adventures of a tired coder

I think most of us are pretty jaded about air travel these days. Airlines are trying to cut costs wherever they can, and it’s usually safe to say that anytime something goes wrong, you can expect to end up unhappy without any signs of concern from the airline. This is especially true when the problems are related to weather.

Iceland Air is by no means a generous airline. The weight limit for carry-on bags is absurdly low (like 6kg) and they actually enforce it. Headphones cost a few euro, and there is no free food, even on an 8 hour flight. So when our flight out of Seattle was delayed 3 hours due to snow in Seattle and the airport’s lack of ability to find the proper deicer and everyone missed their connections, I expected a long stay at the Reykjavik-Keflavik airport. My hopes were that they could fly us out the same day, and if not, that the benches in the airport didn’t have armrests.

Amazingly, they managed to rebook everyone I heard at the desk for flights out the same day, and they offered either food vouchers at the airport or a day room at a hotel, including a taxi ride to and from the airport. We had at least 5 hours, so we took the day room option to get some rest and walk around town. Upon arrival at the hotel, they informed us that the lunch buffet was also included, so we got to eat some Icelandic food. Potatoes, meatballs, rice casserole with pickled fish surprise, sweet chili noodles, etc.

Keflavik isn’t the most happening place in the world, and it was pretty freaking cold, but they had a nice park along the water that was nice for walking. Weird lava rocks. Flying into Iceland, from the air, the whole thing looked like a volcanic park. Upon landing, it was painfully flat – not even trees! The country looks really wild, with terrain that I’d love to explore some day (as a tourist and not a stranded traveler).

This is one in a series of trip reports that I’m back posting.

Book stats: 8.5 miles, 1078 ft elevation gain
GPS stats: 9.2 miles, 2392 ft elevation gain
Trailhead directions and other information on WTA.

Two things you should never fully believe: the weather report and the elevation data in a hiking book.

(left: lots to hike to on the Wonderland Trail, right: MARMOT!)

Most people seem to go to Paradise when they visit Mount Rainier. If you’re willing to do a little hiking, I wholeheartedly recommend Sunrise more. It tends to be less crowded during peak weekends, and there are so many great hiking options in the intermediate difficulty range.

Leaving from the Sunrise lot, we took the Sourdough Ridge trail to Frozen Lake, where it starts to branch out. There are lots of possibilities from this beginning – Berkeley Park, Fremont Lookout, Burroughs Mountain, Dege Peak, etc. There’s something great for any hiking skill level. We took the Wonderland Trail from there, past the Berkeley Park turnoff, all the way to Skyscraper Mountain. Lots of pretty flower fields (perhaps a bit past their peak, but still in great shape) and views of Mount Rainier. Not a ton of people on the trail, and probably over half of the people we saw were people on multi-night backpacking trips.

(left: Skyscraper Mountain, right: clouds come quickly on Mount Rainier)

I think it would be pretty hard to top the conditions during my trip to Mount Rainier last year (pics), and the overcast weather on this hike definitely made for more challenging picture taking. However, there were two things that were better: no mosquitoes (because it was so cold) and marmots! I think we passed about 5 marmots total… probably all eating.

Above, you can see our destination, Skyscraper Mountain. Not too many people go here – it’s not on the map at the lodge – and the ones who do tend to stop at the bottom and enjoy the views from there (which are really good). We took the unofficial trail up to the top.  The creepiness starts here – you can see from the pictures that the mountain went from clear to cloud-covered, and it did that quite a few times since the clouds were moving so fast.

(left: flowers! one the best things about Mt. Rainier, right: the unofficial boot path up Skyscraper Mountain)

Basically, unofficial trail means there’s an obvious path, but it sucks. This one was pretty steep, with rocky, short, somewhat randomly-placed switchbacks. The picture above shows an example of the “trail.” The next two pictures show the creepy view down from the top – it’s a long way to fall, and there wasn’t much between the rocks we were on and DEATH. At one point while we were eating, the clouds surrounded us, and we were on a small rock island with all white around us. I guess it makes sense why no one joined us up there. :) The views are probably pretty spectacular on a clear day, but it was pretty cool being up there with the clouds. We didn’t stay too long, though, because it was probably about 35 degrees up there and windy. Got some misting on the way back, light hail in the parking lot, and the rain started on the drive back. Great timing! But this weather compared to the continuous rain we expected from the weather forecast was a really welcome surprise.

