San Diego and quality Flagstaff time

Well, life is pouring by right now and I'm trying to soak up as much as possible. Since I last wrote I spent a week down in San Diego working, visted my Grandma in Palm Desert, and spent 4 awesome days in Flagstaff.

Imperial Sand Dunes on drive to San Diego

San Diego was great as I was able to work with many people I had not seen in some time. The work itself is as good as it gets. Lots of technical rock work. The first couple days for me were spent playing catch up to see where the project was. I was able to build a 20+ ft single tier retaining wall and repair a drain check.

First few stones of wall in place

Finished wall and tread

While not very difficult work in itself it was highlighted by the presence of 2 rattlesnakes in our worksite within 20 minutes of each other. I remember from last year seeing one small one, but these two were both huge with the largest coming out right in the rocks we were working with. A little unsettling to say the least. The snakes were really not scared of us in the least.

First of the rattlesnakes

Second rattlesnake just coming out of its hole feet from where we were working

Waiting for it to leave so we can get back to work



The middle part of my stint in San Diego was spent working down at our largest site where we will be building a drystone swtichback involving 3-4 large retaining walls.

using the rock saw to cut a platform for the blasting box and moving the quarried stones with a griphoist
The past two weeks have been spent quarrying rock and moving it into position, getting our mason lines set up, installing our anchors for our griphoists and planning for how we will blow up some of the rocks. We should start construction next week and everyone is eager awaiting that. I spent 2 extra days working with my boss after the rest of the crew left to learn how the explosives work. It was an awesome two days working one on one with him and blowing up rocks. To use the explosives you drill a 3 foot deep hole in the stone, fill it with water or gel based off the composition of the rock, put in 1-3 explosive charges which are essentially very large shot gun shells, then attached the blasting box over the hole, cover it with a kevlar mat and pull the cord. It detonates the charges expanding the water and sending shocks throughout the stone and splitting it on fractures and veins in the rock. You are then left with much smaller more manageable pieces of rock that can then be discarded or used for construction.

Drilling a boulder for the explosives

Using the trail dozer to clear the remains of the blown up rock

After the last day of work I drove over to Palm Desert to see my Grandma. Then Friday I made the journey back to Flagstaff. Since getting back to Flagstaff it has been non-stop fun with friends. I can see the end of my time here is coming to a close so I am trying to make the most of it. I have been up by 7am everyday and rarely in bed before 3am and somehow have not been tired.
Some of the highlights have been going to the Environmental Education Center where two of my best friends were putting on a reptile exhibit for kids. They had some very cool reptiles and I was able to help out a bit.

Albino king snake at the reptile exhibit.
We have also been cooking a lot of family dinners including a delicious pasta dish on Saturday.
I was able to go climbing one day with my roommates Tyler and Sabine and one of our interns Josh. We headed down to The Pit which is just south of Flagstaff. It was a beautiful day and hardly anyone out there for a Sunday.

Josh just past the crux on Mr. Slate

Pumped out and barely holding on

Popped off and 20ft whipper

The main project of the day was a classic 60ft line there called Mr. Slate which is a 5.10b. Josh first tried to lead it, but came off about 35ft up after the tough overhanging section. He took a nice 20-25ft whipper on it. He tried again with the same result. Tyler then top roped up to the last clip Josh had put in and led to the top with one fall. I then top roped the route to get the moves down and hope to get out and lead it next time I am in Flag.

Finally will be a house BBQ tonight. We will be building a fire pit in the backyard and will be making white russians and having a bunch of friends over. It will be an amazing time.

My job application with Tahoe is moving jumping the hoops. I made the cert. list, had my phone interview and they will be calling my references this week and they said they will be making offers by the 20th. So I am hoping for the best.

I am heading down to San Diego tomorrow for an undecided amount of time. anywhere from one week to a month. I am going a day earlier than everyone else to plan out the coming weeks and get logistics in place.

Amazing people and places. San Diego on the horizon

Another 8 days in the canyon and it was a great success. We got some nasty weather midweek in the form of a snow storm. We are camped at under 4000ft so one can never be sure if it will snow or rain there. Luckily we got snow. I forgot how amazing the canyon is during a storm cycle. There are the tell tale winds the day before it hits that threaten to blow you and your tent over the edge of the canyon. The morning the storm arrives is an eery calm and an amazing sunrise as the first clouds move into the canyon.

Storm arriving

While often warmer than usual in the morning the temperature tends to fall during the day as the storms moves down the canyon. As the storm hits the clouds first rest on either rim and slowly climb down the canyon walls before hitting you. Before long you are enveloped in clouds and can no longer see down to the river or up to the rim. Snow starts to fall and blankets the canyon.

