Walking past the clouds - The Rose peak hike

My wife, by default can convince me that everything she asks me to do, is going to be good for me.. and fun!

Usually she is right. It just takes me some time after I have done what she has asked me to do.. to realize that it was good and fun.

This weekend has witnessed yet another such event. 

We hiked Rose Peak on what was supposed to be a cold cloudy Saturday. We usually hear horror stories from people who have tried this hike. Exhaustion, dehydration, injuries, folks being air lifted by helicoper etc. etc. 

It is a very difficult hike with lots of ups and downs and paths where the trail has been cut through by running water (easy to twist ankle or fall) and 90% of it is open with no trees or cover. Doing this in summer would be really tough. That was one reason for jumping at the chance. There are the cows in the early part of the trail. The land has been leased for grazing. Invariably you have to hike around the cows, especially if there is a bull on the path. We encountered two and walked around.

We have been postponing this hike for some time now, trying to wait for right conditions. Our friends wanted to do this hike with us and the weather report suggested a near perfect day for this hike, and before we knew it, there we were packing the hiking backpacks. 

When we parked our cars at the trailhead, it started drizzling. Showing me the weather forecast saying "see, there is no rain in the forecast", doesn't make it better when it is actually raining! The forecast was shown as proof that the rain at the start was some kind of anomaly. The rain gods however didn't seem to have gotten the memo from the Weather app folks. 

Initially you walk along the creek. We did not see much water but what appeared to be ice or salt on the rocks in the middle of where the creek would be. Being curious, we went down to the middle of the dry creek to check it out. Turns out, this is wood debris that has been mushed to a pulp. This settles and wraps on the rocks like a mesh cloth. Guess this must be how the Egyptians discovered Papyrus!

The early part of this trail we have already been through.. on our way back from the Little Yosemite trail. We got to see the "W" tree again!

This should have been an under 8 hour hike by our usual standards.

Cloudy conditions are always good. We took 2 1/2 liters of water each and drank only a liter or liter and a half. Please note, there is no drinking water available on the trail anywhere! 

However, we took 10 1/2 hours!

The big reason was that it was raining for a good hour on our way up. I was wearing cotton track pants (most synthetics give me allergic reaction) and the wet pants made it very difficult.  

For the most part we walked the Ohlone Wilderness trail. We have passed by Hawk's nest on our previous way back on Little Yosemite but could not get a "bench photo" because an old couple were having their lunch on the bench. At least that is what I remember... this time we got the photo.

The 32 degrees inshirt from Costco may keep you warm, but is not waterproof either.. 

Then the rain stopped, but we walked up through the rain clouds and ended up above the clouds. As we walked through the clouds, the visibility was very poor, so we had to walk as a group so no one takes a wrong turn. During this time moisture kept condensing on our face and running into our clothes which was also an interesting challenge.

If you do this hike on a cloudy rainy day, wear all waterproof gear! We saw only two people on the 18+ mile trip. A guy who caught up with us 4 miles in and decided to turn back. He asked us "why would you want to go to the peak in this weather?".. we answered "so we can say we hiked it!'.. He shook his head in disbelief. When we reached the top, a girl ran in. She had come up in half the time and was planning to go down in half the time as well. 

At the top, we not find the geological survey marker to take a picture. There was very poor visibility as well. We did sign the six peaks book to show date and time we made it.  Had chai and packed sandwiches standing up (no place to even sit as everything was wet and slushy) and started the hike back. Hot chai never tasted so good ! My fingers were freezing and were numb when we got to the top!

It was going to be a race against time as sunset was 4:45 PM and we started at 2PM. Our original plan was to be make it back by 5 latest. However given the ups and downs, we found it difficult enough to come down. We were doing 25 minute miles for the first 5 instead of 15 minute miles like we expected. 

One of our friends had just bought new shoes in REI to check them out for a later hike. Turns out the shoe was too loose as well as heel heavy, and it ended up being very painful. She had to use all her will power to walk the last 5 miles. My clothes were still wet. Guess cotton takes a long time to dry, if at all. To top things off, twisted my ankle trying to speed up. Fortunately San had two advil's in her backpack. Took that and kept walking. Trying to compensate for hurting ankle, my hamstrings and ITB pulled up. When 2/4 people in the group can walk only slowly, we knew it was going to be a difficult few hours.

We were treated to a glorious sunset, but didn't stop to take too many pictures. We were really scared of walking downhill in slippery conditions in the dark. Walked as fast as we could.

There was some light till 5:10. The last hour and 20 minutes we walked 3 miles in the dark, with a flashlight and the light in my headband. We managed to avoid stepping on all the lizards and salamanders, as well as frogs and bats on the floor! That also slowed us down.

Did take video clips almost every mile on the way up and down. Here is the compilation..

We were just glad this hike was behind us!

That said, I would like to do this hike again, on a not a partly couldy, cool non rainy day so we can get the views and walk faster. Now that we know the terrain and what it takes, we might do a better job!

For now, I am taking advil regularly and resting to get back to the normal routine. 