(views looking down from Skyscraper Mountain)

This being the first cool weather hike of the season, I took the opportunity to try a little experiment. My dad got me a Ms. Bento jar during one of his trips to Taiwan, and I’d been itching to try it out. (I also have the Mr. Bento jar, but it’s a little big and heavy for hiking use). I packed my lunch 7 hours before eating it, and my risotto and mac & cheese were still very warm when lunch time came. Not piping hot, but warm enough. Definitely more nourishing than a cold sandwich. I think this has great potential for ski season as well!

(left: lunch, right: more Rainier flowers)

Rainier really lives up to its national park designation as a hiking destination. I’d really love to get out here more – if only it was an hour closer!

(view of Rainier from the saddle before going up Skyscraper)

This is one in a series of trip reports that I’m back posting.

10 miles, ~2300 ft elevation gain
Trailhead directions and more information on WTA.

A less popular area of Snow Lake.

Snow Lake is a really popular hike and for good reason. The trailhead is at the Alpental parking lot, which means it's not too far down I-90 and there's a huge parking lot. And it's a big, beautiful lake that you can get to by hiking only about 8 miles with 1300 feet of elevation gain. It's crowded and loud getting to the lake basin (a NWHikers trip report referred to this as the "Conga line"), but most people stop there. Even if you follow the trail up a little around the right side of the lake, you can find a segment of the lake where you'll be relatively undisturbed. On a hot day like I had, it's really tempting to jump in the cool water (and a lot of people were). But if you like pain, you'll decide that the 1300 feet aren't enough and head towards Gem Lake.

Left: trail to Gem Lake. Right: Looking down at Snow Lake.

It's only about 1.5-2 extra miles to get to Gem, but you get some nice elevation gain that starts to hurt really quick. It goes like this: "Ooh, a puddle. Is that Gem Lake? No. Ooh, I see blue water, is that Gem Lake? No, that's still SNOW LAKE. Grr... Ooh, a bigger puddle...." But despite all that, this part of the trail is probably the most beautiful segment. There are little sections of alpine meadow with small tarns, mountain views, plenty of flowers and bushy beargrass, views of Snow Lake from above, and some nice rock paths that couldn't have been easy to put together. And there aren't nearly as many people who go this far. Gem Lake is much smaller than Snow Lake, maybe a little less showy. But it's peaceful and the water's pretty.

Left: Gem Lake (a real gem!). Right: Butterfly.

This is one in a series of trip reports that I’m back posting.

Distance: 8 miles
Elevation gain: 1600 or 2000 feet, depending on who you believe. Feels like more.
Trailhead directions and more info on WTA.

This was a gorgeous hike that could have been a lot more enjoyable if certain factors hadn’t been present. The good first… it’s lovely scenery getting there, and it’s lovely scenery most of the way to the lake. It’s on the east side of Snoqualmie Pass, so you get to see the Cascades, Lake Kecheelus, Lake Kachess. The trail follows a creek a lot of the way up, so there are many waterfalls next to the trail. It also opens up to beautiful views of Hibox Mountain and the stuff around it. The lake itself is amazing, too, big enough to support lots of people hanging out without getting too crowded. The trail continues to Rampart Ridge and Alta Mountain if your legs have the strength.

The not so good…

1. Trail condition. Every book and trip report mentions this. The creek crossings involve some fun balance on rocks and logs, and for awhile the trail IS the creek. Most of the elevation gain is at the end, corresponding with the worst maintained part of the trail, so your legs are climbing steep, rough trail and wishing they weren’t. Numerically, this is easier than the hikes I normally do, but my legs felt more sore. I also saw a backpacker lose his footing and fall off the trail to the side. Fortunately for him, some trees caught him before he went tumbling down the hill. Moral of the story: be careful.

2. Groups. Overall, I felt like there was more solitude here than at Lake Serene, but when we ran into people, it was super annoying. I hate it when people follow close behind me when there is any balance involved, especially going downhill. And there was this giant group that I swear was bigger than the allowed 12. They would spread out and then rejoin at scenic points, where certain members of the group would be sure to stand in the middle of any view for as long as possible in order to ensure that any photo you took would be of them. Grr.