Storm settling down over camp

Then, there is nothing that compares to a clearing storm. When the sun first reappears the snow quickly melts and the canyon becomes alive with ever changing colors. Everything is more vibrant than before. Redder reds, greener greens, incredible sunsets and the birds always start to sing. Waterfalls emerge as the snow continues to melt and you wish you could see everything at once.
By the next day, it is a cloudless sky and most of the snow has melted from the lower elevations and southern faces.


Perhaps the only thing better than the weather was the people. In contention for one of the best crews I have had in my 14 months with ACE, I had blast with them everyday all day.

Staying warm afterwork by the heater


Full of energy and life they were a delight to be with and I will seriously miss them all and hope to visit them in their home countries in the years to come and reminisce about the stormy 8 days we spent together in the Grand Canyon.

Great people


After work I was wanting to run, but my calf still wouldn't let me. Instead I found a wonderful place with some very nice rocks with which to make some sort sculpture. After 3 days of work I had completed a 3 layer stone arch. I then removed one layer each day after that and now there is a large single arch standing there in the canyon until nature decides to remove it.

All 3 layers intact

Bottom layer gone

A single arch remains, for how long?


I had been debating all week on what to do with my 6 days off. Ski trip to the north rim? Backpacking trip on the south rim? Mountain biking in Sedona? Go to San Diego to volunteer with the project down there? Or just enjoy time with friends in Flag? In the end my decision was made for me when I returned. My boss called me into his office and asked if I would like to go down to San Diego this weekend to take over the project going on down there. While I love the canyon, the chance to lead ACE's biggest rockwork project ever was an opportunity I could not pass up. So I get my rental car tomorrow and drive down there for 4 days of rockwork. I will then be back to Flag for 6 days before returning to San Diego for 3 weeks more. They are behind schedule and have to finish by April so it should be a fun challenge to get back on track.

That's all for now. I have much to do to prepare for the project.

Days off, having fun and making friends

Snow on the cars after the first wave of the storm.

It's been a wonderfully fast 6 days off here in Flagstaff. While time seemed to move in slow motion at times as the sky dumped down 2 feet of white bliss, I was constantly on the move, slipping and sliding from place to place.

No BBQ in our backyard this week

Wether it was sitting in the Wine Loft and drinking bottles of wine whilst playing board games with old friends, or skiing some fresh snow on Mt. Humphrey's solo, or playing pool for free with a bunch of new acquaintances, I was in a constant search of the fun that most people were ignoring because of the snow.

Sun setting on great afternoon of skiing. Grand Canyon is off in the distance on right side of picture.

Downtown Flagstaff seemed like a ghost town for about 4 days straight. Even though Flagstaff averages over 100 inches of snow per year it seems like as soon as the white stuff starts to fall people give up on life and stay home. However, I have found that most downtown businesses realize this and thus offer anything and everything to get you to go to their place. Whether this is free pool, cheap food, or almost free drinks, there are plenty of deals to take advantage of on a snow day.
The highlight of the week off was the 2 day NAU Slowfood Movie Festival which highlighted the environmental and social problems created by our current food system. There were some great movies and speakers as well as tons of great likeminded people who did not let the storm keep them from venturing out and supporting a great cause. A not so bad bi-produt of attending the festival was free gift certificates to a number of local restaurants.

Taking up a lot of my time this week has been applying for the Tahoe job I am hoping to get. The application process while not altogether difficult, is just tedious as I don't want to make a small computer mistake which screws everything up. However I feel I have done everything to the best of my ability and hope that by the end of March I will know I am going to be heading up to Tahoe for another awesome summer.

People braving the weather in downtown Flag while I fill out job applications


I head out tomorrow morning at 6 to drive to the canyon for 8 days of awesomeness. After I return I may be going straight to San Diego for 4-5 days to help with the big rock project going on down there. If not that, perhaps a trip to the North Rim of the canyon for a ski trip. Either way should be fun!

Truck and house after shoveling snow
That's all for now!

Feels Like Home

Our home for the 8 days we were in the canyon.

On Wednesday February 9th, after picking up my 11 volunteers from around the world, I drove off in the dark towards the Grand Canyon. It was like driving home after a long time in unfamiliar places. It is difficult to describe the feeling that the Canyon evokes in you when you spend so much time there. When you are 3500ft below the rim with no worries from the outside world it is a place of extreme tranquility and unrelenting beauty. This of course is tempered by the fact the weather can and does change in a moments notice and one can never ignore the power of the forces that created such a place.

