Adventures in Onionism

I went to Arizona to run the Mogollon Monster 100. It's supposed to a be a very tough, scenic, 107+ mile long race, and despite only being in its third year, it's already on the short list of Hardrock Qualifiers.  I flew to Phoenix on Friday after not sleeping well Thursday night, and drove to Pine, AZ for packet pickup. I was hungry, but didn't really eat much, and got a rough night's sleep in my rental car on a forest service road near the start. The race started at 6AM Saturday. It started raining just a few minutes after the start, but only lasted for a few minutes. I fell in with some cool people; a guy who just ran the Tahoe 200, and a dude from SF who runs winter sled races in Alaska; I think he's scheduled to do a 1000 miler this winter. So I had enjoyable company, but I wasn't feeling that great--I hadn't gotten a lot of sleep, my neck was sore from sleeping funny and had to be bent down a little, I walked into a tree and hit my head, and I had mo...

I'm off to Pine, AZ to run the Mogollon Monster . Do I know any hiker trash in Phoenix who want to hang out Sunday night/give me a place to crash before I fly home Monday morning?

GF flew out for the weekend. We, or rather, I, went cliff jumping at Sword Lake. Then Nano married M. He definitely got more of his sand in the communal jar. Then we biked leisurely around the valley floor. Merced "River" at drought stage Damage from last year's man-caused Rim Fire. Then we went to an open house. I'm sort of, maybe, not-really, casually interested in buying a house in Oakland. Obviously, I couldn't afford much. I think my desire would also disappear if I could find an apartment or house close to campus with housemates who don't have old incontinent dogs.

Great race report from John Burton, who led the Tahoe 200 for a good chunk of the way, but ended up finishing third. It makes me interested in running it next year, as long as I could get some crew/pacers who wouldn't be alarmed by my hallucinations the second night. The website currently has no details about the 2015 event, but I think I saw that it will be in October next year, which means even less daylight, and likely interference with teaching. Also, the race costs approximately 4x a normal 100, so I'm not sure I'll be able to afford it. Also, Nano wrote up a report of our Iceland trek. Good stuff. (For reference: my report , my photos , my videos .) Off to Stanislaus NF/Yosemite for the weekend. Unfortunately George has to stay home since dogs aren't allowed to do anything fun in National Parks.

Friday: Worked from home next to my best friend  Fixed my bike at the community bike workshop . Rode the East Bay Bike Party with EDP. Saturday: Read the New Yorker, took the dogs to the beach. Saw Brandi Carlile (awesome) and the Avett Brothers (less awesome) at the Greek Theater with the GZA. Sunday: Volunteered to sweep the course of PCTR's Headlands Hundred .

I'm volunteering at the Tahoe 200 . Seems like a good event, but I'm not sure I have much desire to run it next year. Or maybe Tahoe is prettier than I think it is, it's just that a couple times I got here after hiking the SEKI high country and am disappointed by comparison.

National Parks can suck it. Wilderness is where it's at, and the Wilderness Act turns 50 today. A conference I would probably enjoy more than the average econ conference Ogle these amazing Smithsonian photos and vote in the contest LA Times What the Wilderness Act has taught us Huff Po 10 Reasons The Wilderness Act Was One Of The Best Ideas Ever White House.gov