adventures of a tired coder

Distance: 7.2 miles
Elevation gain: 2000 feet
Trailhead directions and more on WTA.

 
Creek waterfalls

Lake Serene was my first “big hike” in the Pacific Northwest (I decided Wallace Falls didn’t qualify) and got me started on an addiction that now takes over my summer and fall months. So when I had two new hikers coming with me on a weekday hike, this one seemed like a natural choice. This was my third time doing this hike (2008 and 2010 were the others), and I’ve always gone during the early part of the summer, since this is one of the earlier hikes to become snow free. It’s a popular hike – on a weekday, we saw way more people than I encountered at Koppen the past weekend. I’ve heard that the lot overflows and becomes a parking nightmare on the weekends, so best to get an early start.

 
Left: the bottom of Bridal Veil Falls
Right: Lake Serene’s turquoise water

There’s plenty to see on this hike. There are several nice mini waterfalls when the trail hits a creek, but the real star is Bridal Veil Falls, a towering waterfall that cascades down like… a bride’s veil. There’s a short side hike that gets you to the falls, but I’ve never taken it. Maybe next time. After the falls, the real climbing begins. Switchbacks and what I call the “stairs section.” I remember cursing the stairs the first time on this trail, but now I’m thankful for them, having experienced how difficult a rough uphill trail can be. A lot of people were struggling through this section, and I heard someone say that there were about 26 switchbacks and that we were still on the third. Hah!

 
View from the trail

Fortunately, the rewards come before the lake. After climbing for awhile, we broke out of the forest and had nice views of the surrounding peaks. Then not long after, Mount Index came into view, and we knew we were near. Many people were content to sit by the lake at the closest access point, but a better place to sit and take in the view (if you can convince your legs to go up a few more stairs) is at Lunch Rock. There were also some people who crossed the boulderfield to the right of Lunch Rock and went part way around the lake for solitude, but we were content with Lunch Rock. We watched people jump in the lake and immediately regret it. I climbed down to the lakeside and dipped my feet in just to see – painfully cold! I hoped for sunnier weather, but the lake’s color was still as beautiful as ever.

Lake Serene

Distance: 7 miles
Elevation gain: 2300 feet
Trailhead directions and more on WTA.

   
left: De Roux Creek
center: pika!
right: big snow wall

Yay for early season hiking! Seems like I’m starting earlier and earlier each year. Thanks to hiking in Utah and Hawaii in April and May, I’m actually starting out in decent shape for once! The downside to hiking earlier is that there aren’t many options that are snow free, and the popular options (like Lake Serene, Bandera, Heather Lake, etc.) tend to be very crowded. The Teanaway area turned out to be a good choice – lots of view-rich, snow free hikes, with the long drive keeping crowds away.

 
left: penstamon, I think
right: some flower I can’t identify

This hike was surprisingly easy until the last half mile or so, when it started climbing with a vengeance up the mountain. Before that, there was plenty of time to enjoy De Roux Creek, the forest, and the varied wildflowers. We saw paintbrush, lupine, columbine, penstamon, and many others. As we got higher up, we started seeing snow. At one point, there was a snow wall right next to the trail that was taller than me! A few of the snowfields required some tricky snow maneuvering or had to be navigated around, but nothing too troublesome. We passed a boulder field and I was surprised to see a bold pika who kept appearing on rocks. Normally I don’t spot them until later in the summer when they’re busy gathering plants. It also seemed like there were a lot of brightly-colored birds on this hike, including a beautiful bird with bright turquoise markings that flew quickly by us before we could get a good look.

View from the pass

We passed Camp Wahoo/High Country Outfitters on the way to the trailhead, and the Koppen Mountain trail is frequented by horse riders. There was some “evidence of horse use” that was stepped carefully around, but it didn’t seem too heavy yet, and we passed a group of riders on the way back down. The pass at the shoulder of Koppen Mountain is the turnaround point for the riders. The views were very nice there, but it’s worth continuing further.

  
left: dog party at Koppen Mountain!
right: horse party

As the trail guide puts it, “Since the trail was built for fire spotters rather than recreationists, it tends to be steep and straight – these men truly believed that the fastest way from point A to point B was a straight line, even if that line ran vertically!” I’ve definitely been on worse, but I took my sweet time up that last steep section. The top of the mountain was a beautiful 360 view, and one of the people up there had the Peakfinder app on his phone and was able to easily identify the surrounding peaks: Stuart, Esmerelda, Hawkings, Thorp, and many more. I had expected a sunny, brutally hot day, but instead we had cloudy, cool weather. This made the hiking much more pleasant, but the low clouds made it so we couldn’t see most of Stuart and some of the other mountains. We stayed for awhile, hoping that the clouds would lift, but no luck there – will have to come back! The dog to human ratio at the summit was almost 1:1, and I got to enjoy the company of three perky Golden Retrievers who really, really wanted a piece of my lunch.