We arrived at the trailhead at 8:30. Right on time to meet the mule packers. One of whom was one of my supervisors from the previous February. It was good to see her there and doing well. After loading the mules with our food for the next 8 days we headed down over the rim. It was a stark difference from last February when the trail had over a foot of snow on it. This time there was no snow whatsoever after a very dry January.
It was enjoyable watching the volunteers who had never been here experience the Canyon for the first time. They had endless smiles and would stop to take pictures at every turn.

I have ever been down in the canyon with such perfect weather for 8 days in a row. It was 50-60 degrees every day and we didn't see a cloud in the sky until the last two days. Most surprising of all was the lack of wind. It is normally very windy where we were camped, but we saw none of it.
I had a very diverse crew with 10 countries represented within our crew of 12: America(1 native american), England, Japan, Sweden, Germany, Holland, Denmark, Austria, Italy, and France. Overall it was quite the cultural experience and I a blast learning from all of them. They were all very hard workers and a pleasure to have on my crew.

Of course the canyon was not without its wildlife encounters as well as amazing sunsets.

Scorpion we found at the worksite

It's somewhat camouflaged but there is a big buck near the foreground in this picture

A red fox roaming around down by the Colorado River

Sunset on Monday night.

Ledge from which I enjoyed the sunset


Work itself was pretty straight forward as we mainly did general trail maintenance work with some people doing rock work to armor one of the steep sections of trail as well as put liner rocks on the side of the trail.

My crew hard at work

Putting in some liner rocks

Armoring the trail with riprap.

All smiles after finishing their liner rocks


We finished work early and on the second to last day we went hiking down to the river. I had heard of a big horn sheep trail that miners used in the old days to get down to the river. So I took the brave people, who for some reason trusted me to get them to the river, on quite the adventure. We almost gave up right away because we could not find the cairn marking the entrance to the particular canyon we were trying to get down. Luckily our patience paid off and we found our way in. Now we just had to find the rest of the way.

Happy we found our way into the canyon

The going got quite steep

From there we somehow made a number of very good decisions at possible junctions and made it safely to the river, except for the Austrian girl Nora who was hit by a falling rock. Luckily it was just a flesh wound and we patched it up and continued on.

Nora just before being struck by a falling rock

Yoann picking his way down the ridge.

This is a picture looking towards the route we went down to the river.


After hiking out I took my crew to a secret location that was shown to me last year where there is a very cool sinkhole on the canyon rim that you can climb down and it pops you out on a ledge on the side of the rim no more than 1 foot wide.

The Italian Samuele climbing down into the sinkhole

Samuele and Andrew on the edge of the canyon after climbing down the sinkhole.

Also nearby the sinkhole is an overhang on the rim with indian drawings on it.


Following this I took them to see the Grand Canyon IMAX which capped off an amazing 8 days.

I am now back in Flagstaff for 6 days off. I am currently getting over a calf injury I sustained on my birthday, but I hope to be able to start running again tomorrow. A storm is rolling into town and should dump a good amount of snow so I hope to hit the slopes as well.

That's all for now.

Back in Flagstaff

BREAKING NEWS: Congratulations to Kimmy for getting 8th at the US Cross Country Championships in San Diego! She may be heading to the world championships! It's great to see Mexico paying off. After seeing her and Addie run so well I can't wait to see how Brie does.

now for our scheduled program:
So I am now back in cold, beautiful Flagstaff. Although not before spending some quality time with family and friends. Last weekend I had the great fortune of being able to spend a night in Davis with some old friends. I also was able to spend a night at home and eat some delicious birthday cake my mom made for me.
I then made the 12+ hour drive back to Flagstaff over the course of the next two days. I slept in my truck in Needles, CA before making it back to Flag.
I was scheduled to lead a chainsaw crew out at Wupatki National Monument cutting down invasive tamarisks. However, that never happened. First I had to run down to Phoenix on the first day of the project to get 2 new chainsaws and the next 3 days of the project were canceled due to cold temperatures. We needed to spray the Tamarisks stumps with a pesticide after sawing them, but the cold temps froze the pesticide making it unusable. How cold was it you may ask?
The HIGH on one of the days was -8 degrees fahrenheit with the windchill. At night it was down near -30. The other two days did however get above 0 degrees which was nice. We ended up just working in Flagstaff at the office and apartments doing repairs and painting. This was a welcome treat for me as it meant I was able to spend my birthday here in town rather than out in a tent in below zero temps.
My birthday was a blast and has rolled over to the past two nights as coworkers have gotten back to town.
Last night in particular was incredible. I had no intention of even going out but it was the Friday art walk and there was free beer at the local bead store. So we went there and then over to the Lumberyard where they had $5.95 32oz mason jars of white russians. After 64oz we abandoned the terrible country music and went to Flagstaff Brewing Co. where there was an impromptu concert by two musicians playing a harmonica and resonator guitar. We danced there until 2am. It was awesome.
I am now biding my time in Flagstaff until I head out to the Grand Canyon on Wednesday for 8 days of work. I am so stoked to be going back down in the Canyon. We will be camping down on the Tonto Plateau about 5 miles down into the canyon on the S. Kaibab Trail.