3. Idiots.

a. Litter: I saw gum, a chip bag, and several clumps of toilet paper by the lake. And the giant group from #2 left orange peels. Come on, people.

b. Dogs: So many unleashed dogs. I personally don’t care about unleashed dogs swimming in the lake, as long as they aren’t barking their heads off. But on the trail, especially on a trail that’s marked “endangered” because the fragile alpine landscape is being destroyed, leash your freaking dogs. I was delicately trying to navigate my way down some rocks when a large dog comes barreling down behind me, swerves right next to me, and hurls himself down a snowfield. Mike suggests to the owners that leashes might be a good idea.

Woman: Not in the woods!
Mike: Yes, in the woods. It’s the rule.
Man: Rules are made to be broken.
Mike: No, they aren’t. This is a protected forest, and rules exist so other people can enjoy it, too.
Woman: Oh, come on, live and let live! [apparently this is the Cliché Family]

Seriously? Why don’t we all trample the fragile meadows (oh wait, their dogs already did), cut switchbacks, leave toilet paper all over the place, and build a lakeside Starbucks? Live and let live. Next time I’m bringing chocolate.

</rant>

I’ve attended films from every year of the Seattle International Film Festival since I moved to Seattle, making this my 6th year. When I first started, I just thought it was cool that I lived in city big and diverse enough to support a festival that showed some international films. But I thought it was just as cool that I lived in a place that had Thai restaurants.

I’ve been in the area longer now, and I’m no longer excited about Thai restaurants, which seem to be located on every third block around here. But I’ve grown to really appreciate SIFF as something that we’re lucky to have. It’s the largest and most attended film festival in the United States. In a period of about three weeks, the festival screens more than 400 films.

Things that are cool:

1. I get to see films that not many other people get to see.

2. I get to see some films that many other people will see, but I get to see them before they do.

3. I get to listen to very interesting and insightful Q&A sessions with many of the directors. It’s even cooler when it’s for one of the films described in #2.

4. Newly discovered this year – volunteering = a chance to meet lots of great people and see a lot of free film!

5. SIFF, unlike the film festivals you normally hear about, is accessible to the general public and primarily attended by “normal people.” According to The Stranger, Ed Norton (who was in town for an award) said that most film festivals are commercial messes, but SIFF was a wonderful festival for a “great film town.”

This year, I definitely had my best SIFF experience to date. I saw about 18 films and volunteered 5 shifts. And my picks this year were great! No total clunkers and a lot of great films, including several that made the awards list. I also went outside my normal types of choices and added more documentaries, which were very informative and thought-provoking.

During one of my SIFF movies, I was trying to recall the name of a French film I saw in 2005. Google was failing me, and I didn’t want to search the SIFF site using my phone. Then I remembered that I blogged about it, so I went to my blog and found the name easily. Conclusion: I need to blog about SIFF this year so I can remember things in the future.

SIFF First Weekend (5/21-5/23)

I was out of town, so I missed the first weekend. Particularly bummed about missing Soul Kitchen and The Concert. The latter ended up on the Best of SIFF awards, too!

SIFF First Week (5/24-5/27)

The Reverse was a last minute addition to my schedule… a later (9:15pm) film the day after I got back from a state on Central Standard Time. A bit risky. And Polish dark comedy – I wasn’t sure the humor would translate. Turns out, this was possibly one of the biggest sleeper hits of the festival. It didn’t take itself too similarly, and the humor was compared to the Coen Brothers. And it won the Grand Jury Prize for Best New Director!

I normally don’t go for disturbing, gory war movies, but when I saw the description of City of Life and Death, I felt like I should probably put aside my dislike of violence to learn more about an important event that many American history books overlook, the Nanking Massacre. It was shot in black and white, making it look like documentary-style, and the production and acting was top notch. Most of the people in the group I went with didn’t realize how horrible that period was, and the film was a good jump start to conversation and research afterwards. And as hard as the cruelty in the film was to watch, they didn’t go as far as they could in the portrayal of the atrocities committed. For instance, they didn’t show any mutilation. And they didn’t just portray the Japanese as monsters.

SIFF Second Weekend (5/28-5/30)

I found out about volunteering and how easy it was to sign up. There was a Sunday shift at Uptown right before a film I had tickets to, and I signed up, not knowing really what to expect. It ended up being a lot of fun. We were betting on whether people coming in for the SIFF film or Sex and the City. :) I also got to see Khargosh, the film that was showing during my shift. I missed the beginning and the ending, but it was one of those slow, plotless films that’s visually appealing, so it didn’t matter.

