrillo was an excellent way to reintroduce me to the outside world.  It’s free to visit, so the price was right, and there’s a free guided tour if you’re willing to spend an hour learning the unique history behind this beautiful park. Donations are accepted and are well deserved.

Oh, and if you’re curious, I blame the brother-in-law for getting me sick.  The wife and I had a game night with he and my sister last week (Robo Rally!), and he mentioned offhandedly sometime during gameplay that we was feeling “under the weather”.  Believe me, that was the understatement of the year…

Eh, what can ya do.  He’s a good guy and I love ‘em.  He is, after all, “mi bruddah”, and he treats my sister very well!  The man has my respect, and from me that’s hard to come by.

The door to the Wash House

One of several examples of arched doorways in the park

The Cantina

One of the many peacocks running around the grounds