My second home for the next few months.

I am hoping to do some skiing between now and then and perhaps some rock climbing and just enjoy life. That's all for now.

Back to the States

Well the last 10 days have flown by. I can't believe I am back in the bay area now and will be back to work next Monday in Flagstaff.

Since my last post a lot has happened and most importantly all three ladies made it back to the states alive and not injured. Mission Accomplished.
I am stoked to see how they do in their upcoming races. First up will be Addie this Saturday at the US Half Marathon Champs in Houston, and then Kimmy at US Cross Country Champs in San Diego and the Brie will be racing indoors come the middle of February.

But I digress. Back to the previous 10 days. Let me think. On Tuesday the 18th Kimmy and I headed up to the Golf Course at 7am so she could get some work done on the grass. However it was not without it's complications. First she did not wake up from her alarm due to the new and improved ear plugs she had acquired, and secondly I lost the keys and spent 15 minutes frantically searching for them. Just when I thought I had ended her chance of working out that morning I found them at the bottom of my bag. Golfers would be on the course starting at 8:30 so we had to get the workout done before then.
We surprisingly made it through the security gate at the club without trouble and Kimmy got underway. Her 10x500m went very well and I was bummed that my injury would not let me partake.

Kimmy starting the workout just as the sun comes up over the horizon

Finishing up her workout

After her workout we headed back just in time for breakfast to meet up with Addie and Brie who had just awoke. They then hit the track and trail for their workouts. I timed Brie on her 12x300m while Kimmy took pictures of her and Addie working out.


Addie definitely set the record for most times around the mile dirt loop at the training center.

The following day all three ladies only had one run to do so we headed out to explore the town that afternoon. Our first stop took us to a frozen yogurt place which we would then proceed to frequent often during the rest of our trip.


Next door we found there was an italian restaurant. We went there to eat dinner on Friday. It was delicious.

Following frozen yogurt we drove to the Central Historical District. We were fortunate to find a very good parking spot and a nice gentleman who spoke some english helped us pay the parking fee and washed our car.
We walked around for about an hour checking out the old buildings and ducking into a few shops and taking pictures.

Main square

Building which is on their license plate. Must be important.

Big church. One of many many churches

A local chilling with her friends

About to turn down a street on which every shop on both sides of the street for 4 blocks was an eyeglasses store

On our last Friday the ladies all had a 3 mile tempo as part of their workout so they did it together.



On the last Sunday long run we went to Tangamanga and its a good thing we did as it was super windy. If we had gone to the same place as last Sunday it would have been miserable. As it was, Tangamanga was a big dustbowl.
Here is a baseball game which became invisible from time to time


Finally on Tuesday the time came to leave San Luis Potosi and venture back down to Mexico City. This was a day that I was not looking forward to. Although it was the reason I was here in the first place so I was at the same time excited for whatever adventure may come. It didn't set our nerves at ease when we were told that morning at breakfast that we were crazy/braze for attempting the drive to and more specifically through Mexico City.
The ladies did their final workouts at altitude that morning. Brie and Addie ran at the training center and Kimmy went to the park. The field where she was to do her workout was being watered at the time by some huge sprinklers which she had to run through. She nailed the workout and its safe to say if it should rain at San Diego she will be ready.

Somehow she timed it so that she was sprayed at every possible time by the sprinklers.

After the workout we ate lunch and loaded up the car. We were packed to the brim as the ladies decided to each bring their whole closet with them.
We took off at 1:30. We made great time and had no trouble getting to Mexico City in just under 4 hours. However as we arrived around 5:30 on a Tuesday we would be stuck in quite a bit of traffic. Luckily the traffic is so slow that chance of serious injury is low and if you are hungry you can purchase food from any of the hundred of individuals who stand in the middle of the highway selling such items.

