Winter's Grip Slipping Quickly
I look forward, like most of us in Juneau, for the Spring.
It is no longer freezing when I get up and walk the dogs at 6:30... which is a very good thing.
I have managed to go out in the afternoon sun in a short sleeved shirt, only to remember when the chill returns as the sun starts to set behind the hills that I forgot to bring along a jacket.
And when the sun does come out, so does the entire city...
This weekend was a sunny surprise, when the weather guys called for rain (which never came). When the skies are blue, Juneau is one of the most beautiful places on the planet: a statement I have made here before, but remain convinced of.
The snow's still up in the hills... as we discovered yesterday during a hike up to the John Muir cabin with Julie & Jessica. Julie was not ready for the climb, Jessica was wearing 'hiking sandals,' and the snow after about two miles up was soft and slushy, but packed hard and slick on the boardwalk of the Auke Nu trail. The guide book calls the trail "difficult," when in fact the only "easy"trail in the book is the (nearly handicap accessible) airport dike, so I figured it was all the same. After an hour and a half going up, your humble author was getting punched for leading the ladies on a death march... so we turned around close to the top. Got close enuf to smell the cabin, but not to see it. Crap. I have been told in no uncertain terms that if I want to see the cabin, I will have to find another hiking partner...
Still and all, it was a gorgeous day to be out for a walk in the springtime.
On the topic of previous blog follow-up: I passed my engineer's "stress test," meaning that other than some paperwork, I am qualified to drive and operate Engine 45 at my station. It was close: I almost failed because when I parked the rig, my parking put me 8-inches short of being able to connect to the hydrant with a single 25-ft roll of 5" firehose. The gap meant that I had to connect another roll, all while the preconnects were flowing water from the rig's 1000 gallon tank at over 300 gallon per minute. Like the grains of sand through the glass, they are gone and the clock is ticking until the hydrant connection is made. The tank ran out as I opened the intake valve at the pump panel, meaning the pump started to cavitate and the water supply was lost for about half a second as the hydrant water rushed to the pump. Had I taken any longer, the pressure to the hoses would have been lost and I would have had to take the exercise over again.
Like life, you can't give up... just take a deep breath and work through the problem.
My weight loss efforts are teaching me patience, as well. The weekdays are great, with lots of hard exercise and calorie control, but the weekends take almost all the gains back. I am realizing how strongly social events emphasize food and how weak I still am with my food-resolve, and it is hard to follow the path of restraint. In 5 weeks, I have lost 12 pounds... in my mind I expected a lot more, but I will perservere.
When I think of the advice I'd give a youngin' these days, there would be three pieces: first, take care of your back, cause once you screw it up there is no getting it back (no pun intended!); second, take care of your hearing, cause once you screw it up there is no getting it back; and third, master your food intake before your metabolism changes and then you get old and fat, cause once you screw up and get heavy, it's the shits to take it off.
Well, I guess I can think of some other good advice, too, but those three are a good start...
Oh, and the state flags are flying along Egan Highway downtown, which means that the tourons and the cruise ships are on their way... another sure sign that Winter is over.
KL
It is no longer freezing when I get up and walk the dogs at 6:30... which is a very good thing.
I have managed to go out in the afternoon sun in a short sleeved shirt, only to remember when the chill returns as the sun starts to set behind the hills that I forgot to bring along a jacket.
And when the sun does come out, so does the entire city...
This weekend was a sunny surprise, when the weather guys called for rain (which never came). When the skies are blue, Juneau is one of the most beautiful places on the planet: a statement I have made here before, but remain convinced of.
The snow's still up in the hills... as we discovered yesterday during a hike up to the John Muir cabin with Julie & Jessica. Julie was not ready for the climb, Jessica was wearing 'hiking sandals,' and the snow after about two miles up was soft and slushy, but packed hard and slick on the boardwalk of the Auke Nu trail. The guide book calls the trail "difficult," when in fact the only "easy"trail in the book is the (nearly handicap accessible) airport dike, so I figured it was all the same. After an hour and a half going up, your humble author was getting punched for leading the ladies on a death march... so we turned around close to the top. Got close enuf to smell the cabin, but not to see it. Crap. I have been told in no uncertain terms that if I want to see the cabin, I will have to find another hiking partner...
Still and all, it was a gorgeous day to be out for a walk in the springtime.
On the topic of previous blog follow-up: I passed my engineer's "stress test," meaning that other than some paperwork, I am qualified to drive and operate Engine 45 at my station. It was close: I almost failed because when I parked the rig, my parking put me 8-inches short of being able to connect to the hydrant with a single 25-ft roll of 5" firehose. The gap meant that I had to connect another roll, all while the preconnects were flowing water from the rig's 1000 gallon tank at over 300 gallon per minute. Like the grains of sand through the glass, they are gone and the clock is ticking until the hydrant connection is made. The tank ran out as I opened the intake valve at the pump panel, meaning the pump started to cavitate and the water supply was lost for about half a second as the hydrant water rushed to the pump. Had I taken any longer, the pressure to the hoses would have been lost and I would have had to take the exercise over again.
Like life, you can't give up... just take a deep breath and work through the problem.
My weight loss efforts are teaching me patience, as well. The weekdays are great, with lots of hard exercise and calorie control, but the weekends take almost all the gains back. I am realizing how strongly social events emphasize food and how weak I still am with my food-resolve, and it is hard to follow the path of restraint. In 5 weeks, I have lost 12 pounds... in my mind I expected a lot more, but I will perservere.
When I think of the advice I'd give a youngin' these days, there would be three pieces: first, take care of your back, cause once you screw it up there is no getting it back (no pun intended!); second, take care of your hearing, cause once you screw it up there is no getting it back; and third, master your food intake before your metabolism changes and then you get old and fat, cause once you screw up and get heavy, it's the shits to take it off.
Well, I guess I can think of some other good advice, too, but those three are a good start...
Oh, and the state flags are flying along Egan Highway downtown, which means that the tourons and the cruise ships are on their way... another sure sign that Winter is over.
KL
posted by Ken at 1:37 PM
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