View from Koppen Mountain (as a Photosynth)

We felt a few drops from the sky here and there, but fortunately it never developed into any actual rain. Easy hike back down, long drive out of the Teanaway, then sat in I-90 traffic as everyone made their Sunday journeys back over the pass to Seattle. Summer is here!

Yep, that’s right… I completely missed the first week of SIFF. There are definitely films that I’m hearing about that I wished I’d had the chance to see, but Maui was pretty awesome, too. :) Immediately jumped back into SIFF, seeing two films on the same day I arrived home via redeye flight. It was a real challenge because nothing happened in either film! But things got better during the week – I saw a delightful French musical and worked a good will call shift at the Uptown. Film Count: 4. Volunteer Vouchers: 7.

Stray Dogs
(also: Jiao You)
Taiwan, 2013
Genre: Drama
Watched: SIFF 2014, Uptown
Rating: *** (out of 5)

I feel like I have a good amount of patience with slow movies, but this one was just too much for me. A lot of people who liked it seem to be familiar with the director’s work, though I’m really not sure that understanding references would have made it more bearable. It’s 138 minutes of long shots where nothing happens. It’s really uncomfortable, especially when the shots zoom in close on faces and you spend 10 minutes trying to figure out if he’s going to let the snot drip down his nose or not (spoiler alert: he does). There’s a semblance of a story, but since very little happens and very little is said, there’s a lot of missing information that frustrated me. On the redeeming side, a lot of the shots were very beautiful, and misery was strongly portrayed.

A Dream of Iron
(also: Cheol-ae-kum)
South Korea, 2014
Genre: Documentary
Watched: SIFF 2014, Uptown
Rating: ***1/2 (out of 5)

The narrator is sad that his girlfriend left him to search for god, so he decides to find a “better” god. Monks chant. Lots of shots of an enormous ship factory and the impressive metalwork that takes place there. Whales. And a few dolphins. Back to the metal. Whales again. Documentary?! For this one, I could get over the fact that nothing happens and it’s actually pretty ridiculous because there was a meditative quality to the whole thing that reminded me of Samsara (but I liked Samsara a lot more).

Attila Marcel
France, 2013
Genre: Comedy, Musical, Drama
Watched: SIFF 2014, Uptown
Rating: **** (out of 5)

I was originally planning to see this one before my vacation, but I decided to volunteer instead. This one lived up to my expectations: it was beautiful, charming, and funny. Definitely lots of laugh-out-loud moments (I still have the phrase “merde de lumiere” stuck in my brain). There’s no way you’re going to connect with any of the characters or get anything meaningful out of this film, but it’s entertaining, the characters are interesting (if not realistic), and it brought me into their brightly-colored hallucinogenic world for an hour and a half.

Here we go again! Hopefully I can complete my SIFF blogging this year (unlike last year). It’s going to be a much shorter fest for me, since I’m out of town for 9 days of the festival for my brothers’ graduation and a family trip. Before leaving, I worked two volunteer shifts, one as a “human arrow” at the opening night gala and one long venue shift at Lincoln Square. We were able to watch a film during our shift, so I did get to see one before leaving town. Film Count: 1. Volunteer Vouchers: 5.

Words and Pictures
USA, 2013
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Watched: SIFF 2014, Lincoln Square 
Rating: ***1/2 (out of 5)

This isn’t a movie I’d typically see at SIFF because it’s a mainstream American flick that’s going to have a wider release soon. But I was happy to catch it during my volunteer shift! It’s a solid rom-com, with lots of laugh-out-loud moments, especially between the two main characters as they engage in their battle of literature (“words”) vs. art (“pictures”). I really like Juliette Binoche as an actress, and she does a good job with her character here. It was also nice to Valerie Tian’s role as a student that didn’t reek of Asian stereotypes. The romance side of the picture is inevitable but not as convincing or interesting as the rest of it. The passion the teachers show for their subjects is really engaging and made me want to go out and write and paint.