It took over an hour to get through the city to our hotel. I read before coming down that driving here was insanity, but I thought they were over exaggerating. They weren't.
It's difficult if not impossible to explain the craziness of driving in this city, but I will try and give you some tips in case you ever find yourself behind the wheel down there.

1. Every rule you learn in the states about driving a vehicle needs to be thrown out the window in order to survive let alone get from point A to point B. The shear number of cars on the road and lack of space for said cars forces everyone, including you, to be a jerk.
2. To drive here you have to be simultaneously aggressive(there is no bad reason to cut someone off or to honk) and patient(it's not worth getting upset at being cutoff or being honked at).
3. Traffic signs and lights are blatantly ignored by all.
4. Don't drive in the left lane. You will inevitably get stuck behind people trying to make a u-turn.
5. Don't drive in the right lane. You will inevitably get stuck behind buses picking up people, double parked cars or tents.
6. Don't drive in the center lane. All the locals follow rules 5 and 6 which makes the center lane a parking lot and cars and busses that are double parked will suddenly lurch in to the center lane from the right lane.
7. Expect the unexpected at intersections. People will blow through red lights. People will turn left from the right lane and right from the left lane and people in the center lane are rarely going to go straight.
8. If a police car is behind you with its lights on, ignore it. They all have their lights on and at most he is trying to intimidate you to get you to make you change lanes.
9. Never stop at a stop sign unless you want to hear a roar of horns behind you.
10. Lanes marked on the road(if they even are) are never used. A 3 lane road often has 4 or 5 cars abreast.
11. Don't even think of using your turn signals for turning. They are only used to signal the person in front of you that they are going too slow and they should get the f*&% out of your lane.
12. Your horn is your best friend.
13. If you let someone in your lane or put on the brakes you can bet the person behind you will let you know how pissed they are about it.
14. Beware of the over 6000 speed bumps in the city, most of which are illegally placed and will severely damage your car if you hit them too fast. But hit them too slow and you will be honked at to no end.
15. And finally whoever has the shittiest car or cares the least about getting a dent has the right of way. If you want to change lanes then check and see if the car you want to get in front of is more or less expensive than yours. If it's more expensive lurch the front of your car into that lane and they will slow down. If it's less expensive wait for another car that is worth more than yours.

So, we make it back to the rental car place and turn in the car. The relief of being done with driving in that city is indescribable. I am just thankful we got there in one piece and did not damage the car.
We head in the shuttle over to the Camino Real. Brie and Addie do their double and Kimmy and I explore around finding a place to eat dinner and how to get across the skywalk to the airport. We succeed and meet up with the ladies for dinner around 7:45. After an enjoyable meal we get some internet and then say goodbye to Brie who is leaving on a 7am flight and head to bed.
Addie and Kimmy run the following morning. We get breakfast, pack up and head over to the airport around 10:30. My scheduled flight isn't until 3:45 putting me in San Francisco at 11:45pm. This doesn't sound like fun to me so I attempt to get an earlier flight. I am successful in doing so and my new flight will deliver me to SFO at 7:30pm. Much better.
Addie and I are on the same flight to Dallas while Kimmy is flying delta so we part ways at check in. It isn't until Addie and I get through security that we realize Kimmy was in the wrong terminal. I am not sure what was involved in her getting to the other terminal, which is not at all close to where we were, but she was successful in getting there.
I exchange my leftover pesos for American Dollars and board the plane to head back home.
Upon take off I am able to look down upon the cluster that is beautiful Mexico City.


I arrive at SFO on time and catch BART to the Montgomery St station where I meet up with Ben who had just finished up work for the day. How, with no qualifications or experience, he became the cross country and distance coach of soon to be Division 2 San Francisco Academy of Art will forever be a mystery to me. But I think jumping head first into new experiences is the best way to learn and I think he will do an excellent job.
We head back to his and Tyler's place and catch up on anything and everything.
Those two gentlemen headed to work early today while I slept in.
I walked from their place to downtown to deliver Ben's forgotten checkbook and explore the downtown area for a while before heading over to Rockridge to get some food and internet.
And now here I am finishing up my blog in Rockridge and about to catch BART up to Martinez at which point I will meet up with Bri and head to Davis for the night to visit old friends and have a grand old time.
That is more than a long enough blog and so I will spare you more blabbering and conclude by saying that the past month was an awesome change of pace and experience. I hope that I can continue running once my injuries heal up and I wish the 3 ladies that I was lucky enough to spend January with all the best in their running adventures.

Back in the states. San Francisco seems mellow and free of traffic in comparison to Mexico City