The second film during the shift was The Hedgehog, a sold-out screening that has continually eluded me and ended up winning the Golden Space Needle audience favorite. (They added an additional screening, but I already had a film at the time. Then they added it to the Best of SIFF weekend, but I’m out of town. Sigh.) Interesting incident: the guy who got mad that we didn’t take his word that he’d bought a ticket, even though he didn’t bring it.

Then finally, I saw the film I had tickets for, Cairo Time. Interesting incident: a woman from Italy before me in line was complaining about the system being “so terrible” because she had to wait outside. Apparently in Europe, they give you assigned seats when you buy movie tickets. I’d compare the film to a prettier, less boring, and more mature version of Lost in Translation. Same “person in a foreign land” feeling, same unrealized attraction. It was a bit slow at times, but the subtly was nice and the shots of Cairo were beautiful. Some shots were oddly reminiscent of Sex and the City 2, which Ann and I had coincidentally seen the night before, at different theaters. I really enjoyed the Q&A with the director, who had funny stories about filming in Cairo and evading the government tag-along. Patricia Clarkson was a runner up for the SIFF Best Actress award.

And that ends week 1! Film count: 4. Volunteer voucher count: 2.

I’m at that age where everyone is starting to get married. My high school friends started a long time ago, and a good number of them have kids now. But my childhood friends have taken a little longer, maybe because they’re either busy getting really educated or enjoying the fun of single life. Well, this summer, that has officially changed. In June, Ben (my boyfriend when I was 3 years old!) is getting married, and the weekend before Memorial Day, Alice and Shawn tied the knot.

I’ve known Alice since I was seven or so. That’s about twenty years. It’s crazy to think of lengths of friendships in terms of lengths of relationships – at my age, a five year relationship seems long. And though we might not have a lot in common and I’ve spent the last ten of those years away from Louisiana, I’ve kept in better touch with her than anyone else from Baton Rouge. We’ve shared a lot of history, listened to each other’s good stories and bad stories, many of them about boyfriends… shared a love of Sarah McLachlan, Tori Amos, and Vienna Teng. And after years of being a long-distance observer/confidante in her journey, it was really special to see her road of singlehood end at a beautiful ceremony in a city I called my home for a decade and a half. 

I really don’t get back to Baton Rouge as often as I want to. The city has changed a lot and many of the people I knew have gone off to other places. Alice took me to the Mall of Louisiana to see how much it’s expanded. There’s now a Sephora in Baton Rouge! Still no Nordstrom, though. On one hand, it’s great that Baton Rouge is becoming more of a “real city,” but I think it comes at the expense of its character. The photo I snapped of the outside shopping area looked as sterile as a computer-modeled image. New residential developments mimic the identical townhouse hell that I hate seeing here in the Issaquah Highlands (and many other places). But one thing Baton Rouge has in its favor is a lot of  land, which means they don’t need to knock down the old places as much. So I got to make my traditional trip to Mike Anderson’s, still the same, to eat one of my favorite meals of stuffed crab, stuffed potato, and hush puppies.

Next year is my 10 year high school reunion (OLD!!!) so it looks like I’ll finally make a trip back to Louisiana that isn’t for a wedding. :) Until then, I’ll be dreaming of crawfish.

Congratulations to Alice and Shawn!

Since I haven’t left the country since India last June and don’t currently have any plans to do so in the near future (particularly since my passport is expired), I have unconsciously been filling my travel need by having adventures near home. This time, I decided Friday night that I needed to take advantage of the non-rainy weather on Saturday by going hiking. Instead of fighting the Seattle crowds at Tiger Mountain or Mount Si, I opted instead to greet the smaller Bellingham crowd at Larrabee State Park.

We don’t get a lot of sunny, clear days in Seattle during the winter. And usually when we get them, it’s during the week. So when the weatherman predicted a weekend of good weather, I knew I had to get outside and do something. My original plan was to head down to Pike Place Market and walk around, but I’ve done that so much. Instead, I decided to look for a place with a view.

It didn’t take me long to decide on Upper Queen Anne. I can see the hill from my condo, and I’m in Lower Queen Anne all the time for shows, but for some reason I very rarely make it to the top. So I took a bus, aiming for Kerry Park, a place well known for its good views of downtown Seattle. Being unfamiliar with the area, I got my bus stops mixed up and rode too far, so I ended up walking through Kinnear Park, which gave a nice view of the Olympics and the Sound.