Rose peak has been ticked off the list! 

How was this even possible?

In 2005, I had posted this about Naadi Astrology and this unbelievable palm leaves that had poems that could accurately give all my details from my birth to the point those leaves were destined to be read. 

It is now your destiny to be able to hear this !! There was no easy way to upload just an audio to a blog then. Now we have methods!

There was no google in 1997 and even then, getting details about someone including their Indian Horsocope which needs date of birth and place of birth with an accuracy of 4 minutes, time windows, family details, names etc.. all in poetry.. not possible with even today's AI and computing power to write those as recitable poems. 

It was just amazing. A lot of folks reached out to me then and I did give them the contact to go find their palm leaves of destiny. However, not everyone who went there, could find their leaf. That is part of the deal. 

Some folks went multiple times over a period of years and managed to find it later! 

All that said, as part of digitizing audio tapes from years ago, found Naadi tapes from when my parents got my leaf and how years later San found her leaf on a visit to Vaideeswaran Kovil. She rushed it and was impatient as she had to come back to a hungry kid. Still you can see two data points.. 

Majority of what was said in detail was accurate. Then again, a lot of stuff was vague when it came to the future. We have two girls. In my reading, that was off. In San's reading it was right. 

If you have the patience, you can listen to this..  pretty impressive actually for a palm leaf that is a few thousand years old and preserved for generations in a temple! 

Maybe our destinies are all pre written.. or maybe there is some time travel involved here. In either case, the beauty of human existence is that we just go about our daily life with amazing selective memory loss. We all assume that we will wake up day after day and do things as we plan them. We put in for vacations 3 months from now, plan weddings, put 5 year FD's, etc.. forgetting that there is no guarantee for anyone for their very next breath! That is actually a good thing, so we can keep moving!

I usually forget this tape exists, except when someone brings up destiny in a conversation. Guess the readers of this blog can scratch their heads after listening.. 

Not sure if these places are still around and do the leaf readings. Have read articles that there are a lot of fake centers and copies floating around. Still not sure how any fake thing can guess this many details right and come up with limmerics in record time while the person is sitting in front of them.. that too in ancient Tamil script!

If any of you have had recent experiences with "meeting your leaf", do share in comments! 

This was out of sight and hearing and out of mind for a good 16 or so years. So it was interesting to listen to after a long time.. especially with Jr. listening in on every word  and asking questions. 

She was laughing so loud hearing my dad keep interrupting the reader about my wedding plans! 

This was way way ahead of Chat GPT !!! 

Happy thanksgiving! Time travel weekend...

This year, my birthday was a simple affair with both the kids making a flying visit for the long weekend. 

After the celeberations were done, jr. and me decided to have some fun. She saw an ad for a service that gets old tapes , negatives etc. and gets them digitized. We had a lot of audio cassettes and video cassettes to be digitized.. but after realizing that the service was ripping us off in shipping fees, decided against using it.

We did however find the old Cassette to MP3 converter and put it to good use. It took us some time to download Audacity app on the Mac and then set it up right so it could read the device! Once we figured it out, it was fun to check what was in those cassettes. 

Most of them were tapes I had accumulated to practice dancing.. one was full of Latin songs, one was all waltzes, one was a mix tape that simply said "To Miss. Smooth, with love, Part 1" and Jr.'s looks at me with raised eyebrows and asks "so I take it that it is a mix tape you made for your girlfriend?". Told her it was for a friend and she did take the part 2.

Then I found two cassettes from Sruthi, an organization in Philadelphia which had organized a Lalgudi concert with his kids in 1993. Remember setting up the mics for it and getting free admission to the concert. We also got to spend the evening with the artists at a professors house. In India, I could never think of being up close and personal with greatness like that! 

Brought back so many memories of how my association with music has always been touch and go.

There was a cassette with Tamil movie songs which my Chitti's had recorded and sent me as a gift. Even today my Chitti's (mom's younger sisters) are my biggest supporters when it comes to encouraging me to sing in Smule! I recognize my Lalli chitti's handwriting on that list.. she would write so beautifully and fast! 

30 years later have sang a lot of those songs.. the ones I missed, will definitely sing! Did not know this cassette was still around till today!

 

Used to get 20 cassettet tapes as a package at Sam's club (think Costco in the early 90's). Had the habit of recording radio stations while sitting alone in the lab doing experiments.. kind of a time capsuley thing.. 

Some of them were from 1993/94, then 96, 98.. It was wild listening to the commercials from those times (mostly beer  and car commercials!). Jr. was having so much fun Shazaming the songs and got a taste of what music daddy was listening to 30 years ago! There were multiple radio stations in PHiladelphia/ Wilmington Delaware, then Albany/Troy NY.. and some Latin tapes that were too rare for the Shazam app!

Then we found some old gold!  There was a copy of me singing Kandar shasthi kavasam at 4 years old. It was the first time my voice was recorded on the cassette player that my Ambi mama bought. The whole family was impressed with the ability to record and replay.. and my reciting slokas was used as the trial run!