Mozart's Last Aria by Matt Rees

Genre: Historical Fiction, Thriller
Rating: *** (out of 5)
Recommended for: Dan Brown fans, music lovers
Received ARC copy through a GoodReads giveaway.

Back-cover summary:
The news arrives in a letter to his sister, Nannerl, in December 1791. But the message carries more than word of Nannerl’s brother’s demise. Two months earlier, Mozart confided to his wife that his life was rapidly drawing to a close… and that he knew he had been poisoned.

In Vienna to pay her final respects, Nannerl soon finds herself ensnared in a web of suspicion and intrigue—as the actions of jealous lovers, sinister creditors, rival composers, and Mozart’s Masonic brothers suggest that dark secrets hastened the genius to his grave. As Nannerl digs deeper into the mystery surrounding her brother’s passing, Mozart’s black fate threatens to overtake her as well.

My review:
Beautiful cover, intriguing premise… maybe this was too much for this book to live up to. My main issue was that there’s way too much fiction in this historical fiction novel, so much that I spent a lot of my reading time thinking that there was no way this story could be true. This probably wouldn’t have been as much of a problem if it wasn’t about someone as famous as Mozart, but I’m not sure I would have been as interested in that case. It’s a no-win situation, I guess.

Nannerl receives word of her brother Mozart’s death and the suggestion that it might have been a murder. She rushes off to Austria to investigate Mozart’s connections with politics and the Masons that might have led to his death. Along the way, she rediscovers her own talent and love for music. While the Mason stuff screamed “conspiracy theory” to me, Nannerl’s personal journey was more interesting, and the book would have been a better read for me if it had focused more on this part than on solving the mystery.

Defy by Sara B. Larson

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Rating: ***1/2 (out of 5)
Recommended for: Fans of Kristin Cashore
Received ARC copy through NetGalley.

Back-cover summary:
Alexa Hollen is a fighter. Forced to disguise herself as a boy and serve in the king's army, Alex uses her quick wit and fierce sword-fighting skills to earn a spot on the elite prince's guard. But when a powerful sorcerer sneaks into the palace in the dead of night, even Alex, who is virtually unbeatable, can't prevent him from abducting her, her fellow guard and friend Rylan, and Prince Damian, taking them through the treacherous wilds of the jungle and deep into enemy territory.

The longer Alex is held captive with both Rylan and the prince, the more she realizes that she is not the only one who has been keeping dangerous secrets. And suddenly, after her own secret is revealed, Alex finds herself confronted with two men vying for her heart: the safe and steady Rylan, who has always cared for her, and the dark, intriguing Damian. With hidden foes lurking around every corner, is Alex strong enough to save herself and the kingdom she's sworn to protect?

My review:
Book reviewers seem to be having a field day skewering this one, and while thinking about what to write for this review, I have to admit that it’s easy to come up with things to criticize. However, despite my slight predisposition to dislike this novel and its very apparent flaws, I still found myself enjoying it. There’s plenty of action, and Alexa and Damian are characters that I wanted to cheer for. It’s probably better for potential readers to skip all the overanalysis and criticism and just dive into the book.

There are two criticisms that keep my rating of this book from being higher. The first is the love triangle. I don’t understand why it was included because it is the lamest love triangle ever. It doesn’t destroy the book or anything, but it just feels unnecessary. However, I’m seeing that there is a sequel planned, and I suspect that the triangle will be drawn out further in that book. That’s too bad. I think Defy was good as a standalone novel, and I don’t think adding more to the saga will improve it.

That takes me to the second criticism – usually the reason why fantasy series work well is because the world is built up so well that you want to see more out of it. Well, this world is not built well. There’s not a whole lot of background on the history, politics, races, etc. of this world. It’s forgivable for a light YA read, but it makes some of the aspects not hit as hard as they could. I think this is also why the “breeding houses” seem like such a harsh and random inclusion.

Many people seem to expect Defy to be some sort of feminism poster child, but I disagree. Alexa is a teenage girl and acts like one. So she has silly thoughts about boys. I don’t feel like that takes away from her actions and experiences. In fact, it’s probably more realistic and relatable that she has these struggles in her mind while trying to save the world.