My grandpa had saved that cassette and given it to me in 1995. It had made it through all the moving over the years and is now an MP3 .. better a Youtube video. 

Then we found my Naadi Josiyam tapes.. which was one of the reasons for starting this exercise. A long conversation with my friends mom yesterday on how things seem to be predetermined to a large extent in our lives and the best way to use this knowledge wisely to navigate through life.. even if it is all meant to be! 

A separate post on that later!

It has been a fun weekend so far, going back in time with my kid!

May the festivities begin

November is a very special month for our family. This year, thanks to Veterans and the Veteran's day holiday, we made it extra special.

Both the kids flew in for just 2 days so we could celebrate their 18th and 21st birthdays as well as Deepavali. They flew in and out so quickly that it is like a blur. 

My parents also celebrated their 53rd wedding anniversary. In the coming weeks, San and me get to be a year older and wiser. I am just hoping to get some more photos of her smiling face! 

Time has on an average been good to us. We do have our little shocks and suprises, but nothing that we have not been able to handle. The most recent being a catalytic converter being stolen from Jr.'s car. We parked the same car outside our house for 12 years with no impact. She takes it to southern california and within a month this happens. It has been replaced and "wire welded" to the frame now. So hopefully it doesn't get stolen again. Little things like this.. but manageable. I got severe light sensitivity and a series of migraines. Maybe because of too much screen time at work  a few weeks ago. It is behind me now. So again, glad that things are in better shape.

However, this blog usually tells you nice stories. Good stories. Happy memories. So with that in mind... here are some pictures.. This girl is now a confident, assertive woman. All of the women in the house are confident adn assertive around me. Then again, I don't count. It is how they deal with others that counts. 

Just yesterday she looked like this.. or so it seems to me.. 

which brings me to my parents.. they probably feel that just yesterday.. they looked like this.. and before they know it, all their kids are married and settled and now their oldest grandkid is an adult. Who knows, they might be blessed enough to see a great grandkid in this lifetime! Something that not everyone gets to see these days!(note to Jr. : Not saying you need to get married. Just wishing my parents will be around longer. You do you!)

After talking to my parents to wish them, realized that they are happy that all their kids are well settled. They were thankful that their life took them the way it did. What can you give them as a gift? All I could think of was colorize their wedding photo. My mom described the sari color as a "sandalwood color, but not yellowish, with a double tint.. or double color".. she used many more descriptive words to get me to the right hue.

Age catches up with everyone, sooner or later. Given where I see my dad, chances are I will get there sooner. These photos are a reminder to capture good memories and mentally accept changes as they come!

Not to leave out the little lady, who has now turned 18 ! She has always been the most mature person in the house and the only person who can put me in my place in any argument. Both San and Jr. bring her and put her as a shield in front of me when they struggle to use their logic to justify things. This one is smart. As long as she eats her meals on time, I am happy.. for that matter so is she!

We did have a quiet family brunch at Saffron's. Their pick. The food was great! The ambience was also nice! We were the first to start the brunch and had reserved it. Were in an out in an hour. Loved it! Would definitely go there again!

They got to blow candles on what was a Jamun gift from the place. (Should have mentioned my allergy to strawberries.. my bad! Didn't expect to see strawberry sause on Jamun's. Apparently very good combination per rest of family). Got to see my three Jamun's smile a lot and that was good enough!

They probably make better wishes than me!

Last but not least.. a wonderful Deepavali weekend. On Friday I could not even open my eyes to light. By Saturday things got better and we celebrated nicely. There was a total of two sparklers I held in my hand for the photos. That was the sum total of fireworks we held in our hands this year. Two sets of sparklers!! There were some flower pots done by kids at our friends place. It was too cold out. So we just enjoyed talking to friends and drinking tea!

Sadly had to say bye before the weekends parties were over..

already packed and ready to go back to college. Still it was great they came for a weekend! San is teaching me how to keep smiling after saying bye to kids. 

She had this amazing sari with a peacock pattern. One of her best so far! Usually I go out of my way to match her Sari color with my shirt. This one was unmatched. Just admired it. 

The pro photoshopper in me could simply not let it go.. so I had to go do this..

Good memories!

Also wishing my baby sister and FIL wonderful birthday's !!! 

Here is a belated happy Deepavali / Diwali wish to everyone! May there be light in your life!

My three beauties are smiling and that is making my life lit! Cannot ask for more!

Revisiting the Kennedy trail

This post titled Mt. El Sombroso, captured our previous hike at the same place last year. It was the hardest local hike we had tried. 

This year we went there again on a cooler day. The added bonus was the sun rays coming through the clouds. It was just a spectacular sunrise. We started hiking very early and were back after a chai break at the top by 1PM. It was still a hard hike even if the weather was better. 

Here are some pictures.

Chaifie at the summit

These days I sweat so much that there is a change of clothing at the summit. Find it easier to walk back in fresh clothes!

Now the skies..

If you need a prep hike for any all day hikes in Yosemite, look no further.. this is the best option!

Something tells me we might even do this trail again in a few years!